Summit of the Future Action Days Opening Ceremony
Statement
By
Dr the Most Honourable Andrew Holness ON, PC, MP, DLP
At the
Summit of the Future Action Days Opening Ceremony
General Assembly Hall, UNHQ
On
September 21, 2024
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Salutations
- Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency António Guterres
- Excellencies and distinguished delegates
- Representatives of the United Nations, civil society, youth, Major Groups and Other Stakeholders
It is a distinct honour to join you this morning in building the momentum towards the Summit of the Future, and to formally commence the discussions on Future Generations. Allow me to congratulate and commend all of you for your tremendous efforts over these past few years to ensure the success of this Summit.
Jamaica is proud to have co-facilitated the intergovernmental process for the Declaration on Future Generations, and I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to our co-facilitator, the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for their excellent collaboration during the challenging process.
I would also like to thank the Secretary General and his team for the support provided to our respective teams during the negotiations and consultations.
The inclusivity of the Summit of the Future and its preceding Action Days, as well as the preparatory processes leading up to this very critical moment, is truly symbolic of the approach that is required to preserve a robust and effective multilateral system with the United Nations at its core. It is clear that Member States and the UN system cannot chart this path alone. We must leverage the knowledge, expertise and vigour of civil society, youth, academia, the private sector and other stakeholders, to deliver a better future for this planet and for all its peoples.
The Declaration on Future Generations has certainly benefited from this coming together of great minds and reflects the diverse perspectives and challenges across the world that must be taken into account as we lay the foundation for the next century and beyond.
Indeed, with the adoption of this Declaration at the Summit tomorrow, we will be able to celebrate a universal realization that, even as we address the challenges of today, we have an obligation to protect the interests of Future Generations and ensure that they will inherit a planet in which they can thrive. We must now translate that enthusiasm into action by giving life to the Declaration.
We are grateful that, during the consultations, all stakeholders recognized that it was important to not only manifest a lofty intent to take account of the needs and interests of Future Generations, but to agree to fundamental Guiding Principles, make far reaching Commitments, and prescribe concrete Actions to propel us to achieve this end.
Having completed the negotiations, it is now our responsibility to ensure the effective implementation of the Pact for the Future, the Global Digital Compact, and the Declaration on Future Generations.
For governments like mine, this effort will require a whole of society collaboration, as we seek to embed futures-thinking in all our decision-making processes across national and local government. The role of civil society, academia and the private sector in this endeavour will be critical in developing solutions, as well as building and maintaining momentum towards implementation.
In Jamaica, my government has already begun to invest in anticipatory planning and future-proofing, recognizing first and foremost that a solid macro-economic foundation is the most basic requirement. We have lowered our debt to GDP ratio; increased our foreign exchange reserves; reduced the unemployment rate; and achieved single-digit inflation as well as financial sector stability. This has allowed us to increase investments in urban planning and infrastructure, building for the future while taking account of changing demographic trends.
We are all, however, well aware of the capacity limitations of developing states to deal with the multi-dimensional challenges we currently face – climate change, debt sustainability and economic stability, access to financing for development, global shocks, etc. Technology and knowledge transfer must therefore be facilitated, including through mutually agreed arrangements. The international financial institutions must be reformed to provide the necessary access to financing as the means of implementation. The multilateral system, with the UN at its core, must be equipped to provide opportunities for developing and sharing best practices. In this regard, a follow up mechanism will also be important, so that implementation of commitments we make over the next few days can be appropriately measured and monitored.
Excellencies,
With the adoption of the Pact and its annexes, we have charted a path and made the first bold step.
Let us now move forward with hope and determination to ensure that our collective legacy will be a peaceful, healthy and prosperous planet for all our peoples, and a sustainable future for generations to come.