Today, around 15 per cent of the world’s population, which is more than 1 billion people, live with a form of disability. Women with disabilities are recognized to be multiply disadvantaged, experiencing exclusion on account of their gender and their disability. These are just a few facts to keep in mind as we mark the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd. Against the backdrop of 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda’s promise to leave no one behind, the UN Secretary General’s report on Disability Inclusion in the UN system noted that “persons with disabilities continue to be among those who are most excluded, including in gaining access to education, health services and employment and in participating in political decision-making”. During the global Covid-19 crisis, people with disabilities have been among the hardest hit. Around the world, the socioeconomic repercussions of the pandemic are deepening pre-existing inequalities, including those associated with disability. This backdrop makes efforts to address persistent vulnerabilities around disability all the timelier.   In 2019, the UN Secretary General launched the UN Disability Inclusion Strategy to achieve transformative and lasting change on disability inclusion. Through the strategy, the organizations of the UN system reaffirm that the full and complete realization of the human rights of all people with disabilities are an inalienable, integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030.   Bahrain was one of the first countries to sign the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in 2007 (acceded in 2011). Under the guidance of the High Commission for Disability Affairs, a range of government ministries and entities partnered with institutions and civil society organizations throughout Bahrain to address the needs of people with disabilities.   Even before signing the convention, Bahrain paid considerable attention to the issue of disability inclusion, issuing legislation, laws and decisions designed to protect the rights of people with disabilities. One such law (No. 74, 2006) provided many important guarantees for people with disabilities in the areas of care, rehabilitation and employment, and instituted a monthly disability allowance.   The UN and Bahrain have a long-standing partnership in the area of disability inclusion. UN agencies have supported the government in formulating an inclusive and integrated National Strategy for Persons with Disabilities (2012-2016). This included key pillars, such as legislation, health and rehabilitation, inclusive education, economic empowerment, social empowerment (including empowerment of women with disabilities), ease of access to facilities and services and awareness-raising and the media.   With the government having launched in 2023 the Action Plan of the National Strategy for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2022-2026), UN agencies are coming together to support the government in its implementation. In addition, the UN Country Team in Bahrain includes persons with disabilities, contributing their expertise to a range of programmes and projects geared towards the 2030 Agenda.   As we mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, the UN looks forward to continuing to work hand in hand with the government and the people of Bahrain towards a more inclusive, accessible and sustainable world.    

Over this year, Bahrain has continuously progressed in the implementation of its ground-breaking National Gender Balance Model, driving national capacities and investments forward to achieve His Royal Highness King Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa's vision for Bahrain: a nation that empowers and values the contribution of all its people - women and men, girls and boys. The dedicated efforts of the Supreme Council for Women, under the leadership of Her Royal Highness Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, have been central to advancing gender equality and women's empowerment. The United Nations in Bahrain is proud to partner with the Supreme Council for Women. In 2023, UN Women, the UN's principal entity for gender equality and women's empowerment, established an office in Bahrain; its first programme office in the Gulf region. The UN Country Team has been working closely with the Supreme Council for Women to support the implementation of Bahrain's national development priorities on gender balance, including championing Bahrain's lessons learned on gender-responsive development through such fora as the Princess Sabeeka Bint Ibrahim Al-Khalifa Global Award for Women's Empowerment. This year, Bahrain has reported on its accomplishments in implementing the 2030 Agenda and the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Women's empowerment, full participation, and leadership in all aspects of public life are crucial accelerators for achieving the SDGs by 2030. The United Nations Country Team will continue to partner with the Kingdom of Bahrain to achieve SDG 5 and all 17 SDGs by 2030.

