Not surprisingly, the most vulnerable of our societies have borne the brunt of the adverse external events, with countless pushed back into hunger and extreme poverty.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd environmental emergencies, including climate change, have only grown in severity and impact, year upon year, without robust and adequate climate action for course correction.<\/span><\/p>\nAgainst this backdrop, our cherished multilateral system, the policy apparatus for problem-solving international cooperation \u2013 is facing an acute crisis, with legitimate questions of current relevance and credibility arising and intensifying, time and again.<\/span><\/p>\nPurposeful dialogue, solidarity, and cooperation are in retreat \u2013 clearing an opportunistic path for divisive forces that breathe paralysis and disaffection.<\/span><\/p>\nWe are quite literally at a fork in the road. We must therefore seize the opportunity of Summits such as this, to rededicate ourselves to our core values principles that remain as relevant and compelling today as they ever were.<\/span><\/p>\nMultilateral organizations, including the United Nations and international financial institutions, must undergo urgent reforms to better recognize and leverage the significance of the Global South.<\/span><\/p>\nWe need an international financial system rooted in inclusion and equity, inspiring and bolstering full commitment to multilateralism, fostering SDG-aligned investments, and breaking the vicious cycles of debt and interest compounding for developing countries.<\/span><\/p>\nWe must harness the full power and opportunities South-South and Triangular cooperation, not per se to supplant our relations with the North, but rather, to rebalance them and thereby magnify the global resonance of the stubborn unity and solidarity of the South.<\/span><\/p>\nWe all know that the G77 and China is no stranger to strife and perseverance \u2013\u00a0precisely<\/i>\u00a0because it was founded on a robust solidarity with the aim of furthering the principles of multilateralism.<\/span><\/p>\n A majority of the G77 members have shared histories of colonialism; struggles for liberation, equality and the pursuit of independence.<\/span><\/p>\nAlong with the lasting legacy of resilience, these are the cornerstones to the unity that historically binds the G77 \u2013 and these must continue to be embraced as the Group\u2019s collective strength in the face of the enormous risks and threats ahead.<\/span><\/p>\nAs President of the General Assembly, I am committed to these very priorities and principles \u2013 solidarity, cooperation, inclusion, and not forgetting support for the most vulnerable, so that we remain faithful to our own dictum of leaving no one behind.<\/span><\/p>\nThis New Year offers an opportunity to shift our collective trajectory and to make common cause in our determination to craft a new narrative that incentivises and supports effective global transformation in bringing those left out, overlooked, and perhaps even forgotten, into the mainstream of sustainable development.<\/span><\/p>\nA series of pivotal events on the UN’s sustainable development calendar are noteworthy:<\/span><\/p>\nFirst, is the Fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in Antigua and Barbuda, secondly, the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in Rwanda.<\/span><\/p>\nAnd thirdly, the first-ever UN General Assembly Sustainability Week \u2013 a flagship initiative of my Presidency being convened from 15 to 19 April 2024, at the UN Headquarters, focusing on sustainability themes in selected sectors, namely tourism, transport, energy and infrastructure \u2013 as well as a signature event on debt sustainability, which of course is a major concern to the members of the G77.<\/span><\/p>\nSustainability Week will build on the 2023 SDG Summit and seek to accelerate our path to 2030, in order to achieve the promise of the SDGs, as well as that of the Paris Agreement.<\/span><\/p>\nI am confident I can count on the constructive engagement of the G77 and China \u2013 at the highest possible level \u2013 to ensure that this week amply positions us to take forward what will unarguably be the defining multilateral process of our generation \u2013 that of the Summit of the Future.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Summit aspires, among other things, to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, to rectify key governance gaps, and ensure Member States uphold their commitments to development.<\/span><\/p>\nThe G77 and China must play a crucial role in shaping the outcome of the Summit \u2013 in so far as it will recalibrate the relationship the Global North and the South.<\/span><\/p>\nIn that regard, the application of modern technology to support human welfare will be a key area of focus and so, the G77 will need to be alert to ensure that such technologies contribute to closing as distinct from increasing the development gap.<\/span><\/p>\nI also encourage your continued engagement in the intergovernmental negotiations for the Declaration on Future Generations and the Global Digital Compact, the potential economic benefits of which are extraordinary, though with probable social and societal risks.<\/span><\/p>\nHow we balance the benefits versus the costs is a critical issue for contemplation by the G77 and China.<\/span><\/p>\nI call upon you all to actively support impactful transformation ; a transformation that goes beyond statistics and annual reports \u2013 one that instead translates into tangible human and developmental progress, that creates a more secure, safe and peaceful world, and a more sustainable planet.