Secretary- General: This Forum marks the first major gathering on financing for development since Member States adopted the Sevilla Commitment last year.Sevilla was a moment of choice.At a time when multilateralism is under multiple threats, Member States made a choice to stand together.To overcome geopolitical divisions and chart a common course.  And to keep their promises to developing countries, which are starved of investment and drowning in debt.Excellencies,The task before us is steep.We are living through a moment of profound turbulence.Geopolitical divides are deepening.Millions are caught in prolonged cycles of suffering, instability and displacement.On top of these challenges, we face a major new shock: the conflict in the Middle East.The violence and economic fallout are spilling across the region — and around the world.We are seeing in real time the war’s impacts on the cost of fuel, fertilizer and food — as well as trade, transportation and tourism.Government finances are stressed through rising energy costs, slower growth and currency depreciations — adding even more pressure to the debt burdens shouldered by developing countries.Meanwhile, aid is declining, while military spending skyrockets.Governments are spending more on the instruments of death than the foundations of development and peace.Through it all, the global financial system is struggling to meet the needs of developing countries, and still reflects the economic and power structures of the past.  One by one, these shockwaves of instability and unrest are contaminating development prospects at a time when they’re needed most.The financing gap to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals now stands at over $4 trillion annually — and growing fast.Excellencies,This Forum is an opportunity to scale up — and speed up — the finance required.The Sevilla Platform for Action outlined 130 specific initiatives.

I see three broad areas of focus to bring them to life.First — it’s time to rev-up the machinery of finance.By increasing the assets housed in Multilateral Development Banks and fully leveraging them.By making progress on blended finance platforms to combine public and private finance in new and expanded ways to support development.And by mobilizing domestic resources and channeling them to the areas of greatest need — including by tackling illicit financial flows.I also call on all governments to reverse the upward spiral of unchecked military spending.It’s time to stop this madness.It is time to come together to end the wars that are pushing development out of reach.Second — borrowing must work for, not against, developing countries.When channeled towards investment, debt is an important ally of development.The Sevilla Commitment outlined new steps to deliver bold debt action.A borrowers’ platform to give developing countries a stronger voice in the debt architecture, which was launched last week;New efforts to develop principles for responsible sovereign borrowing and lending; 
A UN process to convene all stakeholders to work toward a development-oriented debt architecture while putting in place effective mechanisms for debt relief;And a global effort to reimagine the credit ratings agencies which, in its current form, locks too many developing countries out of the borrowing tools they need.Excellencies, distinguished delegates,And third — we cannot relent in our calls to reform the international financial architecture.The world has changed dramatically since these institutions were created.Developing countries account for an ever-larger share of global output and trade.South-South cooperation is expanding.A more multipolar global economy is taking shape.  But our institutions and financing arrangements still largely reflect the economic and power structures of the past.As a matter of justice — and common sense — we must ensure developing countries have the strongest possible participation across global financial institutions corresponding to the realities of today’s global economy.Global economic governance must become more inclusive, representative, equitable and effective.Excellencies, distinguished delegates,Financing for development is about more than economic progress.It is, first and foremost, about human progress.It is about people being able to afford to eat.Young people going to school.Health systems that can reach every person.Infrastructure that can support progress — from transportation systems, to internet access, water and sanitation, and basic electricity.Social protections when times are hard.And ladders of opportunity for all people.Financing for development is also about restoring trust in what we can achieve by working in common effort, with common goals.The Sevilla Commitment represents an important “win” for multilateralism.It is up to us to keep pushing to translate the promises made in Sevilla into concrete progress for people and countries that need it most.Thank you.

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Mother Earth has given us everything. We have repaid her with reckless destruction – polluting her air, poisoning her waters, destabilizing her climate, and pushing countless species to the brink.She is sounding the alarm – through fire, flood, drought, deadly heat and rising sea levels. Yet our response is falling dangerously short.We have the solutions. In most of the world, renewable energy is now the cheapest source of electricity. Climate action is creating jobs, strengthening economies, and saving lives. But we are moving too slowly. We must break our dependence on fossil fuels, protect and restore nature at scale, and deliver climate justice for those who did least to cause this crisis yet suffer the most.Around the world, young activists, Indigenous Peoples, scientists, and civil society are already leading the way. Their power is our power. Governments and business must match that courage with urgent action – for our planet, for all who depend on her, and for every generation to come.[END]For more information and resources at the following link: https://www.un.org/en/observances/earth-day *** 

