Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly
—-
Reception co-hosted with Advisory Board on Gender Equality (to commend Permanent Missions for joining gender campaign)
19 July 2023
(Transcribed)
Thank you, Eva (Schafer).
Many, many thanks to all of you for joining this event, and support for the work done this session.
Some of you may have heard me in the General Assembly debate on the Veto Initiative this morning, I said that it would not have been my wish to convene that meeting.
On the way around, it is my greatest joy to convey this meeting and this very humble reception, for a number of reasons.
First and foremost, here in front of all of you, I would like to say thank you for 12 remarkable leaders.
Twelve leaders, women ambassadors and other women leaders in the United Nations who throughout the year, throughout my presidency, served as members of the Advisory Board on Gender Equality.
Many, many thanks to all of you.
I think all the 12 excellent leaders deserve applause and I would like to ask you to join me in thanking them.
When you listen to them in those meetings, you can understand a couple of things.
First and foremost, there is only one way, the winning way, and thank you very much for your dedication.
The second, with their help, even those missions, those diplomats, those colleagues, could very, very convincingly understand that we have a historic debt. A historic debt to be compensated. And we have a mission which is still not accomplished.
I wish that we could have gotten further this year, but I hope very much that this work will be continued.
Second reason that I have very happy to be together with you, that a couple of months ago, jointly with the Advisory Board, we announced an appeal to all membership – to all Member States and all Permanent Missions to create a safer, liable and most just and more human environment in the United Nations, in terms of respecting each and every one in terms of equality, in terms of saving everyone from any harassment and violence, particularly sexual harassment and sexual violence.
The Secretariat has produced online material with a very short course and we invited all the Missions to do the course online, and at that time, I promised that those Missions who would do it will be offered a kind of certificate of appreciation.
That will be handed over today to all 44 Missions.
A couple of weeks ago when we discussed this matter, it was announced that the deadline for doing the courses would be 30th of June. Which in some ways was a very happy moment for me, because that was my birthday. And I told then my colleagues, when the number of Missions were at the level of 24, 25, could you make me a bit of a birthday surprise, a birthday gift, can we make it 30, and it was done immediately almost within two or three days. Now I regret that I hadn’t told them that I was born on 15th of June. But I hope that next year that number may come.
Last but not least, some of you might have heard me speaking about that, one of the most inspiring discussions throughout this year that I had the pleasure to participate in was last September when seven women leaders of the world were invited in a rather freeflowing brainstorming addressing, how from a women’s perspective, women leaders’ perspective, some of the major crises in this world could be addressed and could help Member States iron out some solutions.
The most inspiring discussion.
Now the good news, and I would like to acknowledge my successor and good friend, the PGA-elect Dennis Francis, he committed himself that he would convene the same meeting of the women leaders from the world, and the central topic of the discussion will be announced very soon, will have to be ironed out in the forthcoming days.
So the mission is not accomplished.
The mission will have to go on.
We still have a lot of ground to be covered.
But I would like to thank you all, ladies and gentlemen, together, because we made progress.
You made progress.
And there is a need to do more.
My particular thanks goes to Thil, my good friend Thilmeeza [Hussain] who was a coordinator of the Gender Advisory Board.
Thank you very much indeed, Thil.
I am so much in gratitude.
Thank you.
