UNCCD COP15 closing remarks by Ibrahim Thiaw

Excellence M. le Premier Ministre,

Excellences,

Distingués délégués,

Chers collègues,

Mesdames et Messieurs,

Dans mon discours d’ouverture le 9 Mai, je disais que « la Côte d’Ivoire dispose de ce magnétisme extraordinaire, cette hospitalité exceptionnelle qui explique pourquoi ce pays attire autant de talents et de touristes ».

Aujourd’hui, après plusieurs jours passés ici avec des milliers de délégués venus des quatre coins du monde, je suis en mesure de rapporter certains propos répétés des centaines de fois par des anonymes louant la générosité et l’accueil du peuple ivoirien.

En tant que Secrétaire exécutif, je ne peux qu’exprimer mon entière satisfaction pour la tenue réussie de cette COP. Je suis fier de ce que je vois, de ce que j’entends, de ce que j’entrevois pour l’avenir de ce pays.

Il va sans dire que le chemin a été parsemé d’embûches. Que d’obstacles franchis, que d’efforts déployés pour mettre tout le monde dans de bonnes conditions de travail et de sécurité. Y compris de sécurité sanitaire en pleine pandémie de COVID.

Que de patience pour satisfaire aux multiples demandes du Secrétariat de UNCCD, aux exigences de nos partenaires et aux sollicitations de nos Parties.

Que de patience pour écouter, comprendre, répondre et satisfaire à des exigences parfois contradictoires.

Que n’a-t-il pas fallu faire pour tenir une COP de près de 7000 participants à Abidjan?

Construire les salles temporaires, les viabiliser. Amadouer les équipements, dompter les infrastructures temporaires pour qu’elles ne cèdent pas sous la menace des orages tropicaux en pleine saison des pluies!

Que dire des vendeuses de Treichville, de Marcory ou de Cocody, si gentilles et si accueillantes ? Qui leur a demandé de se paver de si belles couleurs dont l’Afrique est si fière ?

Dear delegates, observers and staff,

We made it! to the end of these two weeks and very intense journey – for many of you, a journey that started well before the 9th of May.

I would like to thank President Ouattara for holding the High-level Summit, which brought a dozen Heads of State and Government to attend our COP. This was incredible. It shows the growing awareness and the dedication that Heads of State are giving to restoring degraded land.

I would also like to thank the people of Abidjan for their incredible hospitality. For the smiles that we were met with each and every day. For the amazing music and beats that marked our tempo.

For receiving us and making us feel at home.

Since I have the floor, I would like to thank all those that made this COP possible:

All colleagues from UN agencies: from UN security to UN conference services, the interpreters, technicians. My sincere appreciation to cleaners, food providers, and to our volunteers who spent this hectic time offering their services and knowledge.  

A special thank you goes of course to the National Organizing Committee and its 11 national working groups.

And to our COP15 President, Mr. Alain Richard Donwahi, for the incredible leadership, which you have already demonstrated.

Perhaps the most amazing of all, is the dedication, patience and professionalism of the UNCCD Staff. We actually have less than 70 staff of UNCCD worldwide, for the Secretariat and the Global Mechanism combined. Inclusive of all sources of funding. They are the engine behind this COP.  Danke!

Excellency Prime Minister, Dear Delegates,

At this COP:

• You ran a Summit of Heads of States and Government
• Had a High-Level Gender Caucus
• 5 Ministerial meetings (Dialogues and round tables)
• You received, at least six weeks before the COP, all documents prepared by your Secretariat;
• 38 decisions are being submitted to this Plenary for its consideration;
• 127 side events brought together thousands of participants to share knowledge;
• Landmark reports were produced, including the Global Land Outlook, the Gender Report, a report on Drought, to name but a few;
• The Abidjan Legacy Programme which we were honored to contribute to its inception and look forward to continue supporting;
• In terms of media coverage, our monitoring system picked up over 4,000 articles from 80 countries in over 40 languages;
• An unprecedented number of interactions happened on social media. A staggering number of close to 170 million people were reached. I am informed that our issues were trending on the global tweetosphere for several hours during the High Level segment.

This would not have been possible without your support, the generous financial support of our Parties, donors and supporters.

I am aware of the challenges many of you faced. Although we tried to anticipate and address as many issues as possible, we were still confronted with some hiccups along the road.

I can assure you that your Secretariat is determined to continue to drawing lessons learned from these experiences and build on them to improve all of our experiences for the upcoming COPs.

So, COP 15 has been a great achievement, but it’s also a grave reminder that “much effort, much prosperity” must remain our mantra.

Thank you!