Activities of Secretary-General in Bolivia, 10-11 October

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon flew on Saturday, 10 October, from Lima, Peru, to Cochabamba, Bolivia, to participate in the Peoples World Conference on Climate Change and the Defence of Life.

He was greeted at the airport by the President of Bolivia, Evo Morales, and then addressed the Conference, saying that climate change and the defence of life on Earth were at the top of the international agenda this year.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development was a concrete plan of action for ending poverty in all its dimensions, irreversibly, everywhere, the Secretary-General said.  No man, no child and especially no woman must be left behind, he added, stressing that Bolivia was setting a good example with an equal representation of men and women in parliament.  (See Press Release SG/SM/17211.)

He also commended Bolivia’s advocacy for the rights of indigenous peoples, as well as the country’s powerful voice on the necessity to live in harmony with Mother Earth.  “Caring for Mother Earth is a moral issue,” he said, as “we can no longer afford to burn our way to prosperity.  We have to transform our economies and seize the opportunities of a low-carbon future.”

On Sunday morning, 11 October, the Secretary-General visited the remote village of Vila Vila alongside President Morales.  He inaugurated social services in the village and planted a tree on its main square before leaving for New York, where he arrived late in the evening.