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

3 June 2022

 

My dear young friends, 

Thank you so much to the Stockholm+50 Youth Taskforce for inviting me to this important event, to listen to your views and policy recommendations.  

As the President of the General Assembly, I represent the 193 member states and their wishes. I am guided by them.  At the same time, there are issues that I champion – that are close to my heart too. Youth is one of them. 

I fully acknowledge the role of youth and civil society as important stakeholders in any country to advance the SDGs. 

As you may know, throughout my Presidency, I have emphasized the theme of ‘Hope’. I chose ‘Hope’ as the theme of my Presidency because at this critical time when the world is battling multiple crises, Hope is what will bring people together, motivate communities to work together, and start to build back a more resilient world. 

I see young people as our greatest hope. The future belongs to you, the young people, and therefore you can rightly and must demand a role in shaping the future. 

But the present is also your present. You are also living through this time; you are also affected by this time. And you have a right to be consulted. And you should demand your right to be heard. I wholeheartedly endorse your call to the Governments to include you, in decision making processes at all levels.  

There cannot be discussions on your future, on the planet you will inherit, on issues that will affect you in the future, but also now, without you. 

Reflecting on your policy recommendations, I appreciate the wide range of proposals you have presented for the consideration of Governments.

Protecting and Restoring ecosystems will be the overall objective of stakeholders when they meet to adopt the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework later this year. The new biodiversity framework will set out targets and milestones, that address pollution, protection of land and ocean, reducing pesticide use, eliminating plastic waste, and increasing financial resources. 

Earlier this year, at UNEA 5.2, Governments agreed to start working on an internationally legal binding instrument by 2024 to end plastic pollution. 

I was in Abidjan in May, where a host of decisions were adopted to address land degradation and drought, and addresses more robust monitoring and data to track progress, new political and financial impetus to help nations deal with drought and build resilience. The 2.5-billion-dollar Abidjan Legacy Programme will help future proof supply chains while tackling deforestation and climate change. 

At the end of this month, we will meet again in Lisbon to review our commitments on protecting our ocean. 

On my part, on 19 July, I will be holding at the General Assembly, a “Moment for Nature”. This will be an opportunity to reflect on how to achieve greater synergies between the key conferences on the environment and sustainable consumption and production during the 76th session, including the 3 COPs on Climate, Desertification and Biodiversity. 

Achieving the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees target and safeguarding humanity’s future will require greater coordination than ever before on reducing Green House Gas emissions, protecting biodiversity on land and sea, restoring life to degraded land and soils, tackling pollution and achieving circular economies. 

The High Level Thematic Debate aims to contribute to this integrated approach, to support urgently achieving the level of cohesion needed among the global environmental work streams to the levels needed. 

Promoting solutions to common bottlenecks affecting the entire environmental agenda will be central to rapidly accelerate implementing the SDGs for sustainable and resilient COVID-19 recoveries. 

So, my dear friends, there is some momentum. There is recognition of the challenges. But I agree with you – we are not moving nearly fast enough. We need to accelerate our actions. We need to meet our words with action. 

 This is where you can come in. The world needs young people to keep speaking out against these challenges, raise their voice and keep up the pressure. 

Youth must assume leadership role in climate action advocacy, demanding scaled up ambitions to reduce carbon emissions, as part of transformation to address the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature and biodiversity loss, and pollution. 

The burdens of these challenges will one day fall on you, the young. We owe it to you to not only work to quickly and effectively to resolve the challenges I have spoken about, but to also equip you with the knowledge and skills you will need to one day take on our responsibilities. 

 I agree with you here again, we need to invest in you. Help you build your capacities. Support your programmes. This is the reason why I have launched a PGA Fellowship Programme for HOPE, in which 8 promising young diplomats from some of the world’s most under-represented countries can work at my Office and gain valuable multilateral experience. 

Now, to the question of how I could support you. I make a promise to you, I will continue to meet with you, as I have done since I assumed the Presidency 8 months ago. I will continue to hear you out. Hear your ideas and your views. 

I promise that I will always ensure youth participation in the events I hold. Whether it is on the environment, or peace, or migration or human rights – whatever the theme, youth voices will be heard in the General Assembly. 

I will continue to advocate for your ideas, for your issues. Please continue to share them with me. I will use every opportunity I can to support you. 

 This is my promise to you all. Thank you once again for the opportunity to hear you today.