Dear friends,
The testimonies we have just heard describe the dramatic situation of 10% of the world’s population. Behind this figure, there is obviously the scandal of poverty, in other words, of lives that are not chosen, of accidents that have been suffered.
The fight against poverty is at the heart of the United Nations’ action and of the 2030 Agenda. It is inseparable from the fight for peace.
It is a great pride for me, as the representative of France, to welcome you here to the United Nations, this organization that bears our highest ideals. Thank you very much.
This meeting is not a meeting like any other, many of you are here for the first time and are also among us, people who fight every day against poverty, and who are a source of inspiration for us all.
It is in order to hear them that every year on 17 October, we gather here at the United Nations to affirm our fight against poverty and to reaffirm the recognition of the dignity and rights of all the people it affects.
This year we also celebrate several anniversaries:
It’s been 30 years since the United Nations made 17 October the International Day for the End of Poverty.
It is also 35 years since Joseph Wresinski, founder of ATD Fourth World, called for the recognition of the dignity and fundamental rights of victims of poverty;
Dignity, courage, respect: these are the words that characterize you, that characterize ATD Fourth World. Your commitment or support to people in poverty enlightens us all.
The fight against poverty and exclusion is more than ever a major priority for France.
In the context of our national strategy, we have put the emphasis on the fight against the exclusion of children, in order to break the spiral of poverty that too often passes from one generation to the next. This is what the 1 euro canteens are all about, providing access to healthy meals for all children.
We must build, together, a more fraternal world, with more solidarity, around families and communities. To this end, culture and education for all are an essential way to fight against poverty. The protection of the most vulnerable against major social, health and environmental scourges is also crucial. This is what France is doing through 4,000 projects launched by the French Development Agency (AFD) in over 115 countries.
The fight against poverty also means preventing people from being forced into poverty by collective tragedies such as war, natural disasters or political instability.
Fighting against these violent situations, through the fight against poverty, is therefore a work of peace. This is our daily struggle at the United Nations.
It implies that the fight for peace, security, climate and development can be articulated in a coherent manner, leaving no one behind.
If there is one appeal I would like to make today, to conclude, it is this one: by helping those who are the most fragile, but also by listening to them and by making them true partners, this is how we will be able to build peace for all.
Once again, to each and every representative, team, volunteer, and activist with direct experience of poverty, I want you to know that this is not just another meeting today, that we are all leaving stronger, and determined to act together.
Thank you.
