Secretary-General Applauds Papua New Guinea’s 50 Years of Democracy, Urges Global Solidarity on Peace, Climate, Equality

Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks to the Parliament of Papua New Guinea, in Port Moresby, today:

Allow me to begin by acknowledging the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, the Motu-Koita People of the Port Moresby area. Daba Namona. It is a profound honour to be with you today - and a privilege to be the first serving Secretary-General of the United Nations to visit Papua New Guinea.

I have not been here long, but I am already deeply inspired - by the majesty of your landscapes, the richness of your cultures and the warmth of your welcome. I am especially proud to be here as you mark 50 years of independence, and to do so with you, the proud representatives of the people of Papua New Guinea.

And allow me a personal observation. I was 17 years a member of Parliament, and afterwards, during six years in the House, I was elected Prime Minister. But, in our system, the Prime Minister must suspend his seat in Parliament and be replaced by an alternate.

And as we do not have, in several periods, a very stable democratic situation, it has happened that the President, that has no powers in governing the country, can dismiss the Parliament. So, our Parliament was dismissed several times, and seven times I had to be elected. And this creates for me an enormous admiration for the distinguished members of this Parliament. Because, it was relatively easy for me, when elected, to go to my constituency during my mandate.

But, I know for many of you, you have to be working with the people of constituencies that are very far away, in very remote locations, but keep the strong meaning of the democratic connection between the people and the members of Parliament.

Congratulations on your very strong commitment. And allow me to say that I feel doubly at home being here. First, I feel at home because of the warm welcome that I received. I was deeply grateful yesterday because of the very warm and fraternal way I was received.

But, the second reason is because I was myself, for the largest period, in my different functions in life, a member of a Parliament.

So, if you allow me, I ask you to allow me to call you dear colleagues. You are my wantoks.

Papua New Guinea is a country of tremendous diversity. A land of over 800 languages and countless traditions. And yet, you have a shared commitment to speak with one voice - to having "one talk" - for peace, for dignity and for progress. You are champions of multilateralism and international solutions, and that spirit is urgently needed in our world today.

We meet at a time of global turmoil. Progress against poverty has stalled. Barbarous conflicts unfold on livestream.

The climate crisis is accelerating, with extreme weather and rising sea levels threatening communities around the globe - a fact the people of Papua New Guinea know all too well.

Geopolitical tensions, runaway technologies, growing inequalities and shrinking democratic space have converged into a volatile new global reality. In the face of these storms, Papua New Guinea offers a number of powerful lessons to the world.

The first is the art of forging consensus through dialogue. For the past half century, you have worked to have a single nation out of many traditions, many islands, many tongues. One people, one nation, one country. Of course, that task is not easy. But, you are determined to move forward, step by step.

Last Saturday marked the twenty-fourth anniversary of the Bougainville Peace Agreement. This conflict left deep scars. But, for more than two decades, Papua New Guinea and Bougainville have stayed the course of peace. You have shown the world the path of healing - through dialogue, perseverance and mutual respect.

Tomorrow, Bougainvillians will cast their votes in the fifth autonomous election since the Agreement. I would like to salute the President of Bougainville who is with us here today. Thank you for your commitment to these noble efforts.

The Melanesian Agreement signed in June exemplifies both parties' willingness to engage in the difficult conversations - and the United Nations has been honoured to be a part of this process.

Our Peacebuilding Fund has supported weapons disposal, the 2019 Referendum and the work of the independent moderator in close partnership with the governments of Bougainville and Papua New Guinea.

We are also proud to work in partnership with women, youth and civil society throughout Bougainville. Your continued dialogue offers a model to other countries, and I am confident that the next phase will deliver a lasting resolution to the mutual benefit of all.

Papua New Guinea's newly adopted National Prevention Strategy further affirms your commitment to ending violence for all. I look forward to visiting the Highlands tomorrow where the Peacebuilding Fund, together with the UN Country Fund, is investing in your efforts to resolve conflict, engage youth and support internally displaced people.

