United Nations in India

India is critical in determining the success of the SDGs, globally. At the UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi noted, “Sustainable development of one-sixth of humanity will be of great consequence to the world and our beautiful planet. It will be a world of fewer challenges and greater hope; and, more confident of its success”. NITI Aayog, the Government of India’s premier think tank, has been entrusted with the task of coordinating the SDGs, mapping schemes related to the SDGs and their targets, and identifying lead and supporting ministries for each target. In addition, the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has been leading discussions for developing national indicators for the SDGs. State governments are key to India’s progress on the SDGs as they are best placed to ‘put people first’ and to ensuring that ‘no one is left behind’. The UN Country Team in India supports NITI Aayog, Union ministries and state governments in their efforts to address the interconnectedness of the goals, to ensure that no one is left behind and to advocate for adequate financing to achieve the SDGs.

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Publication

17 August 2022

UN India Annual Report 2021

The UN in India 2021 Annual Report gives an overview of how the UN in India, partnering closely with the Government and our stakeholders in civil society, the private sector, and communities, redoubled our efforts to save lives, protect people and build back better through the second year of the pandemic. This report covers the penultimate year of the UN - Government of India Sustainable Development Framework (UNSDF) 2018-2022, which continued to guide our support to India’s development priorities, even as we repurposed a significant part of our planned activities and budget towards the COVID-19 response. We worked to respond to the health emergency, training frontline workers, delivering essential equipment and medical supplies, addressing misinformation, and supporting India’s COVID-19 vaccination campaign — the world’s largest. We also responded to the social and economic impact of the pandemic, working to ensure everyone, especially the most marginalised, had access to social safety nets and that households and businesses stayed afloat. We combatted malnutrition and food insecurity, and continued to respond to the unprecedented disruption faced by children and adolescents impacted by school closures. And we didn’t lose sight of the greatest existential threat of all, continuing to partner with the Government of India in responding to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and rising levels of pollution. Throughout the year, we remained focused on ensuring that the recovery was gender-sensitive and that gender equality was at the centre of all of our initiatives.

