YouSaid · the spoken record

Secretary-General

lines on the record: 2,998
first: 1995-09-26
most recent: 2021-05-16
sittings or episodes: 363
sources: un-security-council

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“The only way forward is to return to negotiations with the goal of a two- State solution, with two States living side-by-side in peace, security and mutual recognition, with Jerusalem as the capital of both States, based on relevant United Nations resolutions, international law and prior agreements. The longer this cycle of violence continues, the more challenging it will be to reach that ultimate goal. Only a negotiated sustainable political solution will end these devastating cycles of violence once and for all and lead to a peaceful future for Palestinians and Israelis alike.”
2021-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/480 (2021) · source
“The destruction of media offices in Gaza is extremely concerning. This senseless cycle of bloodshed, terror and destruction must stop immediately. All parties must respect international humanitarian law and international human rights law. The status quo at the holy sites must be upheld and respected. My Special Coordinator will brief you today on the latest developments on the ground and our efforts to de-escalate the situation. Let me reiterate that the United Nations remains deeply committed to working with Israelis and Palestinians and with our international and regional partners, including the Middle East Quartet, to realize a lasting and just peace. We are in contact with many relevant interlocutors and I again call on the parties to allow mediation efforts to intensify and succeed.”
2021-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/480 (2021) · source
“It has the potential to unleash an uncontainable security and humanitarian crisis and to further foster extremism, not only in the occupied Palestinian territory and Israel but also in the region as a whole, potentially creating a new locus of dangerous instability. The hostilities have forced thousands of Palestinians to leave their homes in Gaza and take shelter in schools, mosques and other places with limited access to water, food, hygiene or health services. Hospitals are already overstretched due to the coronavirus disease pandemic. Meanwhile, Israeli civilians live in fear of rockets launched from Gaza. I am appalled by the attack on a refugee camp in Gaza, in which 10 members of one family were killed. Humanitarian installations must be protected. Journalists must be allowed to work free of fear and harassment.”
2021-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/480 (2021) · source
“I am appalled by the increasingly large number of Palestinian civilian casualties, including many women and children, from Israeli strikes in Gaza. I also deplore Israeli fatalities from rockets launched from Gaza. I am also deeply concerned by the violent clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians across the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, where some Palestinian families are under threat of eviction. In Israel, violence by vigilante-style groups and mobs has added a further horrendous dimension to an already deteriorating crisis. Leaders on all sides have a responsibility to curb inflammatory rhetoric and calm the rising tensions. The fighting risks dragging Israelis and Palestinians into a spiral of violence, with devastating consequences for both communities and the entire region.”
2021-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/480 (2021) · source
“I thank the Chinese presidency for organizing this open meeting. We meet today amid the most serious escalation in Gaza and Israel in years. The current hostilities are utterly appalling. This latest round of violence only perpetuates the cycles of death, destruction and despair and pushes farther to the horizon any hopes of coexistence and peace. The fighting must stop. It must stop immediately. The rockets and mortars on one side and the aerial and artillery bombardments on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call. The United Nations is actively engaging all sides towards an immediate ceasefire. The hostilities have already caused unconscionable death, immense suffering and damage to vital infrastructure.”
