Representatives of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) advanced a range of initiatives during the high-level segment of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly, which concluded today. 

The BIC hosted a number of events in its New York Office during this period. These included an event on preparations for the 2024 Summit of the Future, cosponsored by the Stimson Center and others. Notable speakers included His Highness Prince Albert II of Monaco; Maria Fernanda Espinosa, former President of the UN General Assembly; and Ibrahim Gambari, Chief of Staff to the President of Nigeria and former  UN Under Secretary-General.

“Multilateralism and solidarity are key, and we must mobilize all our political will and unite in favor of a more efficient United Nations and a better, more equal world,” Prince Albert said in opening remarks. “We must radically reinvent our world and give ourselves the means to overcome and face challenges. ”

Also held at the BIC facilities was an event exploring UN reform through the lens of women’s rights and gender equality, cosponsored by Global Women Leaders Voices for Change and Inclusion and the Coalition for the UN We Need. This event featured speakers Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand; Danilo Turk, former President of Slovenia and President of the Club de Madrid; and Susana Malcorra, former Chief of Staff of the Secretary General of the United Nations. 

BIC Representative Daniel Perell offered framing remarks at both events, as well as another that launched a civil society process toward the Summit of the Future. He noted that while humanity will, over time, establish an international order capable of meeting contemporary challenges, the path by which such progress will be achieved is yet to be determined. 

“Will it be through a reform of the current system?” he asked. “Will it be the creation of an entirely new system? Will it be after further catastrophes befall humanity? Or will it be through an act of collective volition?”

At the UN headquarters, the BIC was one of only four civil society organizations selected to speak to a high-level meeting convened by the President of the General Assembly to mark the commemoration of the thirtieth anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities.

“The central principle must remain that the human family is one: that the innumerable characteristics by which we might identify ourselves are ultimately secondary to our shared humanity,” noted Mr. Perell in prepared remarks delivered in the Trusteeship Council Chamber. His address joined others by the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, and numerous Member State representatives. 

As part of the three-day Transforming Education Summit, taking place concurrently with the General Assembly, the BIC co-sponsored an event exploring possibilities for transforming education through cross-sectoral action. The event was organized in collaboration with the United Nations Environmental Programme and others. A small BIC delegation followed other aspects of the Summit as well. 

BIC staff also collaborated with a variety of faith-based organizations over the High-Level Week. Representative Saphira Rameshfar offered a Baha’i prayer and perspectives at an interfaith gathering organized by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS and the United States President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief. And Representative Lili Nkunzimana facilitated an event exploring the nexus between climate, peace, and security, as part of the parallel Holistic Climate Solutions Summit, organized by the Buddhist Tzu Chi Center.