Canada’s National Statement to the United Nations General Assembly plenary meeting on the seventy-fifth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, delivered by H.E. Louise Blais, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Canada to the United Nations

Mr. President,

I am honoured to speak at this plenary meeting on the agenda item of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the Second World War.

More than one million Canadians and Newfoundlanders fought in the Second World War.

45,000 Canadians made the ultimate sacrifice. Over 55,000 were wounded.

Like many Canadians, I and many members of my team have deep personal connections to the Second World War.

From family members who deployed and fought overseas, to those who survived the war ’s brutality and sought a new life in Canada.

We come from all parts of the country. And yet, we are all here today, in some part, because of the sacrifices that were made by our ancestors during the Second World War.

We honour this sacrifice today, as we will for our Veterans on Remembrance Day.
  
Mr. President,

The Second World War began in 1939 to halt aggression and expansionism that threatened Europe and the wider world.

But as the conflict widened and prolonged, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill signed the Atlantic Charter off the coast of Newfoundland and committed themselves to key principles, such as the rule of law and the right to self-determination.

The Atlantic Charter was then signed by many others, including Canada.

Entire nations and peoples joined the fight against aggression and tyranny.

But they were also fighting in pursuit of essential freedoms. To establish the foundationsupon which a new and better world would be built.

And when the war ended in 1945, many of our countries came together in San Francisco, determined to build this better world.

We enshrined our commitment to do so in the Charter of the United Nations. And we made clear that shared values – faith in human rights, dignity, equality, justice and respect for obligations, and social progress – would light our path.

These values are as timeless as they are universal.

They have guided us in the dramatic process of decolonization and social and economic change that has marked these past 75 years.

In this sense, the Charter was not just a victory for the countries emerging from the war.

The Charter was a victory for all.

For countries large and small.

For “we, the peoples” of the United Nations.

That is why, Mr. President, we must respect and defend the Charter and all that it stands for, and continue to build with its spirit in our hearts and minds. 

This is true now, more than ever.

COVID-19 is one of the most challenging global crises since the Second World War.

And the pandemic has struck as the global order and people around the world were already facing challenges of poverty and growing inequality, as well as threats to their hard won civil and political rights.   

These troubling trends have been magnified and revealed by the pandemic.

So, Mr. President, our challenge is this:

To meet these problems before us with the same commitment to realizing a better world as those who met in San Francisco in 1945.  

To choose solidarity over isolationism

Human rights over oppression.

Equality and social justice over discrimination and narrow nationalism
  
May we all remember the sacrifices that were made for us to be able to make these choices.

And may we all rise to this challenge.

Thank you.