Category Archives: Message

UN action joins the call of the Secretary-General for a global ceasefire

JOINT STATEMENT

On the occasion of this year’s International Day for the Elimination of Sexual Violence in Conflict, the member entities of United Nations Action against Sexual Violence in Conflict1 express their grave concern at the continued use of sexual violence as a tactic of war, terrorism and political repression, and call on all parties to conflicts to commit to ceasing such acts as part of the Secretary-General’s call for a global ceasefire made in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Continue reading →

Secretary-General’s message on COVID-19 and People on the Move

COVID-19 continues to devastate lives and livelihoods around the globe — hitting the most vulnerable the hardest.

This is particularly true for millions of people on the move — such as refugees and internally displaced persons who are forced to flee their homes from violence or disaster, or migrants in precarious situations. Continue reading →

Secretary-General’s message on the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

The world marks International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia (IDAHOT) at a time of great challenge.

Among the many severe impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic is the increased vulnerability of LGBTI people.  Already facing bias, attacks and murder simply for who they are or whom they love, many LGBTI people are experiencing heightened stigma as a result of the virus, as well as new obstacles when seeking health care.  There are also reports of COVID-19 directives being misused by police to target LGBTI individuals and organizations.

As the pandemic unfolds, the United Nations will continue to highlight these and other injustices, as well as the need for everyone to be protected and included in the response to the crisis.  Together, let us stand united against discrimination and for the right of all to live free and equal in dignity and rights.

New York

17 May 2020

Secretary-General’s remarks to Petersberg Climate Dialogue

COVID-19 has put the lives of billions of people around the globe in turmoil, inflicting grave suffering and destabilizing the global economy.

It has exposed the fragility of our societies and economies to shocks, and it has laid bare deep inequalities that threaten the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The only answer is brave, visionary and collaborative leadership.

The same leadership is needed to address the looming existential threat of climate disruption.

Last year was the second-hottest year on record, part of the hottest decade in recorded history.

Delayed climate action will cost us vastly more each year in terms of lost lives and livelihoods, crippled businesses and damaged economies.

The highest cost is the cost of doing nothing.

We must urgently put in place measures to strengthen resilience and cut greenhouse gas emissions to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees.

Technology is on our side.

So, increasingly, is public opinion, especially the voice of young people.

Many cities and businesses are taking action.

But we still lack the necessary political will in many parts of the world.

That is why I continue to advocate for significantly more ambition on mitigation, adaptation and financing.

 

On mitigation, we need all countries to commit to carbon neutrality by 2050.

On adaptation, we need to support those countries least responsible for climate change, but most vulnerable to its impacts.

They need to build resilience to protect their populations.

And for that we need adequate financing, beginning with the promised mobilization of $100 billion US dollars a year for mitigation and adaptation efforts in developing countries.

As we plan our recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, we have a profound opportunity to steer our world on a more sustainable and inclusive path – a path that tackles climate change, protects the environment, reverses biodiversity loss and ensures the long-term health and security of humankind.

By making the transition to low-carbon, climate-resilient growth, we can create a world that is clean, green, safe, just and more prosperous for all.

 

I am proposing six climate-related actions to shape the recovery.

First: As we spend trillions to recover from Covid-19, we must deliver new jobs and businesses through a clean, green and just transition.

Investments must accelerate the decarbonization of all aspects of our economy.

Second: where taxpayers’ money is needed to rescue businesses, it must be creating green jobs and sustainable and inclusive growth.

It must not be bailing out outdated, polluting, carbon-intensive industries.

Third: Fiscal firepower must shift economies from grey to green, making societies and people more resilient through a transition that is fair to all and leaves no one behind.

Fourth: Looking forward, public funds should invest in the future, by flowing to sustainable sectors and projects that help the environment and climate.

Fossil fuel subsidies must end, and carbon must have a price and polluters must pay for their pollution.

Fifth: The global financial system, when it shapes policy and infrastructure, must take risks and opportunities related to climate into account.

Investors cannot continue to ignore the price our planet pays for unsustainable growth.

Sixth: To resolve both emergencies, we must work together as an international community.

Like the coronavirus, greenhouse gases respect no boundaries.

Isolation is a trap. No country can succeed alone.

 

We already have a common framework for action – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on climate change.

To that end, I am asking all countries to prepare enhanced national climate action plans, or Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and strategies to reach net zero emissions by 2050.

There are some signs of important progress.

Some countries, including Chile, the current COP President, have already submitted enhanced NDCs, and a further 114 countries have announced they will do so.

121 countries have committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.

I encourage the European Union to continue showing global leadership by presenting, by the end of the year, a Nationally Determined Contribution in line with its commitment to become the first climate neutral continent by 2050.

And I congratulate Chancellor Angela Merkel, for her leadership and determination.

