Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General: peace as a word losing its value

‘Peace seems to be a word, a five-letter word, that is losing its
value.’


Waihiga Mwaura speaks to Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy
Secretary-General, in a broad-ranging interview about the the UN
at 80, and the state of the world today. The UN is currently
hosting its annual General Assembly at its headquarters in New
York. Leaders, senior politicians and diplomats from all over the
world are meeting there to discuss and resolve a variety of the
planet’s most pressing issues.


This is the General Assembly’s 80th such gathering since the
United Nations was formed. This year’s theme is ‘Better
together’, and sees a renewed urgency on delivering the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals: 17 interconnected global goals,
first adopted by all UN member states in 2015, covering areas
including ending poverty, improving health and education, and
tackling climate change.


Before becoming the UN’s 5th Deputy Secretary-General, a role Ms.
Mohammed took up in 2017, the Nigerian-British diplomat and
politician previously served as Nigeria’s Minister for the
Environment.


In this interview, she also reflects on the ‘price’ of war and
how it diverts vital global attention and resources away from
international development, as well as discussing the need for the
UN’s Security Council to be more accountable amid growing calls
to increase its size to include more member states.


The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our
world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC.
You can listen on the BBC World Service, Mondays and Wednesdays
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Presenter: Waihiga Mwaura Producers: Ben Cooper, Priscilla
Ng’ethe and Lucy Sheppard Editor: Justine Lang


Get in touch with us on email TheInterview@bbc.co.uk and use the
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(Image: Amina Mohammed, UN Deputy Secretary-General Credit: Lev
Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)