Distinguished guests and colleagues,

On behalf of the Baha'i International Community, I wish to thank the members of the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) for their comprehensive and thought-provoking report titled “A Breakthrough for People and Planet.”

I would like to suggest three areas for further exploration.

First, Article 109. The system we currently have is insufficient for the needs of humanity and, though many of the reforms outlined would go a long way toward resolving this shortfall, current arrangements struggle under the weight of our crises. A call for a long overdue Charter Review Conference without limitation as to scope would be a great victory.

Second, taxation. While experience has demonstrated that simply throwing money at problems—absent other necessary conditions—is rarely sufficient to bring about lasting solutions, sufficient financial resources will be required to bring commitments into reality. A global tax body would be of great assistance in this regard. This not only includes shoring up tax loopholes and avoidance as well as finding best practices for domestic tax policy, but it also should lead to funding international organizations and efforts. Reliance solely upon member state or voluntary contributions has helped cause a situation where, in the words of the HLAB, “UN resources are equally stretched, and its financing is nowhere near as reliable and predictable as it once was.” Mechanisms for global taxation, a number of which are being explored, would help free us from many constraints.

Finally, and vitally, we are very pleased with the emphasis on the building of trust and would recommend that this be an area of further exploration. In a sense, trust—and trustworthiness—could be conceived of as the most vital resource we have, but it is in short supply. 

Trust is a fundamental prerequisite; without it, no agreement can be expected to succeed. And the failure of agreements breeds further mistrust. Building trust requires time, sacrifice, honesty, accountability, transparency, and dependability. We have to learn lessons on how to break cycles of mistrust, find avenues where our trustworthiness can be demonstrated, and build on those successes. This has implications for everything we do, and if the Summit of the Future results in nothing but a growth in our collective capacity for trust and trustworthiness as an international community, it will have been a resounding success.

The Baha'i International Community looks forward to our continued constructive collaboration on these and other vital matters.

Thank you.