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Procedural · at 1 min · 3 mentions in this passage
Mr. President, excellencies, at the outset, allow me to extend my warm and heartfelt congratulations to you on your election as president of the 81st session of the General Assembly. Your election reflects the confidence of Member States in your steadfast commitment to multilateral system and your vision for a United Nations that is responsive, effective, and capable of delivering for humanity. As you embark on this important journey, my delegation reaffirms its unwavering commitment to working closely with you and all Member States to ensure a productive and successful session. I also pay tribute to your predecessor, Her Excellency Ms. Baerbock, president of the 80th session of the General Assembly, with whom my delegation had the honour to serve as Vice President. Her dedicated leadership, zeal and tenacity of purpose in strengthening multilateral cooperation during a period of profound global uncertainty gave us hope that the future of this organization can be secured when all nations work together for the common goal of leaving no one behind. To the secretary general, Antonio Guterres, whose tenure is approaching an end, my delegation commends his exemplary leadership and commitment to the ideals of the United Nations. During his term the world confronted unprecedented challenges from the COVID-19 pandemic to the eruption of new conflicts, the catastrophic effects of climate change, and unstable trade regimes. Throughout these crises, he remained the moral force and steady anchor of the organization. We salute him for his distinguished service and will fondly cherish his historic visit to the Mountain Kingdom in December 2024, during which he witnessed firsthand the dividends of the UN's contribution to Lesotho. Mr. president, the theme for this session Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations that delivers for all, resonates deeply with Lesotho's aspirations for a more inclusive, transparent and result oriented multilateral system capable of advancing respect for international law, maintaining global peace and security, accelerating sustainable development, protecting human rights, driving climate action, and implementing long overdue institutional reforms.
That is the tradition I bring to this podium, representing a nation staking its existence on the promise that shared rules faithfully observed remain humanity's best instrument for peace and prosperity. That tradition tests whether trust between nations, large and small, can be restored. Mr. President, restoring trust must begin with restoring respect: respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and equal dignity of every nation, regardless of its size, wealth, or military power. For smaller states such as Botswana, a rule-based international order is an essential safeguard. It assures us that international relations will be governed by the strength of agreed principles. Botswana believes that rules that bind only the weak are not rules, and principles applied selectively soon cease to command respect. That is why Botswana calls on this General Assembly, the Security Council, and every organ of the United Nations to recommit to dialogue as the first instrument of diplomacy. Botswana has sought to live by this principle as a host to the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Secretariat through our contributions to regional mediation and election observation, and through our consistent commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes.
This commitment has also been demonstrated through successful hosting and steering of major global gatherings, including Cop 29, the 13th session of the World Urban Forum, results oriented chairmanship of the Non-Aligned movement, the Organization of Turkic States, and the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, and Azerbaijan's increasingly active engagement across other international platforms. Azerbaijan's full fledged membership in the Consultative Meeting of Heads of State of Central Asia and the C6 format will enhance our contribution to cooperation and connectivity within the region and beyond. Cop 29 provided a good example of this approach in practice. As host and presidency, Azerbaijan guided negotiations toward ambitious and balanced outcomes while working to ensure that all voices were heard.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in this regard, the realities on the ground in my country speak for themselves. In southern Madagascar, mothers walk dozens of kilometers under scorching heat. In search of water. From the bed of a dried up river. In the east. Every year, increasingly violent and destructive tropical cyclones devastate crops, infrastructure and human lives. In other regions, floods engulf rice granaries, affecting entire communities. These images illustrate the daily vulnerability of our people, our Malagasy population Faced with these recurring humanitarian emergencies amplified by climate change, considerable investments are made, reflecting the unwavering commitment of our development partners working every year towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The SDGs, whether that be fighting hunger, providing education or providing access to basic services for vulnerable populations. And we hope to mobilize $1.5 billion over five years for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2024 2028. Yet, beyond commitments and resources mobilized. What matters to us is their tangible impact on the daily lives of our people.
Our world shaped by uncertainty, disruption and rapid change, but also by hope, innovation and opportunity. For Samoa, the theme is a promise the world must keep. Can trust be restored? Can transformation protect the vulnerable? The answer lies in the first words of our UN charter we the peoples. We must always put people at the centre of our decisions. For us, this is underpinned by the core values of our Samoan culture. The first Samoa and our faith such as respect, dignity, love, protection and service. Excellencies, every decision in this hall shapes the world that every child inherits. We meet at a pivotal moment in history. Profound and transformative changes are not only necessary, but inevitable. Across many societies, people are increasingly asking whether global institutions are delivering on the promises made to them. We must prepare ourselves to face the challenges ahead with resolve, and use the opportunity to herald in much needed reforms for the benefit of all, and leaving no one behind. For Samoa, multilateralism remains the cornerstone of our international engagement. Only through genuine cooperation and mutual trust can we craft solutions that no single nation could achieve alone. The UN initiative has merits, but also its risk, if not fully assessed and understood. Any reform must strengthen delivery on the ground by eliminating duplication, improving coherence and accelerating impact. Critically, such reforms must not weaken the operation of the UN Multi Country Offices or the Resident Coordinator system. We also are more reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the United Nations as the premier forum to address global crisis. We also caution against premature decision taken without the full consideration and endorsement by Member States.
Instability is further exacerbated when competition goes unchecked, commitments are left unfulfilled and international law is applied selectively. An erosion of trust is further impeding efforts at cooperation. What should concern us is not only how the international order is changing, but where the change will take the world. Change is inevitable, for it is part of the objective course of history. However, conflict and confrontation are not inevitable. From our own history, Vietnam understands the cost of war, the value of independence, and the power of reconciliation and cooperation. It is therefore my belief that the theme of this session Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, a UN that delivers for all aptly reflects the urgent demands of the time. Distinguished guests. From the losses of the Second World War, humanity created the UN with the aspiration to prevent wars, safeguard peace, promote cooperation, and place relations among nations on the foundation of common principles. Over the past eight decades, despite its limitations, the UN has helped sustain dialogue, advance decolonisation, uphold the right of peoples to self-determination and support development. This must be preserved and carried forward. Our institutions must be reformed to keep pace with the times, while fundamental principles of the UN charter must be respected and reinforced. What we seek is a more equitable, democratic and inclusive international order where every country has a voice and every nation has the opportunity to develop. The mission of our generation is to help shape and manage change so that competition does not turn into confrontation, differences do not lead to conflict, and advances in science and technology do not create new divides. In this spirit, I wish to put forward four key priorities. First, we must restore trust among nations on the basis of respect for the UN charter and international law. The UN charter and International law formed the Foundation for the International Order. They must be respected fully, consistently and without selectivity. All states must respect each other's independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to choose their own path of development; refrain from interference in internal affairs and refrain from the threat or use of force inconsistent with the UN charter. Restoring trust does not require countries to erase differences, but rather to manage such differences responsibly. Crisis must be prevented, competition must be kept under control and dialogue must be sustained. Major powers should lead by example in respecting international law, exercising restraint and responsibly addressing common challenges.
