23rd General Assembly of the Students’ League of Nations

Dear Students, Dear Friends,

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais des Nations on the occasion of the 23rd General Assembly of the Students’ League of Nations.

Let me thank the International School of Geneva and the Students’ League of Nations for organizing, every year, this simulation of multilateral discussions, in which students from different parts of the world debate on issues of global concern in an effort to propose solutions to the challenges the world is facing today. I am always happy to talk to young people like you who actively get engaged in matters that are influencing their life and their future, and I thank you for inviting me back this year. During these two days you will be experiencing in a real setting what a multilateral diplomacy and negotiations process can look like in practice, and how important it is to find common grounds with others while keeping your objectives in mind.

I have looked at the themes you have chosen to tackle this year, and like in previous years, I have not been disappointed. Marine environment, rising numbers of refugees, extremism on the internet, and gender equality in education – these are issues that are also high on the agenda of the United Nations and international community.

Let me offer you some reflections on each of the four draft resolutions you will be discussing in the course of these two days, and I will then speak about the common global denominator – a framework to help us move forward.

The first draft resolution relates to the regulation of human activity in high seas in order to conserve marine environment and resources. Indeed, the Earth’s ecosystem depends on oceans, seas and coastal areas, which cover more than two-thirds of the earth’s surface. Over three billion people depend on marine and coastal resources for their livelihoods. Oceans, as a regulator of the global climate, absorb greenhouse gases and provide us with the oxygen we breathe. Climate change, marine pollution, unsustainable extraction of marine resources and physical alterations of coastal habitats and landscapes – these factors threaten the oceans’ biodiversity and negatively affect human well-being worldwide. The international community started addressing these threats only a few decades ago, starting from the outcome document of the Rio+ 20 Summit in 1992 called “The Future We Want”. Since then, the international response to address threatened ecosystem has become stronger, but more needs to be done to reduce the negative impacts on the marine environment through a more sustainable use of resources, changes in production and consumption patterns, and improved management and control of human activities.

Your second draft text aims to address the disproportionate numbers of refugees in some countries. The UN Refugee Agency, reports that an unprecedented 65.3 million people around the world have been forced from home by now, and about 34,000 people flee their home every day. Among them, nearly 21.3 million are refugees – those who were forced to leave and crossed an international border. Half of the refugees are from Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia. You have rightly noted the difficulties faced by some countries that host great numbers of refugees. For example, in Lebanon, one person in five is a refugee from Syria. The refugee and migration issue is high on the agenda of the international community. Three major conferences this year have paved the way for future action. The first was the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul in May 2016, which proposed action to reinforce the nexus between development and humanitarian action. It was followed by the High-Level summit to address large movements of refugees and migrants hosted by the UN Secretary-General in New York on 19 September, which saw the adoption of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants. Member States agreed in this Declaration on a number of commitments, including to achieve a more equitable sharing of the burden and responsibility for hosting and supporting the world’s refugees.

The New York Declaration expands the concept of the refugee response beyond humanitarian aid, like food, medicine or shelter, to include education and work opportunities. On 20 September, President Obama, joined by UN Secretary-General as well as leaders from several countries, hosted the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees to generate greater global support in terms of resettlement opportunities and financial resources. Fifty-two countries and international organizations participated in the Summit, announcing commitments that cumulatively increased their total 2016 financial contributions to UN appeals and international humanitarian organizations by approximately $4.5 billion over 2015 levels and roughly doubled the number of refugees to be resettled in 2016. These cumulative efforts should address the current short-term spike in numbers of refugees and migrants, however much more will need to be done to address long-term migratory trends and to adapt our legal, political and practical frameworks.

The third draft resolution looks at Internet as a tool for the spread of extremism. The growth in Internet access and mobile phone use empower individuals nowadays in fundamentally new ways, connecting people in different parts of the world at one click. The Internet offers enhanced opportunities for access to information and sharing of knowledge, enrichening exchange and intercultural dialogue. It promotes innovation across all spheres of contemporary life and between a wide range of actors. At the same time, the Internet can be vehicle to transmit different kinds of ideas, including messages of intolerance and hatred that are incompatible with our global shared values of peace, justice and human dignity. Violent extremism is an affront to the principles of the United Nations, and it is a rising threat to societies everywhere. This is especially relevant for young people - 1.2 billion of you, who are important actors and beneficiaries of the digital age, but who are also among the most vulnerable groups, especially in the context of challenging social and economic conditions, including unemployment, poverty, and enduring situations of conflict.

