Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly

9 December 2021

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for the kind introduction.

I am honored to join you all today to celebrate the 75th Anniversary of UNICEF.

Allow me to express my sincere appreciation to Ms. Henrietta H. Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, and to her entire team, here and globally, for the incredible work they have done.

Since its establishment in 1946, UNICEF has gone far and beyond to reach the furthest and most vulnerable youth and children.

With a presence in more than 191 countries and territories, UNICEF is helping hundreds of millions of children, supporting everything from education to health, from disaster relief to conflict prevention.

This is truly remarkable. I commend the leadership, the staff, the volunteers, and the partner governments for helping make UNICEF what it is today: a champion for children.

A champion of such scale and scope that the very name ‘UNICEF’ has become ubiquitous with support to children. Even where people struggle to understand the work of the UN – they know UNICEF.

Ladies and gentlemen,

When polio and measles broke out, UNICEF immunized the poorest and hardest to reach.

When cyclones and floods destroyed homes and displaced families and children, UNICEF provided food and shelter.

Where there was violence and abuse against children, UNICEF offered protection and reparation.

And today, UNICEF, together with partners such as the COVAX Facility, are distributing vaccines for COVID-19 to low- and middle-income countries.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Reimagining the future for children will be a collective agenda.  It implies the realization of sustainable development goals for children everywhere.

As we face a significant setback on the realization of the SDGs, this decade of recovery will be critical to our efforts to get the goals back on track.

Issues such as vaccine inequity, and support to economic recovery, must be addressed if we are to make meaningful progress.

With its extensive global reach, effective partnership with UNICEF is crucial to reimagining a future for children.

I call upon governments, the private sector, and civil society to strengthen collaboration and support efforts that empower children and ensure the full protection of children’s rights.

Let us join hands with UNICEF through scaled up funding and pooled resources to secure a better and brighter future for children.

Once again thank for this opportunity and my best wishes to UNICEF on the 75 years of service for humanity.

Thank you.