Papua New Guinea is a dynamic partner. Our efforts together include everything from advancing healthcare to sustainable agriculture; providing life-saving assistance to those impacted by landslides; and collaborating on anti-corruption trainings for public servants and the judiciary.

You understand that success is not measured in economic growth alone, but by delivering for those hardest to reach. To reduce inequalities, expand opportunity, ensure safety and security, and leave no one behind. We are with you every step of the way.

The United Nations has not an agenda in Papua New Guinea. Our agenda is to support the Government and the people of Papua New Guinea, according to your strategies, according to your policies and according to the decisions you take in relation to development in your country.

The second lesson you offer to the world is bold climate action. Time and again we have seen climate leadership flow not from countries with the most wealth and power - but from those who know the stakes first-hand.

The Pacific islands are ground zero for the impacts of climate change, and Papua New Guinea is home to two out of three Pacific citizens.

You are also home to 7 per cent of the world's biodiversity, and some of the largest coral reefs and rainforests on the planet. We must be ever vigilant in safeguarding these crucial ecosystems, and you have made the case that national protection deserves global support.

You have emphasized that climate change is a driver of poverty, and you have been a strong moral voice for climate finance.

This is my first trip to the Pacific since the landmark advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice - in which the region played a central role. That opinion affirms that addressing the climate crisis is a legal obligation under international law. And it builds on your pioneering work on sea-level rise as part of the Pacific Islands Forum. And is a testament to the leadership of Papua New Guinea, Melanesia and the wider Pacific region - particularly your young people, who make up 60 per cent of your population.

Your voice will be integral again during the annual UN climate conference in Belem, Brazil. The 1.5°C limit is in jeopardy. The science tells us it is still possible, but we do not have a moment to lose. The clock is ticking for countries to submit their new national climate plans. These plans offer the chance to plot a just transition, and seize the opportunities of the renewables revolution.

They must align with the 1.5°C limit as promised, cover all emissions across the entire economy and accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

We must push all countries to deliver. Papua New Guinea does not contribute to climate change, you are even a carbon sink country. And so, it is particularly the G20, who together account for 80 per cent of global emissions, that have a special responsibility in the present moment. And they must present their new plans at a special event I will host in New York later this month fully aligned with the objective of keeping 1.5°C as the limit of global warming.

We must also push for a step-change on climate finance: This includes significantly increased contributions to the new Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, including from innovative sources.

Allow me again to tell you a remarkable true story that shows how difficult it is to force developed countries to commit, with their resources, to our common goal in climate action.

When the loss and damage fund was decided, in the Conference of the Parties in Dubai, there was a first pledging conference. The amount pledged, especially by developed countries, were equivalent to the contract of the best paid American basketball player. And that shows that, indeed, a lot must be done to make the loss of damage fund a reality, able to support countries like yours.

We must tell developed countries that this is not the time for tepid contributions. We must find innovative forms of financing - putting levies on fossil fuels, putting levies on transportation, doing maritime transportation, doing other forms of collecting funds, but we absolutely must create the conditions for countries like yours to have the necessary resources to face the negative impacts of climate change.

You can count on the voice of the UN to be entirely at your side. I look, indeed, for your continued strong leadership in New York, in Brazil and beyond. And developed countries must honour their promises to double adaptation finance by this year and deliver $300 billion a year by 2035. Adaptation is for us today a fundamental priority.

Obviously, we must reduce emissions. We must have a drastic reduction in emissions now. But, we cannot forget that people are already suffering the impacts of climate change.

And when you see the sea levels rising, when you see the impact on glaciers, when you see the impact on coral reefs, we understand the impact on populations, namely in coastal areas. We understand the need to have a much stronger solidarity internationally to support countries like yours to build the necessary infrastructure, to build the necessary mechanisms to increase the resilience to resist the dramatic impacts of climate change.

And we are in total solidarity with Papua New Guinea to tell the international community that much more must be put in place to support developing countries in adaptation.

