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14 February 2023<\/b><\/p>\n
Thank you very much, Mr. President.<\/p>\n
Mr. Secretary-General,<\/p>\n
Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,<\/p>\n
I thank Minister Ian Borg and the Permanent Mission of Malta for holding this important debate.<\/p>\n
We are in a new era of history \u2013 one of cascading, interlocking, rapid and sweeping crises.<\/p>\n
We cannot deny that climate change is one of the greatest challenge of our generation.<\/p>\n
It was the single most raised issue by your world leaders during the High-Level Week last September.<\/p>\n
It is the single biggest galvanizer of young people marching in your streets \u2013 because our inaction is robbing them of their future.<\/p>\n
It is an issue that demands focus and coherence across the UN system.<\/p>\n
For the General Assembly, this means accelerating action on climate and water.<\/p>\n
For ECOSOC, it means addressing the social and economic aspects.<\/p>\n
And if we want to tackle it through a whole-of-UN approach, as we should, the Security Council has a role to play, too.<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
According to the ancient writer from Syria, Publilius Syrus, \u201cAnyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.\u201d<\/p>\n
But our seas are not calm today. They are rising.<\/p>\n
At the current rate, sea levels will be 1 to 1.6 meters higher by 2100, according to the World Climate Research Programme.<\/p>\n
That means that in less than 80 years from now, 250 to 400 million people will likely need new homes in new locations.<\/p>\n
You don\u2019t need me to tell you that the displacement of hundreds of millions of people is a security risk.<\/p>\n
In the Nile and Mekong Deltas \u2013 some of the richest agricultural regions in the world \u2013 10 to 20 per cent of arable land will sink beneath the waves.<\/p>\n
These and other fertile river deltas are now rice- and bread-baskets for their own countries and regions.<\/p>\n
They are also vital pieces in the complex puzzle of world nutrition to feed our growing population.<\/p>\n
Losing these areas can have knock-on effects around the globe.<\/p>\n
Climate induced sea-level rise is also provoking new legal questions that are at the very core of national and state identity.<\/p>\n
What happens to a nation\u2019s sovereignty \u2013 including UN membership \u2013 if it sinks beneath the sea? Including their voting rights, as well.<\/p>\n
There are rules about the creation of states \u2013 but none about their physical disappearance.<\/p>\n
Who cares for their displaced populations? As it has been rightly asked by the Secretary-General.<\/p>\n
Or how would even the first changes to shorelines influence maritime boundaries?<\/p>\n
And how would that effect exclusive economic zones?<\/p>\n
I welcome that the International Law Commission and the General Assembly\u2019s Sixth Committee have taken a proactive stance by considering these issues for urgent debate.<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
We know the risks, and we see the uncertainties and instabilities that we are going to face.<\/p>\n
And we can\u2019t doubt that these will open the door for conflict and dispute, endangering global peace and security.<\/p>\n
And where this door is open, this Council has a responsibility to act.<\/p>\n
It is critical to invest in prevention today, rather than address the implications of food scarcity and mass migration tomorrow.<\/p>\n
We can agree it makes sense morally and financially.<\/p>\n
And it can take many forms.<\/p>\n
We should integrate climate analysis into our planning for conflict prevention and protection efforts.<\/p>\n
And we should recognize the significance of climate action as a key tool for peacebuilding.<\/p>\n
Science and data offer impartial evidence to direct our decisions.<\/p>\n
Science tells us that whether cities or countries disappear depends on whether we as humans counteract the threat.<\/p>\n
The Paris Agreement \u2013 and its targets for mitigation, adaptation and finance \u2013 offer our primary defense against the risks.<\/p>\n
We need to collectively raise our ambitions.<\/p>\n
The General Assembly is doing its part.<\/p>\n
Just last week, we held briefings by eminent scientists on the links between climate, conflict and cooperation.<\/p>\n
I heard the urgent calls made for world leaders to take a whole-of-Government, whole-of-society approach to these issues.<\/p>\n
We have the data. We have the frameworks. What is needed now \u2013 as ever \u2013 is the political will to act.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe need bold actions, not unfulfilled promises,\u201d as President Ramkalawan of Seychelles put it in September.<\/p>\n
Excellencies,<\/p>\n
Many of you at this table will remember 2012, when Hurricane Sandy forced UN Headquarter in New York to close for an unprecedented three straight days.<\/p>\n
Storm surge from the East River came over FDR Drive and rushed into the lower levels of the UN.<\/p>\n
There were fish swimming in the basement next to the UN servers.<\/p>\n
