Opening Remarks at United Nations Day 2023

Opening Remarks by Mr. Bakhodir Burkhanov, UN Resident Coordinator

Tuesday, 24 October 2023, UN House

18:15-19:00

UN Day Reception

Excellency Mme. Bounkham Vorachit, Minister of Natural Resources and Environment,

Excellency Mr. Phoxay Khaykhamphithoune, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Excellency Mme. Phonevanh, Vice Minister of Ministry of Planning and Investment,

Excellency Ambassadors and Representatives of the Diplomatic Corps,

Dear Government representatives,

Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen:

I am honoured to welcome you all to celebrate the 78th United Nations Day with the UN Country Team in Lao PDR.

I arrived in Lao PDR as Resident Coordinator only three weeks ago, so this is the first time that I am meeting many of you, and I look forward to speaking to you more this evening and getting to know you better over the coming weeks and months.

We are very fortunate to have such a wonderful UN House in the centre of Vientiane, and it is a privilege to be able to share it with you as you all hold a stake in the United Nations, an organization that belongs to all nations and to every nation.

Ladies and gentlemen,

As we just heard from the Secretary General, the values and aspirations upon which the United Nations is founded are timeless. But the world is constantly changing – peace and sustainable development are under threat – giving us an unrelenting imperative to adapt and innovate to address the many challenges that confront us.

Before coming to Laos, I served at UN Headquarters in New York. This gave me the opportunity to be part of the SDG Summit and other high-level dialogues that took place around the General Assembly in September.

From the discussions that took place there, it is certain that – at the mid-point to 2030 – we are far off track from the goals that we set ourselves.

Globally, only 15% of the targets are on track, and many are going into reverse. Some goals are moving too slowly to make a difference in people’s lives. Others, including food security, climate action, and protecting biodiversity, have gone backwards. The pandemic, cost-of-living increase, conflicts and disasters have wiped out years of progress.

We must get out of this vicious cycle, and there are glimmers of hope. We are close to meeting global targets on skilled birth attendance, and on course to meet the goals on access to mobile networks and increased internet use.

The 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report concluded that ‘Fully achieving all Goals and targets in the remaining seven years will be difficult, but every inch of progress matters. And this must be achieved globally – leaving no country, society or person behind.’

Using a sports metaphor, we may be losing at halftime, but we must build on the successes to win the match.

Excellencies,

Here in Lao PDR, challenges are no less daunting that in the rest of the world. But challenges often present new opportunities, and one such opportunity is in the partnerships to support the values we stand for, and commitments we share. Everyone in this room shares the commitment to Laos’ inclusive, equitable and sustainable development. By working together more effectively than we ever have done before, we can realise the opportunities that are in front us.

With our shared commitment to leave no one behind, this evening we wanted to shine a special spotlight on the challenges faced by persons with disabilities.

Making up 16% of the world’s population, and often amongst the poorest in their communities, this is an essential group to engage with if we are to achieve inclusive progress.

In the particular context of Lao PDR, where as a consequence of the continued mortal threat from explosive remnants of war, we have the special SDG18 on lives safe from unexploded ordnance, this is especially important.

We have invited Mr. Viengkeoubon Thammavong, a UXO survivor, to join us this evening to share his story, and I look forward to hearing from him shortly.

Excellencies,

In the spirit of UN Day, and the call from the Secretary General to be truly united nations, I hope that we can all renew and intensify our efforts toward that vision of a brighter future.

I would like to, once again, appreciate you for joining us, on behalf of the whole UN Country Team, a dedicated family of 25 agencies, funds and programmes, working side-by-side with you all, day in, day out, places near and far, across development sectors and goals.

We all thank you and wish you a pleasant evening.