Ladies and Gentlemen of UNCA (United Nations Correspondents Association), good afternoon. 

It is a great pleasure to be with you today as we are getting ready to welcome world leaders for the opening of the 71st session of the General Assembly. I know that you are also very much excited for the General Assembly.

This year’s high-level week at the United Nations comes at a critical time.

We will seek progress in resolving protracted conflicts and rising tensions in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.  We will strive to continue the momentum towards implementing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals which is our plan of action for peace and prosperity on a healthy planet.  We will highlight emerging issues as well as situations that demand more attention.

But amid the whirlwind, three challenges stand out.

First, the international community must come together in a spirit of shared responsibility for the world’s refugees and migrants.  

More countries must re-settle more people who have been forced from their homes.  More countries must recognize the benefits of migration.  And everyone, everywhere, must stand up against the animosity that so many refugees, migrants and minority communities face.

The Declaration to be adopted at next Monday’s Summit on Refugees and Migrants marks a major step forward.  We will also welcome the International Organization for Migration – IOM - into the United Nations family.  And we will launch a global campaign to fight xenophobia.  The refugee and migration challenge is one we can, and must, tackle together.

Second, climate change.  I am using every opportunity to push for the early entry into force of the Paris Agreement before the end of this year.

Last week, the world’s two largest emitters, China and the United States, joined the Agreement.  This was a major step forward.  

Now we need just 28 [more] countries, representing 16 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, to cross the necessary threshold.  One week from today, on September 21st, as you are well aware, I will host a special summit event at which countries can deposit their ratification instruments with me, as required by the Paris Agreement.  I urge all countries to show the world their commitment without delay.

Third, while many conflicts are causing enormous pain, none is causing so much death, destruction and widespread instability as the worsening war in Syria.  

I welcome the reinstatement of the Cessation of Hostilities following the understanding reached between the Russian Federation and the United States. The United Nations is positioned to utilize this crucial opportunity to immediately deliver vital humanitarian assistance to Aleppo and other besieged and hard-to-reach locations throughout Syria. 

It is essential that intra-Syrian negotiations resume so that Syria’s long-suffering people feel a real change in their daily lives.  Major countries with influence have a duty to use their influence and seize this latest opportunity to pursue a political solution to end this catastrophic conflict.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I would like to announce two official visits that I will undertake in the coming days.

On Saturday, September 17, I will travel to Montreal to join Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada and others at the fifth Replenishment Conference for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.  I call on all donors to be generous and enable the Fund to continue its outstanding work.

On September 26, I will visit Cartagena, Colombia, for the signing of the historic peace agreement between the Government of Colombia and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People’s Army to end the decades-long conflict.  The United Nations will be there to help implement the agreement, and will give the people of Colombia our full support as they chart a new path for the country.  This achievement shows what is possible through patient and painstaking diplomacy.  I hope other parties to conflicts around the world will take inspiration and action to stop needless bloodshed.

Finally, let me say that I am keenly aware that this year’s high-level week will be my last time as Secretary-General.  It has been a decade of progress and setback alike.  The adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and the establishment of UN Women, have been among the high points.  The inability to resolve several protracted conflicts has been a source of tremendous pain.  On a more personal level, I am saddened that soon I will no longer serve side-by-side with the dedicated staff of the United Nations.  I will even miss the hotseat in this room!

At the same time, I intend to make the most of every minute of the months ahead, right through the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve.  I am sure there will be opportunities to reflect on the past decade with you.  But in the time still left to me, I am focused entirely on the work at hand and on what I know can be achieved by Member States, civil society, the private sector and others working in partnership to serve the Charter’s “we the peoples”.

Thank you for your attention.