2021-05-16 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/480 (2021) · source
“I am committed to pursuing even closer engagement to promote confidence- building and dialogue in conflict prevention, management and resolution. We can address our world’s current and future challenges, including those exposed and heightened by COVID-19, only through ambitious and coordinated multilateral action.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“I urge regional actors to leverage their influence to prevent further deterioration and ultimately find a peaceful way out of this catastrophe. My Special Envoy is currently in the region. She stands ready to resume dialogue with the military and the other actors and to contribute to a return of Myanmar to the democratic path and to peace and stability. Strengthening United Nations partnerships with regional and subregional organizations is an integral part of my vision for a networked multilateralism. Despite the pandemic, my biennial high-level interactive dialogue with heads of regional organizations was held virtually last November. Twenty-three organizations participated and helped to institutionalize our collaboration and work better together in crisis contexts.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“The comprehensive partnership between ASEAN and the United Nations, well- established since 2011, has grown across the peace and security spectrum, as well as social and economic development. Under our technical cooperation agreement, we have provided capacity-building support in the areas of mediation and dialogue, ceasefires and gender inclusion. Today ASEAN’s role is more crucial than ever as the region faces an urgent crisis in Myanmar. I have repeatedly called on the international community to work, collectively and through bilateral channels, to help to bring an end to the violence and repression by the military. United Nations cooperation with ASEAN in that regard is vital. The situation requires a robust international response, grounded on a unified regional effort.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“In Bolivia, close cooperation among the United Nations, the European Union and the Episcopal Conference of Bolivia played an important part in finding a peaceful solution to the crisis following the 2019 general elections and in building confidence ahead of the general elections held last October. Such examples show that our ability to work together and build on our complementarities allows us to more effectively support Member States in managing complex political transitions and in finding sustainable solutions to political challenges.S/2021/394 The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an important part of that picture. Since its founding, ASEAN has played an important role in its region through diplomacy, conflict prevention and peacebuilding in conflict situations.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Since then, we have been working closely with Malian stakeholders to support the implementation of the transition road map and action plan. In supporting the Libyan-led, Libyan-owned dialogue process and transition, the United Nations is working closely with the African Union, the League of Arab States and the European Union, including in the context of the Berlin process and the Quartet. We are working together to support the implementation of the ceasefire, and we are closely cooperating with the African Union in its initiative to support the Libyan authorities in promoting national reconciliation.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Together, through our hybrid operation in Darfur, the United Nations and the African Union also provided technical, advisory and logistical support to the negotiations that culminated in the signing of the Juba Peace Agreement on the Sudan in October 2020, before jointly presenting options for a new United Nations political mission, which led to the establishment of the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan. As we continue to support the Sudan in its efforts towards democratic governance and an inclusive society, our collaboration remains essential. In Mali, following a military coup, the United Nations and the African Union supported the efforts led by the Economic Community of West African States towards the formation of a transitional Government in September 2020.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“Our investment in institutionalizing partnerships has translated into more effective engagements before, during and after crises, with concrete operational results. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, for example, the United Nations is working with the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Council of Europe to support local efforts to advance dialogue, trust-building and reconciliation. In the Sudan, the United Nations supported the African Union and Ethiopia in facilitating negotiations that resulted in the establishment of a civilian-led transitional Government, with women and young people playing a prominent role.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“I would like to thank the Vietnamese presidency for organizing this open debate and for the opportunity to brief the Security Council on what has been a key priority since taking office: cooperation between the United Nations and regional and subregional organizations. That cooperation has grown exponentially since 1945. Today it encompasses preventive diplomacy, mediation, counter-terrorism, preventing violent extremism, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, promoting human rights, advancing the women and peace and security agenda, combating climate change and, since last year, the response to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. As we look to the future, fostering dialogue and building confidence across all those areas is central to our common work.”
