– As delivered –

Statement by H.E. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

28 September 2020

 

Excellencies,

Dear friends,

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to join you today.

I will be brief.

As an international community, we have not lived up to our ideals or commitments on biodiversity.

In fact, none of the 20 targets agreed by Member States in Aichi, Japan, a decade ago have been fully achieved.

Words and good intentions are clearly not enough. They will not clean the oceans, save elephants, or prevent deforestation.

Only our actions can do that.

And we know this can work.

A study released only two weeks ago noted that, since 1993 and the Convention on Biodiversity, up to four dozen animal species have been saved.

This was done with local, national and international action and included habitat protection, species reintroduction, and legal protections, amongst other efforts.

This demonstrates that we can deliver.

So let us be inspired by these positive developments. Let us lean into these successes and build upon them.

Let this be the moment that we agree to act, decisively, compassionately, and pragmatically to protect the world in which we live.

Volkan Bozkir

President of the UN General Assembly

In two days, I will preside over the UN’s first Biodiversity Summit.  It is my strong hope and wish that this Summit will elevate the political discourse on biodiversity and be an important first step on the road to COP15.

Let this be the moment that we agree to act, decisively, compassionately, and pragmatically to protect the world in which we live.

Thank you very much.