UN role and reform

Mr. President, thank you very much for your engagement and support. I also thank Ambassador Haley for her leadership, her partnership and her commitment. And I am very grateful to all the leaders here today. Someone recently asked what keeps me up at night. 

My answer was simple: bureaucracy.

Fragmented structures. Byzantine procedures. Endless red tape. 

I am very happy to see so many youth, so many young people here at the United Nations. I think the United Nations has not been able until now to truly reengage with young generations. We have a number of rituals and ways of doing things that sometimes makes it difficult for us to engage with young people and for young people to understand what United Nations is about and what we are really doing here.
 

Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
 
Let me begin by once again congratulating our new President of the General Assembly Miroslav Lajčák.
 
He and I have had good discussions in recent months about our shared hopes for this session.
 
I have no doubt the Assembly is in very capable hands.
 

Ladies and gentlemen of the media. Thank you very much for your presence. It’s good to meet all of you once again.

We have a very busy week ahead. Global leaders will gather here next week at a time when our world faces major threats – from the nuclear peril to global terrorism, from inequality to cybercrime. Hurricanes and floods around the world remind us that extreme weather events are expected to become more frequent and severe, due to climate change.

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
 
This annual observance honours and celebrates the life and achievements of Dag Hammarskjöld.
 
I am glad that we continue to persist in trying to shed light on the circumstances of his death.
 
We owe him a great debt.
 
Dag Hammarskjöld not only believed in the United Nations, he inspired so many others to believe in it, too.
 
We need that spirit more than ever today.
 

Mr. President,
Excellencies,
 
Let me begin with a warm and heartfelt thank you to President of the 71st session of the General Assembly Peter Thompson.
 
Thank you for your vision.  Thank you for your energy.  Thank you for your unmistakable assertive voice that may have given some of us flashbacks to our grammar school principals! 
 
But most of all thank you for helping to steer the Member States to a solid record of achievement over the past year.
 
Day in and day out, you brought us together.
 

Thank you, Ms. Bibi Sherifa Khan, President of the United Nations Staff Union.
 
It is a pleasure to join you for Staff Day.
 
This is a day to recognize the remarkable staff who bring the United Nations to life around the world and around the clock.
 
Today we celebrate also our ideals: Peace.  Sustainable development.  Human Rights.  Solidarity.  And compassion.
 
It is also a day to celebrate the skills, commitments and talent that UN staff demonstrate in so many ways, and on so many challenges. 
 

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
 
It is an honour to be with you to celebrate Nelson Mandela International Day, marking what would have been the 99th birthday of an extraordinary global advocate for justice and equality.