While climate finance is vital - it is not sufficient on its own. Many developing countries are drowning in unsustainable debt, victims of inequalities built into the system. Today's international financial architecture is unequal and unjust.

We will keep pushing for meaningful reform to ensure the fair representation of developing countries, to take real action on debt relief, to triple the lending capacity of multilateral development banks and to mobilize private capital at scale.

When the Security Council of the United Nations, or the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank were created, Papua New Guinea was not yet independent. And together with Papua New Guinea, tens and tens of countries around the world were not yet independent.

So, their voices were not heard, which means that the institutions that are central in the management of global finance, as the institution that is central in the management of peace - the Security Council, do not represent the world of today. They represent the world of 1945.

And in 1945, we had essentially developed countries running the show, and so these institutions are largely operating in the context of a system that favours developed countries, and creates obstacles to the capacity of developing countries to provide to their citizens all the things they are entitled to receive in the modern world.

You can count on our total commitment to go on fighting for a reform of these institutions in order for developing countries to have representation, a voice, but also access to the resources they need.

Papua New Guinea has set itself a powerful mission, to be "one people and one nation, and one country", and to leave no one behind. Not long ago, you hosted peacekeepers. Today, you are a champion of peacebuilding and sustainable development. But, no story of peace or progress is complete without fully including half of the population. This is another area where you have the opportunity to set a global example.

Five years ago, the UN Deputy Secretary-General launched the Spotlight Initiative in Papua New Guinea - part of the world's largest effort to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

No society is immune from this challenge - and in Papua New Guinea, two out of three women experience gender-based violence. The solutions here - like everywhere - begin with the hard conversations about systemic and cultural barriers.

I have had experience in my own country. When I was in Government, family violence was a serious problem, but it was an ignored problem. Nobody talked about it. The police would not pay attention, the judiciary would not act, and of course, the problem would not be solved. And it was necessary to have a very determined programme of action to try to reverse this trend.

Now, I know that in March this year, this Parliament devoted an entire day to testimonies on gender-based violence. You took the vital step of speaking openly, of making commitments and of forming the Parliamentary Committee on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment.

Across politics, culture and every sector, we must keep working to widen the doors of opportunity for women and girls in Papua New Guinea and in the world at large. Ensuring greater voice and representation of women is not only a matter of justice - it is a matter of national strength.

Families thrive, communities grow stronger and institutions become more responsive when we uphold the rights of all. The launch of your National Human Rights Strategy is a prime example of your recognition of this truth and I commend your pledge to establish a National Human Rights Commission.

The people of Papua New Guinea enjoy a democracy and a democracy that reflects every citizen. And the United Nations is proud to support young people, persons with disabilities and women to foster a culture of dignity for all. I commend the courage and resilience of the women of Papua New Guinea and look forward to hearing their stories over the coming days.

This year, the United Nations also marks an anniversary - our eightieth. And on the other hand, speaking of anniversaries, you have not only 50 years of independence, you have 50 years of democracy.

And that is another strong bond with myself. Our democratic revolution was in 1974 and our first constitutional Government in 1976, which means that we were 51years or 49 years with a democracy, making an average of 50 years of democracy. So, there is this very strong link between Papua New Guinea and Portugal.

We were able to, after independence or after dictatorship, build a solid democracy that has been for 50 years a demonstration of the power of the people. Thank you very much for your example.

We are now, in the context of our commemorations of the 80 years of the United Nations, we are launching a process of UN80, our effort to strengthen our Organization for the twenty-first century. An essential part of that is ensuring that the voices of the Pacific are heard loud and clear, throughout the multilateral system.

On your anniversary, you too look to the future. In just 50 years, Papua New Guinea has undertaken a daunting task: To forge a single nation from profound diversity. That is a journey with peaks and valleys, like the Highlands themselves. It is a path that demands courage and vision to walk.

The United Nations is proud to accompany you and to be in total solidarity with you on every step. Your story is proof that, when embraced with shared purpose and respect, our differences can be our greatest strength. Wantoks, let's keep talking, for your people, for our planet and for our shared future.