Our message to the world

Once a year, leaders or representatives of 193 countries and two observer states of the United Nations convey their countries’ message to the world. It is a message that encapsulates every nation’s agenda and initiatives as they align with the overall goals of the UN and articulated during the annual UN General Assembly.

That the high-level week, as the event is also known, was happening was palpable in New York, particularly in Manhattan where the UN headquarters stand. Attending a weekday mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, the priest celebrant linked his homily to the timeliness of the UNGA because the day marked the memorial of Saints Andrew Kin Tae-gon and Paul Chong Ha-sang, Korean martyrs and their companions, with the bishop of Lourdes concelebrating the mass. The multi-ethnic albeit small group in attendance, in a sense, represented the UN. The priest quoted lines about peace from Dag Hammarskjold, who as UN Secretary General espoused and personified “engaged spirituality.” Peace, a recurring leitmotif that is central to the UN, was re-echoed in this year’s UNGA theme on rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity.

At the New York Public Library, I enlisted in an event where the first ladies of two Nordic countries, who in their capacity as authors, advocates of reading and literacy, gender equality and environment issues, spoke about these subjects. Apart from being in a milieu of learning, I thought that to participate in these events was to somehow feel the UNGA mood. It was the week of all weeks and for everyone at the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the UN in New York, the UNGA is the busiest time of the year when the one country, one team machinery runs at optimal level.

Reading the news and commentaries in The New York Times about US President Biden’s speech that centered on “progress for everyone” or Ukraine President Zelensky’s impassioned plea for unity, I deemed it compelling to listen to what our Foreign Secretary Enrique A. Manalo would convey in the august halls of the General Assembly and to the world. Short of binge-watching on the UN webTV, I spent a few hours post lunch on that rainy Saturday our Foreign Secretary was scheduled to talk. Viewing 15 minutes (the time limit given for each country) or so speeches of the country representatives preceding Secretary Manalo, I took note of sidelights such as the flamboyant batik ensemble of Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, who also talked ardently about the gains of ASEAN and the mutual aspirations of the regional bloc, and Mexico’s Foreign Secretary Alicia Barcena Ibarra’s moving message about her country’s efforts to quell drug and human trafficking and the problem of migration.

Clad in distinguishable barong, Secretary Manalo in his speech detailed our country’s achievements and priorities in terms of issues ranging from the value of “rule of law as a collective responsibility,” our united stand for “climate action and climate justice,” his stance that “sustainable is attainable,” “human rights as an achievement of the UN” and the “Philippines as a partner, pathfinder, peacemaker.” The entire message, echoing our shared values as a nation and was well anchored on the objectives of the UN, certainly resonated with the audience and to those watching. It was meaningful, making us feel proud of our place in history, especially our indelible mark as “an active member of the first UN Commission on Human Rights,” and hopeful for our enduring pursuit to “human rights of vulnerable groups, especially women, children, indigenous peoples, migrants, persons with disabilities, refugees and older persons,” as Secretary Manalo emphasized.

In retrospect, if I were to pick significant passages from Secretary Manalo’s speech and would have the chance to impart it to children, how could I paraphrase them?

Amid a classroom set-up, I imagine the teacher in me engaged in a conversation with schoolchildren conveying in trivia-like, Q&A fashion the Philippines’ message to the world at the 78th UNGA. Perhaps it would be timely to communicate it to our children in October in addition to simply having them wear costumes representing other countries during UN Month. We could pose questions such as: Do you know that during the pandemic, Filipino nurses, frontliners and health care workers helped many sick people in the world to get well? Do you know that some of them died while doing their work? Do you know that we call them heroes? Do you know of someone who you can call a hero?

Chances are, a child or two will mention a relative or friend working in the health sector overseas.

“Our tradition as a peacemaker” – of sending UN peacekeepers to other countries, which Secretary Manalo also mentioned, may not be very well known to many Filipinos. Now is the time for our people to appreciate the heroic task our soldiers do for the world. Perhaps on UN month our children could essay the role and go to school clad in peacekeepers’ uniform with matching blue helmets marked “UN.” I imagine the ingenuity of excited parents preparing costumes made of recycled and reused materials, all in the spirit of “climate action,” a call that urgently unifies the UN.

The speaker succeeding our Foreign Secretary was the Foreign Minister of New Zealand, Nanaia Mahuta, a proud Maori who wears a chin tattoo called moko kauae. The NZ Foreign Minister ended her speech with an indigenous song with the New Zealand team standing by their country plate, joining her in chorus. Before leaving the stage she uttered what I thought was the message of the song: “With love, faith and hope we can unite ourselves for a common aspiration.” This in my view encapsulates the message of every world leader, foreign minister and country representative not only at the 78th UN General Assembly but in the many years to come.