51ÁÔÆæ

??Remarks of the President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Dennis Francis,

Closing Ceremony of the National Model United Nations,

28 March 2024

[As Delivered]

Wow.?

One of the things that I am seeing, that so delights me, is the number of female delegates sitting out there.

And I¡¯ll just take pause to explain why it delights me so much. Because the reality is that it is not the case.

The fact is, women are woefully underrepresented within the ranks of the diplomats in New York. Out of 193 Ambassadors and Permanent Representatives, only 22 are women.

So we have some work to do. Some catching up to do. And I¡¯d like to take this opportunity to encourage, to motivate you young ladies to consider a career in diplomacy. You can find it a most fulfilling and challenging career.

But let¡¯s start from first principles. The first thing a good diplomat does, always, is to be polite.

So I will start off by being polite. By apologizing for my delayed arrival.? I am in fact coming from another meeting over which my presence was required.

Despite AI we cannot be in two places at the same time. Although sometimes it is necessary to be conducting two activities, almost concurrently.

I am really delighted, Mr Executive Director Michael Eaton, and my young friends to welcome you all to this great hall of the people of the universe.

This is your parliament. This is your Congress. We make decisions here that impact your lives and that will continue to impact your lives well into the future.

And so you must take an interest in what takes place here. Because it will shape, it will determine, and it will impact, the kind of world that you will live in 15, 20, 30, – maybe 40 years from now.

And we don¡¯t pretend that we have all the answers. We¡¯re not that arrogant. We know that we need to engage you. We need your ideas, your fresh ideas, your enthusiasm, your energy, your aspirations, your hopes, your dreams to make it work.

Because the United Nations is an organization about people.

Many of you might not have understood it in those terms. You might think that the UN is about war and peace. And it is war and peace.

But it is about war primarily because war is destructive of the human spirit and of humanity.

Besides war and peace, the UN has a focus on two other primary pillars.

• Sustainable development: that which makes peoples lives better by improving their standard of living and their sense of well-being.
• And also to promote human rights: which is to treat everyone regardless of their differences, fairly justly, and honorably.

Because in the final analysis, we are much more similar than we are different. We all have a double helix in our DNA. We all experience joy, sadness, fear, frustration.

And those rights, those human rights are inborn. No one can give them to you. They are a gift from your maker. And cannot be separated from you. Ought not to be separated from you.

So the UN has 3 pillars. Peace and Security, Human Rights, and Social and Economic Development. And they are all equally important. Though perhaps at this moment in history, peace and security tops the bill. You know why, I don¡¯t need to explain it. We see it every day on television.

So having made that introduction, let me now turn to my text.?? ??

It is a great pleasure to address this gathering of bright young minds. Globalists. That¡¯s you. You¡¯re globalists.

You see the world more than yourself and the nations you represent. You understand that we live, almost quite literally, in a global village. That what you do affects and impacts other people. Climate change. Covid-19. Global Food Security. Biodiversity Loss. Matters of International Shipping and International Trade.

We are convening at a moment of uncertainty.

 

One where the world finds itself being tugged in two opposite, or opposing, directions.

On one hand, we stand at the precipice of a new era marked by a dizzying pace of technological advancement and innovation.

 

Just as the printing press and the Industrial Revolution heralded new epochs in human history, today’s breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, communication, and mind-reality interfaces are propelling us toward uncharted territories that were unimaginable even a decade ago.

 

Our economies, our societies, our politics ¨C and even how we are accustomed to conduct our diplomacy ¨C are on the brink of being transformed forever.

 

 

On the other hand, we are experiencing a resurgence of the more troubling patterns of human history.

From Kiev to Gaza, from Juba to Port-au-Prince, we are witness to heart-wrenching scenes of cities leveled, communities annihilated, families torn, and loved ones lost forever in a raging inferno of cruelty and death.

 

And we face the alarming prospect of replicating the catastrophe of the early twentieth century in the early twenty-first century.