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Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, heads of State and government. President of the General Assembly. Secretary general. Ladies and gentlemen, heads of delegations. Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of the president of the Council, his Excellency for Essozimna Gnassingbé. Of the government and the Togolese people. I would like, Mr. President, to convey to you my sincere and warm congratulations on your election to the presidency of this session of the General Assembly. To you, Secretary General, Sir, and Mr. Antonio Guterres. I would like to convey Togo's sincere gratitude for your unfailing commitment to peace, to security, to solidarity, and to sustainable development. At a time when you are completing your term, Togo would like to pay a particular tribute to you for these years of commitment, of courage, of listening and of service, for the defense of the ideals of the United Nations and to reform our organization. We would like to express the desire that the legacy of your action will continue to inspire our organization, and to guide those people who will have the responsibility to continue your work. We wish you every success in the future for your future commitments. Mr. president, the topic of this section asks us to do two things to be clear in our diagnosis and to be strong in our commitment to be clear, because we can no longer have insufficient responses to those challenges that affect our international system commitment.
of this United Nations, my country, Saint Lucia, though small in geography, but large in courage, dignity and conviction, took its seat among the community of nations brimming with hope, optimism and trust in the promise and goals of this body. Today we meet at a moment of profound international uncertainty. Conflict is spreading, trust is eroding, developmental gains are being reversed, and the rules intended to protect humanity are too often applied selectively. For small island developing states, these crises are not abstract. They are lived realities. Climate change threatens our homes, livelihoods and very existence. Debt limits our ability to invest in people. Digital technologies are transforming our societies. Without safeguards, they can reproduce old patterns of domination in a new form. And in our own Caribbean neighborhood, people of Haiti continue to endure a humanitarian and security crisis that demands more than statements of concern. The theme before us, Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all, must not remain a slogan. Trust will be restored only when promises are matched by action, when commitments are honored, and when the United Nations delivers meaningful results for every nation. And when there is due regard for multilateral principles, not only for the most powerful, but for the weakest of us as well. This assembly should not be a place where the world expresses sympathy without accepting responsibility. We need action. We need justice. And we need a renewed international compact based not on power, but on principle. We need multilateralism, not unilateralism. And in the words of the former UN secretary general, the United Nations was not created in order to bring us to heaven, but in order to save us from hell. For Saint Lucia, climate change is not a distant environmental issue. It is a direct threat to national security, economic stability, food and water security, and human survival.
President, Liechtenstein joined the United Nations 36 years ago as its 160th member. We did so driven by the conviction that we, as one of the smallest members of the international community, should be part of the most important conversation on global governance, with the participation of all states, big or small, in developing international norms and standards, and also in upholding respect for them. Sovereignty was a key theme of our domestic discussions, resulting in our UN membership. We joined out of enlightened self-interest the belief that we need the UN to secure respect for our sovereignty through upholding international law as the basis for our security and prosperity. To this end, we also decided to make our own contribution to make best use of the opportunity offered to us as a small state, to be an active part of the biggest peace project in the history of humankind. President, our belief in the United Nations remains steadfast. This is the place where we can make our voice heard, where we can put ideas forward, and where we can gather to try to solve the issues that affect us all. We have greatly benefited from our membership, and the UN has consistently been a key platform for our foreign policy. Our membership has consistently enjoyed high levels of support in our population, but today we also find ourselves in a moment where instability and uncertainty dominate the conversation. Our organization no longer seems able to deliver on the key promises of the UN charter to save future generations from the scourge of war. It can no longer count on the unconditional support of its most powerful members for the guiding rules of international law. It is increasingly ignored or sidelined in efforts to address both the traditional and new challenges, such as the regulation of artificial intelligence. It is permanently squeezed financially. Legal obligations to pay are turned into tools to exercise political leverage. As a result the United Nations has moved down the foreign policy agenda, even of states who have a strong history of supporting it. We can no longer take it for granted that our people will continue their strongly positive views of our organization. President. This is the difficult moment in which we find ourselves. But rather than engaging in doomsday scenarios, we have to find the opportunities hidden in the challenge. The overwhelming majority of the states present in this room believe in the United Nations. They want to see positive change for the UN to emerge stronger, more effective, more relevant. But we all have to be prepared to be part of the change that we want to see. Resisting the temptation of collective inertia and of waiting for positive change to happen on its own, will require our active political investment. We are grateful to Secretary-General Guterres for his service to the organization, and for his proposals to adapt the organization to the needs of today. On the basis of his ideas, our delegations here have done good work that will show positive results over time. This is important. It shows that we can come together also during times of deep political division. It is also not enough. The steps we have taken are just the beginning of what we need, a political agreement that combines significant structural change with a reliable financial commitment and firm support for the UN charter from all. This is also the vision we are looking for in the person that will be appointed as the next Secretary-General. We hope that this decision will come very soon, in order to give the new Secretary-General the time she needs to prepare for this most unique of jobs. And we remain convinced that having a woman at the helm of the United Nations is long overdue for an organization that prides itself on its role in gender equality. President. At its core, the United Nations is a peace organization.
We have prospered in the peace that Europe enjoyed for decades after 1945, and we have never forgotten that the peace could not be taken for granted. It was built generation after generation by those who chose cooperation over confrontation. Today, that peace is being challenged once again. Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine has brought war back to our continent. It is a stark reminder that peace requires constant commitment, and that the principles on which our international order was built must be defended. The United Nations itself was born from that choice. Its charter called upon us to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and above all, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. 81 years later, that promise is under considerable pressure, but it has not failed. Multilateralism may be imperfect, but disenchantment should lead us to reform, not to dismissal. The question is, therefore, not whether we still need multilateralism. The question is whether we have the courage to make it better.
