25th General Assembly of the Students’ League of Nations

Dear Students, Dear Teachers, Dear Friends:

It is a great pleasure to welcome you to the Palais des Nations today and to open the Twenty-Fifth General Assembly of the Students’ League of Nations.

One of the things I enjoy most in my work is interacting with young people like you who actively get engaged in matters that are influencing your life and your future.

First of all, 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 and propose solutions to the challenges the world is facing today.

We are happy to host this event at the Palais des Nations - the operational engine behind the actions addressing global challenges - so it is very fitting that your debates take place here, in the heart of the UN.

Your gathering takes place on a very special day: Seventy years ago, on 10 December 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights – a document of significant importance for the progress of humanity.

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”, - reads the first article of the Universal Declaration. All human beings; whatever our nationality, skin colour or belief; whatever our age, gender or ability – all of us are born to be equal and to be treated with dignity. No matter who you are, where you are or what you do. It is important that you keep the Universal Declaration in mind during your debates.

I looked at the list of issues you have chosen to tackle in the course of the next two days and let me commend you for the topics you have chosen.

Challenging the Security Council’s structure and mandate, addressing inequalities in access to electricity, reducing marine pollution from plastic, tackling issues related to reproductive health of women – all these issues are important and need to be addressed urgently.

Let me offer you some thoughts that might be helpful in your deliberations.

When we open a newspaper or a news feed, it is most often about the bad news all over the world:

• Protracted and new conflicts have become more complex than ever before.

• Climate change is real, and it aggravates many of today’s crises. Floods and droughts, storms and wildfires, extreme temperatures and coastal erosion force more and more people to move to new places.

• Natural disasters and man-made conflicts force more people to flee their homes than ever.

• Population growth, rapid urbanization, food insecurity and water scarcity have increased competition for resources and heightened tensions and instability in societies.
• Globalization and technological progress have contributed to growing inequalities, with people feeling left behind, many jobs disappearing and unemployment rates growing. In many parts of the world, youth unemployment has exploded.

• People’s fears and anger are being exploited by those who look for quick gains in reaching power. Many people have lost confidence not only in their leaders and Governments, but also in global institutions, including the United Nations.

This is the world we live in today. But we can also look at our world from a different angle.

You may find it surprising, but the world today is better in many ways than it has ever been, although progress has not been even across the world. Let me give you some examples:

• A large part of the planet is at peace today. On average, you are far less likely to be killed in a war today than at any time in the history of humankind. The number of war casualties is down by 75%, compared to every decade after the end of the Second World War.
• The number of people living in extreme poverty has declined by more than half since 1990. Since the turn of the century, some 1.2 billion people have gained access to electricity, which is generally one of the first steps out of poverty, as all the modern technologies that enrich our lives need electricity to work.

• A person who is born today is - in most cases – less likely to be illiterate or victim of violence than ever before.

• We live longer. The breakthroughs in medicine have been unprecedented. For instance, global deaths from AIDS or tuberculosis have fallen drastically in the last 15 years.

• The world’s energy menu is becoming cleaner. Consider this: in April 2017 was the last time coal was burned for manufacturing purposes in the United Kingdom – the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Not only have we begun to use renewable sources of energy more consistently, but the costs of using solar and wind energy have been decreasing in the last few years. This means that renewable energy sources are indeed competitive.

I gave you these examples not to convince you that everything is fine, but to demonstrate that extraordinary progress in our lives has happened just in the last few decades, notably, since the end of the Second World War.

To achieve further progress, or at least not to lose the gains from the last decades, we must continue addressing the multiple and interconnected challenges I spoke about earlier.

The global nature of today’s challenges requires international cooperation. There is a direct link between the peace and prosperity achieved in the last seventy years and the establishment of multilateral institutions like the United Nations.

Over the next two days, you will be testing the limits of the UN – the only universal organization offering a table around which all Member States and an increasing number of non-State actors can sit down and resolve their issues and disagreements in a peaceful and forward looking way. In doing so, you must keep in mind the UN’s objective, namely to make the world a better place for all.

To help you frame your discussions, let me remind you about the common roadmap world leaders came up with three years ago and why this roadmap is important for us all.

I am speaking, of course, about the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is the most ambitious development plan in history. It is our global roadmap for how to achieve the world we want by 2030.

Its 17 goals and detailed 169 targets address the multitude of problems of our times: ending poverty and hunger, improving health and education, achieving gender equality, making cities more sustainable, protecting the environment, developing infrastructure, creating decent work, reducing inequalities and promoting strong institutions.

The 2030 Agenda is promising because:

First, it does not leave anyone behind. The benchmark for success is first of all the situation of those at the bottom; those most vulnerable; those excluded or cut off from the waves of progress.

Second, the implementation of the goals is everybody’s responsibility. The governments take a leading role, of course, but a lot of other actors must get involved – civil society, private sector, universities and schools, international organizations, and every single person, like you and me.

And third, these goals are indivisible and universal. If we fail one, we will not achieve the others. Also, it is not an option to achieve them in just one single place or only in a few countries. The challenges that we face are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, and so should be the solutions we come up with.

Financing the implementation of the Agenda 2030 remains a challenge. Our ability to embrace change and to learn to do business differently in a more horizontal and collaborative manner in partnership with all stakeholders, including non-State actors such as civil society, academia and the private sector, will be crucial for the success of the Sustainable Development Goals.

I am encouraged to see that some of your draft resolutions refer to these Goals. I encourage all of you to frame the solutions you offer through the prism of these goals, because this is the plan that was unanimously agreed by all countries that adopted them three years ago. The implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals is well underway, and it is important to have everyone on board.

You – young people and students - have an important role to play. Our world today is very young. It is home to 1.8 billion young people between the ages of 10 and 24 – the largest young generation in history. You have the potential and responsibility to lead, to change and to challenge structures and states of mind.

As one of the greatest visionaries of our times, our former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said: “You can never be too young to lead and never too old to learn”. Your presence here is an indicator that you are those leaders ready to shape your future. I encourage you to use your energy, passion and creativity for making this world a better place for all.

I wish you much success in your debates and deliberations, and I hope your experience of the next two days will inspire you to great achievements in the future.

Thank you.