Junior Diplomat Initiative Youth Dialogue 2018: “The Diplomatic Kaleidoscope: A Reflection of Inclusivity”

Excellencies,
Dear students,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a pleasure to be with you this morning and to share some brief observations ahead of your day of discussions. Thank you to everyone involved, in particular the Junior Diplomat Initiative, for bringing us together.

When talking about women’s empowerment, it’s good to remind ourselves of the stakes; to remind ourselves of some fundamental truths.

Without gender equality, the world can neither be just nor decent; economies can neither be stable nor resilient; conflicts are infinitely harder to resolve, and societies are less peaceful.

There are countless examples of how diplomacy has been enriched by the power of female diplomats. Take for example, the UN Charter, our founding document. There were only four women who signed the Charter in 1945, a shamefully low number. But we owe it to these four women that the document included the phrase – and I quote – “to ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms without discrimination against race, sex, condition or creed.” It may sound obvious to today’s ears, but back in 1945 it was as contentious as it was courageous.

Our more recent history is equally rich in examples of powerful female leadership in the UN:

̶ I am thinking for example of Dame Margaret Anstee, the first female Resident Coordinator, the first female Assistant Secretary-General, the first female Under Secretary-General and Special Representative of the Secretary-General, who played a key role in the end of the civil war in Angola and who was pivotal in mainstreaming the issue of Peacebuilding.
̶ Or of Sadako Ogata, the first female High Commissioner for Refugees who led large-scale emergency operations in Iraq and the Balkans.
̶ Or Mary Robinson, the first female High Commissioner for Human Rights, who helped transform the office and leverage its powers of advocacy.

These days, it certainly feels like we are at a pivotal moment for women’s rights; that the pillars of patriarchy are finally shaking.

This is encouraging, but it also shines a bright light on how much still remains to be done in breaking the structural barriers that women face in every part of the world – unequal pay, harmful stereotypes, chauvinism, discrimination and sexual harassment.

We should be clear that the world of diplomacy - the world of the UN - is not miraculously immune to the broader environment in which it operates. Consider the following:

̶ Of the 15 Ambassadors in the Security Council, only 3 are female.
̶ In Geneva, less than a third [26%] of 179 Permanent Representatives are women.
̶ Across the world, just 3% of our peacekeepers are women.

The good news is that rectifying this unacceptable imbalance is an absolute top priority at the highest levels of the UN. Under the leadership of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, we now have – for the first time ever – full parity in the Organization’s senior management team, far in advance of his self-imposed 2021 deadline.

In Geneva, I am happy that we are very close to this target already today. Female staff currently make up 46.5% – and 54% of all candidates selected for positions in UN Geneva last year were women.

Change is also coming through the 600 tangible actions of over 200 Gender Champions - an initiative we launched in Geneva in 2015 and which has since expanded to New York, Vienna, Nairobi and beyond.

These champions – ambassadors and heads of international organizations, leaders from academia, NGOs and the private sector – are trailblazers and role models for tomorrow’s leaders.

Speaking of tomorrow’s leaders – I like to think that we have some of them in this room today. As you finish your studies and embark on your professional careers, I hope that diplomacy - whether for your country or in international organizations - remains a pathway of choice for many of you.

It’s true that diplomats are no longer the larger-than-life figures that some 19th century novels might have you believe they once were. That may be true. But I would argue that they are just critical as ever.

If anything, the qualities that make up a good diplomat will be needed more than ever if the current trendlines of fragmentation and strife are any indication.

So what are these qualities?

̶ For one thing, open-mindedness, empathy and a desire to actually “go there”: as a diplomat you give your country frank and first-hand insights into what is happening on the ground. You break down stereotypes, contextualize information and defuse the many risks of misunderstandings.
̶ Another quality is this: curiosity and a truly interdisciplinary outlook. As diplomats, you may never become a technical expert in any one field – your career will be too diverse for that. Instead, the value you bring to the table is the ability to connect the dots across disciplines, to break down silos.

Just consider the challenges we face today – from climate change, rampant inequality, to protracted conflicts. Each of them is intricately linked to the other – climate disasters can catalyze conflicts, which can in turn exacerbate inequalities and so on and so forth.

To address these efficiently, we need to take a holistic approach, we need collaboration across regions, sectors and disciplines. We also need the greatest possible diversity - and this begins with the equal representation of men and women. In short: we need diplomats; we need you.

Thank you.