  Your Highness, President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan,     I want to express my profound gratitude for the wonderful hospitality that we are enjoying in Dubai from the government and the people of the United Arab Emirates.     COP28 President Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, I want to congratulate you on the positive start to the COP with an expeditious approval of the agenda and the landmark operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund. Congratulations.    Excellencies, friends, all protocol observed.    Just days ago, I was on the melting ice of Antarctica.     Not long before, I was among the melting glaciers of Nepal.     These two spots are far in distance, but united in crisis.     Polar ice and glaciers are vanishing before our eyes, causing havoc the world over: from landslides and floods, to rising seas.    But this is just one symptom of the sickness bringing our climate to its knees.     A sickness only you, global leaders, can cure.      Excellencies,     Earth’s vital signs are failing: record emissions, ferocious fires, deadly droughts and the hottest year ever. We can guarantee it even when we’re still in November.    We are miles from the goals of the Paris Agreement – and minutes to midnight for the 1.5-degree limit.     But it is not too late.     We can - you can - prevent planetary crash and burn.     We have the technologies to avoid the worst of climate chaos – if we act now.     The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has charted a clear path to a 1.5-degree world.     But we need leadership – cooperation – and political will for action.    And we need it now.      It’s true. Our world is unequal and divided.     As we see in this region, conflicts are causing immense suffering and intense emotion. We just heard the news that the bombs are sounding again in Gaza.    And climate chaos is fanning the flames of injustice.     Global heating is busting budgets, ballooning food prices, upending energy markets, and feeding a cost-of-living crisis.    But climate action can flip the switch.     And renewable energy is the gift that keeps on giving.     It is good for our planet, our health, and our economies.     Cleaning our air.     Meeting the world’s growing energy demand.    Connecting millions of people to affordable electricity.     Bringing stability and security to markets.     And saving money – as renewable energy has never been cheaper.      Excellencies, friends,    The diagnosis is clear.     The success of this COP depends on the Global Stocktake prescribing a credible cure in three areas.     First, drastically cutting emissions.     Current policies would lead to an earth-scorching three-degree temperature rise.     So the Global Stocktake must set clear expectations for economy-wide Nationally Determined Contributions presented by all countries that cover all greenhouse gases, and align with the 1.5-degree limit.    The G20 – which represents 80 per cent of the world’s emissions -- must lead.     And I urge countries to speed up their net zero timelines, to get there as close as possible to 2040 in developed countries and 2050 in emerging economies.    Second, we cannot save a burning planet with a firehose of fossil fuels.     We must accelerate a just, equitable transition to renewables.    The science is clear:     The 1.5-degree limit is only possible if we ultimately stop burning all fossil fuels.     Not reduce.     Not abate.     Phaseout – with a clear timeframe aligned with 1.5 degrees.    The Global Stocktake must not only commit to that – it must also commit to triple renewables; double energy efficiency; and bring clean energy to all by 2030.     The economics are clear: the global shift to renewables is inevitable.   The only question is how much heating our planet will endure before it happens.     The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has recommended ending our addiction to coal by 2030 in OECD countries and 2040 for the rest of the world.    At the same time, according to the International Energy Agency, the oil and gas industry accounts for just one per cent of clean energy investment.    So allow me to have a message for fossil fuel company leaders:      Your old road is rapidly aging.      Do not double-down on an obsolete business model.     Lead the transition to renewables using the resources you have available.      Make no mistake – the road to climate sustainability is also the only viable pathway to economic sustainability of your companies in the future.      I urge governments to help industry make the right choice – by regulating, legislating, putting a fair price on carbon, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and adopting a windfall tax on profits.     Excellencies,     Third, climate justice is long overdue.     Developing countries are being devastated by disasters they did not cause.     Extortionate borrowing costs are blocking their climate action plans.      And support is far too little, far too late.     The Global Stocktake must commit to a surge in finance, including for adaptation and loss and damage.     And it must support reform of the multilateral development banks to leverage far more private finance at reasonable costs for developing countries on climate action.    And developed countries must show how they will double adaptation finance to $40 billion a year by 2025 – as promised – and clarify how they deliver on the $100 billion – as promised.      Excellencies,     The climate challenge is not just another issue in your inbox.      Protecting our climate is the world’s greatest test of leadership.     And so I urge you to lead.      Humanity’s fate hangs in the balance.     Make this COP count.     Make this COP a gamechanger.    Make this COP the new hope in the future of humankind.     Thank you.     *** 

Today’s Emissions Gap report shows that if nothing changes, in 2030, emissions will be 22 Gigatonnes higher than the 1.5 degree-limit will allow. That’s roughly the total present annual emissions of the USA, China, and the EU combined. It shows greenhouse emissions reaching [an] all-time highs – a 1.2 per cent increase on last year – when those levels should be shooting down. And those emissions are shattering temperature records.  June, July, August, September and October were all the hottest on record. Present trends are racing our planet down a dead-end three-degree temperature rise. In short, the report shows that the emissions gap is more like an emissions canyon. A canyon littered with broken promises, broken lives, and broken records.  All of this is a failure of leadership, a betrayal of the vulnerable, and a massive missed opportunity. Renewables have never been cheaper or more accessible. We know it is still possible to make the 1.5 degree limit a reality.  And we know how to get there – we have roadmaps from the International Energy Agency and the IPCC. It requires tearing out the poisoned root of the climate crisis: fossil fuels. And it demands a just, equitable renewables transition. Leaders must drastically up their game, now, with record ambition, record action, and record emissions reductions. The next round of national climate plans will be pivotal. These plans must be backed with the finance, technology, support and partnerships to make them possible.  The task of leaders at COP28 is to make sure that happens. This COP will respond to the Global Stocktake – an inventory of country’s climate plans which will show just how far the world is from meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement. That response is vital. Voluntary initiatives and non-binding commitments can play an important role. But they are no substitute for a global response agreed by all. The response to the Global Stocktake must light the fuse to an explosion of ambition in 2025. It must align with what the science tells us is needed. It must set out plans to massively increase ambition and investment in adaptation. It must commit to a surge in finance and cooperation. And it must set an expectation for more ambitious and detailed national climate plans. That means national plans with clear 2030 and 2035 targets, that align with 1.5 degrees, that cover the whole economy, and that plot a course for ending fossil fuels.  These plans must provide clear market signals. We need market forces driving down emissions. Governments need to put in place policies and regulations to give the private sector the certainty and predictability it desperately needs. And the Global Stocktake response must be clear that credible action from the private sector is vital. We need companies to produce comprehensive transition plans, in line with the recommendations of the High-Level Expert Group that I have created. No more greenwashing.  No more foot dragging.     Specifically, in their response to the Global Stocktake, countries must commit to triple renewables capacity, double energy efficiency and bring clean power to all, by 2030. And they must also commit to phasing out fossil fuels, with a clear time frame aligned to the 1.5-degree limit.  Otherwise, we’re simply inflating the lifeboats while breaking the oars. Achieving all this depends on countries cooperating and working together. The recent climate statement between China and the USA is a positive first step. But much more needs to be done. And it depends on restoring trust between developed and developing countries, which has been badly damaged by broken promises and sluggish action.  Countries that have not yet done so should announce their contributions to the Green Climate Fund. We need generous, early contributions to the new Loss and Damage Fund to get it off to a roaring start. And I welcome the European Union’s commitment to a substantial contribution, and look forward to hearing the details. Developed countries must honour their promise of $100 billion a year in climate finance. And they must deliver a clear plan on how they will meet their commitment to double adaptation finance to at least US$40 billion a year by 2025.  At a time of doubt, division and distrust we need the response to the Global Stocktake to restore credibility in climate action. Leaders can’t kick the can any further. We’re out of road. COP28 must set us up for dramatic climate action – now. And finally, let me add that later today, I will travel to Chile and then to Antarctica to see for myself the deadly impact of the climate crisis.
 