2021-04-19 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/394 (2021) · source
“I welcome efforts by many Member States to integrate mine action into their development plans and budgets. But political will at the national level must be complemented by partnerships and cooperation at the local, regional and international levels. Strong cooperation is needed among Governments, the United Nations and international and civil society organizations. In that regard, I welcome the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in reducing the threat of IEDs. Landmines, IEDs and explosive remnants of war represent the worst of humankind. But efforts to eradicate them reflect humankind at its best. Let us today commit to intensifying our efforts to rid the world of these inhumane threats.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“I urge the Security Council to strengthen efforts to further integrate mine action into relevant resolutions, reporting and sanctions regimes. This brings me to my third and final point. We need increased political will and cooperation to prevent and respond to the threat of explosive ordnance. More than 160 States are party to the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention. I call on those that have not yet acceded to the Convention to do so without delay. Mine action means working on prevention — to end the threat at its source. It means clearing contaminated land to save lives and enable recovery. And it means attending to the rights and needs of survivors who have been maimed by these horrendous implements of warfare. Ultimately, mine action is a national responsibility.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“And mine action can support political and peace processes. We have seen this in Darfur and Libya. In Colombia, mine action has facilitated the reintegration of former combatants, offering a pathway to civilian life. Let us maximize the opportunities that mine action affords us. For example, from Afghanistan to Iraq, Colombia to South Sudan, women deminers and risk educators have broken stereotypes to keep their communities safe, contributing to the women and peace and security agenda. Today we will hear from a briefer who led an all-women demining team, contributing to mine clearance and decontamination in Viet Nam. Whether clearing roads to farmland, routes to alternative youth employment or access to services for victims and persons with disabilities, mine action can lay the groundwork for sustainable development and inclusion.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“I thank Kenya for hosting the recent Arria Formula meeting on the threat posed to peacekeepers by IEDs, and I urge Member States to enhance their commitment to training and equipping troop- and police-contributing countries. I also appeal to troop- and police-contributing countries to invest in training and retaining the necessary expertise in their security services.S/2021/346 Secondly, I want to highlight the role of mine action in advancing and underpinning durable solutions to conflict. Mine action is an essential first step towards peace and stability. Deminers are often the first to enter cities and villages after ceasefires — clearing schools and hospitals, or allowing for critical repairs to water or sanitation infrastructure. Mine action enables the safe and voluntary return of refugees and internally displaced persons.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“I urge Member States to ensure that all peace operations have the capacity to operate in environments facing high explosive threats, and particularly IEDs. Peacekeepers must have the knowledge and the equipment they need to deliver on their mandates safely. The use of IEDs continues to represent the greatest threat to the troops of the African Union Mission in in Somalia and to United Nations peacekeepers in Mali. New threats from explosives are emerging in the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. And landmines and explosive remnants of war hinder peacekeeper mobility in South Sudan and Abyei. The evolving nature of explosive devices and their use requires us to constantly update our situational awareness and adapt our predeployment and in- mission training.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“And three quarters of the countries and territories in which the United Nations conducts mine action have now developed their own national standards to ensure quality and keep deminers safe. But, while progress has been made, challenges have intensified. Conflict has become more urbanized, armed groups are proliferating and the use of IEDs is increasing. All these factors complicate efforts to mitigate and respond to the threat — which, in the past year, has been exacerbated by access and mobility hurdles due to the coronavirus disease. Today is our opportunity to take stock. Let me highlight three areas for attention. First, the constant threat of explosive ordnance endangers the lives of the people serving in and protected by our missions.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“From 2018 to 2020, United Nations funding made more than 560 square kilometres of land safe, from Afghanistan to Iraq and from Cambodia to Colombia. That land, which is 10 times the area of Manhattan, is needed for infrastructure, agriculture, markets, schools and roads. In 2020, more than 3.5 million people were reached by United Nations- supported risk reduction, enabling communities to go about their daily business more safely. Today the United Nations Mine Action Service supports 13 peace operations, and IED-threat mitigation training has contributed to peacekeeper safety, particularly in Mali. In 2014, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali detected 11 per cent of IEDs before they exploded. This rate rose to 50 per cent in 2020, with fatalities from IED attacks declining accordingly.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“Let me first congratulate His Excellency Mr. Bui Thanh Son on his appointment as Minister for Foreign Affairs of Viet Nam and welcome him to the United Nations. I thank Viet Nam for putting this important issue on the agenda and for reminding us of the work left to do. Landmines, explosive remnants of war and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) maim and kill indiscriminately. They are left in the path of women walking to work, families displaced by conflict and seeking safety, and children on their way to school. They crush lives and end livelihoods. Their mere presence can stall development and shatter stability. Since resolution 2365 (2017) was adopted in 2017, Member States, the United Nations and regional and civil society partners have released significant expanses of land.”
