Art Exhibition “Domus Terrae”

Excellencies,
Dear colleagues:

I would like you to meet Grey, a little elephant who is forced to leave, together with his mother and two sisters, the only home he ever knew because of overpopulation, famine and extreme weather. On their difficult journey Grey and his sisters are separated from their mother. Surviving various adventures, the little ones finally make it to Nomvula where they are happily reunited with their mother, where they can all find food and where they receive a friendly welcome by the other animals.

The story of Grey, a recent publication by the UN Geneva Perception Change Project, of which I invite you to pick up a copy, is very much in the spirit of “Domus terrae”, the title of the exhibition we open today. “Domus terrae”, that’s seeing our planet like the house we all live in and in which we should be able to move freely from one room to the other, to find shelter, food, and new opportunities. A house in which everyone is welcome and where life is guided by our common values as human beings: freedom and respect for each other.

In this exhibition, artists from Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Italy, Mexico and the United States are sharing with us their different takes on “domus terrae” and I thank the Permanent Missions of Ecuador, Colombia and Italy for jointly presenting this exhibition at the Palais des Nations.

This exhibition comes at a time when we craft the UN Global Compact on Refugees and the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration. The zero drafts of both Compacts have been released a few weeks ago and today and tomorrow, the third formal consultation on the draft text of the Global Compact on refugees is taking place right here in Geneva.

2018 will be decisive for shaping solid international answers to the challenges and opportunities linked to refugees and migration. The question is no longer limited to the level of international support but to how to do it in order to address the challenges more strategically for the more than 65 million forcibly displaced people we have today.

The two Compacts are our unique opportunity to move away from reactive approaches and build on the benefits of migration - for the countries of origin as much as for the destination countries, for the people on the move as much as for their families and for their host communities. The two Compacts provide a good momentum to share more equitably our global responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees and migrants.

But, we also have to think beyond the Compacts for Migrants and Refugees. A recent World Bank study projects 143 million climate refugees by 2050. We, the international community, could reduce this figure by 80% if we drastically scaled up our efforts to curb climate change and put in place solid development plans.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Will we be able to live up to the promise we made in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to leave no one behind?

If we want to create a better world, we must make sure that there is a space for everyone in our common “Domus Terrae”.

Much like Grey, the little elephant who finally makes it to the land called “after the rain” with the help from various animals along the way, today’s refugees and migrants depend on our support to ensure a more humane migration. Together with our partners here in the international Geneva the International Organization for Migration and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees as well as many other actors – we stand ready to support the development and, later on, the implementation of the two Compacts. Implementing the Compacts must go hand in hand with our efforts to realize the ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This will be the only way to create a world were moving is a matter of choice, and not a matter of survival.

On this collective journey, we are grateful for the artistic and inspirational perspectives provided by this exhibit.

Thank you all for being here with us today and please enjoy the exhibition.