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31 July 2022

A global movement to foster kindness

The sun is still to rise over Kerala’s Manchadikkari Village, but N.S. Rajappan is wide awake. The 69-year-old villager, whose legs were paralysed after he contracted polio as a child, crawls down to the Meenachil River and slides onto a boat. Then, for 17 hours, he collects plastic waste from the waterways of Vembanad Lake. He has done this almost daily for the last five years. “And he plans to continue to work every day, spreading kindness to the natural world around him, one plastic bottle at a time,” reads a chapter in a book called ‘Kindness Matters’. For thousands of students in India and others across the world, Rajappan is a beacon of hope. Many, like him, are making efforts — small or big — for a better world. Rajappan’s story is one of 50 such accounts in the collection, published in November 2021. The story reinforces the need for kindness, which is at the heart of a global movement led by the United Nations Educational, Social and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development). The book is a part of the #KindnessMatters Campaign, which was launched in 2018 by UNESCO MGIEP and seeks to mobilise the world’s youth to achieve the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by all UN members. The SDGs include action to end poverty and hunger, for gender equality, quality education and clean water and sanitation. The campaign started on October 2, 2018 – an important date and year on the calendar for principles of kindness. The apostle of peace, Mahatma Gandhi, was born on October 2, 1869, and 2018 marked the start of celebrations to mark his 150th birth anniversary. The year also commemorated the birth centenary of South African leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Nelson Mandela. The campaign focuses on youth and was launched with youth activities across India, South Africa and Pakistan. Indian youth groups marked the day with a mass blood donation drive in collaboration with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, food distribution and educational sessions for unprivileged children. The campaign invited participants to submit their accounts of kindness — anything from helping an animal in need to donating a blanket — to a storyboard on the UNESCO MGIEP website. So far, 1.2 million kind acts have been recorded from youth across 150 countries. To give the youth opportunities to acquire the social and emotional skills that promote coexistence, UNESCO MGIEP organised the first World Youth Conference on Kindness in New Delhi in August 2019. Centred on the theme ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam: Gandhi for the Contemporary World’, it highlighted the role of compassion in achieving the SDGs. The Sanskrit words ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ mean the world is a family. The conference provided young global thought leaders with an engaging platform to help them develop their social and emotional capacities and build momentum to celebrate World Kindness Day on November 13. Introduced in 1998 by the World Kindness Movement (WKM), a coalition of international NGOs, November 13 focuses on the power of positivity every year. The second world conference was held in October 2020, with the focus on ‘Kindness for Peaceful and Sustainable Coexistence’. On October 2, 2021, UNESCO MGIEP and Faze Media (Canada), a media group, hosted the third World Youth Conference on Kindness on the theme ‘Achieving with Kindness’. The free, three-hour virtual conference celebrated the collection of more than 1 million stories of how kindness for self, others, and nature helps achieve the SDGs. Thirty-five young people shared powerful stories on how their deeds of empathy, mindfulness and compassion had transformed themselves and their communities for sustainable and peaceful societies. YOUTH POWER The kindness movement has been drawing the youth in India, too. In April 2021, students from 107 schools across the country joined the global campaign. Since then, the schools have collected over 100,000 stories of kindness from students, teachers, parents, and alumni and submitted them to the UN. Clearly, schools have been looking at lessons taught not just in classrooms. “Teaching Science and Mathematics is not the only job of an educationist,” says Jyoti Arora, Principal, Mount Abu Public School, Delhi. “We have to empower students to build a caring and sharing society. How do we do this? By fostering an environment of kindness, where everyone respects each other,” she explains. From early 2020, the school has been organising a slew of activities to inculcate kindness among students. To begin with, it found that most students associated kindness with donations. Educational online sessions were conducted to broaden this definition. “Kindness can be anything — from watering a tree to feeding a stray animal,” Arora stresses. No act of kindness is too small or too big. For Priya Tripathi, a student of Grade IX, it translated into helping a friend who had met with a road accident and had to be taken to a hospital. “The timely treatment helped her recover fast,” Tripathi says. For Tanishka Johar, a Grade VI student at the same school, kindness is about regularly feeding street dogs in her neighbourhood and planting saplings. “These small acts of kindness give me a huge sense of achievement,” she says. The school has set up the post of Kindness Leader in the Student Council. Just outside the school campus, it has erected a Wall of Kindness where anyone can place anything — from warm clothes and utensils to pencil boxes — for others to pick up. During daily attendance, students are asked to relate acts of kindness. The school compiles a monthly list of such deeds by students. Those who score the highest on the kindness barometer win the title of Kindness Ambassadors. “This motivates others to add to their kitty of kindness stories,” Arora says. The school has also proved that kindness is contagious. “It has had a ripple effect. We saw the movement turn into a tsunami,” Arora recalls. Seeing the benefits of the #KindnessMatters Campaign among her students, she gave a presentation to the Action Committee of Unaided Recognised Private Schools, an association of 1,500 schools across India, in April 2021. Of these, 107 signed up for the UNESCO MGIEP campaign. THE LARGER PICTURE The late South African Nobel Laureate, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, had once said, “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” This is the crux of the kindness campaign, which highlights the need for people to be kind to themselves, to those around them and, effectively, to the world. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” By creating connections that strengthen the culture of kindness, the campaign provides young people with an empowering platform where they share stories of compassion, and reflect how these can be used to address global challenges such as climate change, migration, diversity and social inclusion. Many of the stories on the site, for instance, are about cleaning up one’s immediate environment. Scores of Indian students have contributed to the storyboard. In the slums of Bhubaneswar, the capital of the eastern state of Odisha, doctors and interns from the Kalinga Institute of Dental Sciences organised awareness campaigns about hand hygiene and social distancing, said one message on the site. A youth posted a message from Kolkata, in the eastern state of West Bengal, about distributing rations to people in COVID-19 times. A school student from the western Indian state of Maharashtra wrote to say that she made cards especially to thank her teachers — describing them as Corona warriors. Acts of kindness continue to pour in. But that’s not surprising, for neuro-scientific studies have found that human beings are inherently kind. And altruistic or kind behaviour engages brain networks associated with rewards. The campaign hopes to capitalise on this biological need to build positive change. Kindness is a trait that is wired in the human brain, says Nandini Chatterjee Singh, Senior Programme Officer, UNESCO MGIEP. “Research shows that practising kindness releases oxytocin, a neurotransmitter that plays an integral role in forming social bonds and trust, and thus contributes to happiness. Being kind also increases serotonin, which helps regulate mood and stay positive. Kindness is highly beneficial as a practice,” she adds. The campaign also underlines the role of other platforms focusing on kindness. Take Alina Alam, who was invited to speak at the 2021 World Youth Conference on Kindness. Alam runs a chain of cafes — called Mitti Café — that are wholly managed by people with physical and mental disabilities. “When a business invests in kindness, the ROI [return on investment] is high,” she says. Mitti Café started as a zero capital start-up in 2017. Almost 90 per cent of the café’s infrastructure came from donations — from spoons, cups and plates, to second-hand ovens. As the project gained traction, Alam rolled out the Mitti Social Initiative Foundation, which trains adults with disabilities and helps them find employment. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the foundation launched its Karuna Meal Campaign, which seeks to feed two million people in need. “The idea came from a person with cerebral palsy. He used to live on the road before becoming a part of the Mitti family,” Alam says. Kindness is not just building bridges but also instilling confidence among people. “We expect Governments, NGOs, and corporations to make a difference. The truth is, we need to look inwards and bring incremental change in our lives,” says musician Ricky Kej, who launched the #KindnessAnthem at the #KindnessConcert as part of the 2019 World Youth Conference on Kindness. “We need to know that with each small act of kindness we create a huge positive impact,” Kej adds. The anthem was created by musicians from four continents. Among the organisations that hope to take the campaign further is the WKM. “When UNESCO put out kindness as its goal, I jumped with joy. Here was a powerful, global organisation that says kindness matters to SDGs. It was in direct alignment with the work we were doing,” WKM President Nirmala Mehendale says. As part of the #KindnessMatters Campaign, WKM conducted workshops at the 2021 conference and added 20,000 kindness stories to MGIEP’s storyboard. After the pandemic, what the world needs is a ‘ kindemic’, Mehendale stresses. After the pandemic, what the world needs is a ‘kindemic’. Kindness advocate Debashis Mohanty will agree. The Odisha youth’s story, posted on the campaign storyboard, focuses on the COVID-19 pandemic. “In this pandemic we have started helping people in every possible way” — providing food to those who need it and distributing groceries, masks and sanitisers, he writes. “Good action (would) give strength to ourselves and inspire good actions in others.” Acts of kindness embraced the pandemic-induced lockdown in particular, a period that witnessed untold misery. As the offline and online worlds came together, social media played a key role in helping people reach out to NGOs, lend individual help, or set up crowd-sourced social initiatives to provide food, PPE kits, and other necessities to those in need. Social media enabled people to stay connected and work together — both as individuals and as communities — to support people who needed assistance, in a time when physical liaising was almost impossible. Large numbers of students reached out to people who’d been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and faced financial problems because of loss of jobs and other related issues. India’s national lockdown in 2020 left many daily wage workers without work and food. That was when Delhi’s Modern Public School, in collaboration with Roti (bread) Bank, an initiative by a group dedicated to feeding the poor, started Roti Banks on Wheels to feed families in underprivileged areas. The bus collected food packets from citizens who volunteered to contribute to the service and delivered them to those in need of it. Roti is an Indian staple. UNESCO MGIEP Director Anantha K. Duraiappah points out that the need to contribute, help, support and belong is a fundamental predisposition in human beings, who are inherently kind. “Reflect. Empathize. Be kind,” Duraiappah writes in the foreword to the book Kindness Matters. Reflect. Empathize. Be kind. Building on last year’s success, the 2022 goal is to collect 5 millions acts of kindness and to organise the fourth World Youth Conference on Kindness. A little step, indeed, can lead to a movement, and, thereby, a happier world. As Mahatma Gandhi said: “In a gentle way, you can shake the world.” To share your kindness stories, log on to https://kindnessmatters.paperform.co. To know more, log on to https://mgiep.unesco.org/kindness. Credits: Writer: UN/Varuna Verma/ Word Wide Media Illustrations: Ishan Mudgal, Anasua, Tulika Trivedi Pictures: Mount Abu Public School

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12 November 2022

COP 27 - Sharm El-Sheikh

Delivering for people and the planet From 6 to 18 November, Heads of State, ministers, and negotiators, along with climate activists, mayors, civil society representatives and CEOs are meeting in the Egyptian coastal city of Sharm el-Sheikh for the largest annual gathering on climate action. The 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – COP27 – builds on the outcomes of COP26 to deliver action on an array of issues critical to tackling the climate emergency – from urgently reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience, and adapting to the inevitable impacts of climate change, to delivering on the commitments to finance climate action in developing countries. Faced with a growing energy crisis, record greenhouse gas concentrations, and increasing extreme weather events, COP27 seeks renewed solidarity between countries, to deliver on the landmark Paris Agreement, for people and the planet. Read more: https://unfccc.int/cop27

