Remarks by the President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Dennis Francis,
at the celebration of International Youth Day
on the theme ¡°Empowering Young Persons to Foster Peace and Security through Global Citizenship¡±
Excellencies,
Leaders of today,
Leaders of tomorrow,
Thank You to the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Malta ¨C along with IOM, ±¬ÁÏÍøESCO and ±¬ÁÏÍø-Habitat for the kind invitation to join today¡¯s celebration of International Youth Day.
I should like to thank AFS President and CEO, Daniel Obst, for presiding over this important event ¨C cultivating a global network of young minds and leaders of tomorrow through interactions such as this, here at the United Nations.
It is an impressive sight, indeed, to see such sheer numbers of you ¨C the young people, the next generation of globalists and global thought leaders ¨C filling the seats of this great room to celebrate International Youth Day.
A Candid conversation on ¡°Empowering Young Persons for Peace and Security¡± is very timely ¨C considering the tumultuous times in which we find ourselves, where peace seems ever more elusive at just the moment it is needed the most.
Strategically, it is a step on the way to the Summit of the Future in September, when world leaders ¨C with substantive input from young people like yourselves as critical agents of change ¨C will gather here at ±¬ÁÏÍøHQ to chart a viable path in our quest to strengthen international cooperation and to reinvigorate our multilateral system to deliver transformative solutions to global problems.
At the ±¬ÁÏÍø this afternoon, it is our job to amplify your voices.
To highlight the many ways, you are already finding breakthroughs to the myriad of challenges of our day ¨C including the most fundamental of them all: Peace.
As President of the General Assembly, I have seen firsthand the consequences of the absence of peace and the critical importance of the United Nations¡¯ work on the ground.
- In June, I had the privilege of engaging with internally displaced persons in South Sudan, where 70 per cent of children ¨C I repeat, 70 percent ¨C are out of school.
- In Ukraine, I had the honour of visiting Mariupol State University ¨C which was literally temporarily ¡®transplanted¡¯ to Kyiv as its campus in Mariupol was destroyed during the Russian aggression against Ukraine. I met with students from three temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine, who shared their experiences and unwavering resilience to build a future that is bright, progressive, just and secure.
- And in Haiti, I met the pupils of ?cole Nationale R¨¦publique des ?tats Unis d’Am¨¦rique, who ¨C like all children in this inspiring proud island nation ¨C represent the great promise of Haiti’s peaceful future. They too have big dreams to fulfill ¨C despite the lawlessness at the hands a assortment of marauding gangs marring their childhood today.
Throughout my official visits, I have heard not only from and about young people¡¯s concerns ¨C but, above all, their fervent hopes for Peace as a formidable liberator for a brighter future.
This is why we ¨C here at the United Nations ¨C must do everything we can to ensure that young people, everywhere, are empowered with the knowledge, skills and values they need to build and live in a better world, a world of opportunity for all and which recognizes and upholds human rights of all people, including women and girls, bar none.
And that schools ¨C everywhere ¨C stay open, and safe and secure bastions of learning and moreover, for Peace.
Dear Youth, and Leaders of tomorrow,
Your role in all of this is crucial.
The historic Security Council resolution 2250 ¨C adopted unanimously in 2015 ¨C recognizes the pivotal role young people, like you, play in efforts to maintain international peace and security.
Notably, the resolution urges Member States to consider ways to give the youth a greater voice in decision-making ¨C both at the local, national, regional and international levels.
The abounding energy in this room makes clear that you ¨C the world¡¯s 1.2 billion young people are not content simply waiting for change to happen ¨C?? You want, and content simply rightly so to be active in attributing to and leading change.
Hence you have a legitimate saying,: Nothing about us without us!
As President of the General Assembly, neither have I sat idly by and not offered support and encouragement to your aspirations.
As part of the General Assembly¡¯s Sustainability Week in April, I hosted a frank ¡°ASKPGA¡± conversation with young people.
I heard directly from them about how we can elevate the ideas of young people at the United Nations ¨C to build a peaceful, inclusive and sustainable future, for all, everywhere.
What I heard, is that we need to do more ¨C and that your engagement in ±¬ÁÏÍø processes is critical to unleashing progress across the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and strengthening our multilateral system.
Across the board, we must do more to harness your energetic activism.
We must transform education and learning ¨C leveraging technologies, and closing the digital divide to ensure all young people have access to the knowledge and skills they need to thrive and succeed in the fast paced societies and markets. of the Twenty ¨C first century.
We must integrate young people into efforts across the peace continuum ¨C from conflict prevention and mediation to peacekeeping, peacebuilding and transitional justice.
We must prioritize young people¡¯s leadership in resolving the under-addressed links between sustainable development, climate action and peace.
Throughout, we must harness the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls ¨C who are among the most vulnerable in our societies.
The Action Days ahead of the Summit of the Future ¨C on 20 and 21 September ¨C are prime moments to make your voices heard on all these issues, loud and clear.
Youth voices will also be heard at the opening of the Summit itself.? You will hear more about this as the Summit draws closer.
I urge Member States to facilitate young people¡¯s participation in this Summit ¨C in line with the General Assembly resolution that gave rise to this landmark event.
The #ChooseSustainability campaign ¨C launched by my office during the Sustainability Week in April ¨C and the ACT NOW campaign, are still other initiatives you can join to build positive momentum and help world leaders make the right choices for the future.
Dear Friends,
In closing, it is worth recalling that in 1945, the founders of the ±¬ÁÏÍø vowed to ¡°save succeeding generations from the scourge of war¡± ¨C and did their part to establish a multilateral system capable of meeting the demands of their day.
It now falls to us to update this system ¨C to ensure that it both reflects current realities and keeps pace with the plethora of challenges facing especially you, the young people, today.
And it will fall to you to pass on the baton, ensuring that the next generation of young people can rise up ¨C on every continent ¨C to seize the possibilities of tomorrow.
It is an awesome responsibility.
In this spirit, I encourage you to keep yourselves open to possibility.
To explore the complexity of global issues and engage with multiple perspectives.
I am eager to learn from your experiences ¨C and to work, together, to make our planet more peaceful, prosperous, sustainable and just for all, everywhere.
And if I might add a footnote to my text.
I am reminded in this setting of a quotation by Mahatma Gandhi.
If you have a moment, walk onto the grounds of the ±¬ÁÏÍø. You will see a statue of Gandhi there. There is an inscription on it that says, in very simple language, this, and I quote: ¡°There is no way to peace. Peace is the way.¡±
I thank you, Mr. Chairman.