Toespraak van Hare Majesteit de Koningin tijdens de openingsceremonie van de European Development Days

(Toespraak uitgesproken in het Engels en het Frans)

Your Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

 

It is a great pleasure to be able to participate in person  again in this multi-partner international conversation, under the auspices of the European Development Days.

Speaking as an Advocate for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, my main task today is to remind all stakeholders of the importance of this global agenda. Unanimously adopted by the international community in 2015, its purpose is to make the world more equitable and more sustainable for all by 2030.

Unfortunately, these priorities have been hijacked by two major crises: the COVID pandemic, and the resurgence of war in Europe. The consequences, in terms of human suffering, for the economy worldwide and for the food security of many countries are dramatic. These emergency situations have compelled decision-makers to focus mainly on managing the short term. Human and financial resources have been diverted to respond to immediate needs.  

However, this should not become the “new normal”. Let us not forget that, beyond statistics on goals and targets, the SDGs outline a shared vision and provide a roadmap for the future we want to achieve. We must consider how, even in times of emergency,  decision-makers, organizations and individuals can  re-establish and continue to expand their capacity, including their capacity to plan for a more distant future. They must be able to implement those plans as well, devising local, national and international policies and cooperation systems to reach the objectives that the international community has set for itself, so that the vision can be made reality.   

Developing and prioritizing policies and actions to combat climate change, poverty, gender inequality, pollution, and the depletion of world resources is a first step.

The European Green Deal is a bold project and illustrates that it can be done. Implementation will often require leaving the beaten path, thinking and acting differently, changing mindsets, collectively shaping new priorities and new forms of collaboration that produce win-win results, on the basis of shared values.  

We know that innovative solutions can come from the entire world: from researchers, business, ordinary citizens, and young people. They might address local problems and use local resources, but they can still inspire others, even in faraway settings and different environments. The impressive set of connections proposed by the Global Gateway strategy will hopefully become a network of two-way streets and avenues, which will help ideas and experiences flow in many directions and enrich one another.

Excellences,

Mesdames et Messieurs,

La dignité de chaque personne et son droit de vivre à l’abri de la peur et du besoin sont aussi au cœur des objectifs de développement durable et de l’Agenda 2030 des Nations Unies. Sans cela, la pauvreté, les inégalités, les discriminations, les tensions au sein des sociétés, les violences et les conflits continueront à mettre sans cesse en danger les progrès accomplis.

A Bukavu, en République démocratique du Congo, le Docteur Mukwege, Prix Nobel de la Paix, accueille, soigne et aide à se reconstruire, des femmes et des filles, parfois très jeunes, victimes des violences sexuelles les plus atroces. Il y a quelques jours, j’y ai rencontré ces femmes à la fois fragiles et fortes et j’ai écouté leur histoire, souvent insoutenable. Ce sont des femmes d’exception, qui souhaitent malgré tout aller de l’avant. Mais ces souffrances, qui se répètent depuis plusieurs générations, doivent s’arrêter. J’ai promis à ces femmes de faire entendre leur voix, c’est ce que je fais aujourd’hui auprès de vous. J’espère de tout cœur qu’elle sera entendue.