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20 October 2022

A new lease of LIFE for climate action

Our world today is in turmoil, facing multiple, mutually reinforcing crises. Even as we mount a fragile recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, war fuels a devastating energy, food, and cost-of-living crisis. And for the first time since it began over 30 years ago, the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Report has warned that global human development measures have declined across most countries in the past two years. This comes against the backdrop of the greatest existential threat of all — the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Nine of the warmest years on record have come in the past decade alone. This year’s record-breaking heat waves, floods, droughts, and other extreme forms of weather have forced us to face these increasingly devastating impacts. Climate change is a disruption multiplier in a disrupted world, rolling back progress across the global Sustainable Development Goals. The Paris Agreement and the COP26 summit in Glasgow represent urgent, collective steps countries are taking to limit emissions. Yet, the window for action is closing fast. Commitments we have now will not keep warming below the 1.5°C target that gives us the best chance of averting catastrophe. With the narrative so focused on geo-politics, the scope for each of us to make a difference as individuals seems increasingly lost. While governments and industry carry the lion’s share of responsibility for responding to the crisis, we as consumers play a large role in driving unsustainable production methods. LIFE, a fresh perspective LIFE, or Lifestyle for Environment, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at COP26 in November 2021, brings a fresh and much-needed perspective. Rather than framing climate change as a ‘larger than life’ challenge, LIFE recognises that small individual actions can tip the balance in the planet’s favour. But we need guiding frameworks, information sharing and the scale of a global movement. Mindful choices cultivated by LIFE animate this spirit — actions such as saving energy at home; cycling and using public transport instead of driving; eating more plant-based foods and wasting less; and leveraging our position as customers and employees to demand climate-friendly choices. Many of the goals of LIFE can be achieved by deploying ‘nudges’, gentle persuasion techniques to encourage positive behaviour. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) employs proven nudging techniques such as discouraging food waste by offering smaller plates in cafeterias; encouraging recycling by making bin lids eye-catching; and encouraging cycling by creating cycle paths. According to the UNEP, more than two-thirds of greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to household consumption and lifestyles — the urgent cuts to global emissions we need can only be achieved through widespread adoption of greener consumption habits. And while LIFE is a global vision, India is an excellent place to start. With over 1.3 billion people, if we achieve a true jan andolan here, the momentum generated will be enormous. As India leads, we see the world increasingly follow. India’s track record Today, in Gujarat, from the Statue of Unity, this vision of LIFE is taking flight as a global mission launched by Mr. Modi together with UN Secretary-General António Guterres, who has come to India to show his support. The Prime Minister and Secretary-General are calling on all consumers across the world to become “Pro Planet People” by 2027, adopting simple lifestyle changes that can collectively lead to transformational change. India has a proven track record translating the aspirations of national missions into whole-of-society efforts. The success of the Swachh Bharat Mission, which mobilised individuals and communities across socio-economic strata to become drivers of collective good health and sanitation is an example. The LIFE mission also recognises that accountability is relative to contribution. Emissions across the poorest half of the world’s population combined still fall short of even 1% of the wealthiest. Those who consume the least, often the most vulnerable and marginalised members of society, will not be asked to consume less, but rather supported to participate in the green economy. Each ‘Pro Planet’ stakeholder is nudged according to differentiated approaches. Onus on the developed world The same applies across countries. LIFE resonates with the global climate justice India has rightfully called for — highlighting enhanced obligations those in developed countries bear, to support climate adaptation and mitigation for those most affected, yet least responsible. The average carbon footprint of a person in a high income country is more than 80 times higher than that of a person in a least developed country. It is common sense and only fair to call on the developed world to shoulder a proportionate share of this transition. In the words of Mahatma Gandhi, “the world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” And there has never been a better time for India’s leadership on climate action, at home and on the international stage. From the Panchamrit targets announced by Mr. Modi at COP26, to support for the International Solar Alliance, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure and South-South cooperation platforms, from the world’s fifth largest economy with vibrant businesses making enormous investments in renewables and electric mobility, to a world class public digital tech stack, India brings scale, expertise and legitimacy; a well-positioned founding UN Member State bridging the G20 and G77. With COP27 next month, and India set to assume the G20 Presidency weeks after, followed by the halfway mark to Agenda 2030 next year, we at Team UN India and our 26 entities are proud and committed partners in this mission to help give new lease of LIFE to climate action. Shombi Sharp is UN Resident Coordinator in India. Shoko Noda is Resident Representative, UN Development Programme. Atul Bagai is Country Head, UN Environment Programme

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20 October 2022

Remarks of the United Nations Secretary-General

Professor Chaudhuri, All protocol observed, I am delighted to be here with all of you. This institution is 54 years old, and as it was said, 54 years ago, I was a student at a university in Lisbon, and my school was called, I will say in Portuguese, but you will understand, Instituto Superior Técnico. And my dream at the time was to be a researcher in physics. Now, we don’t control our destiny. We lived in a dictatorship that was at the same time an oppressive colonialist regime. We had fortunately a revolution, and that revolution led to the liberation of the former colonies and to democracy in Portugal. And at that time as a student, I was as a volunteer working in the slums of Lisbon in different areas related to health and education, and I felt the compulsion to get involved directly into politics. And so, I never became a researcher in physics. And I am envious of all those who will be able to contribute to the wellbeing of human kind, to the scientific work that is as necessary as the political work, to make sure that we can live in a better world. And I am very pleased to start this visit to India because I have a double love affair with India. First, because of India’s culture, history, India’s people, its contribution to today’s world, and to the world civilization. And the second reason because my wife was born in Goa. So, with this double love affair, and I am delighted to be here with all of you. Read more: https://india.un.org/en/204001-remarks-secretary-general-united-nations

