Remarks by Under-Secretary-General Miguel Ángel Moratinos,
High Representative for UNAOC,
at the XII Global Baku Forum:
“Rethinking the World Order, Turning Challenges into Opportunities”
13 March 2025, Baku, Azerbaijan
Your Excellency,
Mr. Ilham Aliyev,
President of the Republic of Azerbaijan;
Your Excellency,
Ms. Vaira Vike-Freiberga,
Co-Chair of NGIC and Former President of Latvia;
Your Excellency,
Dr. Ismail Serag El Din,
Co-Chair of NGIC and Former Vice President of the World Bank;
It is always a great pleasure to be back to Baku and I thank Nizami Ganjavi International Center for providing the opportunity.
I wish to start by thanking His Excellency President Ilham Aliyev for receiving me yesterday and for the constructive discussion we had over a wide range of important issues. Your Excellency, I am grateful for accommodating the meeting in your very busy schedule despite my fleeting visit to Baku this time around.
Excellencies, dear colleagues and friends,
Rethinking the world order and turning challenges into opportunities, is indicative of optimism and hope.
This is particularly significant considering the existential challenges our world is facing today.
The global community is more divided than at any other time in the past 80 years.
I dare say that even the cold war era was less threatening.
Today’s threats to the world order are more daunting and more complex as additional dimensions have been added – the climate crisis, the uncontrolled Artificial Intelligence and cyber weapons, just to name a few.
Around the world , the ongoing wars and conflicts from Gaza and Ukraine to Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, the Great lakes and the Horn of Africa are taking their toll on human lives and global economy.
Excellencies,
The United Nations turns 80 this year.
Born out of the ashes of World War II, the raison d’etre of our organization was to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”.
We succeeded in many cases. But we also failed in many more.
We failed in pushing hard enough for peace through diplomacy. We failed in making dialogue prevail over the sound of guns.
This brings me to the Pact for the Future which calls for peace processes and approaches rooted in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, international law and the UN Charter.
The pact charts a course towards a better world.
The actions it proposes, prioritize conflict prevention, mediation and peace-building including a commitment to addressing the root causes of conflicts.
I am convinced that without peace, there can be no security, development or human rights. These core pillars of the United Nations system are inter-related and interdependent.
Never before, have we seen this vicious push back against human rights in the global north and south.
The growing intolerance and prejudices against entire groups, from migrants and refugees to religious groups across the faith spectrum.
Across the world, the rise in antisemitism, Islamophobia and all other forms of hate against numerous religious communities is appalling.
That’s why I was determined to walk the talk . I was very pleased that on the 17th of January, I launched the first ever, United Nations Action Plan to Enhance Monitoring and Response to Antisemitism. The action plan is the sum of more than 18 months of work in consultation with several UN entities and stakeholders representing major Jewish organizations and Special Envoys to Combat antisemitism. The action plan got a lot of media traction and positive reactions from the Jewish organizations.
At the same time, I am currently laying the ground work for combating Islamophobia. Once the appointment of the UN Special Envoy on Combating Islamophobia is formally announced, I will set in motion a concrete work plan.
Excellencies,
The United Nations will remain a universal platform for global dialogue.
And the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations continues to strengthen the platform it created 2 decades ago to promote intercultural and interreligious dialogue to complement that universal platform. In this context, I am very pleased to announce that UNAOC 11th Global Forum will be hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards the end of 2025 and I sincerely hope that Your Excellency would be able to participate in person.
Concluding…
We may all acknowledge that peace is elusive. The more we let it slip away, the further it is getting out of reach.
Peace will not be attainable over night.
Sustainable peace requires sustainable effort.
Peace needs a genuine leap of faith and firm resolve to get to the finish line.
If countries fulfil their obligations under the UN Charter , International Law, peace , stability , security, prosperity and dignity for all will prevail.
There is always an opportunity to create a more effective and a just world order based on international law and human rights law. To turn challenges into opportunities requires leadership, wisdom and courage.
Let’s walk together towards the path that leads to a world of peace.
I once again thank the Nizami Ganjavi International Center, the co-chairs, President Vaira Vike Freiberga, Dr. Ismail Sarag El din, and Mr. Rovshan Muradov, the Secretary-General of NGI,C for their partnership and their commitment to our shared goals.
I thank you.