ウィスパリング同時通訳研究会コミュのOpening remarks by Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on the General Assembly: 1st plenary meeting.

Remarks by H.E. Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly
14 September 2021

[Translated from Dhivehi]

Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres,

President of the 75th session of the General Assembly, Volkan Bozkir,

Distinguished Permanent Representatives,

Excellencies,

Beloved Maldivian citizens,

I stand here today, after taking oath of office as the President of the United Nations General Assembly, humbled by the trust and the responsibilities you have entrusted to me. And thankful for the honour you have bestowed on my beloved country, the Maldives.

The red, green, and white flag of the Maldives is flying at the highest peak today.

Because of the brave sacrifices of our foregone national heroes and the sacrifice of our courageous citizens today, the Maldives is at the pinnacle of international diplomacy.

My first responsibility, at this time, is to thank the Almighty Allah for bestowing this honour on the Maldives.

Today, we are witnessing the advances the Maldives is making internationally under the leadership of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. Proof that the world has accepted President Solih’s foreign policy. Proof of the close relationship the Maldives enjoys with the international community today.

The seeds that we, Maldivians, have sowed so diligently growing into bountiful fields.

Yes, it has been a tragic and challenging year. But this is a new session. We can fall back on the comfort and predictability of systems and procedures, of the UN machinery that fills our days. Or, we can choose to push forward and turn the page. We can choose to write a new chapter.
Let us choose the latter.
Let us dare to dream and let us dare to hope, to embrace the Presidency of Hope.

Abdulla Shahid
President of the UN General Assembly

My dear brother, President Bozkir,

I commend you for your stewardship during the 75th session.

Navigating the workings of the General Assembly during a pandemic was no easy task.

I know I speak on behalf of this august body, when I express appreciation and gratitude for your fortitude and determination.

Your championship of in-person diplomacy and for a re-opened United Nations General Assembly, is testament to your commitment to multilateralism.

I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours my dear brother.

Dear Secretary-General Guterres, I look forward to working closely with you as you begin your second term.

I am aware of your priorities – “Restoring Trust and Inspiring Hope”.

The underlying thread in your approach to solving global issues is “prevention” in all its aspects – from conflict, climate change, pandemics, to poverty and inequality.

Whether it is prioritizing gender parity within the United Nations; or launching a global conversation on building a better future for all; or improving the United Nation’s response to current and future challenges, you will find in me a willing partner.



Excellencies, dear friends,

To say that it has been a challenging 18-months would be an understatement.

Millions have perished; hundreds of millions have been ill; billions have suffered.

But I want to avoid listing off statistics. We did not experience this pandemic in numbers. We experienced it on a personal level:

We lost loved ones;
Lockdowns restricted our personal freedom;
We were distanced from our family and friends;
Hospitals were overwhelmed;
Frontline workers were exhausted and at-risk;
So many lost jobs, suffered, and continue to suffer economic hardship;
And each of us lived with constant fear for ourselves and our loved ones.


Every one of us experienced the pandemic differently. But some elements have been near universal:

Anxiety;
Insecurity;
Grief;
Hopelessness.
And it is not just COVID-19.

Every day we hear more and more news to ignite our collective anxiety: climate change, disasters, conflict, and instability.

These issues dominate our airwaves.

The narrative must change… and we must be the initiators of this change.



Dear ambassadors, ladies and gentlemen,

people look to their leaders and elected officials for guidance,

…for assurance,

…for signs that things will indeed get better;

…that tomorrow will be better.

The General Assembly must play a part in this.

The peoples of the world may not know the specifics or the details of resolutions and decisions we adopt here.

But they know what we stand for.

The very mention of the United Nations conjures up images of world leaders standing before the world, standing against this green marble backdrop.

To billions of people, the United Nations represents an ideal, an aspiration. It represents a promise, a promise of a brighter future.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,

While the pandemic unleashed an unprecedented crisis, we have witnessed incredible acts of kindness and compassion, acts that reaffirmed our common humanity and collective strength as ‘nations united’.

Let us draw upon that collective humanity now.