The Holy Quran commands: Wa in janahu lis-salmi fajnah laha wa tawakkal ala Allah, innahu huwa as-Sami al-Alim. If the enemy is inclined towards peace, make peace with them. Surah Al-Anfal. Ladies and gentlemen, Pakistan's founding father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah, had famously declared, we stand by the United Nations Charter and will gladly make our full contribution to the peace and prosperity of the world. These pearls of wisdom have shaped Pakistan's national ethos and guided our conduct at home and abroad. The unanimous adoption of resolution 2788 on strengthening mechanisms for peaceful settlement of disputes under Pakistan's UN Security Council presidency demonstrated our unwavering commitment to global peace. Mr. President. Unfortunately, in February this year, conflict engulfed Gulf along with wider Middle East. Precious lives were lost. Economies suffered. Critical maritime routes, particularly the Strait of Hormuz, came under severe pressure. At this critical moment, Pakistan chose to act swiftly. Through concerted efforts, Pakistan successfully brought Washington and Tehran under one roof in Islamabad. From the Islamabad talks to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, many historic steps were taken to bring an end to this serious conflict here. I deeply appreciate Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, Pakistan's chief of defense forces and chief of the Army staff, whose relentless efforts helped create space for diplomacy under exceptionally difficult and challenging circumstances. I would also like to commend the efforts of our Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in this behalf. Regrettably, Mr. President, recently we have witnessed a dangerous surge of hostilities. Yet amid the roar of missiles, drones and guns, the voice for diplomacy must echo even louder and stronger. The Strait of Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb are arteries of the global economy. They must remain open, connecting nations, not becoming choke points of confrontation. These waters must carry the promise of prosperity, not the perils of war. Excellencies, we once again condemn in the strongest possible terms the recent deplorable attacks by the Houthis against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The attempted drone attack on the holy city of Makkah Al-Mukarramah has outraged Muslims across the globe. Any threat to the safety and sanctity of the Haramain Sharifain is a red line that must never be crossed. No Muslim can even dare to think of committing such a heinous crime. Pakistan stands in complete solidarity with the brotherly people of Saudi Arabia, as we always have throughout our history. Ladies and gentlemen, our enduring commitment to peace is also reflected by the historic Makkah Joint Defense Agreement among the brotherly countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan. This alliance is not directed against any country. It is a collective commitment for defense, stability and peace in the region and nothing more. Mr. president, a year ago, Pakistan faced external aggression from India under a false pretext. Pakistan exercised its inherent right of self-defense under article 51 of the United Nations Charter. Our brave and valiant armed forces, under the courageous leadership of Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, responded with precision and professionalism. They silenced the enemy, repulsed its attack, and taught it a lesson it shall never, ever forget. And of course, thanks to President Donald Trump's resolute and visionary leadership that hundreds of millions of lives in South Asia were saved. His timely intervention came at a decisive juncture when two nuclear armed neighbours stood at the brink of an all out war. And who knows, Mr. President, the extent of devastation that could have taken place had President Trump not stepped in at this critical moment with clarity of thought and action? Mr. president, we must therefore ensure that South Asia never reaches that precipice ever again. But this requires a just and fair solution of the Kashmir dispute. For eight decades, the Kashmiri people have waited for the United Nations to fulfill its solemn commitment of a free and impartial plebiscite under its auspices. Generations have endured illegal occupation, arbitrary detention, extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, sexual violence and collective punishment. More recently, there have been attempts to alter the legal status of Jammu and Kashmir through demographic reengineering and other illegal measures. Helpless Kashmiri mothers and fathers yearn for their sons and daughters who never return. Their homes lie silent under curfew and in deep grief. For many, there is no closure, only a lifetime spent searching for graves that bear no names. Mr. president, from this podium, I assure my Kashmiri brothers and sisters with fullest authority at my command that we shall continue to extend our full diplomatic, political and moral support to them till they are granted their inalienable right to self-determination. Kashmir has and always will be Pakistan's jugular vein. Excellencies, another foundation of stability in South Asia is now under strain. The shared waters of the Indus River system are the lifeblood not only for the people of Pakistan, but for the entire region. India's unilateral decision to hold the existing treaty in abeyance has no legal basis whatsoever. In fact, both its claims and actions have been rejected by UN experts and more recently by the Court of Arbitration. Our legitimate stand that the treaty remains valid, binding and fully operative has been vindicated beyond any doubt. Ladies and gentlemen, water must never be weaponised. Rivers should nourish nations, not divide them. Therefore, any attempt to stop, impede or divert Pakistan's share of the waters will be treated as an act of war. India. India. India must make no mistake about it. Ladies and gentlemen, for generations, Palestinians, particularly women, children and the elderly have been subjected to occupation, eviction, suffering and death. Last year, Mr. President, I had shared with you the heart wrenching story of Hind Rajab, an innocent Palestinian girl who was brutally shot by Israeli soldiers. This year, another tragedy weighs heavy on our hearts, your hearts and the world's heart. This time it is the deafening cries of the sobbing mother of eight year old Wafaa Akila, who embraced martyrdom in this senseless aggression. What should have been the first day of her school, alas, became the last day of her life. Does not a child born in Gaza deserve the same life and the same future and same dream as a child, anywhere else in the world? The tragedies of Rajab, Wafaa Akila and countless others will echo through history as an indictment of our collective silence, failure, and inaction. Excellencies, it is deeply worrying that Israeli violence has now spread to the West Bank where the forcible eviction of Palestinians clearly reflects Israel's genocidal agenda, which continues unabated. Pakistan believes that the only just and lasting solution is the creation of an independent, sovereign, viable and contiguous state of Palestine, based on the pre 1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Ladies and gentlemen, we also condemn continued Israeli aggression against Lebanon and Syria. This, too, must stop immediately. Ladies and gentlemen, terrorism remains one of the greatest threats to international peace and security.
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That is peace, security and the well-being of all peoples. This is the whole point of the topic that brings us together this year. Mr. president, I congratulate you on your election as president of the General Assembly. I also wish to hail the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, for his unwavering commitment to peace. I still remember fondly his visit to Port-au-Prince on the 16th of June 2026, which bore witness to his solidarity toward the Haitian people. In these difficult times that our country is undergoing, Haiti wishes to extend its gratitude to all of its partners and friends that have continued to stand by its side. In this regard, I would like to hail the commitment of the United Nations system, and especially the commitment of the Security Council and that of the Organization of American States, Caricom and the European Union, whose support remains essential. More than ever, I want to pay a particular tribute to the kindred peoples who, by contributing to the gang suppression force and supporting its full rollout, have chosen to share with us the burden of fighting for peace and security. Haiti will never forget the solidarity nor their sacrifices. I also want to underscore the privileged partnership with the United States of America and the steadfast support of Canada and the invaluable assistance of our partners such as France, Chile and Mexico in the modernization of our national security capacity. Also, the opening of the Dominican Republic to dialogue and its advocacy for a sustainable resolution to the Haitian crisis. I express my gratitude for that. Finally, we wish to recognize the Integrated Office in Haiti, the funds and programs present on the ground, as well as all of our multilateral partners.
In keeping with that vision, my government has proposed a treaty that would bind Pacific Island countries and like minded partners to a firm, shared commitment to keep the Pacific an ocean of peace. Mr. president, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies present both unprecedented opportunities and serious risks. They can accelerate sustainable development, transform education and healthcare, strengthen disaster preparedness, and open new economic pathways for developing countries. But a widening digital divide threatens to leave developing countries further behind. For my government, digital transformation is not about technology for its own sake. It is about connecting our scattered islands and opening the modern economy to every Solomon Islander. The completion of 161 telecommunication towers across the country will lift national broadband coverage from 56 to 86%, expanding access to information, education and digital financial services. The benefits of AI must be shared by all. Mr. president, not concentrated among a few. Its risks, including its use for non-peaceful purposes, must be governed by all. Not left to a few.
The admission of the African Union to G20 is certainly a major step in the right direction. However, it is not sufficient to meet this need for representation. As a member of the Security Council of 2026-2027, we reaffirm our support for the common African position, enshrined in the Eslawini Consensus and the SIRT Declaration. That is to say, two permanent seats for Africa, with all of the associated privileges, including veto rights as long as they exist, and two non-permanent additional seats, in order to make the Council more representative, more legitimate, and ultimately more effective. This need for representation goes hand in hand with a need for responsibility, and it is in this spirit that the DRC intends to fully exercise its responsibility when it comes to choosing the next Secretary-General, whose mandate ought to be part of the transformation of our organization and help adapt it to the priorities of a world in profound evolution. This same ambition is our driving force within the francophone world, through the candidacy of Ms. Juliana Amatulumumba for the position of Secretary-General of the OIF, with the vision of a renewed francophonia that is closer to its peoples and capable of strengthening trust between its members and to tackle the challenges we are facing. For the DRC, it is precisely in the gap between the trust we are calling to be restored and the transformation that we hope to manage that the real impact of our international commitments is measured. Our country is at the heart of several of these transformations, and sometimes at the intersection of their very contradictions.
It is a particular pleasure for me to express our appreciation to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his tireless commitment to the defense of peace and to the search for solutions to the many challenges facing humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday September 24th, the people of Guinea-Bissau celebrated the 53rd anniversary of our national independence. This date of profound significance for our people invites us to reflect on the value of freedom sovereignty, and the dignity of peoples. It is in this spirit that I bring to this assembly a message of peace, freedom, and fraternity to all the nations of the world in the firm hope that every people may live in peace, fully exercise its rights, and freely chart its own path towards development and prosperity.