2021-04-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/346 (2021) · source
“We need to transform our food systems to make them more inclusive, resilient and sustainable. This will be one of the key issues of the Food Systems Summit, which I will convene later this year. At the same time, ending hunger requires us to find political solutions to conflict. I urge all States to make ending conflict, not simply mitigating its impact, a key foreign policy priority. I call on Council members to use your privileged position to do everything in your power to end violence, negotiate peace and alleviate the hunger and suffering that afflict so many millions of people around the world. There is no place for famine and starvation in the twenty-first century.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“There are indications in Myanmar that hunger — resulting from the destruction of agricultural land and villages as well as restrictions on the freedom of movement — has been used again Rohingyas. The deliberate use of famine as a method of war constitutes a war crime. I urge the members of the Council to act using every means so that those responsible for these atrocious acts are held accountable, as well as to remind the parties to conflict of their obligations in the context of international humanitarian law. Addressing hunger is a foundation for stability and peace. We need to tackle both hunger and conflict if we are to solve either. Our blueprint for reducing hunger is the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and particularly Sustainable Development Goal 2, on zero hunger.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“In line with resolution 2417 (2018) and on the basis of international humanitarian law, goods and products crucial to the survival of civilians — such as food, crops and livestock — must be protected in conflicts. Humanitarian access must not be impeded, while the use of famine as a method of war is prohibited. Unfortunately, we do not lack for recent examples of the use of famine as a tactic of war. The conflict in Syria has plunged millions of civilians into terrible conditions, which in some instances has reduced them to famine. Famine was declared in 2017 in certain parts of South Sudan, as humanitarian access to the population was systematically refused.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“These resources are needed for a comprehensive package of life-saving aid, including the distribution of food, cash and vouchers, targeted support for agriculture and medical treatment for people already suffering from acute malnutrition. While all countries face some economic strain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the solution does not lie in cutting aid to starving children. The disappointing outcome of last week’s high-level pledging event on Yemen cannot become a pattern. I ask all countries to reconsider their responsibilities and their S/2021/250 capacities. The relatively small amounts of money involved in humanitarian aid are an investment not only in people but an investment in peace. People suffering from acute hunger must be able to access food and vital assistance in secure conditions, especially during armed conflict.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“The group will cooperate with the non-governmental organizations that are our vital partners in feeding the hungry around the world. It will also work with international financial institutions and other specialized United Nations agencies, including the International Fund for Agricultural Development. I urge all members of the Council to support the Task Force in every way possible and to do everything in your power to take urgent action to prevent famine. Our most serious concern must be the more than 34 million people who already face emergency levels of acute food insecurity. WFP and FAO have appealed for the emergency mobilization of $5.5 billion in extraordinary resources to avert catastrophe for these 34 million women, men, girls and boys.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“I have therefore decided to establish a High-Level Task Force on Preventing Famine, led by my Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock. The Task Force will include representatives from the World Food Programme and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It will bring coordinated, high-level attention to famine prevention and mobilize support to the most affected countries. I have also asked Under-Secretary-General Lowcock to draw on the support of other Inter-Agency Standing Committee members — and obviously including UNICEF, the World Health Organization, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Population Fund and UN-Women.