 

We, therefore, stand at a crossroads ¨C confronted with critical choices.

 

Will we embrace the future with its abundant promise and potential ¨C or will we remain entrenched in the tragic cycles of our past?

 

Shall we adapt our global institutions to the demands of a changing world ¨C or will we allow them to stagnate and become obsolete?

 

Do we intensify our efforts to uphold global peace and address existential threats like climate change ¨C or do we forsake our commitments to future generations?

 

The choices we must make, are quite clear.?

Dear Friends,

The one constant that must remain throughout our efforts ¨C and the one lodestar that should continue to guide us ¨C is an abiding faith in multilateralism. That¡¯s the job you have now. Where you are sitting representing the 193 member states of the world.

It¡¯s a big word with a simple meaning. ¡®Multi¡¯ meaning one. ¡®Lateral¡¯ means line ¨C several lines. So here at the UN we are discussing several issues at the same time. That¡¯s all it means ¨C multilateralism.

But it¡¯s much more than that. It¡¯s the coming together of countries with different interests. Sometimes with different politics. To make common cause. To find common ground in order to solve complex global problems, that cannot be solved even by the biggest, most powerful, most wealthy country, acting on its own.

To get a credible solution that lasts, requires the support, and the engagement, and the creativity, of all members of the international community.

For despite its imperfections ¨C and the prevailing pressures and stressors ¨C the multilateral system remains our best hope for a better and prosperous future.

 

Recall the grim realities of the world order that led to the cataclysms of the last century.

We¡¯re talking about world wars one and two, where so many people died, and where there was such carnage and suffering.

 

A world order marked by wars of aggression, territorial conquest, and colonialism.

 

One that culminated in the industrial scale slaughter of millions of people and almost left human civilization in irreparable ruin. I¡¯ll ask you a question and I want you to answer. Do you want to go there now?

Why not? It¡¯s mad. It¡¯s as simple as that. It¡¯s mad. It will rob you of your potential. To do the things that we all do. To hope. To dream. To be fulfilled. To be the astronaut you want to be. Or to be the nuclear physicist you want to be. ?

 

It was the multilateral order and the United Nations that helped us rebuild from the ashes ¨C and ushered in improved mechanisms needed to address existing and emerging challenges.

 

Yes, much of those institutions and mechanisms need to be updated.

The apparatus of 1945 falls short of meeting today¡¯s complex challenges ¨C and will prove even less adequate for the challenges of 2030, let alone 2050.

 

A prime example is the Security Council, which in recent years is struggling to adequately discharge its primary under the UN Charter for peace and security ¨C because of the misuse of the veto power that has stalled its efforts for collective action.

You know what the veto is?

Do you like it?

You think we can do better? Will you do better?

That¡¯s what I like to hear.

Yet, despite specific shortcomings, the quintessential truth underlying multilateralism ¨C that common challenges require collective solutions ¨C remains intact.

 

Today’s challenges are vast and transcend borders.

 

No nation can single-handedly eradicate global poverty.

 

No single nation or country can alone halt climate change, reverse global warming, or prevent the rising of sea levels.

 

No nation can independently halt or tackle the next global pandemic.

And no nation ¨C big or small ¨C can solely end all conflicts and maintain an increasingly fragile global peace.

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It is not enough to pay lip service to multilateralism.

 

We must take concrete steps to revitalize it ¨C so that it is fit for purpose, able to secure peace, and can accelerate our lagging efforts to achieve all ¨C I repeat?all?the Sustainable Development Goals.

 

As President of the General Assembly, I am determined to contribute to this effort.

Will you help me? Yes. Great. So now we have a partnership.

 

To that end, in April, I will be hosting the inaugural?Sustainability Week.

Leveraging the convening power of the General Assembly, I have consolidated several high-level events on sustainability into this single Week of back-to-back activities, hoping to supercharge efforts on sustainability around 5 critical themes:?sustainable tourism, transport, infrastructure, energy, and?debt.

Not death. Debt.