Mr. president, ladies and gentlemen heads of State and Government. Secretary General of the United Nations Organization, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. The Marshal of Chad Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno, president of the Republic, head of State, which be who because of pressing national issues, has given me this great honor of representing him and conveying his message to you at this August assembly. Mr. president, your election at the presidency of the 81st session of the General Assembly of our shared organization, bears witness to the trust that the international community has placed in you and in your leadership. Please be assured of the full support of the Republic of Chad as you carry out your term. I would also like to thank Madame Angelina, outgoing president of the General Assembly, for heading up the work of the 80th regular session so brilliantly. At a time when he is preparing to move on from being the head of our organization, I would like, ladies and gentlemen, to pay a very sincere tribute to the Secretary General. Mr. Antonio Guterres, his leadership and constant commitment to peace, conflict prevention and multilateralism warrant our recognition and respect. Chad is grateful to him for his ongoing attention to the challenges that our country, the Lac Chad Basin and Central Africa are confronted with.
While we are a few years away from 2030, progress towards attainment of the SDGs is still unimpressive. Given this situation, we need to improve our execution and ensure that every cent invested delivers results. Tanzania remains committed and has made strides in implementing the 2030 Agenda. Tanzania Vision 2050, aim to build an inclusive and competitive economy that ensures quality of life for all. We are investing in our people, productive infrastructure, technology and innovation, while creating greater opportunities for women and young people. Our ambition is to transform economic growth into lasting improvements in people's lives. These ambitions may not be realized if the international financial architecture is not made to work for development. Currently, when developing countries are accelerating progress, they are restricted by high borrowing costs, rising debt burdens, and limited access to affordable longterm finance. Tanzania stresses that improvements must be made to ensure the expansion of concessional financing, mobilization of private investment, improved access to development and climate finance, and giving developing countries a stronger voice in global financial decisionmaking. It is without a doubt that political commitment is paramount in undertaking focused investment. In that respect, Tanzania has made significant strides in reducing maternal and child mortality by expanding facility delivery from 51 per cent in 2015 to 81 per cent in 2022.
Mr. president, we meet during a pivotal moment when the world is facing numerous interconnected and complex crisis conflicts are spreading, climate shocks are intensifying and technology is advancing faster than the rules that govern it. As the current crop of leaders, it should concern us that today, somewhere a child is born into war, a families displaced by conflict. A farmer loses another harvest to drought, and the young person wonders whether technological progress will expand opportunity or deepen inequality. Through separated by geography, those separated by geography. These experiences reveal a common truth. Humanity's challenges are increasingly interconnected, and no nation can overcome them alone. The trust deficit among nations has continued to erode the gains that cooperation fostered within the United Nations system. We must therefore choose between purposeful reform or unmitigated repression. Trust will be restored when conflicts are prevented. International law is applied equally. Development commitments are fulfilled, and all nations are fairly represented in global institutions. Multilateralism is a crucial equalizer. It ensures that all have an equal voice under international law, and an equal role in shaping our shared future. Undoubtedly, the charter remains our common compass sovereign equality, political independence, territorial integrity, non-interference, peaceful settlement of disputes and international cooperation must be applied universally, not selectively. International law cannot be a shield for some and a sword against others. The United Nations has a sacred duty to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
Why does a state such as mine believe so strongly in international law? The answer goes for all. When might makes right. It is the smallest states who are the first to be threatened when force is regulated by the law. All of humanity is protected. Sovereign equality between states, honoring commitments, peacefully settling disputes are therefore not abstract concepts. They are our front line of protection. And yours too. With the balance as is set out by the charter between the three pillars peace and security, development and human rights. Nevertheless, this protection is today under assault. Rearmament is accelerating throughout the world. We are seeing the use of force once again as being another political tool for some Trade is breaking down and we are seeing a race to capture critical resources. The private sector is also part of this. Of these power relations. We are now in the era of the geo economy, and this is fertile ground for disinformation, which undermines people's trust in their institutions and leads them to question verifiable facts. Our belief has never been tried to such an extent since 1945 in Ukraine, the Middle East, Sudan, the Sahel in many other places out of the media spotlight. Civilians are paying the price for conflicts which have discarded the most basic rules of humanity. And never, since 1945 has the very legitimacy of states and multilateral bodies such as the UN, been called into question to such an extent. Given this danger, let us recall our mission. In the words of Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary general of the UN.
Multilateralism allows us to project the power of our ideas rather than the might of our power. Tonga participates as an equal under the founding principles of the United Nations Charter, the sovereign equality of states. This is how we must approach our theme Restoring Trust, managing transformation, a United Nations that delivers for all. Enduring trust is restored when commitments produce results. True transformation is realized when our communities, economies and ecosystems can anticipate change and recover with greater strength. The small island developing states must not bear the disproportionate costs of the challenges they did little to create. Mr. president, too much of our international architecture still reflects the world of 1945 rather than today's realities. If the United Nations is to remain the principal vehicle through which sovereign nations confront global challenges, it must transform. We need a United Nations that enables innovation one that expands meaningful access to investment and technology, especially for the small island developing countries who are too often excluded from both. We need a stronger general assembly and institutions that respond effectively to the needs of the majority of our members. We cannot keep negotiating climate biodiversity and the ocean in separate COPs when they are clearly an interconnected ecosystem requiring integrated and coherent solutions. We call on global processes to recognise the ocean climate nexus and address these interconnected challenges together. We need a more inclusive Security Council equipped for today's challenges. A Security Council that recognises the triple planetary crisis as a profound threat to peace and security. We need a financial architecture that delivers timely and accessible financing to those who most need them. Internationally pledged commitments must be actioned urgently. The next Secretary general must understand these realities intimately. It is in this spirit that Tonga's nominated ambassador, Ivonne Baki of Ecuador, whose vision for a renewed reformed United Nations speaks to the needs of vulnerable states. To restore trust, every member state, large or small, must have a voice in shaping this organisation's future and a stake in its success. Mr. president, Your Excellencies, the Pacific region spans one third of the Earth's surface. It is our home. Through the 2050 strategy for the Blue Pacific continent, we have set our own course and identified our thematic priorities. For Tonga, investing in the ocean and nature is foundational in achieving its development, ambition. Protecting and restoring them builds our climate resilience. It strengthens our food security and enables a sustainable blue economy.
Mr. president, we express our country's grave concern as the world continues its slide toward uncertainty and division. The erosion of trust among nations is rapidly reshaping the international order. Our collective inability to prevent conflicts, our collective indifference toward humanitarian crisis, and our collective reluctance to seek common solutions to shared challenges are all becoming normalised. Trust cannot be restored when international law is applied selectively and commitments remain unfulfilled. Our response must be grounded in the fundamental values we have affirmed together freedom, equality, justice and respect for human dignity. President Tokayev has repeatedly underscored the indispensable role of the United Nations as a single universal platform, uniquely capable of bringing the states together to address the challenges we face. But to fulfil its potential, UN must be able to act, adapt and deliver. We fully support the UN 80 initiative. The success of the reform should be measured not by what is cut or reorganised, but by whether the United Nations prevents conflicts more effectively, responds more rapidly to crisis and delivers better results for all member states. Central to this renewal is reform of the Security Council. Broader representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the Council, as well as greater voice for developing countries and for middle powers, is a moral imperative. Equitable geographical representation must apply throughout the United Nations system as a condition of legitimacy and credibility.
