High-Level Roundtable on Globalising Compassion in New York, initiated by Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi

New York: The 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in partnership with the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Monaco to the United Nations, organised a high-level roundtable on the initiative of Nobel Peace laureate Kailash Satyarthi. The roundtable was titled “Globalising Compassion: An Ethical Framework for Justice, Equality, Peace and Sustainability”.

The high-level Roundtable brought together Nobel Peace Laureates, heads of state, global thinkers, youth advocates, artists, and institutional stakeholders to chart a moral agenda for our time, grounded in justice, equality, peace, and sustainability.

Asmita Satyarthi, CEO of the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, in her keynote address, highlighted the devastating effects of wars, conflicts, and the climate crisis, saying, “A burning world is our problem. A starving child in Gaza is our problem. As Kailash Satyarthi says, Compassion is the most powerful force that arises when we recognise that someone else’s suffering is our problem, and we do whatever we can to end that suffering.”

“In the world around us, among the ruling political elite, there is a lack of compassion,” said His Excellency José Ramos-Horta, President of Timor-Leste and 1996 Nobel Peace Laureate.

Her Royal Highness Princess Sonam Dechen Wangchuck of Bhutan, President of the Jigme Singye Wangchuck School of Law, said, “Now is the time for the world to embrace compassion as the foundation of global progress.”

Kerry Kennedy, President of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Human Rights, said, “Compassion is not passive but active. “You must be willing to take risks and voice your opinions.”

Speakers included H.E. Vahagn Khachaturyan, President of the Republic of Armenia; H.E. Laura Chinchilla, Former President of Costa Rica; Martin Chungong, Secretary General, Inter-Parliamentary Union; Tawakkol Karman, Nobel Peace Laureate 2011, Grammy Award-Winner & UN Goodwill Ambassador; and Brian Kelly, founder of The Points Guy, among others.

The event served as a platform for urgent dialogue and action, seeking to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals by embedding compassion into international policy and practice.