UN General Assembly
2020

Mr President, This is an historic and unusual gathering of our General Assembly. We gather not in the great city of New York, but from among our people, from across the nations of the earth, as together we face the same storm. A global pandemic that has claimed the lives of at least 1 million souls that we know of and has plunged our world into a global economic recession. These events reminds us of our shared humanity, our interdependence and, indeed, the value of our common hope. To get an education, a job, a livelihood. To be safe, healthy and free. To live in a clean and unpolluted environment. In such times of crisis, there is actually an opportunity for our shared humanity to overwhelm the differences that usually beset us and to focus once again on pursuing our common hope. Which is why we gather. I speak to you today from Sydney, Australia’s largest city and the ancient home of the Gadigal people.