Mr. president, allow me to congratulate His Excellency, Doctor Khalilur Rahman on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly and assure him of the support of my delegation. I also wish to pay tribute to His Excellency António Guterres for his outstanding dedication and commitment to this organization during his two terms as Secretary General, he will be remembered as a leader with a steady hand, always guided by principles of fairness, compassion and dignity for all. Mr. president, the United Nations has now completed the first eight decades of its existence, eight decades replete with resolutions, declarations, and action on decolonization development, new international order, the new constitution for the oceans, as well as climate and environmental technology, human rights, international law, and peacekeeping.
On this month, Tuvalu also celebrates its 26th anniversary of UN membership. Tuvalu reaffirms its strong commitment to the values and the principles of the UN charter, and to international law, and to a multilateral system that protects the dignity and security of all people. This year also marks the historical and first deployment of Tuvalu police officers to serve in the UN Mission in South Sudan, a deployment that confirms that even the smallest member of the UN can contribute meaningfully to international peace and security. Mr. president, the theme for this session,
We also advocate for mutual beneficial economic cooperation based on respect for sovereignty for each state, for the equality between the states, and the freedom of choice for the people during the electoral process. In the area of development, we are still far from fulfilling the promise of the 2030 Agenda. With less than four years until the deadline, millions of people remain deprived of basic opportunities: water, energy, infrastructure, and others. Thus, it is important to accelerate the implementation of the commitment made under the SDGs, which requires predictable, accessible, and sustainable financing. It also requires a fair international financial accreditation, more fair, sustainable debt relief, greater transfer of technology, international trade that is more balanced, and investments that can transform deportation into prosperity, as well as a deal to the principle of common responsibility but differentiated responsibilities. Similarly, in the field of human rights, it is also important to promote a balanced, impartial, and coherent approach based on the principles of universality and equal treatment between the states. Promoting these rights should prioritize constructive dialogue, cooperation, and the strengthening of our institutions. Mr. President, in Mozambique, we are committed to consolidating peace, strengthening democratic institutions, and conducting an inclusive national dialogue led by the Mozambican initiatives that are genuinely Mozambican to deepen reconciliation, national unity, peace, and the reforms that are necessary, with the support of our international partners, while respecting national ownership.
Climate action must go hand in hand with development, poverty reduction and job creation. Adaptation, water security and food security must receive the priority they deserve, especially in Africa and the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Drawing on Egypt's experience and hosting the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh and the decision it adopted, we can affirm that the gap no longer lies in diagnosing the problem, but in implementation, especially in translating commitments into financing flows, projects and technologies that reach the countries and communities most in need. In a world where geopolitical and technological transformations are accelerating, this must not lead us into more dangerous arms races.
Relations among the major powers increasingly shape trade, technology, energy, critical raw materials, transport routes and digital infrastructure. What we called economic interdependence yesterday, we increasingly see today as a matter of national security. Globalization is not disappearing. It is being reshaped. Supply chains are changing. Production is once again becoming a geopolitical question. States are asking not only where something can be produced more cheaply, but who can be trusted, not only where energy comes from, but whether it will be available when crisis strikes. Not only who develops the next generation of technology, but who will set the rules under which it will operate. Alliances, too, are changing under the pressure of this same world. Macedonian citizens know where they belong. We are a NATO ally. The United States are our strategic partner. Full membership in the European Union is our strategic commitment. These are not three separate policies. They are one geopolitical orientation, an orientation grounded in democracy, collective security, the rule of law and an open economy. In a time of uncertainty, our response is not strategic ambiguity. Our response is clarity. But clarity in our alliances does not mean turning away from the world. Quite the opposite.
Dear friends. Since this morning, we've heard a number of speeches from this rostrum about the state of the world, and I fear I will not be very original in my description. Every speaker has described the return of imperialism, of arrogance, the return of unrestrained force which knows no rules, a world in which we see power concentrated in the hands of the few, a world in which some believe that they can undermine the international order so as to push their borders outwards. Those that believe that people's sovereignty can be toppled over that they could use that sovereignty. People who believe that they can decide the fate of the planet, whether that be as regards the climate or AI. The question we must answer is very simple. The question is, do we want to live under this state of affairs with a return to the law of the jungle? Or do we want to live in a civilised international society? Our duty today, more than ever, is to hold firm here at the United Nations in order to make decisions to further our common interests so that people can choose their fate freely, their development model choose their future. To refuse their sovereignty being taken hostage by unjust forces, by fear. Therefore, the very raison d'etre of this organisation is to bring together free people on an equal footing. It is our charter that prevents the power wielded by some from making decisions for others. This is what compels us to work together to demonstrate our commitment and our capacity to act, and usefully so. You know just how committed France is to the United Nations and its ability to shoulder the responsibilities conferred upon it by the charter. I wish to reassert our commitment to take action hand in hand with each and every one of you, so as to revive multilateralism and to demonstrate that we are stronger, more effective, more capable of tackling common challenges if we do this together. Today's challenges, future challenges, ones we do not know about yet, challenges we haven't yet tackled. I talked about the climate. It also applies to war and peace, new technologies and development. Across all of these areas, wherever might is right is being imposed, we must defend justice and our common interests, and it is in the interests of each and every one of us as well, because our charter affords us the protection, the right to live together. Given the sorry state of the world, given what we're seeing today, and that is a growing number of wars we haven't solved, multiplying myriad crises and contemporary challenges which are weighing on new generations in new ways, I believe we are duty bound not to yield. And at the end of the day, the message I wish to convey to you today, as I've been doing over the last nine years, is a message of determination. Optimism through action. What I'm trying to tell you is that we will not yield to fatalism, to defeatism, which is very much in vogue according to this rhetoric. There's not much point coming here to deliver speeches. They say might is right. We can impose a different kind of peace. That is what they say.
Mr. Khalilur Rahman, president of the General Assembly. Mr. Antonio Gutierrez, secretary general of the United Nations. Excellencies, heads of State and government, and heads of delegation. Ladies and gentlemen. I have the honour to take the floor before this General Assembly on behalf of and representing His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, president of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, to express to you his greetings of peace and the greetings of the people of Equatorial Guinea, and to reaffirm our support for and commitment to the charter of the United Nations. I congratulate Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election to the presidency of this 81st session and I express our gratitude to Miss Annalena Baerbock. For her work during the previous session. Mr. president. The theme of this session is Restoring Trust, Managing transformation.
In light of the growing number of global challenges, coordinated responses to common obstacles, conflict prevention, and the achievement of the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development are possible only through strengthened international cooperation and their shared commitment to collective action Lasting peace cannot be imposed by force. It must be built through communication and mutual respect. Few countries understand the value of peace, stability and sovereignty as deeply as Georgia does. For centuries, we stood at a crossroads of civilizations open to diverse cultures, peoples, and ideas while steadfastly preserving our own distinct identity and character Georgia statehood has been tested more than once, but these challenges have only strengthened our determination to choose our own path.
