Vatican City, 27 November 2015 (VIS) –
The Pope's final appointment yesterday afternoon was at the United
Nations Office at Nairobi (UNON), the general headquarters of the
United Nations in Africa, instituted by the General Assembly in 1996.
The structure also houses the offices of two United Nations
programmes, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
UN-Habitat (United Nations Human Settlement Programme). Around twenty
international and United Nations organisations have their regional
offices for Africa in Nairobi.
Upon arrival, the Pope was welcomed by
the director general of the UNON, Sahle Work Zewde, the executive
director of UNEP Achim Steiner, and the executive director of
UN-Habitat, Joan Clos. Then, accompanied by the director general, he
was invited to plant a tree in the UNON park; as Francis later
emphasised, this is an act charged with symbolic meaning in many
cultures. He then entered the new UNEP building where he pronounced a
discourse before 3,000 people, in which he expressed his hope that
COP 21 may conclude with a “transformational” global agreement
based on the principles of solidarity, justice, equality and
participation, and with three complex and interdependent aims: the
alleviation of the impact of climate change, the fight against
poverty, and the promotion of respect for human dignity. In view of
the imminent 10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organisation, to be held in Nairobi, the Holy Father also spoke about
the agreements on intellectual property and access to medicine and
essential healthcare, and also mentioned illegal trafficking in
animals and precious stones, trades which perpetuate poverty and
exclusion.
The following are extensive extracts
from his discourse:
“Planting a tree is first and
foremost an invitation to continue the battle against phenomena like
deforestation and desertification. … Planting a tree is also an
incentive to keep trusting, hoping, and above all working in practice
to reverse all those situations of injustice and deterioration which
we currently experience. … In a few days an important meeting on
climate change will be held in Paris, where the international
community as such will once again confront these issues. It would be
sad, and I dare say even catastrophic, were particular interests to
prevail over the common good and lead to manipulating information in
order to protect their own plans and projects”.
“COP21 represents an important stage
in the process of developing a new energy system which depends on a
minimal use of fossil fuels, aims at energy efficiency and makes use
of energy sources with little or no carbon content. We are faced
with a great political and economic obligation to rethink and correct
the dysfunctions and distortions of the current model of development.
… For this reason, I express my hope that COP21 will achieve a
global and 'transformational' agreement based on the principles of
solidarity, justice, equality and participation; an agreement which
targets three complex and interdependent goals: lessening the impact
of climate change, fighting poverty and ensuring respect for human
dignity”.
“For all the difficulties involved,
there is a growing 'conviction that our planet is a homeland and that
humanity is one people living in a common home'. No country 'can act
independently of a common responsibility. If we truly desire positive
change, we have to humbly accept our interdependence'. The problem
arises whenever we think of interdependence as a synonym for
domination, or the subjection of some to the interests of others, of
the powerless to the powerful. What is needed is sincere and open
dialogue, with responsible cooperation on the part of all: political
authorities, the scientific community, the business world and civil
society”.
“At the same time we believe that
'human beings, while capable of the worst, are also capable of rising
above themselves, choosing again what is good and making a new
start'. This conviction leads us to hope that, whereas the
post-industrial period may well be remembered as one of the most
irresponsible in history, 'humanity at the dawn of the twenty-first
century will be remembered for having generously shouldered its grave
responsibilities'”.
“This much-needed change of course
cannot take place without a substantial commitment to education and
training. Nothing will happen unless political and technical
solutions are accompanied by a process of education which proposes
new ways of living. … This calls for an educational process which
fosters in boys and girls, women and men, young people and adults,
the adoption of a culture of care … in place of a culture of waste,
a 'throw-away culture' where people use and discard themselves,
others and the environment. By promoting an 'awareness of our common
origin, of our mutual belonging, and of the future to be shared with
everyone', we will favour the development of new convictions,
attitudes and lifestyles. … We need to be alert to one sad sign of
the 'globalisation of indifference': the fact that we are gradually
growing accustomed to the suffering of others, as if it were
something normal, or even worse, becoming resigned to such extreme
and scandalous kinds of 'using and discarding' and social exclusion
as new forms of slavery, human trafficking, forced labour,
prostitution and trafficking in organs. 'There has been a tragic rise
in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty
aggravated by environmental degradation. They are not recognised by
international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the
lives they have left behind without enjoying any legal protection
whatsoever'”.
“Together with neglect of the
environment, we have witnessed for some time now a rapid process of
urbanisation, which in many cases has unfortunately led to a
'disproportionate and unruly growth of many cities … [where] we
increasingly see the troubling symptoms of a social breakdown which
spawns 'increased violence and a rise in new forms of social
aggression, … a loss of identity', a lack of rootedness and social
anonymity”.
“Here I would offer a word of
encouragement to all those working at local and international levels
to ensure that the process of urbanisation becomes an effective means
for development and integration. This means working to guarantee for
everyone, especially those living in outlying neighbourhoods, the
basic rights to dignified living conditions and to land, lodging and
labour. … The forthcoming Habitat-III Conference, planned for Quito
in October 2016, could be a significant occasion for identifying ways
of responding to these issues”.
“In a few days, Nairobi will host the
10th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation. …
While recognising that much has been done in this area, it seems that
we have yet to attain an international system of commerce which is
equitable and completely at the service of the battle against poverty
and exclusion. Commercial relationships between States, as an
indispensable part of relations between peoples, can do as much to
harm the environment as to renew it and preserve it for future
generations”.
“I would especially like to echo the
concern of all those groups engaged in projects of development and
health care – including those religious congregations which serve
the poor and those most excluded – with regard to agreements on
intellectual property and access to medicines and essential health
care. Regional free trade treaties dealing with the protection of
intellectual property, particularly in the areas of pharmaceutics and
biotechnology, should not only maintain intact the powers already
granted to States by multilateral agreements, but should also be a
means for ensuring a minimum of health care and access to basic
treatment for all. Multilateral discussions, for their part, should
allow poorer countries the time, the flexibility and the exceptions
needed for them to comply with trade regulations in an orderly and
relatively smooth manner. Interdependence and the integration of
economies should not bear the least detriment to existing systems of
health care and social security; instead, they should promote their
creation and good functioning. Certain health issues, like the
elimination of malaria and tuberculosis, treatment of so-called
orphan diseases, and neglected sectors of tropical medicine, require
urgent political attention, above and beyond all other commercial or
political interests”.
“Africa offers the world a beauty and
natural richness which inspire praise of the Creator. This patrimony
of Africa and of all mankind is constantly exposed to the risk of
destruction caused by human selfishness of every type and by the
abuse of situations of poverty and exclusion. In the context of
economic relationships between States and between peoples, we cannot
be silent about forms of illegal trafficking which arise in
situations of poverty and in turn lead to greater poverty and
exclusion. Illegal trade in diamonds and precious stones, rare metals
or those of great strategic value, wood, biological material and
animal products, such as ivory trafficking and the relative killing
of elephants, fuels political instability, and fuels organised crime
and terrorism. This situation too is a cry rising up from humanity
and the earth itself, one which needs to be heard by the
international community”.
“Once again I express the support of
the Catholic community, and my own, to continue to pray and work that
the fruits of regional cooperation, expressed today in the African
Union and the many African agreements on commerce, cooperation and
development, may be vigorously pursued and always take into account
the common good of the sons and daughters of this land”.
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