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“The targeting of World Food Programme vehicles in the east of the country last month and the tragic killing of our colleague Moustapha Milambo, as well as Italian Ambassador Luca Attanasio and his security officer, Vittorio Iacovacci, are the starkest possible illustration of the dark alliance between hunger and conflict. This is the devastating reality in conflict zones around the world. We have a responsibility to do everything in our power to reverse these trends, starting by preventing famine. Last September, the Secretariat provided a white paper outlining the risks of famine in four countries. The situation has only grown more urgent. Hunger and death begin long before the highest levels of food insecurity. We must anticipate and act now.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“Some 16 million people face food insecurity.South Sudan is facing its highest levels of food insecurity since the country declared independence, 10 years ago. Sixty per cent of the population are increasingly hungry. Food prices are so high that just one plate of rice and beans costs more than 180 per cent of the average daily salary — the equivalent of about $400 here in New York. Chronic sporadic violence, extreme weather and the economic impact of COVID-19 have pushed more than 7 million people into acute food insecurity. The Democratic Republic of the Congo experienced the world’s largest food crisis last year, with nearly 21.8 million people facing acute hunger between July and December.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“Food insecurity is worsened by the reduction of humanitarian access. I am deeply concerned about the situation in Tigray, Ethiopia, where the harvest season has been disrupted by insecurity and violence and hundreds of thousands of people could be experiencing hunger. In some countries, famine is already here. People are dying from hunger and suffering critical rates of malnutrition. Parts of Yemen, South Sudan and Burkina Faso are in the grip of famine or conditions akin to famine. More than 150,000 people are at risk of starving. In Yemen, five years of conflict have displaced 4 million people across the country. Many Yemenis are facing a death sentence as widespread hunger stalks their nation. Around half of all children under 5 — 2.3 million children — are projected to face acute malnutrition in 2021.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“I must warn the Security Council that we face multiple conflict-driven famines around the world. Climate shocks and the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic are adding fuel to the flames. Without immediate action, millions of people will reach the brink of extreme hunger and death. Projections show hunger crises escalating and spreading across the Sahel and the Horn of Africa, and accelerating in South Sudan, Yemen and Afghanistan. There are more than 30 million people in over three dozen countries just one step away from a declaration of famine. Women and girls face a double risk. They are more likely to be forced from their homes by conflict, and they are more vulnerable to malnutrition, particularly when pregnant or breastfeeding. Girls who are hungry are at increased risk of trafficking, forced marriage and other abuses.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“The Nobel Committee recognized this link when it awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme (WFP) — a powerful call to action — recognizing the importance of food security to building peace and stability. We have made enormous inroads into hunger over recent decades, thanks to improved productivity and reductions in global poverty. Famine and hunger are no longer about lack of food; they are now largely man-made, and I use the term deliberately. They are concentrated in countries affected by large-scale, protracted conflict. And they are rising. At the end of 2020, more than 88 million people were suffering from acute hunger due to conflict and instability — a 20 per cent increase in one year. Projections for 2021 point to a continuation of this frightening trend.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“I thank you for this opportunity to brief you on the links between conflict and hunger, an urgent and important issue. Today I have one simple message: if you do not feed people, you feed conflict. Conflict drives hunger and famine, and hunger and famine drive conflict. When a country or region is gripped by conflict and hunger, they become mutually reinforcing. They cannot be resolved separately. Hunger and poverty combine with inequality, climate shocks, sectarian and ethnic tensions and grievances over land and resources to spark and drive conflict. At the same time, conflict forces people to leave their homes, land and jobs, disrupts agriculture and trade and reduces access to vital resources like water and electricity, and so drives hunger.”
