Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
21 June 2022
H.E. Michal Mlynár, Permanent Representative of Slovakia to the United Nations,
H.E. Collen Vixen Kelapile, President of ECOSOC and Permanent Representative of Botswana to the United Nations,
Ms. Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Executive Director of UN-Habitat,
Excellencies,
Dear Colleagues,
I am honoured to join you for this inaugural meeting of the Group of Friends of UN-Habitat, Sustainable Urbanization and the New Urban Agenda.
I would like to thank the co-chairs of the Group of Friends, Botswana and Slovakia, as well as UN Habitat, for creating this group and for helping to advance this pivotal work.
I also take this opportunity to recognize the co-chairs and members of my Advisory Committee for Sustainable Urbanization. The Advisory Committee has provided invaluable support to me throughout the 76th session, particularly in preparing for the high-level meeting on April 28th.
Dear friends,
We are here today because we understand that the New Urban Agenda has yet to receive the attention it deserves… the attention that it requires.
In a world that is increasingly and dramatically urban, we need to be guided by the New Urban Agenda.
This is particularly important considering the impact cities and urbanization have on our other multilateral agendas and issues, from the SDGs to the Paris climate agreement, to disaster risk reduction to peace.
While cities take up only 2% of land, they consume 60% of energy, release 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, and produce 70% of global waste.
Up to 65% of SDG targets depend on action in cities.
Indeed, a truly sustainable planet is impossible without the full engagement of cities.
The New Urban Agenda is the best tool we have to manage all the risks and opportunities for our smart, vibrant and growing cities. It can serve as an urgent driver of economic and social transformation, and help to build the resilient future we want, and overcome the emerging challenges we face.
My friends,
The high-level meeting on assessing progress of the New Urban Agenda was an important step to gauge where we are.
It is my hope that this Group of Friends can serve as an important platform to take forward the action plans and address the challenges identified.
Because our efforts must be just that – actionable, deliverable efforts.
We must not fall into the familiar ‘Conference Trap’ and deliberate our way into circles. Each of our convenings, whether in the General Assembly or here in this conference room, must lead to strategic advocacy, partnership formation, and the expansion of capacity building initiatives.
They must also involve greater cooperation, knowledge-sharing, and capacity support between national and local governments, and between mayors and cities.
We must work together to mobilize the millions of urban professionals who are keen to join our efforts. This includes architects, engineers, and urban planners. And we need to mobilize millions of new advocates for the New Urban Agenda.
In this regard, it is my hope that the Information Note I have requested UN-Habitat to prepare on the occasion of the High-level meeting will support efforts to make the Agenda widely accessible. Specifically, it can help Member States and stakeholders identify avenues of support and highlight the knowledge and resources that are available.
This newly established Group of Friends of UN-Habitat, Sustainable Urbanization and the New Urban Agenda will play a key role in this.
It can help to mobilize support for strengthening UN-Habitat with adequate resources and capacities, ensuring it is fit for purpose.
And it can bolster greater coordination and synergies between New York, Nairobi, and Geneva so that we are all rowing in the same direction.
Excellencies, I pledge my support to the Group of Friends’ aims and welcome their suggestions on how we could collaborate during the remainder of this session to accelerate action.
I thank you.
