Distinguished Panelists,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

Good morning,

Thank you very much to all for being here with us today.

I feel privileged for the opportunity to moderate this Panel Discussion.

And I am also pleased and honored to have such an audience. I thank you again for being here today, at such a busy time.

I am particularly honored to have such eminent panelists today and I believe it will be a very interesting panel discussion on the necessity of achieving on “Social Harmony for Sustainable Development: Promoting Understanding and Respect in a time of Intolerance”

Let me move on and briefly introduce the panelists, in their order of appearance:

In the centre of the Panel we have His Excellency Edi Rama, Prime Minister of Albania.

On my right, my dear Colleague and Friend, His Excellency Nasser Judeh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan (since 2009).

Further on the left, it’s an honor to have His Excellency, Archbishop Paul R. Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See (since November 2014).

We also welcome today his Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, United Nations High Representative for the Alliance of Civilizations.

We think that UNDP’s participation today is of great importance for the quality of the debate, and we have Ms. Gina Casar, its Associate Administrator, who represents UNDP today.

I am pleased to have here today Mr. Jean-Paul Laborde, who was appointed Executive Director of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate and Assistant Secretary-General in June 2013.

Excellencies, distinguished panelists, thank you all for being part of this panel.

Because of time constraints, I will share with you some initial thoughts on the topics to be covered during this panel discussion and then, without further ado, hand over the floor to the panelists.

This Panel Discussion coincides with and celebrates the upcoming 70th Anniversary of the United Nations and the 60th Anniversary of the membership of Albania and Jordan to the United Nations.

Over the 60 years of presence in the UN, but most importantly since the rebirth of Democracy in the early 1990s, Albania, has tried to be a most responsible member and contribute to peace and stability in the world. Today, both as NATO member state and candidate to the European Union we are engaged and committed to play an increased and active role, in accordance with the priorities and objectives of our national development and our progress towards the EU.

 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At a time when the world has come together to put in place a new unprecedented agenda for development,  we all have agreed that sustainability is the only way to move forward.

It is shocking to notice that, at the same time, during the last several years, in particular 2014 and 2015, the world has experienced a tremendous rise in religious intolerance, violent extremism and widespread discrimination and persecution of individuals belonging to religious, ethnic, or other minorities.

Instability, tensions and war have always been the antipodes for development. Progress and development have essential prerequisites;

They need smart ideas and detailed plans, wise governance and strong political will; but they also need adherence and engagement of the society. Therefore, achieving social harmony is of utmost importance.

–  While science is more and more put to the service of development,
–  while technology is transforming our lives,
–  while cooperation and global partnerships are stronger than ever, it is not easy to explain and it is all the more hard to accept that 2014 was also the year that saw 50 million forcefully displaced people worldwide.

It is therefore not easy to explain the dramatic situations in Irak, Syria, Yemen, several African theatres and the horrendous acts of violent groups such as DAESH and Boko Haram.

And, while there is, I believe, universal consensus on the need to deal with these tenacious issues, the international community is still in need of defining and adopting the right approach.

The discussion today is expected to focus on :

–  the need to work continuously and at various levels
–  to address the root causes of the highly intrusive and increased intolerance and violent extremism.

Through our dialogue today we expect to share ideas based on experiences and lessons learned, in creating and promoting an environment that promotes tolerance, reconciliation and respect.

Today’s event intends to highlight best practices, actions and measures taken by different state actors and international organizations. It also aims to spotlight existing models of tolerance.
It goes without saying: Promoting understanding and respect at a time of increasing intolerance is an important condition for social harmony and conducive to sustainable development.

To highlight best practices and spotlight existing models of tolerance, we have gathered an excellent pool of panelists,

–  top decision makers,
–  prominent top diplomats;
– and major international organizations, deeply committed to creating an environment that promotes tolerance, reconciliation and respect for diversity, as essential tools in preventing radicalization and violent extremism.

 

Excellences,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would  like to thank once more everyone who was present here at a time and day when everyone might have more than a reason to be elsewhere in such busy environment. But I would like to thank particularly those who participated in the debate and who through their questions and comments made it more interesting and interactive.

I would like to thank the Holy See and the Kingdom of Jordan, their respective Missions to the UN, with whom we have co-organized this event.

Thank you all!