80th Anniversary of the UN Charter

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to this reception and to the opening of this exhibition commemorating eighty years of the signing of the Charter of the United Nations.

I extend my warm thanks to the generous contributors who made this exhibition possible: Brazil, the Republic of Cameroon, the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, Norway, the State of Qatar, Singapore, the United States of America, and the United Nations Foundation.

Beyond honouring the United Nations, this exhibition pays tribute to the spirit of San Francisco.

There, in 1945, fifty nations came together after witnessing the devastation of two world wars. 

They made a solemn promise to the world:

To lay the foundations of a global order that would spare future generations from the catastrophe of war.

A global order rooted in international cooperation and an unwavering belief in universal human dignity.

An order in which the principles of multilateralism are respected and upheld.

The Charter you see on display here is the result of that promise.

There is more than ink on those pages. 

They are infused with the hopes of a brighter future.

With ideals and principles we do not always live up to, but which have guided our Organisation for eighty years.

Ideals that helped avert a third world war. 

That helped reduce poverty on an unprecedented scale and gave us the means to banish it entirely.

That helped dismantle the structures of colonialism, as new nations joined this global family.

That established the sovereign equality of all states.

And created a universal platform to confront shared challenges. 

For every problem that touches us all, this forum has provided a space for dialogue and diplomacy. 

That is the enduring value of the United Nations.

And it is precisely that value--the value of diplomacy over conflict--that we must hold fast to today.

I am deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in the Middle East. 

I call on all parties to engage in diplomacy and pursue dialogue.

For only dialogue will bring durable peace.

The people in the Middle East need more peace, not more wars.

 As we can see today, eighty years on, our world remains far from perfect.

Conflicts, the climate crisis, and the enduring burdens of poverty, want, prejudice, and discrimination persist.

And yet, while the United Nations has not carried us to heaven, it has, in the words of Dag Hammarskjöld, saved us from hell. 

The spirit of San Francisco--the same spirit that gave our founders courage after the cataclysms of the early twentieth century--must inspire us once again.

It is the spirit that led us, earlier this session, to adopt the Pact for the Future and breathe new life into multilateralism. 

And it is the spirit that brings us here this evening.

In just three days, on 26 June, we will observe United Nations Charter Day, a moment to reflect not only on how far we have come but on how far we must still go. 

Hence, as you enjoy the reception and explore the exhibition, I hope the spirit of San Francisco moves you to act: 

To uphold the ideals that united us eighty years ago.

To strengthen the United Nations as an institution by providing it the vital resources it needs to function better.

For, a more functional United Nations fully supported by its Member States will find the bold solutions needed to build a more peaceful, just, and prosperous future--for everyone, everywhere.

Thank you.

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