I also thank His Excellency Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock for her stewardship of the 80th Session, and wish to thank the Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, for his unwavering commitment to the United Nations." Mr. President, eight years ago the United Nations was established in the aftermath of the Second World War to foster international cooperation and prevent future armed conflicts. As we convene here today, we must confront the reality of living in very uncertain times, shadowed by the persistent threat of global conflict. It is imperative that we work together to avoid warfare. We must reflect on the founding principles of the UN Charter and recommit ourselves to saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war, reaffirming faith in fundamental human rights and the dignity of human person, ensuring equal rights for all large nations and small, establishing conditions for justice and respect for international law, and promoting social progress alongside better standards of life. Uganda firmly believes that multilateralism and international cooperation remain the most vital mechanisms for addressing our shared challenges. Accordingly, we remain and reaffirm our commitment to the principles of the UN Charter as the cornerstone of global diplomacy, supporting the interconnected pillars of peace and security, human rights, humanitarian affairs, and sustainable development. We believe the United Nations must remain agile and adaptive to evolving global realities. Uganda is committed to working with the entire membership to build consensus on necessary systemic reforms, particularly within the UN Security Council. We call for a comprehensive reform to render the Council more equitable, transparent, democratic, and representative. In this regard, we demand Africa's rightful representation in both the permanent and non-permanent categories to correct historical imbalances in line with the common African position articulated in the Eswilini Consensus and the Sate Declaration. Regarding the ongoing UN Aid Initiative, Uganda commends efforts to streamline the UN system to make it cost-effective, efficient, and well-coordinated.
But the answer is not withdrawal. The answer is to reform, renew and reinvest. The UN 80 initiative offers an opportunity to make the United Nations more efficient and more effective. The European Union also continues to call for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council to make it more effective, inclusive, democratic and accountable. The European Union will continue to contribute to strengthen the United Nations politically, financially and through concrete actions. Because the best argument for multilateralism is what it delivers on peace and security. With the treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on Climate action, with the Paris Agreement on Poverty and Health, with the global response to Covid 19. The truth is, when we act together, multilateralism delivers for people. And that is why this week, the United Union, the European Union has launched together with Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, India and Kenya. The P4M partners for multilateralism, international law, peace and prosperity. Our initiative aims to be an open platform for partners from all parts of the world who are ready to defend common principles and work towards practical solutions. It is a network for dialogue, coalition building and practical cooperation. It will support the work of United Nations and other multilateral formats. It will help to build bridges across regions, and it will contribute to advancing the reform and modernization of the United Nations and the multilateral system, helping to turn shared commitments into concrete action. And I invite all the nations in the chamber to join this initiative and endorse the P4M. The P4M declarations, excellencies, excellencies.
Pacific leaders have charted a practical roadmap through the Unlocking Blue Pacific Prosperity, UBPP, launched at COP28 and reinforced by the Pacific Leaders' Ocean Statement adopted in Palau. UBPP unites 22 Pacific countries and territories to mobilize accessible catalytic investment for 100 percent sustainable ocean management, robust food systems, and resilient livelihoods, advancing our shared 30-by-30 commitment. We continue to seek and expand investment to the UBPP to meet its goals and deliver lasting resilience for our communities. Palau is translating that UBPP vision into national action. We have launched our Sustainable Ocean Policy that commits 100 percent effective, science-based, and adaptive management of our ocean, balancing protection with production to deliver the optimal benefits for our people. In line with this effort, we support with support from partners like Japan. We are working to develop fishing ports and other critical infrastructure to truly capture the value of resources harvested in our waters. As Chair of the Pacific Island Forum and EOSS, and through Palau's leadership on the high-level panel for sustainable ocean economy, we continue to call for an ocean agenda that meets the scale of this challenge.
Mr. president, standing before this Assembly, I am reminded that while some efforts have been made from this rostrum over the past year these have not yet matched the scale of the challenges confronting our world. We will have to increase and strengthen efforts and commitment to the process of transformation and strengthening of the UN in order to restore trust that our organization will really be capable of delivering peace, inclusion and development in the world. Suriname is firmly committed to the upholding of international law, as we depend on a rules-based international order without which, like many other vulnerable nations, we simply cannot exist as sovereign countries. The consistent application of international law and the strengthening of its institutions is also essential to maintain international peace and security, protect human rights and ensure sustainable development for all.
Confidence in international institutions is under strain. For small developing states such as ours, trust depends on institutions applying agreed rules, consistently honoring commitments, and ensuring that those most affected by decisions have a meaningful voice in shaping them. Transnational organized crime continues to pose a serious threat to the security and development of small island states. Small states face serious challenges from sophisticated criminal networks that move people, that move weapons, that move narcotics and illicit finance across national borders. For Trinidad and Tobago, this is not an abstract threat. These networks directly endanger our citizens. They endanger our institutions and endanger our development. Restoring trust and managing transformation, therefore, must ultimately be about results.
Excellency Khalilur Rahman, President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly; Your Excellency Mr. António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General; heads of state and government; distinguished heads of delegation; ladies and gentlemen. At the outset, on behalf of the Dominican people, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, upon your election, and express to Secretary-General Guterres in his last GA session at the helm of this organization our gratitude to him for his commitment to peace.
In our lives, freedom of the press, protection of journalists, and access to reliable information are key elements of this environment, especially with regard to growing disinformation. This commitment also means ensuring that each of us has the ability to participate and to be heard. The rights of the child, access to education, equal participation of women and girls in societal processes, as well as the full inclusion of young people in these processes, are vital for building societies in which each of us has a voice in decisions that determine our future. We have inequalities that are deepening every minute throughout the world. Bulgaria supports international efforts toward this end, from guaranteeing the right of each child to education to the consistent implementation of the women-peace and security agenda. The protection of human rights is measured not only in commitments made, but also through real opportunities for participation, education, and a decent life. This is our common objective: societies in which differences do not divide us, hate does not define us, and the rights and dignity of all are protected. Environmental responsibility is one of the fundamental principles of sustainable development.
Cote d'Ivoire hopes that this process will result in the appointment of a figure of the highest caliber, whose moral values independence of mind, diplomatic experience and commitment to dialogue will enable the United Nations to pursue, with ambition and effectiveness its mission in the service of peace, development and solidarity among nations. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Current international events remind us every day of the human, political and economic cost of protracted conflicts. Cote d'Ivoire remains deeply concerned about the resumption of hostilities in the Near and Middle East, the consequences of which weigh on peace and on food, energy and economic security throughout the world. The dire situation in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Sudan is equally alarming, with severe and endless humanitarian consequences. All these persistent conflicts are exacerbating the suffering of the affected populations and producing harmful effects that extend far beyond the borders of the states concerned. We therefore call for dialogue to prevail over arms. We also express our solidarity with the Haitian people. Cote d'Ivoire will continue to contribute to ongoing initiatives aimed at supporting the Haitian authorities and international partners in order to restore security in the sister nation so as to restore democratic legitimacy to its institutions. My country takes this opportunity to reaffirm its commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes in accordance with the United Nations Charter. And to lend its full support for the many mediation efforts undertaken by the United Nations, the African Union and relevant regional organizations. Ladies and gentlemen.
Conflict is not the only threat to sovereignty. Forces beyond our borders can also limit a State’s freedom to shape its own future. For SIDS like the Maldives, none is more consequential than climate change. For SIDS, climate change is altering the very physical foundations of our nations. Sea level rise is therefore not simply an environmental concern. It is a matter of national planning and national security. It is a matter of sovereignty. Let there be no doubt: rising seas may alter our shores, but they will not erase our statehood. They will not reduce our rights. They will not weaken our maritime entitlements, and they will not diminish our national agency. Our response must be to adapt, innovate and build. But resilience demands the means to act. That means finance must reach those who need it, at the scale, at the speed and on the terms needed to build resilience. That is why COP31 in Antalya must be a COP of delivery. Implementation must be the measure of commitment. We must move faster. We must speed up the 2030 Agenda, and we must turn ABAS into measurable progress for SIDS. For island nations, that progress cannot be separated from a healthy and sustainably managed ocean. Therefore, the first Conference of the Parties to the BBNJ Agreement must deliver from day one.
Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. It is a distinct honor to stand in this historic hall where so many great leaders have stood before to deliver my country's statement to the world. On behalf of Micronesia, I extend my warmest greetings of Kamorale. Let me begin by congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election as president of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. I also extend my appreciation to Secretary General Antonio Guterres for your dedicated and steadfast service, principled leadership and personal commitment to the values of the United Nations. As you conclude your tenure, we honor your advocacy for the most vulnerable and your tireless efforts in strengthening multilateralism. Micronesia stands in solidarity with all nations that have endured the recent waves of natural disasters around the world. The loss of lives, displacements, and destructions remind us of our common vulnerability. We extend our deepest condolences to the governments and peoples affected, and we honor the courage of those who chose to help in the face of tragedy.
Artificial intelligence can accelerate development, but its use must remain consistent with legal frameworks, human dignity and democratic accountability. Renewed nuclear rhetoric makes a firm commitment to the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons more important than ever. Climate action should be used to strengthen energy security and social cohesion. Our experience shows that the green transition should not be ideological.
What has transpired in Gaza is genocide in every sense of the word and the stain of shame on the conscience of humanity as a whole. Future generations will be astonished by the enormous gap between the scale of the catastrophe and the level of the international response to stop it. Yet the catastrophe persists. And Israeli leaders have now begun to openly proclaim that the most appropriate solution is to displace the population, which they call migration. When the extent of global public revulsion at the practices of the Israeli occupation becomes evident, instead of looking in the mirror, they resort to hurling accusations indiscriminately in all directions, at times invoking accusations of anti-Semitism and at others resorting to conspiracy theories and accusing other powers and states of being responsible for creating their negative image. It's as though there were no means of communication, as though Israeli soldiers had not boasted, through both sound and visuals of their crimes, and as though images of the crimes against humanity committed in Gaza had not been circulated by an entire generation of young people across the world, East and west. From the very first day, the state of Qatar has done its utmost as a mediator to stem the bloodshed, to alleviate the suffering of civilians, and to release the prisoners and detainees until a cease fire was achieved. Today, we continue our efforts to consolidate it and to move towards lasting peace. As Palestinian factions agreed to arrangements for the collection of weapons as stipulated in the agreement, Israel, for its part must fully honour its commitments in their entirety: a definitive cessation of operations, withdrawal from the strip, lifting of the blockade and the unconditional delivery of humanitarian assistance. We fear that those who regard displacement as the solution will obstruct anything that could ease the lives of the population, because this would strengthen their resilience on their land. The international community bears a direct responsibility to press for implementation and to ensure that the agreement's implementation does not remain contingent upon the calculations of a party accustomed to reneging on its commitments whenever circumstances allow it to act with impunity on the ground. The continued persecution, apartheid and settler terrorism in the occupied West Bank, the desecration of Islamic and Christian holy sites, foremost among them the blessed Al-Aqsa mosque. Denying the Palestinian people their rights, most notably their inalienable rights to establish their independent state with East Jerusalem as its capital. All this remains an open wound. Israeli aggression, marked by arrogance and hubris, has expanded to encompass neighbouring countries affected the security of the region as a whole. Israel continues its blatant attacks against Syria and is occupying more Syrian territories and adding them to the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since 1967, without even bothering to provide any justification other than its own assessment of the nature of the political system that emerged there in Syria after the removal of the previous regime, as though it maintains tutelage over the countries of the region. It publicly declares that it is not bound by its understandings with Lebanon. It insists on continuing its occupation of Lebanese territories and seeks to assume a policing role there. Its destruction of entire villages in southern Lebanon in broad daylight is reminiscent of its history in Palestine. Dealing with Israel, putting an end to the harm it causes and restraining its unlawful conduct constitute the true test of the international community's seriousness in upholding values and the rule of law. The law must apply equally to all. When it binds the vulnerable but spares the powerful, it loses its meaning.
Human made conflicts have created situations of unrest in many countries. Vast numbers of people are being displaced, giving rise to humanitarian crisis. Wars and conflicts are placing immense pressure on the global economy. Energy security concerns, disruptions to global energy supply systems and rising inflation are worsening the economic situation. We believe that every conflict should be resolved through dialogue, diplomatic processes and mutual cooperation. Equality, fairness, protection of mutual interests and respect and dignity among disputing states should form the basis of bilateral and multilateral relations. We aspire to a peaceful world, a humane, global community where, rather than weapons of destruction, reason and debate, diplomacy, education and humanity become the instruments of change. Bangladesh sees the United Nations as the centerpiece for establishing an accommodative global community based on mutual respect for one another's independence and sovereignty. The tendency to divert development budgets towards military expenditure in different parts of the world verses the direction of our journey towards global peace. As a peace loving nation, Bangladesh remains committed to the goals of complete and general disarmament, preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and arms control. I reiterate Bangladesh's support for any initiative at the United Nations dedicated to establishing world peace and serving humanity. The people of Bangladesh who believe in democracy remain deeply concerned about the plight of the freedom seeking Palestinian people. Bangladesh once again reaffirms its unwavering support for their legitimate demands, including their right to self-determination and their right to establish an independent state of Palestine. Mr. president, in the prevailing global circumstances the theme of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, a United Nations that delivers for all, is highly relevant and timely. Bangladesh remains steadfast in its commitment to multilateralism in maintaining international peace and security. As vice chair of the Peacebuilding Commission, Bangladesh continues to serve as a strong voice for sustainable peace, conflict prevention and inclusive peace. As a consistent contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions. Bangladeshi peace keepers are serving humanity in different parts of the world. The courageous participation of Bangladeshi women in peacekeeping missions, even under adverse circumstances, reflects our strong commitment to advancing the agenda of women, peace and security. This year, Bangladesh is observing the 40th anniversary of the declaration on the Right to Development and the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action.
Friends, the United Nations is entering its ninth decade at a moment of great uncertainty and challenge for the global community. Conflicts are having devastating effects on the most vulnerable. The impacts of the climate crisis are felt in every corner of our world. Hard won rights are being rolled back. Narrow self-interest is breaking the bonds of solidarity, which have so often lifted us to meaningful progress. The international legal order is under tremendous strain. New and emerging technologies that offer unlimited potential could also, without human intervention, create unprecedented dangers. In such moments of uncertainty, it can be easy to question our foundations, to retreat, to turn inward, to say that international cooperation is too difficult, that multilateralism does not work, that the problems of others are not our problems. But that would be the wrong conclusion, because the answer to a world under strain is not less international cooperation. It is more. The answer to the weakening of principles is not to abandon them. It is to defend them. And if our multilateral system is not working effectively, the answer is not to walk away from it. It is to make it stronger, fairer and fit for the world we live in. That is Ireland's position, and that is what all of us, as members of the United Nations need to deliver on. We should also remember what our collective commitment to the United Nations has achieved. The multilateral system anchored in the United Nations Charter has been the foundation of many of humanity's greatest achievements. It has driven advances in poverty alleviation health care, education, social protection, and food and nutrition security. It has championed human rights and dignity and insisted that accountability matters. It has given voice to the marginalised Mr. president, the people of Ireland understand that we live in an interdependent world, that the challenges we face are interconnected, cross borders and require collective solutions. Ireland currently holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union. Our stewardship of the European Union's agenda is deeply rooted in the principle of strength with unity, and this principle is at the heart of our vision for the United Nations, as well as our unwavering commitment to the pillars which guide its work. Peace and security. Human rights and development. These pillars equally bear the weight of our shared ambition for a better, fairer and peaceful world. Collectively, however, we are not delivering on their ambition. We are not staying the course. At a Time and global needs are increasing and becoming more complex.