You know when you go to the bank, you take a loan, and then the bank can¡¯t find you to pay it back. That¡¯s a debt. ?All debts have to be repaid on time and on schedhule. Otherwise the interest rates go up.

Well countries have debt. Most countries have debt. When your politicians in congress talk about national debt, that¡¯s what they are talking about.

 

My hope is that this week will accelerate momentum in the lead up to the?Summit of the Future, which will be this year.

During my Presidency I have also committed to prioritize addressing the challenges faced by countries in special situations ¨C that is, the Least Developed Countries, the Landlocked Developing Countries, and the Small Island Developing States ¨C the so called SIDS.

And let me explain to you why I have decided to focus on those countries. Because they are the poorest of the poor. And because we live in a world of plenty.

No one is disparaging that. Plenty is good. Particularly when you work for it, when you invest. You invest in order to make money. Businesses exist to make profit. That¡¯s a good thing. For a number of reasons. They employ people.? They give us a sense of meaning and purpose in our lives. They help us to grow in our ambition. They help societies 51ÁÔÆæ. Some of them create technologies that improve our lives.

But in a world of plenty today we still have almost a billion people living in abject poverty and homelessness. Hungry. Nothing to eat.

Sometimes living on less than two US dollars per day, what you might spend on fries at McDonalds or Burge Kings.

They have to live – families sometimes have to live – on less than two dollars a day.

So these countries, these Least Development Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States ¨C those are the parts of the world where you encounter the worst forms of poverty.???

And Poverty – I¡¯d like you to remember this. Poverty is not a choice. No one chooses to be poor. If it were a choice it would not exist. Poverty is a consequence of a series of circumstances.

 

People who are poor, it¡¯s not just that they do not have money, they have no access to education, they have no access to health, they cannot send their children to school or to church. They can¡¯t do the everyday things that you and I do for granted. Because they are left out and locked out out of the system. They cannot find employment.

 

In some parts of the world, even though they might meet the basic qualification to enter the job market, they are refused employment, simply because of the accident of their birth in a particular location. No one would give them a chance. Poverty is not a choice. It is an imposition.

 

The upcoming?Fourth International SIDS Conference in Antigua and Barbuda in April?and the?Third UN Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in Rwanda in June?offer us yet other opportunity to get things right ¨C to ensure that no country is left behind.

You would know that leaving no one behind is a buzzword of the United Nations.

Because if sustainable development is to have meaning, then we need to lift people across the world regardless of where they are, to give them hope. To give them a sense that they can live better lives. More fulfilling lives. Lives of dignity and satisfaction.

 

I continue to avail every opportunity to highlight issues particularly pressing for small nations ¨C such as the existential threat posed by the climate crisis, and the burden of crippling debt that forces countries to divert resources from essential areas of investment.

The SDGs are lagging behind. You remember earlier that we had talked about debt. And I had told you that debt has to be repaid. To a significant degree the SDGs are lagging behind because these poor countries, after they have paid off the interest on their debt, they have very little money left to invest in education, in housing, in health and in reducing poverty.

What this means is that they have to make a choice. You either pay the debt or you take the money you would pay the debt with and you put it in education.

But they cannot?not?pay off their debts. They must pay the debt. What suffers therefore is promoting sustainable development in their own countries.

And so it becomes a vicious cycle of poverty. They are trapped. They cannot get out of this trap of having to pay the debt ¨C but in paying the debt, not being able to look after, and to improve the standard of well-being and welfare of their people.??

 

Relatedly, this is why I continue my advocacy for the operationalization of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index ¨C the so called MVI. Now I realize that I am using some technical terms here. My advice to you is to get a piece of paper, write them down, and when you have some time, research them. Then you¡¯ll be about to use it.

One of the great things about knowledge is that once you have it, it doesn¡¯t go away.

The multidimensional index is an index that recognizes that traditional economic indicators like GDP per capita, fail to reflect the exogenous factors and shocks that these countries are subjected to, and their vulnerabilities.

