Monaco, 2014

The lofty aspirations of the Millennium Development Goals

guided our first steps into the era of the second

millennium and enabled us to realize, in part, the

priorities that we hold so dear. With this shared

experience, which is extraordinary in terms of what it

has made concrete, and aware of the new challenges

that have been imposed on us over the past 15 years,

we now have clear lessons on which to build the future

we want. We now know that peace and development are

inseparable.

The future to which we all aspire can be understood

on three levels, based on the three pillars of sustainable

development that command our attention equally. The

work we have started on defining the post-2015 era,

by its very nature and given the challenges it poses,

merits committed efforts by the entire international

community, which have already been undertaken.

Indeed, it requires a contribution by all States and all

parts of society, including the private sector, academia,

philanthropy and, obviously, non-governmental

organizations. It also must be, as a matter of ethics but

also to ensure its viability, inclusive, participatory and

based on good governance.

Those are therefore the bases for defining the post-

2015 era, despite the glaring paradoxes and the many

obstacles we unfortunately face. At a time when the

world is highly interdependent, its communications

technology performing as never before and its riches

abundant, inequalities continue to grow, and too many

of us remain marginalized and live in unacceptable

conditions.

Inevitable climate change, which is recognized as

the greatest challenge of our time, will decide the fate of

our planet and darkens our future prospects by already

threatening our present. Conflicts persist, while others

are born, and terrorist acts lead to a range of problems

that challenge traditional defence strategies. This past

year, existing and new conflicts have escalated towards

an unacceptable level. The Monegasque authorities can

only reiterate their commitment to the values of the

purposes and principles of the Charter of the United

Nations and join the efforts of those who seek a peaceful

and political settlement of the crisis in Ukraine.

The use of chemical weapons in Syria and the assault

on civilian targets in Syria, Iraq, the Gaza Strip, South

Sudan, Mali, the Central African Republic and Nigeria

have spread horror and are barbarous practices. They

are intolerable. That is why the Government of Monaco

condemned acts of abject violence by supporting the

adoption of Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) last

week, which establishes a new legislative and policy

framework to coordinate international efforts to fight

against the phenomenon of foreign terrorist fighters.

The Principality shares the grief of the French,

British and American peoples following the heinous

killings of their nationals who were held hostage. In

memory of those victims, His Serene Highness Prince

Albert II asked that flags at administrative buildings and

Monegasque public institutions be flown at half-mast.

Those who commit such heinous crimes in the name

of a religion they blaspheme annihilate the foundation

of our society by violating the rule of law and respect

for the standards that we have developed together. They

use communications networks and social networks,

which we might think would be used to spread harmony

and unity, to spread hatred and chaos. We have reason

to wonder about their motivations and the reasons that

make their appeal so convincing.

The response is obviously rooted in exclusion and

the marginalization of people who have not yet benefited

from what we call progress. It often involves young

people without prospects for the future. Therefore,

it is our responsibility to design inclusive social

integration policies, promoting education and youth

employment. Young people have never formed such a

large proportion of the world population — particularly

in developing countries. They must be an integral part

of the decision-making process in order to allow them

to realize their human potential.

We welcome, in that respect, the “Rights Up

Front” initiative of the Secretary-General, launched in

November 2013, whose primary objective is to make

sure that human rights violations do not become mass

crimes and to enable the Organization to act more

quickly by placing people at the heart of its strategies

and operational activities.

On the eve of the tenth anniversary of the 2005

Summit, and especially as memories of sinister

genocides come to mind, we must do a better job of

promoting the responsibility to protect. That is the

primary responsibility of every State, as we know, but

we also need to be able to help States for which capacity-

building is difficult. Prevention remains a fundamental

aspect of our Organization’s work. In that regard, the

involvement of regional and subregional organizations

is essential to the effective implementation of the

protection of populations from genocide, war crimes

and crimes against humanity. The promotion and

protection of human rights must be at the heart of our

policies. Prince Al-Hussein has our full confidence.

With his experience and his unwavering commitment

to peace and the rule of law, he can be the right United

Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights for our

times.

Another aspect also deserves emphasis — the

delivery of humanitarian assistance in conflict zones.

It must not depend on the political context. The

politicization of humanitarian assistance should be

a priority item for discussion at the global summit in

2016.

In the light of the increasing number and persistence

of crisis areas, caused both by conflicts and by natural

disasters, whose frequency we now associate with the

rate of climate change, we must take into consideration

the needs of over 50 million people. The magnitude of

those needs justifies the new partnerships that have

been formed around organizations, local partners and

the private sector and individuals.

The unprecedented threat of the Ebola virus in West

Africa is testing our ability to respond in an effective

and coordinated manner. We support the establishment

by the Secretary-General of the United Nations

Mission for Ebola Emergency Response to counter the

large-scale threat Ebola poses to international peace

and security. In that regard, I wish to acknowledge the

commitment of the Principality of Monaco, which is

effectively contributing to that unprecedented struggle,

together with the World Health Organization and the

International Committee of the Red Cross. We share in

the grief of the victims and that of their families. We

are aware that the families’ tragedies are compounded

and their pain is made unbearable by the fact that they

are unable to take care of their loved ones or provide

proper funerals for those who die.

In these difficult times, we need to establish a new

post-2015 sustainable development paradigm. Universal,

inclusive, ambitious and concrete, it must accommodate

the pressures of a growing global population and the

urbanization that comes with it. It requires us to adapt

our methods of production, consumption and transport

and to opt for clean technologies. We need to define the

nature of the world we want to live in, with and for our

children. As I mentioned earlier, it is vital that the needs

of the most vulnerable be duly taken into consideration

and that economic independence for women and young

people be ensured. It is time for women to realize the

transformation that the Secretary-General announced

by breaking through the glass ceiling that for too long

has kept them from achieving their potential. Without

the full contribution of those who constitute 50 per cent

of humankind, sustainable development will not be

achieved.

The year 2015 will also mark the fifteenth

anniversary of the adoption of Security Council

resolution 1325 (2000), on women, peace and security.

We reiterate our call to end impunity for crimes related

to sexual and gender-based violence against women, as

well as all the abuse women suffer.

The undeniable success of the Climate Summit should

be measured not only by the commitments announced,

but also by the broad participation of the private sector,

foundations and civil society and by the sense of

ownership expressed by all the stakeholders concerned.

The Summit therefore succeeded in catalysing society

as a whole, thus ensuring that the political momentum

will be maintained in Lima and Paris. As the issue of

climate change cannot be separated from the question

of the oceans, the Prince’s Government will continue

to defend an objective of sustainable development

dedicated to healthy and productive oceans for all. The

Assembly may rest assured that Monaco will engage in

discussions, which will begin in January, and we will

continue, in both national and international policies, to

act as a responsible and unifying partner.