Opportunites and Challenges for the 21st Century - Need for a new Paradigm

Mr. Ivo Šlaus, President of the World Academy of Art and
Science
Distinguished Panellists,
Distinguished Ambassadors,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

It is a privilege to welcome you all to the Palais des Nations. This time we have come together to discuss acute problems of today’s international situation.

Geneva represents an ideal platform for a deeper reflection on where we are headed as the international community and which kind of future we wish to build on. The international conference on Syria, which is taking shape now, is another demonstration of Geneva’s enduring value as a global hub. We appreciate the Host Country represented by Ambassador Alexander Fasel for its consistent support to the United Nations. We also welcome the presence here of State Councillor Pierre-François Unger. Let me also thank the Fondation pour Genève and its President Mr. Ivan Pictet participating in this event, highlighting again the valuable role that the Foundation and the Diplomatic Club, led by Ambassador Luzius Wasescha, play in building bridges across the different communities in Geneva.

I am grateful to see so many representatives of the entities that make “International Geneva” unique. This conference is intended to take time out of daily technical and policy discussions to pool our experience and know-how to come up with fresh and forward-looking ideas and solutions.

I am grateful to our partners in the World Academy of Art and Science – and in particular its President Ivo Šlaus and its Chairman Garry Jacobs – for organizing the event with us. The World Academy has a long and distinguished tradition for cutting-edge thinking that goes across boundaries, leading to creative approaches. I believe that your motto – “Leadership in thought that leads to action” – is very appropriate for our discussions today.

The world is undergoing profound changes, and we need both political will and immediate action to react to this transformation.

Political, economic and social balances are shifting. New dynamics have come into play, moving centres of gravity – from west to east, and from north to south. As just one example, it is projected that by 2020, the combined output of the three leading South economies – China, India and Brazil – may surpass the aggregate production of the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy and Canada.

While some of these developments begin to address long-standing global imbalances, they also bring new contradictions and inequalities. 1.1 billion people still live below the internally-accepted poverty line of 1.25 dollars a day. Over 785 million people have no access to clean drinking water and 2.3 billion lack sanitation. The world is more connected than ever before, but still close to 4.5 billion people – predominantly in the developing world – are not online, and 1.5 billion people do not even have electricity.

At the same time, we are experiencing increasing division and distrust among communities – both ethnic, religious and national. Despite our increasing interconnections, we in the human family also feel more distant from one another. We witness growth in extremist rhetoric and action based on religious and ethnic hatred.

Well-known mechanisms and tools no longer seem adequate to respond effectively to these negative trends. The international conferences are not delivering the results we need: despite years of negotiation, the Doha Round of trade negotiations remains blocked….we have no legally-binding agreement to curb carbon emissions post-Kyoto…and in this very Chamber, the Conference on Disarmament has not been able to agree even a Programme of Work for over 16 years.

Against this background, we need to embrace a different type of governance – a new paradigm for how we work together to build a better world. Let me highlight three key components of this governance, which I hope may become issues of our discussions today.

First, nurturing partnerships. The challenges we face are interconnected. No single country, no single institution can confront them in isolation. Individually, they have neither the capacity nor the expertise. Let me give you an example: Over 200 million people are without jobs – of these, some 75 million are young people. We cannot hope to create meaningful and sustainable employment without involvement of the private sector. And this is not simply an economic issue, it is a political one. Lack of employment has already led to the undermining of social stability in many regions and countries, to the mistrust of just and efficient governance.

Second, reaching across boundaries. We are all aware that the challenges before us touch upon many disciplines. Climate change, for example, has a core scientific component, in analyzing the phenomenon and its consequences, and in proposing solutions. But these solutions have to be agreed and implemented at a political level. Therefore, we still have a long way to go in including different types of knowledge at the policy level, in particular from the scientific, technological and academic communities. As policy-makers, we need to get better at reaching out for the knowledge that we need so that we base decisions on the latest evidence and thinking. I am therefore particularly pleased that we have with us today representatives of these communities. I hope this can become a model to follow, and I welcome therefore the presence today of the Director-General of CERN, Professor Heuer, who is also a strong advocate for such an engagement.

Third, embracing different models. No one size fits all. We need to embrace different types of governance models for different issues. The large-scale multilateral negotiations, driven by Governments, still have value. There will be contexts and issues where they are the only way of doing business. But they cannot stand alone. Action through regional organizations. Action through smaller groups of like-minded States. Action led by civil society, or at sub-national level. These are complementary, not competing, models.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have posed as the overarching question for this session: Can humanity realize the apparently conflicting goals of prosperity, security, sustainability and social justice? I believe that the answer is yes. But it will require a new way of doing business, probably with the three elements that I have just outlined at the core and with a strong United Nations bringing these elements together.

Some observers consider the new governance a threat to the United Nations. I see it as a unique opportunity for it to play a more important role in connecting the different layers and partners for a cohesive and coherent global approach.

I am grateful to the outstanding speakers and skilful moderators and rapporteurs who will take part in all our sessions today. It is their input that gives us today a good chance to have an in-depth look at the problems we have to confront. The final session will bring together the different threads of the debates. The aim is a truly inclusive exchange.

Thank you very much for your active involvement.