And I am sure the incoming COP President, the UK, will present an ambitious, quality NDC in line with his nation’s strategy to get to carbon neutrality by 2050.

 

Just last week, the smallest and most vulnerable members of our international family, the small island nations, re-committed to climate ambition, even in the midst of the Covid-19 crisis.

Their leadership should serve as an inspiration to all.

We cannot allow the heavy and rising debt burden of these and other developing countries to serve as a barrier to their ambition.

But the key to tackling the climate crisis is the big emitters.

Let us not forget that the G20 countries collectively account for more than 80 per cent of global emissions and over 85 per cent of the global economy.

All of them must also commit to carbon neutrality by 2050.

 

The Paris Agreement was largely made possible by the engagement of the United States and China.

Without the contribution of the big emitters, all our efforts risk to be doomed.

They say it’s darkest just before the dawn.

These are dark days, but they are not without hope.

We have a rare and short window of opportunity to rebuild our world for the better.

Let us use the pandemic recovery to provide a foundation for a safe, healthy, inclusive and more resilient world for all people.

Thank you.

New York

28 April 2020

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Deputy Secretary-General’s press conference on the Launch of the “Rise for All” initiative

Thank you very much, Stéphane. Thank you to all of you for being with us today, and I am really delighted to be joined by Achim Steiner, the Administrator of UNDP.

As we all know, we are living in surreal times. The world as we know it has been hit by an unprecedented health, humanitarian and economic crisis. COVID is a pandemic touching all corners of the world, and we will need our solidarity to rise to the occasion of the global response that is needed at a magnitude that we have never seen before.

Every country and community will be affected and under the leadership of the Secretary-General, our job in the United Nations is to be ready to serve and to support countries, governments, communities, businesses, in fighting the pandemic, suppressing the virus, and ensuring that we support all leaders in the socio-economic recovery.

Today, I am pleased to launch two efforts in support of the world’s response to COVID-19 and recovery. First, the framework for immediate socio-economic response and recovery to COVID, which puts into practice the Secretary-General’s report, “Shared Responsibility, Global Solidarity” that he released in March.

The second is “Women Rising for All” putting women leaders at the forefront calling the world to action for the responses that we will need on the health, the economic and the humanitarian front.

For the framework, this complements all UN efforts, particularly in health, which is being ably led by the World Health Organization (WHO), and Dr. Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus]. It is also being led in the humanitarian sector, on the Humanitarian Response Plan.

The Framework centres around five interconnected clusters. In a nutshell, ensuring that our health services are protected, reinforced and capacities built to build back better. The second, ensuring that people have access to social protection and basic services;

The third will be to protect jobs, SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises,] in supporting economic recovery.

The fourth, supporting elements of the fiscal and financial stimulus macroeconomic framework, including the call for a debt standstill to allow a fiscal space to address the crisis.

And the last, but not least, is that community engagement that we will need to build the resilience of the most vulnerable.

This framework restates and commits to human rights, the environmental sustainability, climate action, gender equality, thus reflecting the 2030 agenda, the Paris Agreement. COVID-19 may have put a pause button on the world, but it certainly hasn’t stopped climate change, nor has it stopped the vulnerabilities or the inequalities around the world. And we must take profit from this crisis to look at the opportunities that we can address.

The framework guides action through the next 12 to 18 months, under the leadership of the Resident Coordinators and our country teams, and we will be relying on the technical lead of UNDP to ensure that we can operationalize this framework in the shortest possible time. It is the first time that we are looking at development with an emergency lens. We have looked at the humanitarian and the health, but now for development it is equally urgent that we attend to the crisis.

Aligned with the call, the Secretary-General has launched the COVID-19 Response and Recovery Fund. This will catalyze action at the country level, to mobilize in the first instance, $1 billion by the end of the year, and $2 billion overall. This call has already gone out to 47 of our most vulnerable countries, and we have received all responses, hoping that we will get out to deliver on those calls by the beginning of May.

We will be rising to this occasion with women at the forefront. We have heard over and over again how they carry the brunt of the burden of COVID-19, and the health, the humanitarian and certainly the socioeconomic piece.

And for that, we have an amazing number of women who are coming forward today to support us in that call to action.

I would like to welcome the leadership of President Sahle-Work Zewde of Ethiopia; Prime Minister [Erna] Solberg of Norway; our Sustainable Development Advocate and Founder of the Education Above All initiative, Her Highness Sheikha Moza bint Nasser, and the Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Mottley; Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and many more incredible leaders as we rise today to take our actions forward in ensuring that we come out – we conquer COVID-19 – and we come out the other side better.

Now more than ever, we need to come together to overcome this global threat that affects us all.

The United Nations is fully committed to supporting people and Governments as we go in this struggle together.

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New York

27 April 2020