In the aftermath, the UN faced sharp criticism over the silence and lack of preparedness.<\/p>\n
More than a decade later, I turn the question to you today: Are you prepared? Are we prepared?<\/p>\n
Have you done your part to uphold the collective responsibility to manage climate-related security risks?<\/p>\n
Have you learned the lessons of prevention? Have we learned the lessons of prevention?<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading,\u201d as Lao Tzu wisely observed hundreds of years ago.<\/p>\n
Climate emergencies open new windows for cooperation and inclusion.<\/p>\n
So let us strengthen our partnerships.<\/p>\n
Let us encourage local expertise to guide our resolve.<\/p>\n
We have enough crises on our plate. Our agendas are packed, and they are expanding.<\/p>\n
It is our time to transform.<\/p>\n
I will work to support Member States to ensure that the General Assembly plays its part in that.<\/p>\n
I implore the Council to assume its role in this collective effort.<\/p>\n
If not, I fear the PGA in 2100 or even in 2050 will represent fewer than 193 UN Member States.<\/p>\n
I thank you.<\/p>\n
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14 February 2023 Thank you very much, Mr. President. Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, I thank Minister Ian Borg and the Permanent Mission of Malta for holding this important debate. […]<\/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":"
10 November 2022<\/strong><\/b><\/p>\r\n Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is in crisis. It is in many crises.<\/p>\r\n It has been 15 months since the Taliban consolidated control over the country.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Its economy is in ruins. The humanitarian situation is disastrous.<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Two-thirds of the population is hungry.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Girls and women are banned from learning, having a job or getting proper medical care.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n The country is awash with heroin and opium.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Organized crime and terrorist organizations are thriving once again.<\/span><\/p>\r\n Afghanistan is facing complex and interlinked challenges that the Taliban have shown they cannot \u2013 or would not \u2013 solve.<\/u><\/span><\/p>\r\n It is time to support the Afghan people with concrete solutions that place their needs front and center.<\/p>\r\n It is true that some problems will require some time to resolve.<\/p>\r\n But there are actions the Assembly can take to change the paradigm now.<\/p>\r\n I would like you to consider one solution through solidarity.<\/p>\r\n The UN humanitarian appeal for Afghanistan \u2013 which requires $4.4 billion US dollars \u2013 is only half funded.<\/p>\r\n With winter weather just weeks away, I encourage Member States to provide urgent support to help reduce the $2.3 billion dollar shortfall.<\/p>\r\n Let\u2019s remind ourselves of the old saying from Afghanistan: \u201cA real friend is one who takes the hand of his friend in times of distress and helplessness.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n Afghanistan has a rich history of scientific achievement.<\/p>\r\n I encourage the country\u2019s reengagement with the international science community.<\/p>\r\n And\u00a0to allow women who used to be respected members of the country\u2019s science community to resume their research and their studies.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\r\n \u00a0<\/span>Afghanistan is now the only state in the world that would deny girls their full right to education.<\/p>\r\n The prospect of girls\u2019 education has been left to uncertainty amid seemingly random edicts from the Taliban.<\/p>\r\n This time last year, Fawzia Koofi, the first woman Deputy Speaker of the Afghan Parliament, recalled her dream of one day addressing the UN as the President of Afghanistan.<\/p>\r\n She said:\u00a0\u201cWith me, millions of girls and women in Afghanistan had this dream that now they think will never come true.\u201d<\/p>\r\n Dreams of becoming President have been replaced by the reality of child marriage. Arrests if women and girls leave their home without a male chaperone.<\/p>\r\n I reiterate my call for the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of all Afghans, especially women and girls.<\/p>\r\n Similarly, I urge the Taliban to ensure the safety of all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnic background, religious belief or political affiliation.<\/p>\r\n To protect journalists and civil society members.<\/p>\r\n To allow unhindered humanitarian aid, and to cooperate with humanitarian workers.<\/p>\r\n We expect the Taliban to make good on the commitments they made to the international community.\u00a0To show honesty through\u00a0concrete action.<\/p>\r\n Excellencies,<\/p>\r\n The dramatic changes of 2021 have taken a massive toll on Afghanistan\u2019s economy and profoundly widened many security risks.<\/p>\r\n