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26 September 2022

Let’s wake up, and smell the jasmine

N. Dilli Babu remembers those days — not so long ago — when he ferried jasmine buds plucked from his farm in gunny bags to the market early in the morning. By the time he reached his customers, he often found that some of the delicate flowers had lost their freshness, forcing him to discard the wilted buds. The jasmine farmer doesn’t need to throw away his flowers anymore. Since late 2020, Babu has been using a container called the Tan90 Cold Storage Box, which preserves the buds for longer hours. “The Tan90 chiller box keeps the jasmine buds fresh,” the farmer from Tamil Nadu’s Tiruvallur district in southern India says. Buds harvested every morning are sold in the wholesale market in Koyambedu in Tamil Nadu’s capital, Chennai. Babu stores the unsold flowers in the box, with the buds plucked in the evening. The next morning, these fragrant white buds — used for religious rituals, adornment and a host of other reasons — are taken to the market along with that day’s harvest. Dilli Babu no longer incurs the daily loss of around ₹200 caused by unsold and discarded jasmine buds. The price of his 50-litre container, which can hold 6-10 kg of jasmine buds, is ₹1,850. Each 1-litre cooling panel in the box costs ₹150, and can last up to three years or so. “Now, there is zero waste,” he says. India is the second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. According to government figures, its horticultural production in 2020-21 was 331 million tonnes. According to the National Horticulture Database (Second Advance Estimates) published by the National Horticulture Board, the area under floriculture production in India in 2019-20 was 305 thousand hectares with a production of 2,301 thousand tonnes loose flowers and 762 thousand tonnes cut flowers. A large part of the produce, however, goes waste because of reasons such as inadequate cold storage and refrigerated transport facilities. Estimates of the annual wastage figures vary from 16 per cent to 40 per cent. Proper storage of farm produce is a problem that many farmers face. There was a time when Babu used basic insulated boxes lined with ice to store the buds. But, he says, the buds often wilted before they could be sold. The cold storage facilities that are available come with their share of problems. For one, many are expensive and most small and marginal farmers cannot afford them. Second, they are energy-intensive. For instance, unlike Tan90 boxes, which do not use ice, many regular storage boxes require it in large quantities. Ice, in turn, entails the use of power. The daily operation cost of ice is about ₹4 per kilo, Tan90 co-founder Soumalya Mukherjee points out. The contents stored in Tan90 boxes are chilled and preserved by panels or cassettes filled with phase change materials (PCM), which absorb and release heat during the process of melting and freezing. The PCM panels are frozen in deep freezers and then placed inside the boxes and bags to preserve perishables such as fruits, vegetables, flowers, meat and fish. The Tan90 cooling process consumes less power, Mukherjee states. For one, the panels take 6-8 hours to freeze, as against the 18-20 hours that most regular cooling panels take, he says. The Tan90 panels can maintain their temperature for 20 hours or more when they are inserted in the insulated box. The boxes can also be used to transport perishable goods in unrefrigerated vehicles, which consume 50% less power than reefer trucks, he adds. The Tan90 Thermal brand of portable cooling boxes and bags, produced in a factory in Chennai, is the brainchild of Dr Mukherjee (see interview) and two other former students of the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM) — Dr. Rajnikant Rai and Dr. Shiv Sharma. Their Chennai-based start-up, called Tan90 Thermal Solutions Private Ltd, was incorporated in 2019. Tan90 is a mathematical term for a value that is infinite or undefined — like the potential of this innovation. “While PCMs are not new, the Tan90 Thermal’s innovation lies in the PCM’s ingredients. Our PCMs freeze faster in deep freezers, thereby saving power. They also maintain the products stored in the boxes/bags at required temperatures for a longer period,” Rai says. Farmer Dilli Babu’s box maintains a temperature range of 4-12 degrees Celsius. The buds stay fresh for 8-12 hours at night and for 6-8 hours during the day. ECO-FRIENDLY INNOVATION Innovations such as the storage box are helping drive achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set up by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015 for a “better and more sustainable future”. By enhancing a farmer’s income, it focuses on SDG 2 on zero hunger, with the lens on the role of the farmer in sustainable development. “If a farm is not economically sound or not resilient to external shocks, or if the well-being of those working on a farm are not considered, then a farm cannot be sustainable,” states SDG target 2.4.1. By saving power, Tan90 also takes a step towards SDGs on climate action. As part of efforts to promote clean energy technology capable of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Facility for Low Carbon Technology Deployment (FLCTD) — a joint initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Indian Government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency and the Global Environment Facility — has been holding an “Innovation Challenge”. It awards ideas that deal with waste heat recovery, pumping systems and motors, space conditioning, industrial IoT (Internet of Things), industrial resource efficiency and electrical energy storage. Award-winning innovative ideas include an instant milk chiller that allows milk to be chilled at source, reducing spoilage and increasing farmer income, an energy efficient solar pump and a solar based atmospheric water generator (2021). So far, 59 innovations have been supported, of which 19 have completed monitoring and verification and 12 are already being commercialised, says René van Berkel, UNIDO Representative & Head, Regional Office in India. “These are diverse, including solutions for cold chain, irrigation pumping, as well as industrial heat recovery and resource efficiency. They have emissions reduction and Indian ingenuity and entrepreneurship in common and provide innovation specific co-benefits, for example reduction of post-harvest losses, reduced air pollution and/or improved productivity.” Tan90 won the challenge in 2019 for its storage box. “Such solutions are important baby steps that need to be scaled up in order to reduce emission in the food supply chain,” says FLCTD National Project Manager Sandeep Tandon (see interview). The FLCTD, van Berkel explains, is a prime example of an innovation partnership for a clean and low carbon future. “It provides comprehensive support to Indian innovators acting as a technical sounding board, facilitating industry connections and part funding for deployment, monitoring and evaluation and providing recognition.” EXPANDING CUSTOMER BASE Among others who have benefited from the solution is retired army Major V.P. Sharma, who grows organic greens, vegetables and fruits in Puducherry. “Ours is a B2C [business-to-consumer] company with the delivery concept of ‘harvest to home’ in six hours. It was a challenge to keep the greens fresh from the farm gate to the customer’s home gate,” says Sharma, the co-founder of Gratitude Farms Private Ltd. He adds that after he met Mukherjee at a conference, he decided to try out the storage boxes. “We found the greens and other vegetables stored in them remained fresh for several hours.” In view of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tan90 Thermal is looking at extending the storage concept to the pharmaceutical sector, with their Tan90 Biological Ampule Sample Carrier transporting test samples at required temperatures. Through different partnerships and projects with Industry and the government of India, UNIDO works towards inclusiveness, sustainability, productivity and innovation in and by the manufacturing sector, van Berkel stresses. This is what the UN’s SDG 9 largely deals with, he says, and it has an impact on other SDGs — such as climate, energy and environment (SDGs 7, 12 and 13), decent work (SDG 8), cities and communities (SDG11) and empowerment (SDGs 5 and 10). “These partnerships are effective in pivoting replicable new approaches that deliver tangible benefits to select clusters or sectors, and can be scaled up to assist India to achieve the SDGs, for example through implementation of energy efficiency in MSMEs, safe and environmentally sound management and disposal of medical waste and introduction of alternatives to DDT for control of vector borne diseases,” he adds. Credits: Writer: UN/Nitya Varadarajan/Word Wide Media Photographs: Kannan Srinivasan (Tiruvallur) and Word Wide Media (Chennai) The Facility for Low Carbon Technology Deployment (FLCTD) is a joint initiative of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Indian Government’s Bureau of Energy Efficiency and the Global Environment Facility. FLCTD is being funded by the Global Environment Facility.