<\/span><\/p>\nDespite the challenges, I am certain that \u2013 together \u2013 we can seize this moment, unlock new commitments, and adopt innovative policies that\u00a0leave no one behind<\/i>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Excellencies,<\/span><\/p>\nTogether \u2013 as one G77 and China \u2013 let us commit at this Summit to work even harder to rebuild trust, to reignite global solidarity, and to harness the power and potential of multilateralism to secure and deliver peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for everyone, everywhere.<\/span><\/p>\nI thank you.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,\u00a0 Mr. Dennis Francis, at the Opening of the Third South Summit in Kampala, Uganda 21 January 2024\u00a0 [As delivered] \u00a0 Thank you, […]<\/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":"
Remarks of the President of the General Assembly<\/p>\r\n
H.E Dennis Francis<\/p>\r\n
GA plenary meeting on the Report of the International Criminal Court,<\/p>\r\n
Monday, 30 October 2023<\/p>\r\n
As Delivered<\/i><\/i><\/p>\r\nPresident of the International Criminal Court, Judge Piotr Hofmanski,<\/i><\/i>\r\n\r\nExcellencies,<\/i>\r\n\r\nDistinguished Delegates,<\/i>\r\n\r\n\u00a0<\/i>\r\n\r\nToday we gather to consider the annual report of the\u00a0International Criminal Court (ICC) \u2013 a\u00a0 critical pillar of the international legal order.\r\n\r\nThe ICC stands as a perennial symbol of our shared commitment to justice and humanity\u2019s greatest aspirations.\r\n\r\nIt serves as an emphatic reminder that\u00a0no one \u2013 I repeat, no one \u2013 should be exempt from accountability for the most serious crimes of concern to the international community,\u00a0and that regardless of their status, position or location, perpetrators of such crimes will invariably face the weight of justice.\r\n\r\nIndeed, when it comes to the most egregious crimes against humanity,\u00a0 accountability knows no exceptions and justifiably so.\r\n\r\nIn those grave and heinous cases \u2013 when national legal systems prove unable or unwilling to bring perpetrators to justice \u2013 the ICC must step in.\r\n\r\nAccordingly, the ICC stands as a testament to our unshakeable resolve to end impunity, and moreover, to deter others from the commission of such crimes in the future.\r\n\r\nThe Court is indeed a truly unique embodiment of our collective resolution to upholding the principles of justice and accountability.\r\n\r\nI express my\u00a0 fulsome appreciation to the Court for its diligent efforts,\u00a0 as indeed to its judges and its prosecutor, as well as to the dedicated staff who have laudibly committed themselves to the pursuit of justice \u2013 and indeed, to what is\u00a0right<\/i>.\r\n\r\nThe report highlights both the progress and the challenges faced by the ICC this year, specifically as regards the prevention and punishment of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.\r\n\r\nThese principles are fundamental to our global vision of peace and are integral to our mission of maintaining international peace and security, promoting respect for human rights, and delivering justice to those who have suffered the gravest injustices.\r\n\r\nLadies and Gentlemen,<\/i>\r\n\r\nWe must acknowledge that the Court operates in a multifaceted international landscape.\r\n\r\nIts jurisdiction spans cases where state parties have brought situations to the attention of the Court, including situations referred by the United Nations Security Council.\r\n\r\nWhile it may present a unique set of challenges \u2013this duality in referral mechanisms underscores the importance of international cooperation.\r\n\r\nDespite these challenges, the hope for universal ratification of the Rome Statute, and the Kampala amendments, serve as a profound affirmation of the ICC's enduring commitment to justice.\r\n\r\nAs more countries join and support the ICC, the bold ambition of ending impunity for the most serious crimes becomes increasingly realistic to achieve.\r\n\r\nAs we engage in this discussion, let us remember the voices of the victims, whose suffering must compel us to take meaningful action.\r\n\r\nI underscore the\u00a0need for universal cooperation with the court among UN Member States in our common pursuit of a more just and peaceful world.\r\n\r\nI call upon States to support the ICC where it faces constraints in its pursuit of justice, including predictable funding to effectively undertake its investigations and prosecutions.\r\n\r\nIn line with the fundamental principle of complementarity, States should cooperate\u00a0with the ICC and with each other in investigations and prosecutions, including by sharing information and evidence to uphold the rule of law and ensuring accountability for the most serious crimes.\r\n\r\nLet us remain committed to strengthening the international legal framework and ensuring that the ICC continues to fulfill its essential role in our global efforts to prevent impunity and injustice and to promote lasting peace.\r\n\r\nI thank you and look forward to a fruitful discussion on this important matter.","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[111],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-275140","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-speeches","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"yoast_head":"\nPGA remarks at the Opening of the Third South Summit in Kampala, Uganda | General Assembly of the United Nations<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n