Virendra Rawat addresses UN committee on NGO Consultation at New York

(TEXT OF VIRENDRA RAWAT’s LECTURE DELEVERED  ON 13 DECEMBER 2022 AT UN HEAD QUARTERS NEW YORK.)

 

Civil society holds sustainable solutions to all global challenges, including conflicts, inequality, crime, unemployment, and climate change. But unfortunately, many member states of the United Nations failed to tape the potential of civil society to resolve their national and international challenges.

The member states’ ignorance of civil society and its potential to fix the challenges are not only lingering the challenges but also maximizing the impact on victims. 

The Greed for being in Power among many National leaders is a more significant challenge than climate change. I urge the United Nations to encourage the member states’ leaders to bring civil society on board to fix their local and global challenges.

I work on Responsible Education, which is accountable to the pupil and responsible to the planet. However, I am still struggling to convince education leaders to introduce responsible education for a sustainable future, which will fix all their local and global challenges.

I am urging world leaders from this great event to invest more in education, not ammunition. Education thrills while ammunition kills.

I also urge the United Nations to encourage the member states’ leaders to adopt responsible diplomacy instead of conventional power-based diplomacy and keep nature’s interests before the nation’s. Responsible diplomacy empowers diplomats to think of the planet before the nation and bring the environment into every dialogue, debate, and discussion. 

Responsible media and Responsible Judiciary are also missing part present world order. Media is creating a sensation, and the judiciary is influenced by the privileged; therefore, justice is still a privilege, not a right, in many parts of the world.

 We can’t imagine a better and more responsible world order without the intervention and inclusion of civil society. Civil society can bring sustainable solutions for a better world for everyone. 

As ECOSOC  or UNGA recognizes the role of civil society in building a sustainable future for all, member states need to acknowledge the role and responsibilities of civil society and make the partnership building an inclusive and sustainable world for everyone.   

 Let’s come together to unleash the potential of civil society in every way and everywhere. 

I extend my gratitude to the President of the General Assembly for hosting a Town Hall meeting with the Civil Society leaders and granting me the opportunity to deliver a keynote.