Statement of Ms. Rima Khalaf, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of ESCWA, at the opening of the ministerial segment of the twenty-eighth session Tunis, 17 September 2014 Your Excellency, Mr. Monji Hamdi, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to welcome you all to the opening of the ministerial meetings of the twenty-eighth session of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA). It brings me great pleasure that this session is being hosted by Tunisia, under the patronage of President Moncef al-Marzuqui. I would like to thank the President and Government of Tunisia for their warm hospitality and express to the Tunisian people my solidarity and profound admiration. I would also like to thank the United Arab Emirates that chaired the twenty-seventh session of ESCWA over the last two years; and would like to welcome Mr. Ghanem bin Fadl al-Buainain, Minister of State of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, who will chair this session. I wish Mr. Al-Buainain every success. I would like to express my appreciation to member State representatives for their participation despite all prevailing challenges. Your presence reflects your strong commitment to constructive dialogue and debate and your valuable support for the role of the Commission in the development of the Arab region. Member State representatives, The theme of “social justice” that you have selected for this session is a most pertinent choice. Justice is a value deeply rooted in Arab and Islamic culture. It has recently become the focus of popular demand and a core objective of government policies. Achieving justice has been every person’s dream since the dawn of time. It has been the inspiration of poetry, prose, tales and ballads. Philosophers have long pondered it and have often disagreed on how to define it. Peoples have yearned for it and imagined it as the foundation of a virtuous society in which all are content. Yet, justice remained elusive. It was easier to convey images of its absence than articulate its essence. The absence of justice is reflected in the charred body of a street vendor; in the whimpering of an old man left alone to suffer the burdens of poverty and illness; in the smile of a girl washing dishes and mending socks for her thrilled brothers on the first day of school; in the misery of a refugee whose country and hopes have been stolen; and in the eyes of a child selling newspapers and his future prospects by the roadside. The absence of justice is embodied in the uprooting of a people from their land to make way for another; in the untimely death of thousands of innocents whose towns were razed to the ground only because they refuse to give up their legitimate rights; in the death of a mother forced to give birth at a military checkpoint of a brutal occupation; in the silencing of people’s voices, their marginalization or slaughter because of their race or religion. Justice dies when a person, any person, is stripped of his or her dignity. Ladies and gentlemen, Over the next two days, we will explore the concept of social justice in our societies. We will examine its prospects, review its definition and work diligently to develop effective tools for its measurement. I hope that our efforts will lay the foundation of a common vision that we can present to our peoples and the world; a vision that reaffirms our commitment to the concept of social justice and its practical implementation. We strive for its realization as it is the highest of all values. We also strive for it as a means to achieving security, since its absence can only lead to fragmentation and the collapse of nations. Decision makers in the Arab region have not overlooked social justice. They have endeavoured to implement laudable development plans to build infrastructure, improve education and health-care services for all and reach growth rates commended by international funding organizations. Such achievements speak for themselves, so why did the Arab youth revolt? Why do we currently find ourselves in this bleak situation? Undoubtedly, the current state of affairs in the Arab region does not bode well or evoke confidence. Oppression, poverty and unemployment rob their victims of their thirst for life. Conflict among brothers destroys civilizations and deeply scars souls. Exclusionary tendencies spread like wildfire, fuelling the scourge of hatred and extremism. Obscurantist forces sow the seeds of sectarian strife, engulfing people and livelihoods and unravelling the fabric of society. Entire nations are ransacked and torn apart by whim or vested interest. Ladies and gentlemen, If the true aim of development is to broaden people’s choices, this has not been the case in some Arab countries, where choice has been severely bound. It has become a choice between bad or worse; silence or imprisonment; corruption or destitution; death or displacement; State injustice or the injustices of the absence of a State. We were mistaken to not assign justice the importance it deserves. We underestimated the consequences of its absence and overestimated our capabilities to handle them. The past three years have taught us that stability, which causes marginalization and injustice, is fragile and likely to collapse at the first hurdle. The deterring effects of punishment are meaningless when life itself becomes a punishment. We have witnessed how submissiveness and subservience are transformed into a colossal force for change at the first ray of hope. Thousands took to the streets unceasingly chanting three words that summarize the suffering of our peoples and expose our shortfalls: freedom, dignity, justice. Ladies and gentlemen, Today, we meet under difficult conditions, where hope is struggling against despair and bad omens linger everywhere. The oppression that brought about the noblest of forces also gave rise to destructive currents. A new alliance, that has historically had an ambiguous relationship with terrorism, is now being formed to combat it. In one war, it nurtured and funded terrorist groups to eradicate a common enemy; in another, it brought them to our land and provided a conducive environment in which they could take root and spread. Yet again, our skies will exhibit the latest weaponry and our cities will be their testing grounds. This will happen time and time again if we do not protect ourselves and strive to eliminate the injustices that push our people towards discontent, despair and ultimately extremism. Only justice can overcome unjustness, which in turn can only be achieved through freedom; the freedom of individuals in their nations and the freedom of nations from colonization and foreign domination. Freedom and justice are the pillars of the productive and inclusive societies demanded by our peoples; they are the foundations of the regional integration dream that carries the hopes of all Arabs for dignity and prosperity. Ladies and gentlemen, We are not destined to be excluded from the twenty-first century, or to be forced to choose between the dark ages and colonialism. With the necessary will and determination, the Arab world can rise and build its future on the pillars of knowledge and science, and upon a foundation of justice and respect for human rights. The loss of innocent lives across the Arab world is our responsibility. Uniting for our region is no longer a choice, but an urgent necessity and a moral responsibility that we owe to ourselves and to future generations. Together we can harness our common strength to rise from our deep roots into a bright future, casting away all traces of subservience, violence and ignorance. The time has come for a new reality emerging from the will of our peoples, the ambitions of our youth and the ideas of our innovators. From this country, beautiful Tunisia, Arab youth gifted their dreams as a beacon of hope for a brighter future. It is our responsibility to keep this beacon alight. Thank you.