Remarks by the High Representative for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations
Mr. Miguel Angel Moratinos
One Humanity Concert
Geneva – 8 November 2021, Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Chamber
Your Excellency, Ms. Tatiana Valovaya,
Director General of the United Nations Office in Geneva,
Your Excellency, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu,
Foreign Minister of Turkey,
Your Excellency, Mr. José Manuel Albares Buenos,
Foreign Minister of Spain,
It is my profound honour to welcome all of you to this One Humanity concert.
Today is a great day for UNAOC. Just an hour ago and together with Ms. Valovaya, we inaugurated the office of UNAOC here in the Palais des Nations in the presence of the 2 co-sponsors of the Alliance , Spain and Turkey represented by HE the Foreign Minister of Turkey, Mr. Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu and the HE the Foreign Minister of Spain, Mr. José Manuel Albares Buenos. We are honored to have you with us.
Today, UNAOC embarks on a new adventure. The new office in Geneva, the so-called capital of diplomacy, will complement the work of the UNAOC head office in New York, where the Secretariat is based.
And for that I thank the Director-General of the United Nations office in Geneva. Without her genuine support and enthusiasm, this office wouldn’t have existed. In fact, the preparations for the official opening of the office today and this concert wouldn’t have been possible without her support and the hard work of her office especially Mr. David Chikvaidze and Mr. Sergey Shaposhnikov. I also thank the Cultural Activities Committee for their collaboration in organizing this concert.
Allow me to also thank UNAOC team present here tonight for their dedication and hard work: my Chief of Cabinet, Ms. Nihal Saad, UNAOC Representative at UNOG Mr. Namik Erpul, Ms. Anna Pavlyuchecko, Institutional and Member States Relations Advisor, and Ms. Mehrangez Rafieva, Administrations and Program Operations Specialist.
My dear friends,
Our Geneva office will help in enhancing the visibility of our work in Europe where proximity and follow-up is needed particularly at a time when this region is facing many challenges such as the rise of racism including antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred and other forms of discrimination.
At the same time, we will strengthen our collaboration with relevant UN-based organizations such as IOM, OHCHR and UNOSAT.
Last but not least, having an office here will facilitate the organization of meetings and events in this chamber. This room was created not only to carry the name of the Human Rights Council but also the Alliance of Civilizations.
Tonight, we are here to celebrate our One Humanity. This too is the motto of the Alliance since its inception “Many cultures…One humanity”
As we live in a global complex and uncertain world where interconnectivity makes us interdependent and interrelated.
We are witnessing the new movement of the “citizens of the world” united in fighting common challenges.
As world leaders have been sending apocalyptic warnings from Glasgow on the dismal future of our planet if a firm collective action is not taken now to curb carbon emissions to save the planet. Very true. But from New York and Geneva, I wish to re-iterate that it is also ultimately crucial to save “our humanity”.
That is why UNAOC launched the One Humanity campaign that uses art and sports and other forms of humanistic expressions to reflect the concept of One Humanity.
Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
I am extremely proud to announce tonight that I have nominated the remarkable Tenor Mr. Jonas Kaufmann as the First Goodwill Ambassador for UNAOC One Humanity campaign.
This evening we will enjoy his extraordinary performance where music brings us together in a spirit of harmony, compassion and mutual respect. They are values at the heart of the work of UNAOC.
So let us be inspired by the spirit of One Humanity and enjoy this historical concert.