 

And I continue to echo calls for reform of the Security Council to make it more representative of the wider membership and more effectively able to fulfil its mandate on peace and security. ?

 

Distinguished Participants,

 

Strengthening multilateralism is a full-scale effort that must enlist all of humanity.

 

We cannot meet our objectives by turning a blind eye to pervasive gender-based discrimination or by neglecting our youth.

Demanding a better world is not enough. You have to work for it. You have to believe it, in your heart. You have to believe it is worthy of your effort, and it is.

 

Because when you work for it, you are no longer victims of it. You can make it do what you need it to do.

 

You can take a very positive attitude and help to shape it in a way that will work for the majority of people, not a few. That¡¯s why the UN talks all the time about inclusion.

Because it has to work well. Not necessarily in the same way, but it has to work well. It has to create opportunity. It has to open doors. It has to make people everywhere feel safe and secure, so that everybody benefits.

Because when some benefit and some don¡¯t, that system is simply not sustainable. And when some don¡¯t, inevitably, conflicts will arise. And conflicts have a way of escalating into wars. And we know the consequences of wars.

So you see how it is all linked?

We cannot meet our objectives by turning a blind eye to pervasive gender-based discrimination or by neglecting?our?¨C notice I did not say?the – our?youth.

That¡¯s you. You belong to us. It matters not what you look like, the colour of your hair. You belong to us. We have a responsibility and a duty to you, to make you and keep you safe. To inspire you. To nurture you, so that you can be the best that you can be.

So that you are empowered to create the world that you want. A world of justice, equality, non-discrimination, respecting human rights and human dignity, and where the sky is the limit in terms of your personal achievement.

 

Let¡¯s talk a little about gender. Because I¡¯m going to share some statistics with you that will shock you.

The first comment I made upon entering the room was the fact that there were so many young women in the audience, and I told you why.

Because unfortunately, unhappily, we live in a world, where women are systematically discriminated against. It must stop. It?has?to stop.

We cannot be planning a future in the 21^st?century based on the social notions and perceptions of the 1940s. We cannot have development that does not permit women to contribute as fulsomely as they have the capacity to, simply because they are women.

And because of some contorted notion in the minds of guys that women are inferior. Guys, I have news for you. They¡¯re?not?inferior.? They are your equals. They are your partners. They are your future wives. I can say this with relish. I married my high school sweetheart.

We men have a duty to honour and respect them. Not to subject them to physical and psychological abuse. Not to violate their bodies under any circumstances. And to not allow other men to do it.? ??

So as President of the General Assembly, I continue to work closely with my Special Advisor on the issue of gender equality and women¡¯s empowerment to ensure that gender issues are mainstreamed into the work of the General Assembly.

Let me share some interesting information with you. If we continue with the current trajectory that we¡¯re on, where women are by and large regarded as a convenience ¨C or perhaps as tokens ¨C it will take 265 years for women to catch up with men in terms of their rights.

Do you want to wait 265 years?

Your mothers, and grandmothers and great grandmothers have waited hundreds and hundreds of years, so why can¡¯t you?

Because you don¡¯t want to. And you¡¯re right. Because it¡¯s your right. Women¡¯s rights are human rights!

I read a statistic recently. We men tend to like numbers. Women like numbers too. In fact, I think they are better at it than we are.

But men like to speak of value in terms of dollars and cents. And I read a statistic lately that indicated that if we were to engage women meaningfully to allow them to contribute unimpeded in the boardroom, in the classroom, in?every?room ¨C that fact alone would add 26 trillion dollars to the economy.

How can you therefore justify treating women as inferior beings. Why should we accept in 2024 that a male engineer or architect or dentist or pilot should receive 20 percent more pay on average compared to a woman who is equally qualified to those guys.

Why is that acceptable? Is it acceptable? Don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯m not paying you that! Tell it to the system. Because your intellectual property is yours. And it has the same value as those male pilots and accountants and engineers and architects.

