Encomium
Following the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ launch of UN75 global conversation campaign in New York, the United Nations system in Nigeria has commenced the year-long activities of the United Nations 75th anniversary with the hosting of Abuja International Model United Nations (AIMUN) conference, organised by the University of Abuja, United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Nigeria and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nigeria.
Addressing the over 400 delegates to the conference held 28 – 31 January 2020 at the Rotunda auditorium, Ministryof Foreign Affairs Abuja, the Director of UNIC, Mr Ronald Kayanja, noted, “The world has changed a lot in the past 75 years, and indeed the system of international cooperation has also been evolving. We face new challenges in the world today, different from the immediate concerns of those who established the UN in 1945.Therefore, the UN Secretary-General is calling for a global conversation.”
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, represented by the Director of International Organisation Department in the Ministry, Mr Oluremi Oliyide, underscored the importance of multilateralism to addressing most of the global challenges.
He called for increased cooperation amongst member states of the UN and noted that no single nation could solve the growing list of global challenges alone.
The Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Tallen, called on everyone to seize the opportunity provided by the UN 75th anniversary to “change the way we do business and make the UN more inclusive, transparent, accountable and effective.”
Dame Tallen expressed her appreciation to the United Nation for its commitment to the promotion and protection of children all around the world. “You may wish to be informed that in all aspects of children’s life, the United Nations is very relevant, for example, when we talk of education, UNESCO is there; in our efforts to end child labour, we turn to International Labour Orghanisation (ILO); when we programme for child survival, development, protection and participation, we have UNICEF; to eradicate diseases and health concerns, World Health Organisation (WHO) is there for them. United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is tackling issues of sexual and reproductive health; among others.” She explained.
The Ambassador of Sweden to Nigeria, H.E. Carl Michael Gräns, noted that theUN was not perfect, but remained the best system the world had been able to come up with so far. Therefore, he said, We all need to take responsibility for it and make it better together.
“The UN system is a global public good, and it is in our shared strategic interest to keep investing in it. I believe that the long-term gains are far greater than the short-term costs.” Ambassador Gräns added.
In his address, H.E. Esmond Reid, Jamaican High Commissioner to Nigeria, observed that at 75, the UN is older than many of its 193 Member States and has played an active role in supporting nation-building efforts of many countries at varying levels of development.
“In looking at the future we want,”he continued, “we must continue to place people at the centre of the United Nations work in the areas of peace and security, human rights and development.”
“Even as we support the UN’s call for a global conversation on the future we want, we underscore the need for a renewed commitment to multilateral engagement to achieve incremental gains in overcoming the challenges that confront us as an international community.” Mr Reid added.
Other speakers included the Ambassadors of India, Switzerland, Sri Lanka and The Gambia; as well as the Representative of the Minister of State for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT); Representative of the Director General of National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP); and the Representative of the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission. They spoke on the conference theme: “The future we want, the United Nations we need: Reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism”.
