The Blue Star of Life

Minister Aoki,
Ambassador Otabe,
Ambassador Ney,
Ambassador Nguyen,
Mr. Kirata, [Chairman of The Blue Star of Life]
Ladies and Gentlemen:

Welcome to today’s cultural event in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the United Nations. I thank the Permanent Mission of Japan and the Blue Star of Life for keeping up the good tradition to gather every five years at this place to remind us of the importance of safeguarding world peace and the environment. This vase representing planet earth was created by Yasuhiko Shirakata, a former volunteer of the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers. Named “The Blue Star of Life” it was presented to the United Nations at its 50th anniversary and placed in this hall. Since then it has remained as a daily reminder to those passing by.

To preserve future generations from the scourge of war was a core motivation when the United Nations was founded. During the past seven decades, the challenges to peace have been changing. Dwindling resources and environmental degradation, such as lack of access to water, climate change, pollution and disasters are becoming new sources of conflict and drivers of displacement.

The recently adopted 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals provide an integrated framework that links goals related to peace and the environment. The SDG framework and its indicators will be our measure of success over the next 15 years.

The challenges we face today are too complex to be addressed by any one actor. A multitude of new stakeholders will become increasingly important players alongside Member States. Tapping the creative potential of youth and the organizations representing them will be crucial for developing innovative solutions to the new challenges of conflict as they present themselves. Therefore I am glad to welcome the young people who have come here today to share their messages.

As we renew this commitment on the occasion of the anniversary of the United Nations, we should remind ourselves that our blue planet earth, this blue star in the universe that is alive, that has human beings populating its surface, is vulnerable. Just as this vase can break, the planet can die if we do not handle its environment with care and if we do not find a way of living peacefully together as human beings.

I sincerely thank the Permanent Mission of Japan for their continued commitment to protecting peace and the environment.

Please join me in celebrating our blue star of life. We all have to add our pebble, making our small contribution for the protection of our wonderful blue planet.

I thank you.