I have embraced hope as the theme of my Presidency.

I am not naïve, nor do I say this just to use nice sounding words.

I say this because I believe that this is what this moment in time calls for.

Hope is never overrated or cliché – those are the words of cynics.

Hope is what drives us not to give up, even when the odds seem high.

We place our hope in humanity, because at the end of the day, that is all there is.

We are seven billion people on this planet. All we have is our common humanity.

All we have is hope

That we can find in ourselves the courage and the motivation to push forward.

THIS is the narrative we must tell.

We must stand before our seven billion constituents and demonstrate to them:

– that we are aware of their plight and their anxiety,

– that we are listening;

– that we are willing to work together to overcome these problems;

– that the United Nations is as relevant to today’s crisis as it was 76-years ago during the aftermath of the Second World War.



Excellencies,

I promised you five rays of hope.

On recovering from COVID19, vaccinating the world is my top focus.

We simply must close the gap to vaccine access. With this in mind, I will be holding a high-level thematic debate on vaccine equity with leading experts and world leaders.

As you are all aware, our host country has made vaccines universally available to the whole United Nations family, including staff and delegates.

I am glad to announce that the city of New York will also be offering vaccination and testing resources for all the attendees of the High-Level Week.

I urge all of you to be an example to the world and do our part in following local requirements.

On my second ray of hope – rebuilding sustainably from the pandemic – I will work with the Economic and Social Council, the United Nations System, and International Financial Institutions, to help ensure that the socio-economic recovery is forward thinking.

That it is bluer, greener, and more resilient. Discussions on joint efforts are already underway.

Targeted interventions for countries in special situations will be a necessity.

The Fifth UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held in Doha, in January 2022, will be one such avenue. The ongoing discussions on the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index will be another.

And as promised, I will also announce the reconstituted Advisory Board on Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States, in the next few days.

On responding to the needs of the planet, during this ‘super session for nature’, I will convene a high-level climate change event in October, prior to the COP26 summit. The goal is to galvanize our collective ambition and push for concrete actions that deliver change.

And towards the end of the 76th session, I will hold a high-level thematic debate on the efforts needed to address the interlocking challenges facing our environment. Such an appreciation of the interconnected world we live in, is important.

Respecting the inherent dignity, and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family, will lay at the heart of every process that we as Member States embark on during the 76th session.

On gender issues, I intend to reconstitute the Gender Advisory Board. I also would like to repeat my earlier pledge – that I will only participate on those panels that are gender balanced.

I have also made training courses on gender equality and on the prevention of sexual harassment mandatory to all my staff.

I call on each of you who have not already done so to undertake similar initiatives, and to become gender champions in your own right. Please, join me in this endeavour.

Youth participation in decision making is also an important priority for me. You are already aware of my decision to launch the “President of the General Assembly Youth Fellowship Programme”.

This will be a signature initiative to empower youth. By offering opportunities to young diplomats and civil servants from underrepresented countries, we will strengthen the global multilateral system. We will open doors for youth.

I thank Member States who have already contributed towards this Fellowship. I invite all the other Member States to also invest in our future.

And, finally, on UN reform and revitalization, we must once again, make the United Nations a forum for all.

A forum of “We the Peoples”.

To achieve this, I will work on enhancing the participation of civil society organizations. I will engage regularly with civil society and youth, through townhalls and engagements with both CSOs and young people.



Excellencies,

I promised an Office that is gender balanced, multi-national, with geographical diversity. I am proud to announce that my team is indeed gender balanced, including my senior cabinet.

The median age of my Office is 40 – just a tiny little bit younger than me.

My office includes representation from over 30 countries, representing all the five regional groups.



Excellencies, dear friends,

Yes, it has been a tragic and challenging year. But this is a new session.

We can fall back on the comfort and predictability of systems and procedures, of the UN machinery that fills our days. Or, we can choose to push forward and turn the page. We can choose to write a new chapter.

Let us choose the latter.

Let us dare to dream and let us dare to hope, to embrace the Presidency of Hope.

I thank you