The continued lack of women in decision making and leadership spaces is unacceptable as is the statistic that I shared with you earlier about waiting 265 years.??

 

Regarding youth engagement, I remain steadfast in my belief that it is crucial for young individuals like yourselves to remain actively involved in multilateral efforts ¨C a conviction which informed my decision to continue the PGA’s Fellowship Programme for the third consecutive year within my office.

And when I say for you to remain engaged with the multilateral system, that engagement can take many forms. I will not ask you, because I know how important it is for you, not to be on your cell phones and to see what¡¯s going on in social media.

 

But you will not get the news ¨C the news you can trust ¨C what is really going on, in social media. When you¡¯re in the house and the evening news comes on, pay attention. Because the news will report the facts as they are, sometimes with a little twinge, but they will report the facts.

You will get a sense of what is taking place in the world. You can get much of it off social media but you have to sift it because there is a lot of misinformation and disinformation deliberately placed on social media to confuse and to misguide you. So you have to learn to sift. As good as social media is for connecting us, it also implies some dangers, in terms of what you can believe and what you cannot believe.

So go to the original sources. Look at the news. Go on to UN Web TV and see what¡¯s going on in a debate on climate change. Become involved in helping us make the decisions that are right for you and the world that you want to create. ??

I am very encouraged by the many of you participating in Model United Nations ¨C which incidentally, I did too, at your age.

And I¡¯ll be very honest with you, at that time I had no idea whatsoever, that I would end up this profession, let alone become President of the General Assembly. So it¡¯s doable. And you can do it too.

Your involvement signifies the youth’s continued trust in multilateralism and your willingness to engage with it.

?

Ultimately, it is you, the younger generations, that will reap the rewards or bear the burdens of our current efforts.

 

The world we are shaping will be the one you inherit, for better or for worse. I desperately hope that it is for the better. But be on your guard. Because there are those out there who would like to see it evolve for the worst.

 

Hence, it is not only my generation’s duty to leave behind a positive legacy ¨C but also a moral obligation to engage your generation in shaping and sculpting this future, while instilling in you a stronger respect for the values underpinning this great organization.

The values of equality. The values of cooperation. The values of respecting other people¡¯s identity, culture and heritage. The value of upholding the law, including international human rights, and humanitarian law.

Example, under the rules of war ¨C you are not supposed to bomb schools, hospitals, residential areas, homes, etc etc.

But worryingly, we are seeing this happening now in parts of the world. We are seeing the rules of war being violated by deliberate choice. It is not acceptable. It is?not?acceptable.

So, our job is to instill in you ¨C future thought leaders, future leaders, future diplomats ¨C a strong sense of the need to nurture multilateralism. It¡¯s out only chance. You do not make peace with your friends. Who do you make peace with? You make peace with your enemies. That¡¯s who you make peace with.

And sometimes making peace can be very difficult. It¡¯s not an easy task. But you have to have the maturity and the conviction to sit across from someone you know is an adversary to see if you can find a way to co-exist together. You don¡¯t necessarily have to like the other person.

But it helps immensely to be able to trust what they are telling you and for them to trust what you are telling them. So building up a relationship over time often helps in negotiations.

One of your famous presidents, President Reagan ¨C in negotiating peace with the Soviet Union would always say, trust, but verify. Meaning, trust what they tell you but go home and check what they are telling you is the truth.

 

The moment is nearing when my generation will fully pass the torch over to yours.

Seeing your energy, your enthusiasm, your discipline, and feeling the depth of your commitment, is a prospect that fills me with great joy and hope.

 

I view your generation as being in the vanguard of a more promising future ¨C a future where collaboration and cooperation replaces conflict, where equity is realized regardless of gender or race or religious beleif, where want and hunger cease to exist in the world, and where all of us ¨C all of us ¨C without exception – can reach our full potential.

 

Rest assured, as you prepare to shoulder these responsibilities in the future, I will do everything in my power to support you and to contribute to your success.

I thank you.