Our report on the collision between the RIB Tiger One and a mooring buoy on the River Thames on 17 January 2019, resulting in minor injuries to both passengers and crew, and severe damage to the RIB, is now published.

The report contains details of what happened and the subsequent actions: read more.

Thank you, Mark.

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, it’s a great pleasure to be here this evening to open this important event and discuss a bit about the progress made to accelerate the delivery of peace, justice and strong institutions as set out in Sustainable Development Goals 16+ and the 2030 agenda.

Excellent turnout today for representatives from Member States, the UN, civil society and the private sector to reflect the widespread recognition that SDG16 – and of course, the 36 targets alongside it that measure peace, justice and strong institutions – matter hugely in their own right. But they are also central to all of the goals. And if we don’t deliver SDG16, we risk the entire 2030 agenda.

All countries face challenges in the implementation of SDG16 targets, including my own. These targets are crucial in order to leave no one behind. And a country without peace, justice and strong institutions just cannot deliver the most vulnerable in society.

The attendance this evening and the organisation of this evening is also a reminder of the central importance of partnerships. This event has been organized by the Global Alliance, the Pathfinders, the 16+ Forum, together with the UK, the Transparency, Accountability and Participation Network and LexisNexis. And one of our key tasks as partners is to reiterate the importance of us to SDG16, both for the UK and the world.

The fact is that Goal 16 is at risk of not being delivered. And tonight, I wanted to highlight some of the reasons why.

Firstly, on the importance of peace, it’s estimated that more than half of the world’s poor will be living in countries affected by high levels of violence and conflict by 2030.

Forced displacement has risen sharply since 2005 to 65.6 million people, many of whom are women and children.

Effective conflict prevention will save lives and of course, also deliver annual net savings globally of at least $5 billion.

We need to significantly reduce all forms of violence to ensure that no one is left behind. That’s why in 2017, the UK doubled its contribution to the UN’s Peacebuilding Fund to help prevent conflicts and alongside that, we launched a national action plan for Women Peace and Security, which puts women and girls in the heart of the UK’s work to prevent and resolve conflict, recognizing the importance of inclusion.

On justice worldwide, it’s estimated that 1.7 billion people cannot access justice and cannot obtain solutions to their legal issues. And injustices are often hidden; one million children and one third of women are victims of violence, and many of whom do not have a voice. The lack of justice not only affects individuals, it negatively influences growth and may foster violent conflict. It’s estimated that these unresolved legal problems can reduce GDP growth by up to 3 percent.

The rule of law and access to justice are the foundations of economic and social development; peace, security and good governance are the building blocks of stable and successful societies. And linked to justice, corruption, we all know has a ruinous effect everywhere, but especially in developing countries where it can hamper reform and reduces the state’s ability to deliver public services.

DFID is the only donor to use our ODA to address the UK end of corruption in developing countries. We follow the UK law enforcement efforts to recover and return money stolen from developing countries and purportedly to prosecute UK companies and nationals who pay bribes in developing countries. By 2018, over £783 million of assets have been confiscated or returned, and 30 companies and individuals have been convicted of corruption offenses. And we must continue that work to ensure that we see a true reduction in corruption that we all want to see.

And finally, the third part of the goal: stronger institutions. Many governments around the world are clamping down on civic space. The Civicus Monitor reports that civic space is being severely curtailed in 111 countries. Those organisations that are challenging corruption and abuse or standing up for their rights and the rights of others; they’re the ones being hit the hardest. According to the International Centre For Not For Profit Law, 67 percent of the new civil society regulations proposed or enacted around the world since 2013 were restrictive, negatively affecting civil society organisations ability to register, to operate, to advocate and to receive funding. And we all know that civic space for inclusive development, tackling extreme poverty and ensuring that those on the margins of society are not permanently excluded without a voice.

And across the globe, as Mark says, the media is experiencing unprecedented challenges in its ability to operate. It’s dangerous to be a journalist in all sorts of countries around the world, and global press freedom has declined to its lowest point in 30 years in 2016 and made unparalleled threats to journalists and to media outlets. Just last week, the UK held a media freedom conference to highlight the importance of a free media, which of course is integral to the delivery of SDG 16. And we hope that that conference generated significant momentum to shine a global spotlight on media freedom, changing political calculations and increasing the costs to those who are abusing it.

So I’ve wanted a series of challenges that we face if we’re able to achieve SDG16+. I’m sorry if I paint a fairly depressing picture. We must speak the truth, though. We should not be pessimistic because by working together we can address these challenges. That’s what tonight’s event is all about.

We need a whole of society approach to SDG 16. It requires government, the UN, the World Bank and civil societies, media, private sector, NGOs, youth organisations and others, all of you in this room, to work together.

As I’ve said, we’re not going to be able to deliver the Global Agenda 2030 if we do not deliver SDG16 fully and that means facing a civil society, a strong media freedom access to justice, and respect for human rights.

This is the first High Level Political Forum to review SDG16+. The Voluntary National Review is an important process in itself. It helps us as Member States collect and analyse the data we need to inform policies at home to make the progress needed. And it provides us the chance to showcase progress and challenges – as so many Member States have done so well today. But the full delivery of SDG 16+ requires even greater ambition.

In the next 77 days, the first SDG summit provides an important opportunity to redouble our efforts. The President of the General Assembly has urged all countries to come to the SDG summit prepared to announce acceleration measures and specific, targeted next steps.