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26 September 2022

Interview with Soumalya Mukherjee

How did you set up Tan90 Thermal Solutions? It all started during my third year of PhD at IIT Madras. Rajnikant Rai [co-founder of the start-up] was my lab mate with a good hold on chemical synthesis. We found that farmers were suffering from a loss of produce owing to the lack of cost-effective cold storage solutions and decided to look at that. I work on nanoparticles and Rai on chemicals. We decided to go for phase change materials (PCM). At the market place we heard that it takes about 18 hours for PCMs to get frozen and be used for preservation. So, we worked on reducing the freezing time for PCMs so that our panels were economical and preserved horticulture products for a longer period. What was the role of UNIDO? We were a clean technology company and decided to participate in competitions to win cash prizes and take our idea forward. Then we came across the Facility for Low Carbon Technology Deployment (FLCTD) programme, implemented by UNIDO. In 2019, we won the Innovation Challenge held by FLCTD — an open award competition calling for innovative solutions. One of the major problems that we had faced was taking the Tan90 boxes to the market. Customers were not willing to pay for a new product, though they were willing to try it out. FLCTD provided financial assistance of about ₹3 million to conduct free pilots for a year. The FLCTD team did the project due diligence and also did hand-holding. The team from UNIDO helped us to understand the needs of the market segments that we were targeting. Our journey was steady but challenging. And UNIDO helped us to progress. What was the outcome of the initiative? We got lots of feedback from the market that made Tan90 Thermal what it is today. Initially, we had a PCM for only a single temperature range. However, the market was in need of PCMs for a varied temperature range and we expanded our offerings. We also optimised and fine-tuned the box size and the PCM panels. Now we have about 10-15 major retailers across the nation using our products for last-mile or mid-mile transportation. What kind of a role does the private sector have to play in mitigating climate change? The private sector has a huge role to play in mitigating the impact of climate change. The public-private-partnership (PPP) mode can help in a big way. While the public sector or the government concentrates on project implementation, innovation comes from the private sector, such as solar-powered cold storages. In Tamil Nadu, we have partnered with the state government and have given our products to Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs). Similarly, we are working with 10 FPOs in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. We are also working with the Shri A.M.M. Murugappa Chettiar Research Centre. How did you meet your funding needs? We participated in various business idea competitions and won prizes. We also got grants from the government and others based on our business idea. An investment of ₹20 million was raised from grants, prize money and private equity. Tata Trust-backed Social Alpha and the Centre for Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad also funded us. We are also raising about half a million dollars for research and development of new products for Indian and South East Asian markets. We are looking at moving into the pharma segment. We will also set up plants in Hyderabad, Delhi and Mumbai to cater to those markets as transporting the PCMs is uneconomical. You had to tone down your box prices… Pricing is an interesting topic. It is a tug-of-war between the value offered by the product and what the customer is willing to pay. Our competition is ice or dry ice. We have to compete against the low value product. Initially our price point was higher, but it was later aligned with the competition. How does Tan90 Thermal contribute to sustainable development? We are working towards achieving four of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals — zero hunger, affordable clean energy, responsible consumption and production, and climate action. Climate change is real. Temperature levels are increasing. This will increase the demand for cooling solutions which in turn will hike the demand for energy. We are now working on a solution for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) segment. Our new PCMs will be integrated with certain devices to give the desired results — for instance reduction in room temperatures. This will be useful for data centres and other applications. In the case of solar cells, proper thermal management is important and the current water-based solutions are costly. We have a PCM for this segment and are testing it out. We see Tan90 Thermal not just as a cooling company but a thermal management company. Cold storage is a small part of our overall plans. We are reducing India’s carbon footprint. Credits: Writer: UN/Nitya Varadarajan/Word Wide Media Photographs: Kannan Srinivasan (Tiruvallur) and Word Wide Media (Chennai)

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Press Release

31 January 2023

My promise is to foster Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science

