Sustainable. Miguel Ángel Moratinos, Under Secretary of the UN and High Representative of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, Ana Paula Zacarias, Secretary of State for European Affairs of Portugal, Commander Nazim Ahmad, Diplomatic Representative of the Ismaili Imamat to the Portuguese Republic, Ambassador Manuel Montobbio, Permanent Representative of Spain to the Council of Europe, Lisbon Mayor Fernando Medina and former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio joined Council of Europe Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić in remarks to open the 25th Lisbon Forum.

By promoting dialogue between countries in the northern and southern hemispheres, the Forum provides a unique platform to address global challenges associated with the Sustainable Development Goals, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, gender equality, peace and justice. Forum workshops today and tomorrow address these issues through various perspectives, from civil society and government to parliamentary and local and regional authorities.

Like other speakers, Lisbon Mayor Fernando Medina stressed the human rights link to the Sustainable Development Goals, citing as an example the impact of climate change on refugee flows.
In her opening address, Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić welcomed the meaningful work of the North South Centre in organising the forum, thanking the Portuguese government for its “extraordinary and on-going support” for the Centre.

She outlined in detail how the Council of Europe helps to achieve these goals, including the fifth goal of gender equality, as the forum opened on the UN Day to Eliminate Violence against Women.
The Secretary General explained how Council of Europe common legal standards, monitoring mechanisms and technical assistance and cooperation – such as the Council of Europe Conventions against Trafficking in Human Beings and Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence – provide “direct means of targeting” some of the goals.

The Forum, financed by the EU-funded South Programme, also marks the 30th anniversary of the North-South Centre. Forum organisers this year stressed a non-paper policy, preparing the 240 participants from 47 countries with a smart phone application to follow the programme.