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17 June 2022<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Excellencies, colleagues, friends,<\/p>\n First, I would like to thank the United Nations Country Team at the Dominican Republic, and the representatives here from Environment and Disaster Risk Reduction Organizations, for organizing this event.<\/p>\n It is my pleasure to be here. Let me introduce myself. My name is Abdulla Shahid, and I serve as the President of the 76th Session of the General Assembly.<\/p>\n I am delighted to not only be here at the Dominican Republic, but to get this opportunity to interact with all of you, especially on youth, gender, and environmental sustainability, topics that are very dear to my heart and central to my Presidency.<\/p>\n My friends,<\/p>\n I want to keep my remarks brief, because I want to devote more time to listening.<\/p>\n In the several countries that I have travelled to, whenever I interact with civil society, and with youth and women, the common theme that they reiterate to me, is that they are eager to be heard. To be able to raise their concerns, speak their minds, and to let policymakers know what their priorities and expectations are.<\/p>\n I find that young people everywhere have a keen understanding of the challenges we face. Whether it is poverty, climate change, peace and security or humanitarian crises, they are eager to engage with the decision makers and be part of the solution. For its their future that is at stake.<\/p>\n That is why I have made youth a key priority of my presidency.<\/p>\n Its also the reason why I launched the \u2018PGAs Fellowship for Hope\u2019 programme, under which 8 young diplomats from underrepresented countries are currently working in my Office to understand the workings of the multilateral system.<\/p>\n My friends,<\/p>\n Similar to youth, it is not enough to merely affirm and articulate the challenges faced by women, we have a responsibility to resolve them through a gender perspective. We need to level the playing field and remove the barriers that stand in the way of their aspirations. To shape policies and implement actions that will end domestic violence, break glass-ceilings, institutionalize equal pay, and address all the other ills stemming from gender-inequality.<\/p>\n Decisions that involve women must be made with women\u2019s involvement guided by their leadership, and experience.<\/p>\n That is precisely why I refuse to participate in any panel that is not gender balanced, and why I urge my team to approach all issues from a gender perspective.<\/p>\n It is also why I have a Special Advisor to guide me on Gender-related matters, and heed to the advice of the board of gender advisors that I reconstituted early on in the session.<\/p>\n My friends,<\/p>\n On protecting our planet, again, while we must continue our advocacy and increase momentum globally on climate action, we also have a responsibility to listen to voices on the ground.<\/p>\n Many of you here today know first-hand that climate change is not an abstract threat looming in the distance.<\/p>\n There has been a staggering surge in the number of extreme weather events over the past 20 years, driven largely by rising global temperatures and other climatic changes<\/p>\n As we endeavour to take steps to reverse, mitigate, and adapt to the consequences of climate change and environmental-degradation, we need to be guided by the experiences and expertise of local communities.<\/p>\n We need to listen to you, to be able to tailor specific policies, to learn from your practices and to be inspired by your innovation.<\/p>\n My friends,<\/p>\n That is why I am here today. To listen and to learn.<\/p>\n I am keen to engage with all of you.<\/p>\n I am happy to speak with regard to my own experiences as someone from an Island nation and my priorities, but I more importantly, I want to hear from you.<\/p>\n About your expectations from multilateral institutions.<\/p>\n On what your solutions are to the climate crisis.<\/p>\n On what you think are the major challenges faced by women and youth.<\/p>\n On how we can achieve a brighter, sustainable, and resilient future.<\/p>\n In that spirit, I end my remarks.<\/p>\n I thank you, and I look forward to our discussions.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":361,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Excellencies, colleagues,<\/p> I welcome you all to our second meeting and our first interaction following the resumed part of the session.<\/p> Before I begin, I would like to recognize the loss of our dear friend and esteemed colleague, Ms. Gail Farngalo.<\/p> A Liberian national, Gail was my Team Leader for Human Rights and was active on gender during both the 75th<\/sup> and 76th<\/sup> sessions. She leaves behind a legacy of achievements and a groundswell of respect and affection from across the UN and diplomatic communities. Her presence is certainly felt here today.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> When I took on this Presidency of Hope, I pledged to make gender equality a priority area for the 76th<\/sup> session. I continue to look to the board for its wisdom and expertise, as I endeavour to fulfil that pledge.<\/p> In this regard, I have already benefited from the board\u2019s advice, from when we met on October 28th<\/sup> last year.<\/p> Acting on that advice, I committed to ensuring that all my five rays of hope, and all my major initiatives, are approached with a gender lens.<\/p> I made sure that the composition of my office is gender-balanced.<\/p> I have committed to participating only in panels that have equal gender representation.<\/p> Throughout my official interactions and travels, I have endeavoured to meet with women, including heads of states and governments, scientists, civil society representatives, and youth.<\/p> And I am proud to inform you that five young women have been recruited into the Fellowship for HOPE<\/em> that my office recently launched. The Fellowship as you are well aware is targeted at benefiting young diplomats from underrepresented countries, pursuing careers in diplomacy or public service.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> While recognizing that we have a long way to go in the battle for gender-equality, I am proud of what my team has been able to accomplish within the past few months.<\/p> Our work continues.<\/p> We will continue to raise our voices on issues disproportionately impacting women, such as domestic violence and work place harassment. We will continue to push the importance of gender-equal work spaces.<\/p> And we will continue to find new paths to empower young women with ambitious professional aspirations.<\/p> Now is not the time to rest on our laurels.<\/p> With the board\u2019s guidance and support, we must use the many opportunities over the coming months to further empower women and girls, and dismantle discriminatory practices against them.<\/p> There are several upcoming events that will provide us such opportunities. I look forward to the board\u2019s suggestions on how we can best utilize them.<\/p> As an example, the International Day of Women and Girls in science is fast approaching. We must recognize that women\u2019s contributions in science and technology have helped us cure diseases; discover new horizons in space; and develop technologies that have vastly improved our quality of life.<\/p> As we celebrate their achievements, we must also open pathways for young girls who aspire to follow in the footsteps of pioneers in science and technology.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Let us also reflect that the theme chosen by the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women for this year is on \u201cachieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in the context of climate change, environmental and disaster risk reduction policies and programmes\u201d.<\/p> As we strive to meet our obligations to the planet, let us recognize the important work done by women and girls at the forefront of the climate crisis, and whose humanitarian work in disaster-stricken areas has helped save lives and rebuild communities. We owe it to them to not only celebrate their work but to support them.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> Our programme of work for the months ahead has been circulated to members prior to the meeting, for consideration and feedback. Please note that the events we have planned are not exhaustive. I welcome further suggestions from the board on the content and format of future events and activities.<\/p> Colleagues,<\/p> We have made much progress within a short while. And with the board\u2019s support and guidance, I am sure that we can keep up this strong momentum.<\/p> I look forward to working alongside all of you to achieve our vision of a gender-equal world.<\/p> Thank you.<\/p>","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[550,556,553],"committee-meeting":[],"class_list":["post-267887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","tag-ga","tag-pga","tag-shahid","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\n