In February this year, the UN General Assembly welcomed the initiative by the Secretary-General on his Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism. In the Plan, the UN Secretary-General called for a comprehensive approach encompassing not only essential security-based counter-terrorism measures but also systematic preventive steps to address the underlying conditions that drive individuals to radicalize and join violent extremist groups. Building upon these developments, the Geneva Conference on Preventing Violent Extremism, which took place in April 2016, provided an opportunity for the international community to share experiences and good practices and to discuss challenges and opportunities to prevent violent extremism at the global, regional and national level. Countering violent extremism calls for actions across the board and the long-term measures that strengthen the foundations for solidarity. Care needs to be exercised to ensure that any restrictions on freedom of expression in the context of combatting violent extremism are clearly and narrowly defined and meet the three-part test of legality, proportionality and necessity.

Your last resolution looks at ways to promote gender equality in educational establishments. The world has achieved important progress towards gender equality and women’s empowerment under the Millennium Development Goals, from 2000 to 2015, including equal access to primary education between girls and boys. Still, women and girls continue to suffer discrimination in every part of the world, and full equality in opportunities and rights is yet to be reached. The World Economic Forum recently released a report saying that “if current trends continue, a baby girl born today will only see the gender gap in health, education, economic opportunity and politics completely close around the world if she lives to 83.” There are still 57 million children who are out of primary school in the world – this is seven times more than the population of Switzerland. In many places of the world, it is still more difficult for girls than for boys to go to school because of poverty, unaffordable school fees, cultural norms favouring boys’ education when a family has limited resources, or hostile environment at school and around it. This is, of course, unacceptable. In response to this troubling situation, the United Nations Girls’ Education Initiative (UNGEI), a partnership of organizations dedicated to promoting girls’ education, was launched in 2000 by then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, to accelerate action on girls’ education. Girls’ education, we know, boosts the economy, raises living standards and promotes development, so it is crucial to strengthen our joint efforts in this area.

Now, remember, in the beginning I told you about the common global denominator that addresses all the thematic areas that you have selected to debate, and many more? Let me now tell you more about this essential element that is missing in all four of your draft resolutions.

Last year, our leaders agreed on a set of frameworks and policy directives that provide us with an opportunity to advance our global agenda. A new agreement on Disaster Risk Reduction, the so called Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development, the Paris Climate Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development together yield the most comprehensive set of shared goals that the international community has ever set for itself. This is our collective road-map for action.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development contains 17 goals – we call them the SDGs - on all the issues that you have selected to tackle, and many more. You can see the 17 SDGs now on the screen behind me. These include ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, achieving gender equality, making cities more sustainable, combating climate change and protecting environment, developing infrastructure and creating decent work, reducing inequalities and promoting strong institutions. For these 17 goals, there are a total of 169 more specific targets against which we can measure progress.

I will show you now how this agenda relates to your discussions today. Goal 14 is about conserving and sustainably using the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Next June, the high-level United Nations Conference to support the implementation of this goal will be convened in New York, coinciding with World Oceans Day. Goal 5 is about achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls. Goal 4 is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all. Almost all of the 17 SDGs deal in one way or another with the deep, structural problems which lie behind the world’s growing numbers of refugees. Preventive approach is guiding our responses to the threats of extremism and terrorism. And at the core of these goals, the protection of human rights of each and every individual is the common thread and the common ambition.

Let me give you just one more example to demonstrate the interlinked and integrated nature of the SDGs. Goal 16 on peace, justice and strong institutions contains 12 targets, while 7 other goals contain 24 more targets related to goal 16. This is because goal 16 cannot be achieved on its own, but only when linked with other goals, such as the elimination of poverty, quality education, gender equality and others.

Agenda 2030 is not just the United Nations agenda. It is an agenda for all of us in all countries of the world, and we have 14 years left to implement it. It cuts across issues, across organizations and across generations. Achieving this agenda requires all of us to work together in new ways, including the public and private sectors, UN system, academia, civil society and other actors. I encourage you to incorporate this agenda in your deliberations, and I encourage you to also spread the message to your friends and fellow students.

In conclusion, let me wish you a fruitful discussion over the next two days, and I hope that the ideas that you generate at this session will inspire you to even greater achievements in the future. I will look forward to reading the final texts of your resolutions.

I am now happy to take your questions and to hear your comments.

Thank you.