Scorching temperatures mean Antarctic ice is melting ever-faster, with deadly consequences for people around the world.
 
I will take my experiences to COP where I will call for action that matches the scale of the crisis we face. And I thank you. Question:  Thank you, on behalf of the United Nations Correspondents Association, for this press conference.  So my question on climate is how confident you are for a real concrete turning point emerging from COP28, especially from the countries with the highest emissions?  And if I may a question on the Middle East.  What is your vision for the day after in Gaza?  Thank you so much. Secretary-General:  well, first of all in relation to COP28.  We must reverse course and as we have seen in this report, the crucial aspect is the eviction of fossil fuels.  So it is time to establish a clear phased-out with a time limit linked to the 1.5 degrees and it’s time to be determined in pursuing that phase-down policy.  And I hope that governments will understand it and I hope that there will be a clear signal from this COP that we must head in that direction.  Now you ask about the day after.  To have an after, we must have a before.  And the before obviously conditions the after and that is why I have been insisting on the need for a humanitarian ceasefire, on unrestricted access for humanitarian aid, on the liberation of hostages and on the need to end the violations of international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians.  And having said so, I think it is also important to be able to transform this tragedy into an opportunity.  And for that to be possible, it is essential that after the war we move in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution.  Now that means of course that after the war and this is my opinion, I believe it will be important to have a strengthened Palestinian Authority assuming responsibilities in Gaza.  I understand that the Palestinian Authority cannot come with Israeli tanks in Gaza which means that the international community needs to move into a transition period.  I do not think that a UN protectorate in Gaza is a solution.  I think we need a multi-stakeholder approach in which different countries, different entities, will cooperate.  For Israel, of course, the US is the main guarantor of its security.  For Palestinians, the neighbouring and Arab countries of the region are essential.  So everybody needs to come together to make the conditions for a transition, allowing for the Palestinian Authority, a strengthened Palestinian Authority, to assume responsibility in Gaza and then, based on that, to finally move, as I said, in a determined and irreversible way to a two-state solution based on the principles that have been largely established by the international community and which I have time and time again outlined. Question:  thank you Secretary-General for this important briefing and the chance to ask you some questions.  I am wondering if you see the intense conflicts in the world as a distraction or an opportunity with the conference coming up?  But more specifically your calls for a ceasefire in Gaza have gone unheeded so far.  You said over the weekend you were shocked by two UN schools and shelters being attacked.  That would be a war crime, would it not?  Why not call it out? Secretary-General:  first of all, it is clear that we have a distraction in relation to the big challenges that the international community faces in relation to climate change, in relation to  dramatic inequalities around the world, in relation to the problem of technologies that can change the world without effective regulation.  Now, I have been very clear in denouncing the violations of international humanitarian law and the violations of protection of civilians and I have not a mandate to classify the acts that are entities that are recommended.  But I think that more important than a discussion on names is the facts and let’s see the facts.  As you know, we report every year on children killed in armed conflict.  I have already presented seven reports.  In the seven reports, the highest number of children killed in one year by one actor was by the Taliban in 2017, 2018.  The second by the Syrian Government and its allies in again before 2020 and again it was around 700.  We have had Russia last year 350.  We had Saudi Arabia.  If you remember the uproar in relation to Yemen.  In one year, the maximum 300.  Now without entering into discussing the accuracy of the numbers that were published by the de facto authorities in Gaza, what is clear is that we have had in a few weeks thousands of children killed.  So this is what matters.  We are witnessing a killing of civilians that is unparalleled and unprecedented in any conflict since I am Secretary-General. Thank you very much.