“The world remained unfazed even when Syrian children and women were being killed with chemical weapons, and when its populated neighborhoods were bombed with air-dropped barrels."

“We must continue to advance gender equality and empowerment of women. We must do more to increase access of girls to education, increase women participation in leadership and decision-making positions, and enhance their economic empowerment. I will be convening a High-Level thematic debate on this topic in March next year.”

“One bottleneck that has bedeviled Africa has been the espousing of the pseudo-ideology of sectarianism of religion or tribe as well as chauvinism vis avis [sic] the women. It is this pseudo-ideology that has fuelled most of the conflicts in Africa. We are also witnessing the same pseudo-ideology causing havoc in the Middle East and North Africa.

“The recent recrudescence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has claimed, during the last period, the lives of more than a thousand civilians, among whom many women and children, mostly Palestinians, including those who had found refuge in UN schools.”

“The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set by the United Nations in 2000 has contributed greatly to human survival and development, yet global development remains a protracted task. The international community faces . . . formidable challenges in . . . health of women and children . . . . Next year is the deadline set for meeting the MDGs, and the post-2015 development agenda will take over the historical mission.

“In the face of women and children displaced by fighting, we must ask ourselves, ‘When can they return home?'”

“We are all shocked at the unspeakable brutality of those terrorists who misuse the name of God in carrying out their evil deeds. And my question is this: ought we not to be particularly worried that the preachers of hate are drawing in young people who have grown up in the midst of our own societies?

“Tuvalu has made steady progress towards the achievement of its MDGs . . . . We have designed a roadmap to advance our developmental strides as we transition from MDGs to SDGs. National policies have been adopted and implemented on financial management, women and gender development . . .and outer islands development.”

“The MDGs have been the most successful global anti-poverty push in history. It is due to MDGs that the world witnesses 50 percent less poverty than it did in 1990, more girls in school, lesser number of children dying and more people having access to safe drinking water and sanitation.”