2021-03-11 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/250 (2021) · source
“The engagement of all multilateral bodies, including the Security Council, can play an important role in dealing with the challenge. I urge Council members to use their influence during this pivotal year to ensure the success of COP26 and to mobilize others, including international financial institutions and the private sector, to do their part. I guarantee the full support of the United Nations for the British presidency of COP26, together with the Italian co-Chair. The year 2021 is a make-or-break one for collective action against the climate emergency.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“We are working to ensure that our mediation strategies, analysis and reporting, including to the Security Council, consistently reflect climate risks. In South Sudan, for example, an awareness of the impact of climate change helped our peacekeeping operation to mediate a local agreement on cattle management. In Yemen, the Peacebuilding Fund supported efforts to restore and strengthen local water governance structures, reducing intercommunal tensions. We are also reducing the United Nations environmental footprint, including through the increased use of renewable energy. The climate crisis is the multilateral challenge of our age. It is already impacting every area of human activity. Solving it requires coordination and cooperation on a scale that we have never seen before.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Fourthly, we need to deepen partnerships across and beyond the United Nations system. We must leverage and build on the strengths of different stakeholders, including the Security Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, international financial institutions, regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia and others. The climate security mechanism, which brings together the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the United Nations Development S/2021/198 Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme, is a blueprint for such collaboration within the United Nations system. As we work to deliver those goals, the United Nations is striving to lead by example by making sure that its own operations take full account of the climate crisis.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Thirdly, we need to embrace a concept of security that puts people at its centre. The coronavirus disease pandemic has shown the devastation that so-called non- traditional security threats can cause on a global scale. Preventing and addressing the poverty, food insecurity and displacement caused by climate disruption contribute to sustaining peace and reducing the risk of conflict. The Nobel Peace Prize Committee recognized that when it awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme last year. Respect for human rights, particularly women’s rights, the rule of law, inclusion and diversity are fundamental to solving the climate crisis and creating more peaceful and stable societies. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals are the global blueprint for action.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“We need to scale up early warning systems and early action on climate-related crises, from droughts and storms to the emergence of zoonotic diseases. We also need stronger social protection to support those impacted. Those actions must start now with transformative policies as we emerge from the pandemic. Economic and financial systems must incorporate climate risk into financial analysis so that it is captured in business models and investment decisions. We must invest in renewable energy and green infrastructure. In short, we must close the finance gap by increasing support to the countries and communities that are suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis. That support must reach women and girls, who bear the brunt of the climate crisis and constitute 80 per cent of those displaced by climate change.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“It is the only way that we will keep the goal of 1.5°C within reach. Secondly, we need immediate actions to protect countries, communities and people from the increasingly frequent and severe climate impacts. We need a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience, which means dramatically raising the level of investments. All donors and multilateral and national development banks must increase the share of adaptation and resilience finance to at least 50 per cent of their climate finance support, and we must make those funds accessible to those on the front lines of the climate crisis. Developed countries must keep their pledge to channel $100 billion annually to the Global South. They have already missed the deadline of 2020.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“We must create a truly global coalition to commit to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century, and we must mobilize a decade of transformation through a successful twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow. That requires all Member States to present, well before November, ambitious nationally determined contributions with targets that will allow us to cut global emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 from 2010 levels. We are also asking all companies, cities and financial institutions to prepare concrete and credible decarbonization plans. We still have a long way to go, and we look to the major emitters to lead by example in the coming months. That is a credibility test of their commitment to people and the planet.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“The forced movement of larger numbers of people around the world will clearly increase the potential for conflict and insecurity beyond their suffering. When I was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, I spent time with people who had been uprooted by the impact of climate change in the Horn of Africa, Darfur, the Sahel and elsewhere. Listening to their stories, I understood the deep suffering and trauma of families forced to abandon homes and land that had been theirs for generations. Much more needs to be done to address the specific risks that the climate crisis poses to peace and security. I see four priority areas.First, we need a greater focus on prevention through strong, ambitious climate action. We must get the world on track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and prevent climate catastrophe.