{"id":254261,"date":"2023-06-16T11:25:50","date_gmt":"2023-06-16T15:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/77\/?p=254261"},"modified":"2023-06-16T11:26:07","modified_gmt":"2023-06-16T15:26:07","slug":"pga-remarks-on-desertification-and-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.un.org\/pga\/77\/2023\/06\/16\/pga-remarks-on-desertification-and-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"PGA remarks on Desertification and Drought"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[et_pb_section fb_built=&#8221;1&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_row _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; background_size=&#8221;initial&#8221; background_position=&#8221;top_left&#8221; background_repeat=&#8221;repeat&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221;][et_pb_column type=&#8221;4_4&#8243; _builder_version=&#8221;4.16&#8243; custom_padding=&#8221;|||&#8221; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; custom_padding__hover=&#8221;|||&#8221;][et_pb_text _builder_version=&#8221;4.21.0&#8243; _module_preset=&#8221;default&#8221; hover_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243; global_colors_info=&#8221;{}&#8221; sticky_enabled=&#8221;0&#8243;]<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: center\"><strong><span data-ogsc=\"black\" data-ogsb=\"white\">Csaba\u00a0<em>K\u0151r\u00f6si<\/em><em>,<\/em> President of the 77<sup>th<\/sup> session of the General Assembly<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: center\"><strong><span data-ogsc=\"black\" data-ogsb=\"white\">&#8212;-<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: center\"><strong>High-level event in observance of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400;text-align: center\"><strong><span data-ogsc=\"black\" data-ogsb=\"white\">16 June 2023 <\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\" data-ogsb=\"white\">(As delivered)<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Madam Secretary-General,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mr. Executive Secretary,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Excellencies,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ladies and Gentlemen,<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">It is an honour to participate in today\u2019s High-Level Event.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">We derive much of our identity, culture, and traditions from our connections to land.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">From my mother\u2019s side, my ancestors have been farmers for centuries. That means they knew the values land offered, they respected and used the forces of nature. I learned a lot from them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Land degradation is a threat not only to our food security, livelihoods, ecosystems, and biodiversity \u2013 but to our existence as a whole.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Land degradation wipes out the wisdom that has lived beneath us for millennia, and with it \u2013 our hope for the future.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Indeed, as aptly called by the South African writer Nadine Gordimer, the desert is \u201ca place without expectation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Twenty-nine years ago, this body proclaimed 17 Juneas the Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ever since, the GA has been tackling these challenges through the deeply intertwined issues of resilience and land restoration.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">It has been a long struggle.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">And we have all understood that, to quote James Lovelock, \u201cSadly, <span data-ogsc=\"rgb(16, 16, 16)\">it&#8217;s much easier to create a desert than a forest\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Today we cast our focus on two topics that matter to us all: land, and women\u2019s equal rights to own, manage or inherit it.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Throughout my Presidency, I have strongly advocated for better integration of science and policy.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">This is especially important for planning how to tackle the climate shocks that erode our global landscape.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, what does science say about the intersection of land rights, gender empowerment and justice?<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">The data could not be clearer.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">When women farmers have access to own land, they grow more and so do their children and nations.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\" data-ogsb=\"white\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">The UN Food and Agricultural Organization finds that with women\u2019s equal access to resources, including land, agricultural yields could rise by almost a third, resulting in potentially\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/eur02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com\/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fao.org%2F3%2Fi2050e%2Fi2050e.pdf&amp;data=05%7C01%7Csteven.philip%40un.org%7C8202b524297543a70cff08db6e7805b8%7C0f9e35db544f4f60bdcc5ea416e6dc70%7C0%7C0%7C638225233994977671%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=nFeSvXCfbY6XxsDXLZueISItQ512Gu8yScq6rUCfotI%3D&amp;reserved=0\">150 million fewer hungry people<\/a>\u00a0in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Empirical research proves that strengthening women\u2019s land and property rights increases food security and reduces malnourishment.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition, when we include women equally in land management \u2013 and tap their traditional knowledge to promote sustainable land use \u2013 we not only reverse desertification, but also promote land restoration practices.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Together, these positive shifts in women\u2019s empowerment have a ripple effect on income, and children\u2019s welfare.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">So, we have the evidence to support why it is advantageous to increase women\u2019s land tenure.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">What we are lacking are the policy decisions and investments that should not only target women\u2019s individual rights, but also recognize their role in collectively managing land.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">In this field, too, we should do our best to remove the barriers to women\u2019s participation in decision-making.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\" data-ogsb=\"white\"><span data-ogsc=\"black\">The 2030 Agenda recognizes that gender-equal access to land rights is integral to the achievement of all our global goals of sustainable development. <\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">All 17 goals \u2013 from achieving gender equality, to ending poverty and hunger, and to sustaining life on land.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">This understanding of the integrated nature of both crises and solutions must have pride of place at the SDG Summit in September.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">As we mark this Desertification and Drought Day, I urge you to recognize women\u2019s contributions to the sustainable management of land and the broader achievement of our 2030 Agenda.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">And I call upon you to promote laws and policies that give us a fighting chance at leaving no one behind.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">We cannot let this foundational promise dry out.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thank you.<\/p>\n<p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Csaba\u00a0K\u0151r\u00f6si, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly &#8212;- High-level event in observance of World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought 16 June 2023 (As delivered) Madam Secretary-General, [&hellip;]<\/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":"Csaba K\u0151r\u00f6si, President of the 77th session of the General Assembly\r\n\r\n----\r\n\r\nMessage on the 75th anniversary of the World Health Organization (WHO)\r\n\r\n7 April 2023\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOn this World Health Day, I congratulate WHO on its 75th anniversary.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOver the course of its history, WHO has contributed to landmark achievements in public health, including the eradication of smallpox, the near eradication of polio and the expansion of childhood immunization, saving millions of lives.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nMore recently, WHO has played a key role in the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic and helped galvanise the most complex vaccination campaign in history. Time and again, WHO has proved that investing in science lies at the heart of reaching our objective of a healthy and prosperous future.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHowever, the pandemic has disrupted essential health services in most of the countries, shortened life expectancy, and halted progress towards universal health coverage.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nHalfway through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must redouble our efforts to achieve its goals. \r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nAs we prepare for the upcoming high-level meetings on health in the General Assembly, let us seize this opportunity to reconfirm our collective pledges and chart new pathways for a healthy and sustainable future.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\nOn this day and every day, let us commit to achieve Health for All.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-254261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statements","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - 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