UNITED NATIONS NATIONS UNIES Office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Turkey Please check against delivery 2016 UN Day to mark the 71 th Anniversary of the United Nations Speech by Mr Kamal Malhotra United Nations Resident Coordinator, Turkey October 24, 2016 Hilton Hotel Ankara, Turkey
The Honourable Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, His Excellency Mr Ahmet Yildiz, Excellencies, Ambassadors, Members of the Diplomatic Corps, Members of the UN Country Team, UN Colleagues Distinguished Guests, Hoş Geldiniz İyi Akşamlar On behalf of the United Nations and the UN Country Team in Turkey, it is my pleasure to welcome you on the occasion of the 71 th Anniversary of the United Nations. 2016 has been a year of achievement but also a year of deep concern. At the global level, we recently celebrated the first anniversary of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This new ambitious Agenda is the global community s manifesto for a better future for everyone. Fifteen years may seem a long time, but we have no time to waste. All of us are agents of change and must commit to work for peace, prosperity, dignity and opportunity for all on a healthy planet. Allow me to emphasize that the UN system in Turkey is strongly committed to supporting Turkey s plan to implement the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. In this regard, I commend Turkey for showing global leadership in this area by agreeing to participate in the first High Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development in July this year. Honourable Guests, 2016 also saw the largest, single day signing ceremony in history when 175 countries including Turkey signed the Paris Agreement on climate change on April 22 in New York. This marked an historic turning point in acknowledging that climate impacts are both impossible to contest and increasing and that no nation or community is immune. The Paris Agreement will enter into force on 4 November 2016 since 55 member states that account for at least 55% of global emissions have already deposited their instruments of ratification with the UN. The World Humanitarian Summit hosted by the Government of Turkey in Istanbul in May this year was an important landmark in the global community s efforts to come up with new, innovative measures to address both the causes and symptoms of protracted crises around the world. Key financial, operational and policy level [1]
commitments were made by member states, NGOs and corporations and new partnerships and instruments were developed such as the Grand Bargain aimed at getting more means into the hands of people in need as well as The Hague Data Centre which is aimed at using data more effectively in addressing humanitarian response. I am glad to be able to inform you that the appointment of the next UN Secretary General was confirmed by the UN General Assembly earlier this month. As the former Prime Minister of Portugal for seven years and UN High Commissioner for Refugees for 10 years, Mr Antonio Guterres brings with him a wealth of experience to the position described as the most impossible job in the world. As the current Secretary General has said, he believes that Mr Guterres expertise lies in the two areas which are most important in today s global conjuncture: on the frontlines of armed conflict and humanitarian suffering. Distinguished Guests, Allow me now to turn to the regional context. Much has happened since we were all here at this time last year. The situation in Syria especially in and around Aleppo has unfortunately significantly deteriorated and even the latest unilateral pause in the bombings last week did not allow the UN to either carry out medical evacuations or deliver much needed humanitarian assistance to Eastern Aleppo because of a lack of security guarantees, while the Mosul operation risks creating another humanitarian exodus of epic proportions. At the same time Europe has regrettably restricted the number of refugees allowed into Europe. More than 70.000 1 refugees are currently stranded across Europe waiting for their cases to be processed as one country after another has reintroduced national border controls. In Aleppo, civilians and civilian facilities such as hospitals are being unacceptably targeted by the warring parties on a regular basis. International Humanitarian Law has never been under greater pressure. But that does not mean that International Humanitarian Law is no longer applicable. Indeed, there is a greater and more urgent need than ever before to uphold International Humanitarian Law. All member states of the United Nations have an obligation to ensure that their countries adhere to the principles enshrined in the Geneva Convention. 1 IOM Missing Migrant Project, Reporting Period 22 September 5 October 2016, availble at: http://migration.iom.int/docs/weekly%20flows%20compilation%20no26%206%20october%202016.pdf [2]
The current situation in Syria as well as the EU Turkey deal mean that many of the refugees already in Turkey are here to stay for the foreseeable future. It is therefore important that the temporary work permits for Syrians approved by legislation in January 2016 by the Government of Turkey are more extensively made available to Syrian refugees than at present. Ensuring the self sufficiency of the refugees, enhancing local capacities of municipalities and national institutions, increased engagement of the private sector and strengthened social cohesion between the refugees and Turkish host communities will remain key in 2017 and 2018. The new proposed 2017 2018 UN Regional Refugee and Response Plan which will soon be finalized will have a strong focus on all these components, while the new EU funded and UN WFP and Kizilay assisted Emergency Social Safety Net that aims to reach one million Syrian refugees with multi purpose cash assistance in Turkey is an important new addition to our range of instruments to support refugee needs. Ladies and Gentlemen, At the national level, the UN system in Turkey is in the first year of implementing its new UN Development Cooperation Strategy for 2016 2020 which has four main pillars: (i) Sustainable and Inclusive Growth and Development, (ii) Democratic Governance and Human Rights, (iii) Gender Equality and Women s Empowerment, and (iv) Migration and International Protection. It has also established a Joint Steering Committee co led by the Government of Turkey and the UN system to provide strategic oversight and guidance of the joint UN Government of Turkey Cooperation Strategy. I am also happy to announce that the Memorandum of Agreement between the Government of Turkey and the UN system in Turkey on a new UN House in Ankara has been finalized and agreed by Turkey s Council of Ministers. We take this both as an affirmation by the Government of Turkey of the contribution that the UN has made to Turkey for more than 60 years and a confirmation of the UN s continuing relevance in assisting with Turkey s current and future challenges in close cooperation with the people and Government of Turkey. I am particularly pleased to have led this negotiation on behalf of the UN and am gratified that it has successfully come to fruition after many years of negotiation just as I prepare to leave Turkey for my next assignment. I would like to sincerely thank the Government of Turkey for providing the UN with the land plot in the new proposed diplomatic enclave in Incek as well as the construction cost to make this building a reality over the next few years. [3]
To conclude, Our world is under increasing and some would say unbearable and unsustainable stress. The UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, in his UN Day message this year has urged all to give their full backing to Secretary General designate Antonio Guterres in continuing our global mission of peace, sustainable development and human rights. As I have said on numerous occasions; for all its limitations, the UN still remains our best and most legitimate global instrument to achieve the world s security, human rights and development goals. If we did not have it, we would have to reinvent it. I thank you once again for being here tonight and for joining us in this celebration of the 71st Anniversary of the United Nations. [4]