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“In other words, the poorest suffer most. Unless we protect those most exposed and susceptible to climate-related impacts, we can expect them to become even more marginalized and their grievances to be reinforced. High levels of inequality, which climate change heightens, can weaken social cohesion and lead to discrimination, scapegoating, rising tensions and unrest, increasing the risk of conflict. Those who are already being left behind will be left even further behind. Climate disruption is already driving displacement across the world. In some small island nations in the Pacific, entire communities have been forced to relocate, with terrible implications for their livelihoods, culture and heritage.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“In Afghanistan, for example, where 40 per cent of the workforce is engaged in farming, reduced harvests push people into poverty and food insecurity, leaving them susceptible to recruitment by criminal gangs and armed groups. Across West Africa and the Sahel, more than 50 million people depend on rearing livestock for survival. Changes in grazing patterns have contributed to growing violence and conflict between pastoralists and farmers. In Darfur, low rainfall and recurrent droughts are increasing food insecurity and competition for resources and we are seeing the result. The consequences are particularly devastating for women and girls, who are forced to walk further to collect water, putting them at greater risk of sexual and gender-based violence. Vulnerability to climate risks is also correlated with income inequality.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Climate disruption is a crisis amplifier and multiplier. Where climate change dries up rivers, reduces harvests, destroys critical infrastructure and displaces communities, it exacerbates the risks of instability and conflict. A study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute found that 8 of the 10 countries hosting the largest multilateral peace operations in 2018 were in areas highly exposed to climate change. The impacts of the crisis are greatest where fragility and conflicts have weakened coping mechanisms, where people depend on natural capital, such as forests and fish stocks, for their livelihoods and where women — who bear the greatest burden of the climate emergency — do not enjoy equal rights.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“I thank the United Kingdom presidency for convening this debate and for your invitation, Mr. President, to brief on a subject of grave concern. The climate emergency is the defining issue of our time. The previous decade was the hottest in human history. Carbon dioxide levels are at record highs, and wildfires, cyclones, floods and droughts are the new normal. Those shocks not only damage the environment on which we depend; they also weaken our political, economic and social systems. The science is clear: we need to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5°C by the end of the century. Our duty is even clearer: we need to protect the people and communities who are being hit by climate disruption. We must step up preparations for the escalating implications of the climate crisis for international peace and security.”
2021-02-23 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/198 (2021) · source
“Together we can ensure sufficient supply, fair distribution and vaccine confidence. We can defeat this disease. We can get our economies running again. I am convinced it is possible. Let us make it happen, together.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“I believe the Group of Twenty is well-placed to establish an emergency task force to prepare such a global vaccination plan and coordinate its implementation and financing. This task force should include all countries in which there is a capacity to develop vaccines or to produce them if licenses are available, together with the World Health Organization, the Global Vaccine Alliance and other relevant technical organizations and the international financial institutions. The task force would have the capacity to mobilize the pharmaceutical companies and key industry and logistics actors. I am ready to galvanize the full United Nations system in support of this effort. The Group of Seven meeting later this week can help create the momentum to mobilize the necessary financial resources.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“New variants could become more transmissible, more deadly and, potentially, threaten the effectiveness of current vaccines and diagnostics. This can prolong the pandemic significantly, enabling the virus to come back to plague the Global North. It will also delay the world economic recovery. We have come together to create the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility, the one global tool to procure and deliver vaccines for low- and middle-income countries. COVAX needs to be fully funded, but we must do even more. Our efforts need to be comprehensive and well-coordinated everywhere. The world urgently needs a global vaccination plan to bring together all those with the required power, scientific expertise and production and financial capacities.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“Defeating COVID-19, now that we have begun to have the scientific capacity to do so, is more important than ever. The roll-out of COVID-19 vaccines is generating hope. At this critical moment, vaccine equity is the biggest moral test before the global community. We must ensure that everybody, everywhere, can be vaccinated as soon as possible. Yet progress on vaccinations has been wildly uneven and unfair. Just 10 countries have administered 75 per cent of all COVID-19 vaccines. Meanwhile, more than 130 countries have not received a single dose. Those affected by conflict and insecurity are at particular risk of being left behind. When pandemic strikes, we are only safe if everyone is safe. If the virus is allowed to spread like wildfire in the Global South, or parts of it, it will mutate again and again.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source
“With your permission, Madam President, I would make a brief introduction and then ask my colleague Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF, to develop our briefing. I thank the United Kingdom for organizing this meeting and for reinforcing my call for a global ceasefire to ease suffering, create space for diplomacy and enable humanitarian access, including for the delivery of vaccines worldwide. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues its merciless march across the world, upending lives, destroying economies and undermining the Sustainable Development Goals. The pandemic is exacerbating all the factors that drive instability, hindering our efforts to implement resolution 2532 (2020) for the cessation of hostilities, conflict prevention and resolution.”
2021-02-17 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/2021/157 (2021) · source