Thank you, Ambassador Singh. It is an honour to be with you today at the Indian Council of World Affairs. My best wishes as you celebrate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, commemorating 75 years of India’s independence and achievements. In the world of international affairs, there is no place like a think tank or research body. They are seats of learning, analysis, and discussion – aspects all crucial to our work. Importantly, the work they do, the work you do, brings together the curious, the young, the informed and the inspired to debate and shape our common future. And, above all, you are independent. In the 14th century, the King of Hungary and Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund once got frustrated by some priests correcting his Latin, the official language of Europe at that time. But then one of his bishops bluntly told him in front of the court: “Majesty, even Emperors cannot prescribe what opinion scholars should have.” Yes, you are the scholars, or, should I say, the pundits of international affairs, bringing knowledge, experience, and a new perspective into this volatile and emotional trade of ours. So, I look forward to your reflections, questions, ideas and suggestions. Because, dear friends, I have always maintained that governments do not hold a monopoly on good ideas. In fact, the urgency of today’s crises demand that we look beyond business as usual. That we transcend the confines of convention. That we think, and act, outside the box. To put it simply, we need a paradigm shift. When I assumed the Presidency of the United Nations General Assembly last year, I made a promise. A promise to all 193 Member States of the United Nations and, through them, a promise to you. And to all of our 8 billion constituents and shareholders on this fragile planet. My promise and the motto of my Presidency is to foster “Solutions through Solidarity, Sustainability and Science”. Solidarity amongst nations and peoples to foster peace and build prosperity. Sustainability to ensure our solutions stand the test of time and benefit succeeding generations. Science to address the dearth of common understanding that plagues our discussions. I am under no illusions as to the scale of the challenges facing that promise. But in the UN General Assembly, the parliament of the world, where ambition meets action, I am hopeful that we can, we will, and we must prevail. Inaction is simply not an option. I have challenged Member States of the United Nations to take a two-pronged approach to our work. To narrow their focus to achieve real results for those who mandate them and those who rely on them. To focus on quality of outcome, over quantity of output. That dual approach is focused on crisis management and transformation. The context in which we are operating demands such an approach. It is a context of complex and interconnected crises. A new era of history. It started with the pandemic that bought the prototype of the Anthropocene era crisis, sweeping through our systems and bringing down health services, supply chains, economies, budgets, labor markets, channels of cooperation, budgets, undermining societal and political stabilities in many parts of the world. As a part of this complex crisis we witness eruptions of new wars or flair-up older conflicts. We are approaching the first anniversary of the war in Ukraine. A war that has cost countless lives and caused untold suffering and displacement. A war that has touched the four corners of our planet. A war that has unleashed an energy and food crisis across the globe. A war that even brought back the unconscionable: the threat of nuclear war. I know many young Indians were studying in Ukraine when the war broke out, and I salute your country’s commitment to their safety and security. Your delivery of humanitarian aid has also eased the suffering of thousands of civilians. But beyond the physical impacts of this war, its consequences on the international rules-based system, on our multilateral order, on trust amongst Member States and on public trust in the United Nations have been profound. I have been firm in my calls to uphold the UN Charter, vocal in my support for dialogue and diplomacy and clear in expressing the commitment of the General Assembly to defend the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity. As a recent member of the Security Council, I commend India for your calls for peace, in Ukraine and across the world. This represents just one challenge facing the United Nations and our world. Sadly, it is one of many. As it stands, we are off track on every goal of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Let me repeat: every single goal. This Agenda, to which all governments have agreed, is nothing short of transformational. It is a blueprint for humanity. If achieved, we will not only survive, but thrive. 2023 marks the midway point in the implementation of this Agenda. We will hold an SDG Summit at the UN in September. By then, we need honest accounts of where we are and where we are going. We need to assess our successes as well as our failures. We need to find our gaps and work to close them. Because in September, we will have to turbocharge the delivery of the SDGs. I have called on Member States to remember what is at stake, to identify their responsibilities, and to agree on timeframes for reinvigorated and urgent implementation. India was one of the first countries to adopt this Agenda. I commend your flagship programmes to accomplish its goals at local, sub-national and national levels. Even in the remotest villages, the partnership between India and the United Nations to accelerate implementation of the SDGs is making a difference. This is the SDG slogan of “leave no one behind” brought to life. What is more: this model can be adapted and applied elsewhere. India’s leadership in the field of digital public infrastructure, from building innovative governance systems to citizen-oriented services, is transformation in action. In short, the international community has a lot to learn from your unique experience. I urge you to engage actively in these discussions to get humanity back on track. We need your help. Unfortunately, there have been many setbacks on our shared journey to sustainable development. The COVID-19 pandemic cast a dark shadow over our world for over two years. Today, we are slowly emerging from that shadow. We emerge humbled, and we emerge steadfast in our conviction that global challenges are too great for any nation to tackle alone. That is true for all nations: subcontinents and small islands alike. But let us be honest and admit that while no country has been spared from the pandemic, its impacts have not been equal. Far from it. There are some, often the most vulnerable, often in the Global South, who continue to suffer the ravages of this global scourge – and its many consequences. A major and lasting impact is the debt crisis, looming on the horizon for some, threatening and already towering over others. It is often said that adversity breeds humanity. And of course, there have been examples of tremendous ingenuity and solidarity. I commend India for your generosity in exporting vaccines to over 150 countries and in championing sustainable recovery through your chairmanship of the G20. This is the kind of inspired leadership that our world needs. As we step into 2023, we can no longer ignore the pressing need for reforming our global financial institutions. We can equally no longer ignore the need to revise our definition of growth and well-being. I have called on Member States to advance discussions on a methodology for measuring sustainability transformation in a way that integrates human well-being, natural capital, and all the other aspects of our investments. This is the “Beyond GDP” initiative. It is premised on the core fact that we cannot transform what we cannot measure. Let me be provocative and challenge you all, here at the ICWA, to debate and come up with innovative approaches to support this goal. Please, tap into the wealth of knowledge and the wide network that you have created. As we look ahead, it seems that we are standing on the edge of a precipice. Teetering at the point of no return. The question we must answer is simple: do we back up, change course, and find a safe way across, or do we continue as we have done, close our eyes and step off blindly? The answer, I hope, is just as simple. The challenges facing our world are great. They are cascading, interlocking, exacerbating, and reinforcing. But they are not insurmountable. I remain an optimist at heart. I remind myself regularly that we have already weathered many storms together. And that, to quote the old Indian proverb, “we cannot change the direction of the wind, but we can adjust the sails”. As I look to 2023, there are reasons to hope and opportunities for transformation. In March, for the first time since 1977, we will hold the UN Water Conference. I hope this will bring a new “Paris moment”, this time for water action. We need to raise the level of ambition to achieve the promise of SDG6. To do that we must: Integrate water and climate policies. Move beyond reactive water management. Establish a global water information system to support regional and local predictability and resilience. These are gamechangers in the world of water. In our world, where water is scarce and unpredictable at the same time, these actions would put us on the path to sustainably come out of the water crisis. So, friends, I ask you to think of the future of the Yamuna, the Brahmaputra, the Indus the Godavari and the Krishna. Think of the future of the Indian Ocean. Of Vembanad or Chilika Lakes. If they are to have a future, we must turn our rhetoric to reality. And we must base our actions in science. The Namami Gange programme for abatement of pollution and rejuvenation of the Ganges is an excellent example. Let us replicate it and build upon it. Underpinning all of our work, and an issue which I know is close to India’s heart, is the need for the reform of our multilateral system. Let us face facts: it is no longer 1945. Our institutions cannot hope to overcome the challenges of today, when they act in the framework of yesterday. The need for reform of the UN Security Council was directly raised by more than one third of world leaders during the opening of the General Assembly last September. That is a clear political signal. There is a process in place at the UN to achieve this. But its outcomes leave much to be desired. I have consistently called on Member States to grasp the opportunity and move from a position of “no” and “later” to a position of “yes” and “now”. I thank India for its continued and active engagement in this process. I also acknowledge the efforts of Ambassador Kamboj, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, for bringing it to the Security Council itself, and for inviting me to brief the Council on the issue of reformed multilateralism in December. India has always been a staunch supporter of the United Nations. Home to one-sixth of humanity, India’s leadership on global challenges and her strong voice in multilateral affairs have been exemplary. The journeys of the UN and independent India have been intertwined since our respective founding in the 1940s. For seven decades we have travelled hand in hand. Through thick and thin. Through the UN’s expansion, through India’s population growth, and through its decades of amazing development. You gave the world the first woman President of the General Assembly. We have been able to count on India in a multitude of issues from fighting polio to promoting equality, from championing democracy to the empowerment of women. Yet, you are not only active in shaping our discussions, but you have put forward your most precious resource, your people, in support of the UN’s cause. India is one of the largest contributors of troops to peacekeeping. Thousands of your communities have bid farewell to blue helmets and counted the days to their return. Finally, on a personal note: For more than four decades of my work as a diplomat, I have been inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s devotion to peace, the eradication of poverty and harmony with nature. Friends, allow me to finish in his words, and let me use them as my humble call to you, and to all those listening and watching: Do what you can to transform our world, and build a peaceful, sustainable future, which upholds equality and human rights for all. As Mahatma said: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” Thank you. [END] All statements are available online at https://www.un.org/pga/77/documents/statements/

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Press Release

31 January 2023

Secretary-General Concerned by Military’s Stated Intention to Hold Elections amid Violence

