Director-General's remarks at the "Joint Postgraduate Diploma on Peaceful Coexistence: Reinforcing Peace, Human Rights, and Development"

Meeting with participants of the University of Peace's course on Peaceful Coexistence

 Monday, 9 September 2024, at 4.00 p.m.

Virtual Meeting 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Dear friends,

It is a pleasure to meet you all – albeit virtually. Let me thank the University of Peace and personally Ambassador Puyana for facilitating this interaction.

I would like to share with you some thoughts about multilateralism and international cooperation, in the context of the work of the UN Office at Geneva, and then reflect on some broader trends in the global governance system amid the multiple challenges we are facing now. 

International Geneva & UN Office at Geneva

International Geneva is a key diplomatic centre and the main operational hub of the UN system, with about 11,000 international and national staff members working in the UN Secretariat and in over 40 UN funds, programmes, and specialized agencies. It also hosts numerous intergovernmental organizations, civil society organizations, academia, the private sector, and individuals at the forefront of technological innovation, trade, development and humanitarian assistance, health, peace-building and environmental protection.

International Geneva has been traditionally strong on peace initiatives and is often regarded as a ‘city of choice’ for mediators and special envoys because it provides a neutral, discreet and secure space for dialogue. Many peace talks, conflict prevention and mediation efforts are taking place at the Palais des Nations. We facilitate several UN-led peace processes, including on Syria, Libya, Cyprus, Georgia and Yemen. Most recently, in July 2024, the Palais des Nations hosted a round of UN-led talks between Sudan's warring parties. 

Housed at the Palais des Nations, UN Geneva serves as the representative office of the UN Secretary-General. Its core functions focus on the provision of services to support multilateral diplomacy. UN Geneva plays a leading role in fostering and enabling collaboration with and among Member States and supporting intergovernmental processes. Many high-level delegations gather at UN Geneva every year to participate in bilateral exchanges, meetings, and conferences. Among them are meetings of the Human Rights Council, the Conference on Disarmament, the annual session of the International Labour Conference and of the World Health Assembly. In 2023, UNOG hosted and serviced 8,478 meetings, which makes us one of the busiest UN duty stations in the world in terms of conference management.

We also foster partnerships for peacebuilding with our flagship annual event - the Geneva Peace Week - which brings together over 5,000 participants from around the world. The 2024 edition will take place from 14 to 18 October and I invite you all to join in-person, or virtually, this leading forum which provides a unique platform to share knowledge and practice on a diverse range of topics related to peace. 

Geneva is the birthplace of modern multilateralism. Back in 1919, the creation of the League of Nations embodied the ambitious vision of a new management of international relations after the devastating World War I. Its aim was nothing less than to safeguard universal peace.

Despite the failure that some consider it to have been, the League of Nations laid the foundations for what the United Nations Organization undertakes today. From disarmament to the protection of minorities and refugees, from international justice to intellectual cooperation and the regulation of labor, the legacy of the League of Nations has paved the way for the advent of contemporary multilateralism based on the rules of international law.

While it is often considered the center of the history of multilateralism, Geneva is also the center of its memory. The historical archives of the League of Nations, over 15 million pages listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World Register, are kept here, at the Palais des Nations. In 2022, we completed a major project to digitize the entire original archives of the League of Nations which are now available for everyone, free of charge. They bear witness to the commitment of our predecessors to the cause of peace and international cooperation.

With representatives of 184 Member States and a myriad of other actors, Geneva has always had a multicultural identity. Culture is also an important diplomatic instrument to reduce barriers and promote mutual respect and understanding among nations.  This is why cultural diplomacy is one of our priorities at the UN Office at Geneva and we support Member States in promoting cultural diversity through exhibitions, concerts and other cultural activities.

Thanks to its multicultural diversity, Geneva became an incredible centre of knowledge and innovation, and an ideal location to reinforce and develop synergies on new and emerging topics on the global agenda.

Just one example: Geneva is the birthplace of the International Gender Champions, a leadership network that brings together female and male decision-makers determined to break down gender barriers and make gender equality a working reality. To date, the network comprises over 330 active champions and 340 Alumni in several multilateral hubs around the world, who actively advance gender equality within their organizations and through programmatic work.

At a time where global challenges appear at a fast-evolving pace and continue to be more interrelated than ever, such a networked system as the one formed in Geneva provides the best place to come together around a table, discuss, and find innovative and collaborative solutions.

Global governance trends

Now, let me situate the UN work in the context of global governance trends, which are not just a routine change of our environment, but a rise of a new social and economic paradigm.

As the UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, the current state of the planet is broken. We face the highest level of geopolitical tensions in decades, new and developing global threats, and more deadly and complex conflicts. Growing inequalities, exacerbated by the pandemic, economic shocks, distrust at all levels and climate-related emergencies are on the rise.

In the face of these multiplying global challenges, the current system of international cooperation, developed after the Second World War, is under severe strain. 

But let us be clear, without the United Nations and its partners the world would be in a much worse place. The UN can be proud of many achievements. It is providing humanitarian assistance, sheltering refugees, defending human rights, feeding the hungry, helping to lift millions out of poverty, and working hard to prevent climate catastrophe.

• For example, in 2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) provided food and assistance to 152 million people in 120 countries and territories, including in Gaza and Sudan. 

