International Society of Diplomats (ISD)S has said United Nations Observance Days urgently required more follow-up actions globally to achieve their desired objectives.
ISD Special Emissary on Media, Ambassador Victor Asije who spoke yesterday, stressed that UN Observance Days, with the emerging national and global challenges, needed less parties, speeches, branded T-shirts,caps,jeans,hugs, group pictures,backslapping and exchange of of contacts. UN Observance Days is celebrated annually on June 5.
According to him, national governments, international organisations, communities, private organisations, NGOs, the media, must know that the essence of these special days are beyond just these international dates.
“These Observance Days, which the UN observes globally on certain days,weeks and years, are meant to promote awareness and action to match strides with emerging environmental and other national and
global challenges.
“But more prominence has over the decades been given to awareness creation than an all-out follow-up actions to make our silo-bunkered speeches, suggestions, recommendations and expertise yield the
desired results.
“We need to reduce to the barest minimum, the huge amount of money we budget and spend on renting attractive hotels, halls, preparing banners, T-shirts, caps, jeans , snacks and drinks,”he said.
The Ambassador observed that there was usually a disconnect and inaction between the observance day in one year and the next, a situation he described as “sleeping on duty”.
Asije said that during the gap between one the celebration of a day in a year and the next, challenges that were supposed to had reduced had always increased.
“We must know that as we embark on creating awareness in these beautifully decorated halls, through the media and other means, with experts and other speakers taking turns to offer possible solutions to
our environmental challenges, what is most needed now and going forward,is our all-out actions at making our suggestions and recommendations here a reality.
” Because the environmental challenges and other earthly emerging challenges are out there to affect us all,then, we all must humble ourselves, irrespective of our positions and social status, roll up our sleeves, and daily, actively keep pressure on what these observance
days are meant to achieve,” he said.
Asije, who said that the World Environment Day(WED) and other UN special days should not be seen as annual routine for making speeches, partying, wearing of designer T-shirts, caps and jeans , noted that,
for instance, that trees planted in Nigeria, African and other developing countries were either usually destroyed by flood, human and vehicular movements or poorly nurtured.
He, thereof, called on governments and other relevant stakeholders and organisations to rededicate themselves and resources to afforestation programmes as a means to mitigating the effects of climate change.
The Special Emissary said that it was imperative for governments , international organisations, communities, private organisations and NGOs to prepare for more uncertainties in the years ahead.
Asije expressed the International Society of Diplomats (ISD) readiness to partner, through its team of experts on environmental sustainability, with Governments, Embassies,Consulates-General, High
Commissions, United Nations agencies, research institutions, foreign academies, educational institutions and Ministries of the Environment,in achieving sustainable environment globally.