1 February marks two years since the Myanmar military overturned and arbitrarily detained members of the democratically elected civilian Government, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. The Secretary-General continues to stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar and to support their democratic aspirations for an inclusive, peaceful and just society and the protection of all communities, including the Rohingya. He strongly condemns all forms of violence as the multidimensional crisis continues to deteriorate and fuel serious regional implications. The Secretary-General welcomes the 21 December 2022 adoption of Security Council resolution 2669 (2022) as an important step and underlines the urgency for strengthened international unity. As called for by the Security Council, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy will coordinate closely with the new Special Envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chair to engage intensively with all relevant parties in Myanmar to achieve an end to the violence and to support a return to democracy. The Secretary-General is concerned by the military’s stated intention to hold elections amid intensifying aerial bombardment and burning of civilian houses, along with ongoing arrests, intimidation and harassment of political leaders, civil society actors and journalists. Without conditions that permit the people of Myanmar to freely exercise their political rights, the proposed polls risk exacerbating instability. The United Nations is committed to staying in Myanmar and addressing the multiple vulnerabilities arising from the military’s actions since February 2021. This requires full and unhindered access to all affected communities as well as prioritizing the safety and security of the United Nations agencies and its partners. The Secretary-General renews his call for neighbouring countries and other Member States to urge the military leadership to respect the will and needs of the people of Myanmar and adhere to democratic norms. [END]

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Press Release

31 January 2023

Sustainable Peace Cannot Be Built Where Rights of Women Are Ignored

I would like to start by expressing my gratitude to Japan for hosting this debate. Peace is the core mission of the United Nations. It is our raison d’être. This mission is now under grave threat. People’s sense of safety and security is at a low in almost every country, with six in seven worldwide plagued by feelings of insecurity. The world is facing the highest number of violent conflicts since the Second World War. Two billion people, one quarter of humanity, live in places affected by conflict. This is causing grave human suffering, both directly in conflict zones and indirectly by adding to poverty and food insecurity and reducing access to education and health care. It is imposing severe constraints on people’s ability to fulfil their potential and contribute to society. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, conflict-affected countries were lagging on the Sustainable Development Goals. Projections indicated that by 2030, more than 80 per cent of the world’s extreme poor would live in fragile and conflict-affected countries. In other words, conflict and poverty are deeply intertwined. The pandemic has only aggravated this dire situation. The war in Ukraine is devastating the lives of millions of Ukrainians. It has also compounded a food, energy and finance crisis worldwide, especially amongst the world’s most vulnerable people and countries. Recalling the words of the Secretary-General, the world is at a “key inflection point in history”. Rethinking our efforts towards achieving sustainable peace is an absolute necessity. There is only one route to durable peace. To the peace that withstands the crises of our times. It is the route of sustainable development. Inclusive, sustainable development that leaves no one behind is essential in its own rights. It is also humanity’s ultimate prevention tool. It is the only reliable tool that can break through cycles of instability to address the underlying drivers of fragility and humanitarian need. Investments in development, investments in people, investments in human security, investments in our shared prosperity, are also investments in peace. And yet, our investments in recent years have fallen far short. As we approach the midway point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we see that our current progress is far off-track. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many millions more people -- over 200 million more -- have fallen into poverty. An additional 820 million people -- families, mothers, fathers, children -- are going hungry. More women and girls are having their rights trampled on -- erased from public life and constrained in private life. The global financial system is failing developing countries, and economies are failing to serve the vast majority of their citizens -- except for a small elite. These challenges are not just development issues. They pose a threat to our peaceful coexistence. Development deficits drive grievance. They corrode institutions. They allow hostility and intolerance to flourish. When we fail to meet the development needs of our time, we fail to secure peace for our future. The triple planetary crisis of biodiversity loss, climate change and pollution does not merely threaten our environment. It also threatens to unleash destructive forces that drive wedges in our societies, erode social cohesion and ignite instability. As you embark on this discussion of peacebuilding and sustaining peace, I urge you to consider the fundamental role of sustainable development in securing peace for current and future generations. May I impress upon the Council four observations for building and sustaining peace that is built on a bedrock of inclusive, sustainable development. First, our efforts at achieving peace must be based on a shared understanding of peace and its pathways. The follow-up discussions on the Common Agenda Report of the Secretary-General happening in 2023 under the preparations for the Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the Summit of the Future open key opportunities to further a shared understanding of the pathways to peace. The New Agenda for Peace will provide a unique opportunity to articulate a shared vision for how Member States can come together to address these challenges -- and to honour the commitment they made in the UN75 Declaration: “We will promote peace and prevent conflicts”. Prevention and peacebuilding therefore will be at the core of the New Agenda for Peace -- through a comprehensive understanding of prevention, linking peace, sustainable development, climate action, and food security. The New Agenda for Peace will aim to identify additional ways to support national prevention and peacebuilding priorities and to channel the international community’s support to nationally--owned violence reduction initiatives. Initiatives that are human-centred with a comprehensive, prevention focus. Initiatives that are grounded in the core notion of human security and aim to build more resilient societies that can address existing and new forms of risks. Allow me to stress that all Member States are exposed to risks. And no country lives in a vacuum. All Governments must be prepared to take measures that address grievances and prevent violence. Inclusion will also be at the centre of the New Agenda for Peace. We know that inclusive processes are more likely to be effective and to bring about sustainable peace. Inclusion involves the meaningful participation of all constituencies and communities, particularly those traditionally underrepresented, in peace and security processes, but also in the social, economic and political life of a country. This adds up to recognizing and ensuring, in the broadest possible way, that human rights are pivotal in the New Agenda for Peace. My second point is that investing in inclusion is not only right; it is wise. Inclusion leads to more public support and greater legitimacy. It strengthens societal resilience and addresses structural inequalities, which are major risk factors of violent conflict. Among other things, inclusion means addressing fundamental gender inequalities. I have just returned from Afghanistan where I conveyed these messages to the de facto authorities. A society based on exclusion and repression can never flourish. A society where the rights of women and girls are trampled on is no society at all. Women’s full participation in politics and the economy makes a society more likely to succeed. Sustainable peace cannot be built where the rights of women are ignored. On the global stage, we have made some progress on inclusion. But this progress is still far too slow. Women remain largely shut out of local, national, regional and international decision-making. In his latest report on women, peace and security, the Secretary-General warned that the world is currently experiencing a reversal of generational gains in women’s rights. The percentage of women represented in political fora and peace processes has decreased in recent years. Military expenditures are growing, while funding for women human rights’ organizations is falling. We need transformational change to break this cycle, halt the erosion of women’s rights and ensure gender equality in order to build and sustain peace. Young people also play a key role in promoting peace, security and stability worldwide, as recognized by the Security Council resolution 2250 (2015). To this end, all those involved in peace should support the establishment of dedicated regional and national frameworks for youth engagement in peacebuilding. Youth, peace and security should be more widely reflected in the mandates of special political missions and peacekeeping operations. We also hope that the Council will consider hosting an annual open debate dedicated to youth, peace and security, as a platform for engagement with youth-led civil society and young peacebuilders. Conflict prevention and conflict resolution efforts must be shaped through inclusive processes, involving the leadership of women and youth, and reflecting their priorities. It is essential that all peacebuilders, including women and young people, are protected against reprisals and attacks resulting from their work. My third point concerns the importance of the Peacebuilding Architecture, and in particular the need to explore how the Security Council can further leverage the role and advice of the Peacebuilding Commission. The Peacebuilding Commission forges crucial partnerships and collective responses to peace and security threats, representing a valuable complement to the work of the Council. Increasingly, it provides advice on important thematic and cross-cutting agendas. And it highlights country-specific and regional peacebuilding needs, in countries and regions including the Central African Republic, Colombia, the Great Lakes region, and West Africa and the Sahel. I urge the Council to capitalize on the Commission’s comparative advantages, to integrate crucial prevention and peacebuilding lenses more squarely into your work. My fourth and final point is that the success of our collective efforts to advance sustainable peace worldwide will depend on adequate investment in peacebuilding. I am heartened by the unanimous adoption of the resolution on financing for peacebuilding by the General Assembly in September 2022. The resolution emphasizes the need for greater political, operational and financial investment in prevention and peacebuilding efforts in order to sustain peace. The resolution also underscores the need to invest in local initiatives and in stakeholders active at the local level. This is essential for building societal resilience. I commend the commitment of Member States to achieving sustained, adequate, and predictable financing for peacebuilding, including through the consideration of assessed contributions for the Peacebuilding Fund. The Secretary-General’s Fund remains the United Nation leading instrument to invest in peacebuilding and prevention, in partnership with the wider United Nations system and together with national authorities. We cannot allow crises -- of which there are many -- to divert funding away from these core efforts. I look forward to today’s debate. [END]

