Key Note Address by HE. Dr. Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka, EGH., SC, at the Kenya Model United Nations, Union, Nairobi.

" Being here today at the United Nations Office at Nairobi has taken me down memory lane. Your introduction has caused me to recall many a moment when I was privileged to come to this Complex as the Tenth Vice President of the Republic of Kenya, as Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and as Minister for Environment. There are quite a few highlights but this morning is not for nostalgia, well, maybe just a bit.

With profound gratitude to the Kenya Model United Nations, however, I say ‘Thank You’ for inviting me to reflect with you today during this 24th Session on Multilateralism Today and What UN @80 Means for The Youth.

I look at the audience today, and I am convinced you have gathered to exchange ideas, articulate passionately on issues of concern, negotiate on important matters, and build solidarity and consensus on a shared future that takes into account competing interests. In simple terms, this is what multilateralism is about.

I also had a long chance to read and reflect on the remarks of Secretary General António Guterres on the 80th Anniversary of the UN. What immediately caught my eye was his interpretation of the United Nations Preamble: WE THE PEOPLES OF THE UNITED NATIONS DETERMINED; that is, “Born out of the ashes of the Second World War, our organisation was the result of a global commitment to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.’”

What also caught my attention was Secretary Guterres' remarks to the Security Council on February 18 that: “Eight decades later, one can draw a direct line between the creation of the United Nations and the prevention of a third world war.”

What then defines multilateralism in our new normal century, and what does it mean for our youth?

By definition, multilateralism implies “the principle of participation by three or more parties, especially by the governments of different countries.”

As a young, possibly the youngest, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, one of my first tasks was to cause the rebirth of the defunct East African Community. Years of political tensions, economic differences, and ideological clashes led to the dissolution of the first East African Community (EAC) in 1977. It is a history you should all be aware of.

In many ways, it was a herculean effort. As a Kenyan millennial, the three founder members entrusted me with chairing the Ministerial Tripartite Commission to revive the community and initiate the resurrection of the East African Community (EAC), which I am glad to report we accomplished in 1999.

This was an accomplishment built on trust and goodwill, as well as a recognition that we were carrying the hopes and dreams of 66 million Kenyans, Tanzanians, and Ugandans.

Friends, we more than succeeded in sparing three generations of East Africans from the scourges of prolonged divisiveness, and our model is hailed around the world as a beacon of hope, peace, and prosperity. We should all be proud of this multilateralism, which has expanded from three in 2000 to eight countries: Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, Burundi, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and Somalia – 330 million East Africans.

EAC is a great example of the spirit entrenched in the preamble of the United Nations that is “to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.”

Friends, as we celebrate 80 years of arguably the most consequential institution of our time, we must also ask how it will continue to be the most consequential conservative of our present and future 80 years from now.

Eighty years ago, it was the world’s youth, bearing the brunt of war, improvised six years of continental fighting and faced with two great depressions spanning 16 years from 1929 to 1945, chose to rise up and define a Charter that reaffirmed “their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and value of the human person in the equal rights of men and women and nations large and small.”

Allow me again to refer back to Secretary-General António Guterres' remarks: “We have the hardware for international cooperation — but the software needs an update. An update in representation to reflect the realities of today.”

Climate change is raging. The unknown vistas as to the extent of technology, including AI, are upon us. War, what we now refer to as terrorism and violent extremism in many forms, threatens our way of life. And sadly, here, in the region and abroad, there are those who exhibit intolerance and strive to silence the voices of freedom of expression.

This is our reality.

While we need to urgently address institutional reforms that will make the UN more democratic and representative, more responsive to critical global challenges, and more aspirational by focusing on the future of the world, we also need a closer look at its defining preamble, one that has shaped all our nations' histories.

As we reflect on this storied history, we must unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, thus securing the United Nations' 80-year legacy of strength, longevity, and wisdom.

Regardless of today's bleakness and hopelessness, remember this: Kenya, A NINE-YEAR-OLD REPUBLIC that joined the United Nations as the 113th member state, seized the opportunity to host the FIRST United Nations agency to be based in a developing country following the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment in 1972, faster than Ferdinand Omanyala—Africa's fastest man.

This was and still is considered the most significant crucial step for Global South representation within the UN and perhaps in hindsight helped prevent the ‘third great war’.

It is with this precision and grace of our Founding Fathers that I implore all of you here—those watching on live stream or following us on broadcast—to update your representation in your local, regional, national, and global communities and ensure your voice and choice are heard and represented. History is and will always be our great example.

Seize the moment whenever it presents itself.

Carpe Diem."