WASHINGTON – Canadian Ambassador to the United Nations says the organization’s most important task right now is to give the world a sense of hope.
The problem, according to Bob Rae, is what he calls an “incredible cascade” of crises, which makes hope scarce.
In his opening address to the UN General Assembly, Secretary General António Guterres drew up a list of priorities.
The war in Ukraine is entering its eighth month as the economic and social consequences of the conflict continue to be felt around the world.
The lasting effects of COVID-19 continue to hit the world’s most disadvantaged hardest and climate change is ravaging the planet.
Mr. Rae is accompanying Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to the opening sessions of the 77th United Nations General Assembly this week in New York.
“We have to give hope,” he said. We need to show that we can take action to make a difference. And this is the approach that Canadians are taking all over the world. “
Trudeau’s two-day visit to New York began Tuesday with a bilateral meeting with Chandrikapersad Santokhi, president of Suriname, who this year chairs Caricom, a political and economic coalition of 15 Caribbean member states.
The rest of Trudeau’s agenda at the United Nations is filled with meetings on topics that matter to him: climate change, gender equality and sustainable development, among others. He will also participate in a panel discussion with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the virtues of inclusive job growth.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine certainly permeates any discussion of economic growth and food security, two of Trudeau’s other priorities.
“So much work to do, keeping everyone together,” Trudeau said in response to a question about Ukraine when he arrived at UN headquarters on Tuesday.
Guterres also speaks of hope
Giving hope in the face of despair: This was a dominant theme in Secretary General Guterres’ speech on Tuesday. “Our world is in dire straits: divisions are widening, inequalities are widening, challenges are spreading further,” he told the assembled leaders.
He described a UN-flagged ship loaded with Ukrainian grain crossing a war zone to the Horn of Africa, where millions of people are starving.
Guterres was referring to the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a complex UN-brokered agreement between Ukraine and Russia, brokered with the help of Turkey, which is finally getting long-blocked food from this war-torn region.
“Each ship also carries one of today’s rarest commodities: hope,” said Guterres. “We need hope (…) and more. We need action. “
Trudeau’s two-day agenda in New York also includes promoting the 17 goals of the United Nations Sustainable Development Effort, of which the Canadian Prime Minister is co-chair. These global goals include climate action, an end to poverty and pollution, gender equality and the promotion of equitable economic growth.
Mr. Trudeau will also participate in the “Christchurch Call” summit, with his New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Adern and French President Emmanuel Macron, to combat the spread of violent extremism on the web. He will also be present on site for preview events of the meetings of the “COP15” conference on biodiversity, scheduled for December in Montreal.
Infectious diseases
The Prime Minister will attend a conference of contributors to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria on Wednesday, to which Canada has pledged $ 4 billion since 2002. Activists in Canada have urged the Prime Minister to commit $ 1.2 billion more for this year alone.
Ambassador Rae said Canada is one of the Fund’s largest per capita contributors.
“I know the prime minister is struggling with this question of what more can we do,” he said. The global pressures on us, on all fronts, are enormous (…) so do we feel the pressure? Yes of course. But guess what? We are used to pressure, we know how to respond and we will respond to it ”.
The fund helps developing countries to limit and treat preventable diseases, which are the leading causes of death in many regions, and are once again on the rise.
Mr. Trudeau also plans to meet with partners from the Caribbean and other regions this week to focus on promoting sustainable growth in Haiti.
He will also meet Joe Biden in person at a leadership event hosted by the President of the United States and his wife, their first face-to-face meeting since Washington canceled a program to sell more US-made electric vehicles.
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