A call for accelerated action is at the heart of the political declaration for the summit, and a registry to capture these accelerator actions has recently been launched. The registry is open to all stakeholders, and we need work together and build momentum and reinforce the call to action.

And this process presents a real opportunity to make progress on SDG16+. A group of over 35 member states have already answered this challenge, with a joint-statement launched this week F to support accelerated implementation of the SDG16+ targets. And we should use this HLPF to likewise join the call for accelerated action at the SDG Summit.

I greatly appreciate the participation of all of the panellists and our facilitator Mark Thompson.

I know that the discussion tonight will help contribute to our mutual goals – the future of SDG 16+ is in all of our hands; it is our responsibility to deliver it fully.

Well, thank you Mr President and thank you for using their presidency to highlight this issue and organise this briefing on Youth Peace and Security. May I also thank very much our briefers. It is very valuable and to hear that which was of course commissioned by the Secretary-General’s Envoy for Youth. And we look forward to Secretary-General’s upcoming report to build further on recommendations to implement resolutions 2250 and 2419.

Now Mr President, the importance of youth participation in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges, including conflict – the business of this Council – really ought to be self-evident: more than half of the world’s population is now below the age of 30. And I think looking around this Council table it is fair to say that not all of us around the table are below the age of 30. I’d like to see your birth certificate Jerry.

These are therefore voices that must not be ignored. And it is only by taking in the views of youth, including in this Council, that we can properly account for the diversity of perspectives and long-term vision which we need to defend and promote human rights and develop the sustainable political, economic and social solutions to those challenges.

And one of the things the United Kingdom regularly says in this Chamber Mr President, is the importance of an inclusive political process when it comes to conflict prevention and conflict resolution. Because we know that when peace processes are inclusive, they are one-third more likely to be sustainable. And greater sustainability is crucial to ongoing peace.

And I agree very much with Ms Ramyar had to say. She was referring I think in particular to the situation in Afghanistan. But I think it is applicable more widely about the importance of youth having a role in peace processes, being heard and listened to. And that is vital for the future of those countries because the future of those countries is represented in youth.

I also thought what you had to say, if I may, about the prejudice you have suffered as a young women was really quite revealing. And i think we would say in the United Kingdom that young women have a key role to play in this area. In conflict and post-conflict contexts, we see the engagement of young women as instrumental. And we see it all the time: in building coalitions; mediating local ceasefires; in repairing community relations; and challenging and changing the status quo.

Mediation is an issue we have discussed regularly before Mr President, but you will allow me to say that we are extremely proud of the fact that we, the UK with fellow members of the Commonwealth support the Women Mediators across the Commonwealth (WMC) initiative. We were able to support members of that network to participate in a Youth Forum in Nairobi this year, and that forum addressed the lack of young women’s representation in mediation processes and how we can overcome these barriers. The women’s mediators across the Commonwealth now has nine members who are under the age of 35 who are supported to resolve conflict in their communities, and we are committed to ensuring more young mediators are in that network.

When we consider instability in regions across the world, it is clear that meeting the aspirations of youth is crucial in defending and promoting human rights, resolving conflict and sustaining peace. Youth are an incredible mobilising force to drive political change, which is further enabled through their use of social media and technology, as we seen recently in Sudan for example.

Mr President, we must ensure young people are able to live to their full potential. In July last year, the UK launched the $75 million second phase of our Girls’ Education Challenge, which will support 70,000 girls and train 1,000 young women to teach in remote areas.

And, we are also one of the largest bilateral donors to “Education Cannot Wait”, which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 to protect access to education for children and youth in conflict zones. And we urge others in the international community to support this initiative.

Again, this is all part of peacebuilding, of conflict prevention, of post-conflict stability. Sadly, Mr President, there are of course instances where young people find themselves in positions of great danger. In November this year, the UK is hosting an international conference on Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict called Time for Justice: Putting Survivors First. And we are ensuring that the voices of youth survivors play a crucial role in this meeting.

So let me conclude Mr President by thanking you again for this debate, by thanking our briefers for coming here and for their wise words. I hear you say, Special Envoy, that the tile of your paper was “We Are Here”. Well, you are certainly here today in this Council and you are heard.

A No10 spokesman said:

“The Prime Minister met the Chief Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo at Downing Street today.

“They discussed the work they have done together in a range of areas over the past three years, particularly on the UK’s exit from the EU.

“The Chief Minister passed on his thanks from the people of Gibraltar for the Prime Minister’s ongoing support. The Prime Minister reiterated the UK’s steadfast commitment to Gibraltar and expressed her confidence that this will continue.

“The Prime Minister and Chief Minister also discussed the latest developments in the Gibraltarian legal case on the detained oil tanker Grace I. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of Gibraltar’s independent legal process being followed and paid tribute to their efforts to implement EU Syria sanctions.”

Over the last 100 years areas in which GAD actuaries contribute expertise has expanded significantly, moving away from our technical and compliance based roots. In this edition of eNews, John Bayliss discusses such an example: his involvement supporting the government’s defence of a recent discrimination claim.

Also in this edition is the second in our series of centenary ‘deep dives’, which look at the contributions GAD has made and continues to make in different areas of public life. We consider GAD’s history in supporting public service pensions and its future evolving role. Finally, we report from our centenary lecture which set out challenges facing the UK’s pension and social care systems, as well as identifying areas where future contributions by actuaries are likely to be required.