REMARKS OF H.E. MR. NASSIR ABDULAZIZ AL-NASSER
HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR THE UNITED NATIONS ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS
Group of Friends meeting,
New York, 29 June 2016
Your Excellency,
Mr. Abulfas Garayev, Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
Your Excellency,
H.E. Mr. Hasan Ulusoy, Director General for Multilateral Political Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey;
Your Excellency,
Ambassador Belen Alfaro Hernandez;
Ambassador at Large for the Alliance of Civilizations and for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Spain;
Distinguished delegates ,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
First, let me tell you how honored I am to lead the Alliance of Civilizations. I believe we have continued to build this institution as a standard bearer for the United Nations on issues of intercultural and interreligious dialogue , inclusion and tolerance.
On this occasion, we have the opportunity to explore the progress we have made, the challenges that we face and the possibilities that lie before us as we consider UNAOC future programming.
Let me begin with the 7th UNAOC Global Forum in Baku.
I am proud to start by saying that it was a great success.
All participants have witnessed and testified to that success in terms of substance, organization, level of participation and visibility. In this context, I would like to thank the Government of Azerbaijan for their generous financial support, their commitment to making this forum a success. I would also like to thank my team for their hard work and diligence. Most of all I would like to thank you all the members of the Group of Friends for your commitment, support and contribution to the work of the Alliance.
As such, let us build on that success and move forward.
The theme of this Forum, “Living together in inclusive societies: a challenge and a goal” describes a critically important element relevant to addressing core challenges that we are facing today.
The first plenary session of the Forum focused on the various drivers of violent extremism and concrete and effective measures to prevent it, such as the adoption of global initiatives, including regional growth strategies, the strengthening of States to implement them, and the creation of platforms where religious leaders can exchange their experience and where the media would promote a positive image of religions. While the second Plenary session served as an opportunity to look into models of social inclusion and envision a unique platform to share good practices of inclusion that exist at local and national levels.
We understood through the discussions that building inclusive societies requires overcoming many challenges in the areas of dialogue and integration, education, youth, cultural diversity, migration, media and communication. But we also understood that inclusive societies are the only way forward to a better future. Inclusion prevent from discrimination, marginalization, xenophobia, and radicalization, which are conducive to social divides, hatred and violent extremism.
Inclusive societies provide a bulwark against the threat of violent extremism and terrorism. By guaranteeing social and human rights and increasing access to opportunities and employment, people feel respected and integrated within their societies. They are less likely to be drawn to violent extremist movements.
Throughout the Forum, breakout sessions served as an opportunity to discuss various related topics, including global citizenship education, the role of Sports in promoting peace, cyber extremism, countering xenophobia and the role of cities in global migration, among others.
Seven networking sessions have been organized in collaboration with highly valuable partners of UNAOC, namely the Baku International Multiculturalism Center, Education Above All (EAA), the Research Center for Islamic History, Art and culture (IRCICA), The National Coordination Council of the Alliance of civilizations of Turkey, the International Organization for Migration in collaboration with Plural+, the Government of Italy and last but not least Association Nexox-Alianza presented: “The New Silk Road: A route for Peace”.
All these discussions led us to the outcomes of the Forum, including the Baku Declaration, through which the Group of Friends called for the implementation of the commitments made during the Forum so that Governments, with the support of the civil society, can overcome challenges and move forward towards the goals of living together in inclusive societies for sustainable development.
It is in this spirit that, UNAOC is currently working closely with our most recent partner the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (Turkic Council) on the organization of the international event “the Role of Youth in Countering Violent Extremism” that will take place in Istanbul on October.
Also UNAOC, in cooperation with the Government of Kyrgyzstan , the newest member of the Group of Friends and the Turkic Council, will be co-sponsoring and organizing the upcoming Kyrgyz Republic Nomad Games for the promotion of diversity and culture in September.
Next fall we will start a two full-time, PHD scholarships launched by UNAOC in partnership with the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR) at Coventry University in the UK. The fully funded scholarships will be on the role of intercultural relations and dialogue play in forging social solidarity, trust and peaceful relations in diverse and changing societies. The call for application will be announced soon.
And I am pleased to announce that UNAOC, in close collaboration with the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue (IID), will organize the “Inter-Faith Celebration of Cultural Identity and Diversity through Food Security” during the first quarter of 2017.
In addition, I also signed Memoranda of Understanding with the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), and the Global Dialogue Foundation (GDF).
Through the Baku Declaration that was endorsed in Baku by consensus , you, the Group of Friends reaffirmed your support to UNAOC and expressed your conviction that the Alliance plays an important role as a global platform for sharing best practices for living together in inclusive societies, as well as solutions, in this context, to challenges, such as the spread of violent extremism which could be conducive to terrorism, in order to promote peace, universal human rights and sustainable development.