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Press Release

31 January 2023

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust

Today, we honor the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. We remember the six million Jewish children, women, and men, as well as the Roma and Sinti, the people with disabilities, and countless others who perished. We reflect on the millions of individual lives cut short; the millions of futures stolen away. As we mourn the loss of so many and so much, we also recognize that the Holocaust was not inevitable. No genocide ever is. It was the culmination of millennia of antisemitic hate. The Nazis could only move with calculated cruelty from the discrimination of Europe’s Jews to their annihilation because, so few stood up, and so many stood by. It was the deafening silence – both at home and abroad – that emboldened them. The alarm bells were ringing from the very beginning. Hate speech and disinformation. Contempt for human rights and the rule of law. The glorification of violence and tales of racial supremacy. Disdain for democracy and diversity. In remembering the Holocaust, we recognize threats to freedom, dignity, and humanity – including in our own time. Today – in the face of growing economic discontent and political instability, escalating white supremacist terrorism, and surging hate and religious bigotry – we must be more outspoken than ever. We must never forget – nor allow others to ever forget, distort or deny the Holocaust. Today and every day, let us resolve to never again remain silent in the face of evil – and to always defend the dignity and rights of all. Thank you. [END]

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Press Release

31 January 2023

Secretary-General: Strategies Must Be at Heart of Building Peace, Security

I am pleased to join you for this ninth meeting of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Coordination Compact. Since its launch in 2018, this Compact has grown to 45 member and observer entities and has also started meaningful engagement with civil society and private sector partners. Your work is more important than ever. Terrorism remains a global scourge -- an affront to humanity on every level. It affects people of all ages, cultures, religions and nationalities. For women and girls in particular, terrorism is often marked by sexual and gender-based violence. For communities, terrorism makes it more difficult to break the chains of poverty, or create stable political and economic systems, or build resilience against climate disasters. For people already facing grinding poverty, hunger and famine, terrorism makes life exponentially worse -- as we see in the Sahel and elsewhere. More broadly, terrorism takes a sledgehammer to our shared values, institutions and norms and standards. Human rights. The rule of law. Equal and sustainable development. And the peace and security that every country and region of the world deserves. Terrorism finds its home in vacuums. A vacuum of security. A vacuum of effective political and civic institutions. A vacuum of opportunity and hope. A vacuum of respect for human rights, equality and dignity -- especially for minorities and women and girls. And a vacuum of guardrails for technology, where terror can spread at the touch of a button. That’s why the proposed New Agenda for Peace must focus on a holistic and comprehensive approach to building more peaceful and stable societies in which terror has no home. Through prevention, by addressing the economic and social conditions that can lead to terrorism in the first place. Through inclusion, by ensuring that counter-terrorism strategies reflect a wide array of voices, communities and constituencies -- especially minorities, women and young people. And through placing human rights and the rule of law at the core of all counter-terrorism policies. Terrorism represents the denial and destruction of human rights. And so the fight against terrorism will never succeed if we perpetuate the same denial and destruction. Combating terror must never be used as an excuse for trampling on people’s human rights. We need to firmly ground all counter-terrorism policies and initiatives within human rights. Because when we protect human rights, we are in fact tackling many of the root causes of terrorism. But as this meeting reminds us, today’s rapidly evolving terrorism threat requires an equally nimble and adaptive response, grounded in data and evidence. Data drives every aspect of economic, business and social life. Combined with a lawless cyberspace, data also fuels the increasingly intertwined world of terror and crime. While terrorists and criminals often pursue different agendas and strategies, they are both fuelled by crimes like drug smuggling, human trafficking and illicit financing. Our counter-terror responses need to stay one step ahead. But when it comes to the collection, analysis and strategic use of data, we are several steps behind. We need to place data-driven tools and strategies at the heart of our approach to building peace and security -- including counter-terrorism efforts. And we need to use data and evidence to evaluate the effectiveness of terrorism prevention activities and policies -- and especially, to ensure that human rights are upheld throughout. This must include the essential rights and dignity of the victims of terrorism. Not just by remembering those people who have been killed by terrorist acts. But by supporting and helping to heal those who have been injured and displaced by terrorism. In all that we do to prevent and end terrorism, we must keep the needs of victims front-and-centre. And we must honour the memory of those whose lives have been so cruelly snatched away by this scourge by working to end it, once and for all. Every step of the way, we need this Compact and its working groups to continue building close ties to Member States and other partners to gather, analyse and deploy data for insight, impact and integrity. As we look to the upcoming review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy in June, let us strengthen multilateral collaboration and confront transnational terrorist threats that are more persistent, diverse and complex than ever. I look forward to hearing your ideas on how we can gather more entities, groups and countries to this essential cause. [END]

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