Secretary-General: Allow me to start by saying that this is a historic meeting. We live with a deeply unfair international economic and financial ecosystem and a deeply unfair international financial architecture.And it is unfair. Because of a question of power. And obviously those that have dominated the international financial system have not been very, I would say, supportive of the changes that are necessary to make it equitable and to make it adaptable to the needs of the world as a whole. And power, I learned as a politician, is very difficult to see being given.Power normally needs to be taken. I believe the creation of the Borrowers Platform is an essential instrument in order for a change in power relations to be possible in the future, and that changing power relations is absolutely essential to have a fair international financial architecture and a much more equitable echo of the international financial and economic ecosystem.So congratulations for this extremely important, I would say, again, historic initiative. And I'd like to thank the Chair of the Working Group, Egypt, and the Vice Chair, Pakistan, as well as Working Group representatives from Colombia, Honduras, Maldives, Nepal and Zambia, the initial group.And I also would like to say that we have on the other side some allies, and I would like to underline that last year's historic conference on financing for development that resulted in the Sevilla Commitment was made in Spain and we had strong support from Spain to the kind of initiatives that we intend to move forward.I also want to acknowledge the central role of UNCTAD as secretariat of the important initiative we are launching today.I'm encouraged to see such broad interest and support from across regions and income groups.That diversity speaks to both the urgency of this effort and the shared recognition that the global debt system must change.Dear friends,Today we launched a breakthrough in global financing.A platform in which borrowing countries sit together, learn from each other, and speak with a collective voice.Creditors have long had dedicated spaces to coordinate – The Paris Club, the London Club, the Institute of International Finance and other regular consultation mechanisms.But borrowers have had no equivalent.When debt crises hit, they do not have a proven playbook to draw on.They often lack the technical capacity or the institutional memory that the other side of the table takes for granted.At times, borrowers are left out of the discussion altogether.I will never forget the words of one African President describing the restructuring of his country's debt in the context of the G20 initiative.All stakeholders were present at the negotiating table except the country itself.The costs of these gaps are significant.Many countries are trapped in cycles of unresolved debt crisis.Many more are held back by vast debt repayments that drain public resources and undermine long term investments.Over the past decades, developing countries have paid, on average, more than twice the interest rates faced by advanced economies.For African economies, the premium reaches 3 times benchmark rates.This leaves developing countries at a distinct disadvantage in assessing the financing they need, which is another clear example of inequality lurking at the heart of the global financial architecture.We need to fix the system that makes it two to three times more expensive for developing countries to finance education, health or what the system is.Meanwhile, since 2014, interest payments on government debt in developing countries have more than doubled.Today, 3.4 billion people live in countries that spend more servicing debt than health or education.Developing countries are forced to climb the development ladder with one hand tied behind their backs.These pressures are intensifying.The war in the Middle East is sending shockwaves through the global economy.Rising fuel and raw material costs are tightening fiscal space.Transportation systems and supply chains are strained.Growth is slowing and borrowing costs are climbing, even higher, especially for the most vulnerable.Dear friends,The new Platform aims to give developing countries a place to come together around four shared objectives.First – to accelerate learningToday's global economy includes a dizzying choice of creditors and credit instruments.Navigating those choices requires most technical expertise and experience.The imperative is heightened during episodes of debt distress, when countries contemplate debt restructuring, but typically do so without access to the full knowledge of what the process will entail.It is no wonder that the G20 Common Framework has completed restructuring for just three countries in the past 40 years.Countries require assistance to find out what works and what does not.How different creditor classes should be engaged.How to structure proposals.And how to navigate complex and technical sovereign debt instruments, including debt swaps.The Platform will create a permanent space for peer exchange so that countries can enter negotiations armed with information and experiences gained from countries that traveled a similar path.And it's important also to take into account that no one size fits all. Many of the countries around this table have different dimensions and different kinds of depths. It's important that those experiences are also shared. And it's important that all situations are taken into account when in the work of the Borrowers Platform.Second – the Platform will give borrowers the tools to engage with creditors on equal terms.Developing countries can arrive at negotiating tables informed and armed with positions backed by shared analysis and collective experience.When both sides of the table are well informed and well prepared, negotiations move faster and the agreements take shape.Third – the Platform will send the clear market signal to creditors.Better debt management, better data and better transparency directly affect our markets perceived risk.When borrowers strengthen their practices collectively, learning from one another, the signal reaches investors.Transparency, strength and certainty, which can lower borrowing costs and provide fiscal space to invest in development.And fourth – the Platform gives borrowing countries something they have lacked until now: a collective voice within the global debt architecture.It is another step toward the global debt system that places borrowers at the center of discussions that determine their futures and ensure their perspectives are coordinated, informed and heard.At a deeper level, the Platform reflects the reality of today's world.Developing countries are rising economic actors.Their influence is growing.And global governance must adapt accordingly. There is one thing that I’ve been telling developed countries and that is the following: if you look at the G7 in every single day, the G7 has a smaller share of the global economy than in the day before. And if you look at the emerging economies, some of them sitting in this meeting, every single day, the group of the emerging economies has a share of global GDP that is higher than in the day before. And this change is a structural change and this change will help transform the power relations that have until now prevailed.Indeed, developing countries are rising economic actors, their influence is growing and global governance must adapt accordingly.This Platform does not substitute for reform of the international financial architecture, but it makes the case for it even clearer.Dear friends,Last July, Member States agreed to rev-up the engine of financing for developing countries to the Sevilla Commitment.The Commitment and the Platform we are launching today – along with other key initiatives, including the High-Level Expert Group on Beyond GDP to offer new ways to measure progress and well-being – all recognize a critical truth.In the end, the cost of finance is not measured only in balance sheets.It's measured in hospitals and schools.In food, water and sanitation.In jobs, social protection, and housing.In transport systems and resilient infrastructure.And it's measured in people's lives.The Borrowers Platform cannot generate solutions that allow countries to invest in these fundamentals -- and to do so on fairer, more sustainable terms.I'm deeply encouraged by the energy and commitment behind this initiative and I call on every eligible country to join.And I offer my full support as the Borrowers Platform moves from the launchpad to take-off.Thank you and I wish you the best success. [END]