All of you are here precisely because you believe in this initiative and you believe in the need to support it, and I thank you for that. Many of you have provided financial and political assistance for UNAOC over its first ten years of existence. Without that assistance, UNAOC cannot perform its tasks.
Promoting intercultural dialogue and social inclusion has never been more important. The world is increasingly threatened by conflicts, terrorist attacks and other challenges that are causing large-scale suffering and instability. The situation in Syria, Libya, Yemen and elsewhere resulted in enormous suffering and destruction, not only in the country and region, but all over the World. The migration crisis in Europe brought back the echo of the xenophobic rhetoric , which plunged the continent into war in the twentieth century. Hatred and bigotry against minorities and those who embrace a different faith, or have a different language, race or color have returned with its ugly face threatening international peace and security.
In these times of growing division and the rising wave of xenophobia, the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations is actively working to encourage people to be true to the values of compassion, tolerance and understanding respecting human rights, showing solidarity with those who suffer and helping humanity to move towards a better future.
The UN General Assembly’s High-Level Meeting to address the large movements of refugees and migrants on 19 September will serve as a good opportunity for the international community to share responsibility for the migrants and refugees that are affected by these challenges. UNAOC is looking forward to its contribution to the important discussions that will take place in this summit given the relevance of the topics to our mandate particularly the aspect of addressing xenophobia against migrants and refugees.
In line with that summit and the UN Global campaign against xenophobia and racism, UNAOC will organize a side event on the margins of the 71st session of the General Assembly on “Combating xenophobic language in the media and fostering inclusive integration of migrants and refugees”.
As you know, the Alliance of Civilizations has been actively working on countering xenophobia to prevent discrimination, exclusion, radicalization and violent extremism. UNAOC’s Hate Speech initiative aims at countering narratives of hatred, and addressing the treatment of migrants in the media in order to promote their social inclusion in host societies.
I am very proud of this initiative that was launched in December 2015 with a Symposium at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, and of its social media campaign with the hashtag #SpreadNoHate followed by 95,000 people on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Google. It already reached millions of people globally. During the first symposium, #SpreadNoHate was trending in New York with more than 7 million people reached.
Mutual fear, suspicion, and ignorance across cultures have spread beyond the level of political leadership into the hearts and minds of populations. This trend must be addressed by including all sectors of society. Reducing disparities, frustration and exclusion, will contribute to addressing the roots of violent extremism.
Thus, we can see how the implementations of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Plan of Action to Prevent Violent Extremism are timely and closely interlinked.
In recent years, the international community focused its responses to violent extremism on countering the threat. But these responses have their limits and we all know that security and military actions alone cannot defeat this scourge.
We need to change our way of preventing violent extremism. We need to pay more attention to frustration, exclusion, marginalization, and focus more on education, inclusion, and youth empowerment to end the scourge of violence and advance the cause of peace and stability.
It is important to recognize and identify the drivers of violent extremism but also the damages that ensue from it, which divides people, fracture societies and impede social development.
As a bridge builder and facilitator between cultures and communities, UNAOC will continue to play its part within the overall UN pillars of peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development.
As I consider my experience at the head of the Alliance over the past three years, I have come to realize how important it is to exercise soft power diplomacy to advance the goals of the United Nations.
The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations has provided a tremendous platform for experimentation on the use of soft power diplomacy. It has engaged in project activities, some which have become regular features of its programming, that have targeted young people, our most important audience. UNAOC has developed a clearly identifiable brand that has recognized the need to build the capacity of civil society, particularly organizations serving and sometimes led by young people. The Youth event that preceded the 7th UNAOC Global Forum is a good example of what the Alliance can do in partnership with youth, and of the success that they meet while promoting the agenda we have embraced at the United Nations.
UNAOC project activities have consistently delivered good results and real impact. Donors know that these projects have been good investments – the return on those investments is something we can see in the young people who are the alumni of these projects.
My pride in the work of the Alliance of Civilizations is matched by my concern about its financial stability. For UNAOC project activity to continue to deliver the high quality, its finances must be made more stable, its flow of resources more regular and more predictable. I call upon all of you to re-double your efforts to find the resources needed to provide that essential financial support that can allow us to continue this work.
Ladies and gentlemen,
I know you feel as strongly about UNAOC as I do. That is why you are here today. For UNAOC to be here tomorrow and in the future, that support must be matched by real commitment, the sort displayed by the General Assembly last year. I count on your support. The same goes to those young people, those civil society leaders and most of all the communities they have assisted through their increasingly effective work, work informed by the capacity building effort of UNAOC.
I thank you all and look forward to hearing your comments on where to adapt existing programs to target more precisely our priorities and introduce new initiatives.