• Another example: the UN and its agencies supply vaccines all over the world - Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance of the World Health Organization, with its partners, helps vaccinate almost half the world’s children against deadly infections, saving 3 million lives a year. Over the past 50 years, vaccination against 14 diseases has contributed to reducing infant deaths by 40% globally, and by more than 50% in the African Region.

• Turning to international peace and security: over the past 76 years, UN Peacekeeping forces have helped end conflicts in countries such as Cambodia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mozambique, Namibia, Tajikistan and – more recently – Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia and Sierra Leone. Without the UN, conflicts would inevitably grow ever more devastating and would threaten neighbouring countries. 

Nevertheless, the current multilateral architecture is failing us and there are several reasons for it. 

First, low confidence in national institutions and global governance. This has led to a crisis of trust between people and the institutions that represent them. At the same time, there is a rise of strongman politics and short-sighted unilateral approaches. Global decision-making is fixed on immediate gain, ignoring the long-term consequences of decisions and action – or inaction. In this landscape, countries and individuals have become disillusioned with globalization and fail to see the enormous gains of multilateral cooperation. 

Second, the international community is no longer multi-polar but rather polycentric, with an increasing number of state and non-state actors, including big tech companies, think tanks and NGOs. 

Third, the UN itself is in urgent need of reform. For being fit for purpose, the UN must reflect contemporary geopolitical and economic realities, and not the balance of power in 1945. As the UN Secretary-General recently said: “We cannot build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grandparents.” 

Fourth, we now live in an interconnected and fast-changing environment. The challenges we face are deeply intertwined and require a much more coordinated response at many levels. The COVID-19 pandemic, for one, was a tragic reminder of how deeply interdependent we are. We need to break down silos and improve how we work together across issues and sectors.

These, and other reasons, are different facets of one and only fundamental trend - the world is experiencing a great transformation, a transition to a new economic and social paradigm, to a new global order. Such transformations happen once in several centuries and in the past were always accompanied by some kind of turmoil or crisis. While failing to avoid it, we can still minimize the negative shocks on people and the planet.

The new paradigm means the world, which is far more interconnected, where national frontiers are no longer barriers to economic exchange, where decision-making is more decentralized, where the voices of all the nations are taken into account, where societies are more inclusive: a diverse world that shares common values firmly embodied in the UN Charter and a vision for our common future. We already have a roadmap to this new paradigm – the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which was endorsed by all the Member States in 2015. This is the most ambitious development plan humanity has ever had. 

In 2021, the UN Secretary-General released his report “Our Common Agenda”. Based on this report, the UN Secretariat released 11 policy briefs that outlined the UN’s vision for a reinvigorated multilateral system, with some concrete proposals for consideration by Member States. One of these UN policy briefs is “A New Agenda for Peace”. It reflects on today’s peace and security threats – including the changing conflict landscape; persistent violence outside of conflict environments; the potential weaponization of new technologies; rising inequalities; shrinking civic space; and the climate emergency – and emphasizes how violations of the UN Charter and a pushback against human rights, in particular women’s rights, represent a significant normative challenge. Among other recommendations, the New Agenda for Peace proposes to reform the Security Council, to make this body more just and representative. However, this reform cannot take place without the backing of Member States.

Future multilateralism needs to be far more networked and inclusive to reflect the world stage today. Governments are steering international cooperation, but there are many more actors shaping policy - civil society and academic institutions; private companies and philanthropists; city mayors and citizens. They must be included and accountable for their commitments and have a meaningful role in deliberations and decision-making.

Regional organizations also play a crucial role in this new era of multilateralism. They are closer to the root problems and can take swifter action. They also connect groups of countries for various objectives, such as economic integration. 

The African Union is an example of one regional organization, with whom the UN has been enhancing cooperation in conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping and peacebuilding.  The African Union and other African institutions are gradually taking the lead in maintaining peace on the continent. This is what we call networked multilateralism, where regional and sub-regional organizations co-manage international peace and security landscape alongside the United Nations. 

Ladies and gentlemen,

You have probably heard about the Summit of the Future, which will take place in just two weeks. It will provide an opportunity to mend eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively tackle current challenges as well as those that have emerged in recent years or may yet be over the horizon. We already have many existing agreements and commitments, including the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and many others. The Summit of the Future will look at how we can cooperate better to deliver on our aspirations and goals.

One thing is clear – it is only by working together that we can take bold actions that match today’s realities and tomorrow’s threats and opportunities. This is in the interest of every country, no matter how rich or powerful. I invite you to consult the Pact for the Future, which will be adopted at the Summit.

We are standing at a crossroads, a fragile moment in time where the state of multilateral cooperation is changing and is being put to the test. Now, more than ever though, we have a shared interest in looking after our planet, our future, and each other. As UN Secretary-General Guterres said: "The choices we make, or fail to make today, could result in a breakdown or a breakthrough to a greener, better and safer future. The choice is ours to make". 

Despite the challenges, the United Nations remains the only truly global, truly legitimate table around which all stakeholders can come together to find solutions. We must accelerate our efforts towards the networked, inclusive and effective multilateralism that the UN Secretary-General has called for. 

I hope that the Joint Postgraduate Programme on “Peaceful Coexistence: Reinforcing peace and security, human rights and development” by the University for Peace and the Gioya Higher Education Institution will foster innovative ideas for a renewed multilateralism to regain lost trust, heal divisions, and place humanity on the path to much-needed peace.

Thank you.