Secretary-General: Justice is meant to be blind. 

But today, too many are choosing to turn a blind eye to justice itself.

Around the world – and starkly in the Middle East – respect for international law is being trampled.

Rules governing the use of force and the conduct of hostilities are ignored.

Civilians are exposed to intolerable harm.

Humanitarian obligations are disregarded. 

Even the protections afforded to the United Nations and our personnel are violated.

This wholesale assault on international law has consequences.

Lawlessness breeds chaos.

Lawlessness fuels suffering.

Lawlessness leads to destruction. 

This is not the moment to retreat from international law.

It is the moment to reaffirm it.

That is why later this week, I will travel to The Hague to mark the eightieth anniversary of the International Court of Justice.

The ICJ is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations and a pillar of the international legal order.

For eight decades, the Court has fulfilled that role with distinction.

But this visit is not simply about commemorating an anniversary.

It is about sending an unmistakable message.

A message that the United Nations stands firmly behind the institutions and principles designed to protect peace, justice, sovereignty and human dignity.

A message that international law applies to all States, without exception, and that respect for its rules is not optional.

A message that in a world moving toward greater fragmentation and sharper power competition, international law is indispensable.

Without it, instability spreads, mistrust deepens, and conflicts spiral out of control.

This applies everywhere – and it applies urgently to the conflict in the Middle East.

There is no military solution to this crisis. Peace agreements require persistent engagement and political will.

Serious negotiations must resume.

The ceasefire must be preserved – and extended as necessary.

And international navigational rights and freedoms – including in the Strait of Hormuz – must be respected by all parties.

It is time for restraint and responsibility.

It is time for diplomacy over escalation.

It is time for a renewed commitment to international law.

Thank you.
 [ENDQuestion & Answer:Question: Thank you very much, Mr. Secretary-General. Edith Lederer from the Associated Press. What do you know about resuming talks between the United States and Iran? President [Donald] Trump has just said it could happen, possibly in the next two days. And also, has the United Nations been able to get any humanitarian aid into Iran?Secretary-General: In relation to the first question, I have to say that I consider it essential that these negotiations go on. I think it would be unrealistic to expect to such a complex problem, long-lasting problem, could be resolved in the first session of a negotiation. So, we need negotiations to go on, and we need a ceasefire to persist as negotiations go on. On the other hand, the CERF (Central Emergency Response Fund) has attributed $12 million to our country team in order to be able to provide effective humanitarian assistance to people in dire need of that assistance. Question: But you didn't actually address my question, which was: Does the United Nations, do you know about the prospect, the possibility of a resumption of talks?Secretary-General: The indication we have is that it is highly probable that these talks will restart. I had today a [phone call] with the Deputy Prime Minister of Pakistan, and I want to take profit at this occasion to express my enormous admiration to Pakistan for the very important initiative that Pakistan has been assuming in order to bring peace to the Middle East. Question: Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. Biesan Abu-Kwaik with Al Jazeera Arabic. With direct talks taking place today in Washington between Lebanon and Israel, what are your expectations from these talks? How do you view them playing, if they precede, you know, a role in the bigger picture when it comes to the Iran War? And what would be a UN role, if these talks proceed going forward?Secretary-General: Well, I believe that nobody expects that these talks today will solve all the problems. But I think it will be very important if these talks create the conditions to a change in the way the actors have been developing their activities. Until now, the truth is that Hezbollah and Israel have always helped each other to destabilize the Government of Lebanon. Whenever Israel occupies part of the territory of Lebanon, that is the pretext that Hezbollah uses to say, “We cannot disarm. We must keep the resistance.” Whenever Hezbollah sends rockets against Israel, even after having promised that they wouldn’t do it, Israel immediately uses that pretext for this massive operation against Lebanon. At the same time, you have the Government of Lebanon that is totally committed on one hand to the territorial integrity of Lebanon, but on the other hand, to have the monopoly of use of force, which implies the disarmament of Hezbollah. So, it's time for Israel and Lebanon to be working together, instead of Lebanon being the victim of this kind of negative -, I would say - negative conjugation of the actions of the Hezbollah and Israel.Thank you very much.***