Speaking at the
closing session of the Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation
Convention in New Delhi, Mr. Guterres noted Gandhi’s long record
of advocacy and action on the issue, adding that the decision to
begin marking the 150th anniversary of Gandhi’s birth – which
takes place on 2 October next year – with the Convention, was a
“fitting tribute to this great human being and example to us
all.”
An estimated 2.3 billion people, said Mr. Guterres, still do not
have basic sanitation facilities. Almost 1 billion defecate in
the open, a practice that “poses a serious threat to children,
contributing to diarrhoea and to malnutrition and stunting that
has a lifelong impact.”
The UN chief outlined some of the many consequences and risks of
poor sanitation, including disease, stunting and indignity, and
pointed out that it “exacerbates inequalities between men and
women, rich and poor, city and countryside. And it has major
implications for human rights and human dignity.”
He said that women and girls are disproportionately
impacted, as they may face an increased risk of harassment and
abuse, and higher health risks due to a lack of access to
sanitation facilities.
Mr. Guterres went on to praise the Indian Government’s Clean
India Mission, which seeks to achieve universal sanitation
coverage, as the largest investment and largest mobilization
campaign in the world.
He added that “All people have the right to safe water and
sanitation. If we are to build resilient societies on a healthy
planet and achieve the overarching ambition of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development, we must tackle this issue urgently, as
is being done in India.”
The country, said Mr. Guterres, is well on target to reach the
SDG of Sanitation for All – including for women, children, young
people, people with disabilities, the elderly, indigenous
peoples, the homeless, refugees and migrants – before 2030.
On Tuesday evening, the Secretary-General addressed the first
general assembly of the International Solar Alliance, an
organization initiated several years ago by the Governments of
India and France in the build up to the 2015 United Nations Climate
Change Conference, which describes itself as a coalition of
solar resource-rich countries.
The UN chief lamented the lack of political commitments to make
the transformative decisions that will help to meet the goals set
in the Paris Agreement:
current commitments are falling far short of meeting the target
of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and
striving for 1.5 degrees.
At the same time, he said, the world is witnessing a “global
renewable energy revolution,” with solar energy; now competitive
with - and often cheaper than - fossil fuels, at the centre.
Renewables accounted for some 70 per cent of net additions to
global power in 2017, and India has set a goal to mobilize $1
trillion towards the deployment of 1,000 gigawatts of solar
energy by 2030.
Despite these positive developments, Mr. Guterres said that if we
do not change course by 2002, we risk missing the opportunity to
avoid “runaway climate change.”
This, he said, is why he is convening next
September’s UN Climate Summit,
with the aim of bringing climate action to the top of the
international agenda, providing leaders and stakeholders with the
opportunity to showcase their ambition.
Also on Tuesday, Mr. Guterres held a bilateral meeting with
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during which he thanked Mr. Modi
for the strong cooperation between India and the UN, especially
in support of the UN chief’s organizational reform effort. The
Secretary-General also underscored the leadership role that
India plays in
South-South
Cooperation.
The Secretary-General also addressed a group of young people at
the India Habitat Centre, where he spoke to them about global
challenges and answered questions on challenges facing the
international community, including the trust-deficit, growing
attacks on multilateralism and climate change.
