Addressed the UN General Assembly

This is the sixth and final High-level Event to be held in connection with the framing and formulation of new UN goals and targets for sustainable development after 2015.

Special Representative for UNAIDS

The Crown Princess gave her remarks at the opening session of the High-level Event on “Contributions of Human Rights and the Rule of Law in the Post-2015 Development Agenda”, following opening remarks by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and President of the General Assembly John W. Ashe.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit was invited to speak at the event in her capacity as a Special Representative for UNAIDS:

“In my own work, I have focused particularly on empowering young people and supporting the development of leadership skills. I am proud to say that over the past few years, we have seen an incredible expansion of the youth movement in the AIDS response.”

The Crown Princess emphasised the importance of continued strong commitment to stopping the spread of the disease, stigmatisation and discrimination, also after 2015. She concluded her remarks by citing former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt:

“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home – so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.

Yet they are the world of the individual person, the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless those rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere.”

Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Børge Brende spoke on behalf of the Nordic countries about human rights and good governance in his remarks at the High-level Event.

Award for HIV/AIDS-related efforts

On Tuesday evening, Crown Princess Mette-Marit will receive the amfAR Award of Inspiration at the Inspiration Gala New York. The American Foundation for Aids Research (amfAR) is honouring the Crown Princess for her years of commitment to the HIV/AIDS cause.