The world is over-armed and peace is under-funded.

One of my earliest memories is walking up a muddy road into the mountains. It was raining. Behind me, my village was burning. When there was school, it was under a tree. Then the United Nations came. They fed me, my family, my community.

I strongly reject threats by any member state to destroy another or outrageous attempts to deny historical facts such as the Holocaust.

Climate change does not respect border; it does not respect who you are - rich and poor, small and big. Therefore, this is what we call global challenges, which require global solidarity.

As many micro-credit schemes across the world can testify, investment in women is the best investment for the future.

Our atmosphere can't tell the difference between emissions from an Asian factory, the exhaust from a North American SUV, or deforestation in South America or Africa.

We must turn the greatest collective challenge facing humankind today – climate change – into the greatest opportunity for common progress towards a sustainable future.