Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure to be here today. It is a particular honour for me, on behalf of Her Majesty’s Government, to welcome back to the United Kingdom United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
I would like to thank you, Secretary General, for extending your visit and for joining us here today.
UN at 70
Your visit comes at an historic time and brings you to an historic venue.
70 years ago last month, in this very building, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time. Those original 51 states came together with a bold set of ambitions:
- to bind together former enemies,
- to build a lasting peace,
- and to resolve future conflict.
Success was by no means guaranteed - but today, the United Nations, with its 193 members working together, is synonymous with all these things and more.
It sets norms, builds consensus, mediates conflicts, enforces agreements, holds states to account, coordinates disaster relief and spends $26 billion a year on development.
As the Foreign Secretary said when he addressed the General Assembly last September, the United Nations is “the cornerstone of the rules-based international system”.
It is the world’s leading multilateral organisation.
It is unique in its ability to draw together contributions from across its members, to pool resources and share the burden of tackling the gravest threats to security and prosperity.
UK/UN Collaboration and Successes
We are playing our part. We pledged to meet the 0.7% Overseas Development Assistance and 2% NATO defence spending targets - and we continue to stand at the forefront of global humanitarian action.
We are proud of our contribution, but the success the UN has enjoyed under your leadership – and the immense challenges it has faced – underline the need for all member states to come together and play their part.
The Sustainable Development Goals, agreed last September, set ambitious objectives for the next 15 years. They emphasise the clear links between the rule of law, open institutions, peace and development.
We will work with you as we seek to move swiftly towards implementation of these goals.
In May, the Prime Minister will host an Anti-Corruption Summit, galvanising action against the activities and practices that threaten to undermine progress across the development agenda.
It was under your stewardship that UN member states delivered an unprecedented agreement at the COP21 climate talks in Paris. This established a comprehensive regime for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, aiming to slow the alarming rise in global temperatures.
The major reviews of peace operations that you commissioned, and your response to their findings, set the path for UN members to meet the challenges in peacekeeping and peacebuilding in the years ahead. We fully support this.
The Prime Minister pledged at last year’s Leader’s Summit on peacekeeping that the UK will double our military contribution.
This year, we will host an international meeting to build on the momentum created by that summit.
Throughout your tenure, you have placed respect for human rights at the heart of the United Nations. Your “Rights Up Front” initiative deserves our full support in order to ensure it is deeply embedded long after you or I have left office.
As members of the Human Rights Council, we will continue to promote universal human rights as a key to economic growth, and an antidote to conflict.
Challenges ahead
Secretary General, I am personally committed to ensuring the United Kingdom continues to play this leading role in the UN. Building on your successes, working with your good offices, with other member states, and with the UN’s agencies and bodies, towards our shared aims.
Sadly, the challenges we face show no sign of abating.
Today, our top priority must be to end the appalling humanitarian crisis in Syria.
Secretary General, I am grateful to you for co-hosting this week’s London conference.
I am also grateful to all the governments that have pledged to help the Syrian people. They have suffered for far too long.
We must build on this week’s work with further action at the World Humanitarian Summit in May, and in reform of the humanitarian system.
Of course a humanitarian response will not work in isolation. We will work with you, your Special Representative Staffan De Mistura and with other member states to end the bloodshed in Syria, and to create an inclusive political process.
We must also be unflinching in our efforts to crush Daesh – and other terrorist organisations – to free the world of their barbaric acts and warped ideology.
Your action plan on Preventing Violent Extremism sets a framework for tackling the root causes of these evils. The UK will work with you in any way we can to ensure implementation in member states.
It is only through a coordinated approach - and collective action on root causes – that we can cut the oxygen that feeds these murderous groups.
We must stop their violence, end suffering and begin to address the undeniable consequences: increased poverty, forced displacement and irregular migration.
Conclusion
The scale of these challenges cannot be underestimated. However, I conclude by returning to the unique role of the United Nations in harnessing collective will and effort.
Secretary General, you have shown how this works at its best. For nearly a decade, you have served the office with drive, dignity and commitment. On behalf of the UK government, I thank you once again for your leadership and look forward to working with you in the remaining months of your tenure.
The Rt Hon Baroness Anelay of St Johns DBE is Minister of State at the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office where her portfolio includes the UN.