WFUNA's Secretary-General, Bonian Golmohammadi, delivered a keynote speech at the opening of the 5th Beijing Foreign Studies University's Model United Nations.
In his speech, he addressed the main challenges and opportunities facing the United Nations today, focusing on the fields of sustainable development, disarmament and nuclear power, the responsibility to protect and human rights. The Secretary-General stressed the importance of the upcoming UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 as well as the creation of a Global Environmental Organization as a specialized agency under article 57 of the UN Charter. In line with Mr Ban Ki-moon’s plans to multiply nuclear-weapon-free zones to reach global disarmament, he referred to the planned conference on a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East in Finland next year.
Mr Golmohammadi also pointed to the ever-increasing importance of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) norm, especially in light of the events in Libya this year. It is closely linked with the issue of human rights: the elimination of discrimination, the guarantee of women’s rights and human rights education as well as the right to development are essential pillars of the UN human rights work that need to be strengthened. Mr Golmohammadi encouraged the 300 students participating in the Model UN conference in Beijing to make their contribution to a strong UN in the future.
Click here to read WFUNA's SG keynote address at Beijing Foreign Studies University, 3 December 2011