We reject these unlawful punitive measures, and we reject the accusations and justifications on which they were based. We affirm that we have fulfilled our obligations, carried out a comprehensive national reform program. And upheld our commitment to international law To shunning violence and terrorism, and to the two state solution and to peace on the basis of resolutions of international legitimacy. We also affirm that the Palestinian people and its leadership should not be punished for demanding an end for the occupation, or for turning to the UN. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Our choice to invoke international law and its institutions is a peaceful and civilized choice, and not an act that runs counter to peace. Denying the Palestinian delegation access to the UN headquarters is a violation of the. Of the United States obligations as the host country Therefore, we call upon the American administration. To lift these sanctions and restrictions, return to dialogue and mutual respect. And work with us and with the international community in order to implement the two state solution on the basis of international legitimacy and to establish peace, rather than punishing the side that has chosen the path of international law and political and diplomatic action in order to guarantee its rights. Mr. president, esteemed Member States. I speak to you today as the Palestinian people faces one of the most dangerous times of its history.
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Just as managing transformation is not an option up for debate. Together they constitute the very essence of the mission. We pledged before our people, before our Arab brothers, and before the entire world. On the day I was entrusted with leading the government of Lebanon, we assumed this responsibility at a time when our country faced three existential challenges. The first was to regain the trust of its people. After the financial collapse and the Beirut port explosion and the tragedies and wounds they left behind. The second was to reclaim its national decision making so that no authority stands above that of the state. No weapons exist outside its armed forces, and no decision on war and peace is taken outside its constitutional institutions. The third was to recover all of its territory from Israeli occupation, and to extend its sovereignty over the entirety of its national soil through its own forces. In implementation of the Taif Agreement and in sincere respect for the relevant international resolutions on Lebanon. Foremost among these is resolution 1701, which remains to this day a fundamental point of reference governing relations between Lebanon and Israel. Trust rebuilt decision making. Reclaimed. Land liberated. That is the equation for Lebanon's recovery. These are not three separate challenges. They are three facets of a single cause. Restoring a state that its citizens trust that is master of its own decisions, and that exercises sovereignty over the whole of its territory. Mr. president, first, the trust we seek to restore is not trust in words. It is trust in institutions that protect rights in a judiciary that guarantees justice, in an economy that restores prosperity to the people and gives young people the opportunity of a better future. We cannot speak of restoring trust without recalling the Beirut port explosion. The wound of the 4th of August remains open. It cannot heal without truth, justice and accountability, and these will inevitably come. Some may feel that our government has not yet fulfilled all of its commitments. We do not claim that the task is complete, but fairness demands that we not overlook the scale of legacy we inherited paralysed institutions, a public administration of diminished effectiveness, an economy stripped of the foundations of growth, and a state weakened by compounding crises and by decades of external interference. Even though we have not used the difficulty of our circumstances as a pretext to retreat from our commitments and we will not retreat. Lebanon has launched reforms on several fronts, namely revitalizing the public administration, strengthening the independence of the judiciary, modernizing the media law and abolishing the death penalty. It is also advancing towards the completion of financial reforms aimed at restoring order to the financial system and recovering depositors funds. These reforms should pave the way for an agreement with the IMF. Such an agreement is an indispensable tool for restoring international confidence in Lebanon, and a gateway to securing the financing needed from all our regional and international partners for economic recovery and reconstruction. Our aim in pursuing reform is not to ask our people to renew their trust in the state. Rather, through reform, we seek to rebuild a state worthy of its people's trust.
The development of our countries and the stability and prosperity of our region. Mr. president, in pursuit of a stronger and safer region, Guyana is honoured to be a founding member of the shield of the Americas, launched by President Trump in March 2026. Since the founding of this initiative, Guyana has worked closely with the United States and 13 other like minded nations that believe in building a Western Hemisphere that values freedom, peace, economic prosperity, and a shared responsibility and commitment to fighting transnational crime and criminal networks. It has.
This picture must be a shocking one for all of us. And what it tells us is clear. The United Nations, established 81 years ago to maintain international peace and security, is no longer able to fulfill this mission. Or more precisely, it has been rendered unable to do so. The UN continues to be weakened. Those in Palestine, in Lebanon, Sudan and in other crisis zones who have tied their hopes to the UN are deeply disappointed. But let me remind you that one day everyone will have to seek refuge in the collective conscience of humanity. Today we may feel safe, we may feel prosperous and at peace. Um. Today we may live in comfort far away from conflict zones and from crisis areas. But none of us knows what tomorrow will bring or what might happen to us. It is for this reason that I think that this year's UN General Assembly theme is particularly timely and pertinent, because it focuses on restoring trust in the international system. We support the sincere efforts of the Secretary General in this regard, including efforts around the UN 80 initiative. We expect this commitment to reform to continue in the same direction during the next Secretary General's term. Of course, I also want to clearly state the following here. We are truly committed to restoring confidence in the UN. The steps that must be taken are actually clear. Children in Gaza must be safe. When Palestinian children look up at the sky, they will see kites flying freely, not fighter jets, UAV or drones. Children in Lebanon will not wake up in the middle of the night to the sound of bombings. The labour of Asian workers will not be exploited by ruthless capitalists. Our African brothers and sisters will look to their future with as much confidence and hope as the citizens of prosperous countries. Now, only in this way can trust in the UN possibly be restored. We must acknowledge that a system in which the will of more than 190 countries is subject to the whim of just five countries, is not a fair system, and it is not capable of fully inspiring or establishing trust either. The Security Council must absolutely be reformed in accordance with the principle that the world is bigger than five. Dear friends, while we must keep pace with rapidly advancing technology, we also have the demanding but noble responsibility of building a more equitable international order. At this point, I want to share with you some basic principles. First and foremost, we are compelled to change the current mindset where international law is applied differently to the strong versus to the weak. Let us not forget that an international system where wrongdoers get away with it, and to make it worse, where impunity has become the norm. Such an international system, let's face it, is doomed to decay. Secondly, whenever international efforts fall short in resolving crises, we must harness regional ownership as an effective means of addressing those issues. As Turkey, whenever we have acted upon this principle, as in the case of the Black Sea Grain Corridor, we have achieved results and we have contributed to both regional and to global security. Third. We must absolutely re-establish an approach that places cooperation and open diplomacy at the core, at the center of relations among states. History has shown us time and again, through bitter experiences, that there is no winner in a political approach which is built on mistrust.
Mr. President, the theme of this session strikes at the core of our contemporary global crisis. Trust has eroded, yet structural transformation is urgently upon us. In a world increasingly fractured by geopolitical rivalry, the answer cannot be a retreat into isolationism. It must be a revitalised commitment to multilateralism. The United Nations must prove that dialogue can bridge division, that international law must prevail over force, and that collective action achieves what unilateralism never can. Seychelles approaches the world guided by an enduring fundamental principle we are a friend to all and an enemy to none. Our commitment to non-alignment is not a passive indifference. It is an active choice for peace. It is the conviction that principled diplomacy, mutual respect, and international law are the true foundations of global stability. Small states like ours do not seek strategic competition. We seek shared solutions. This requires a multilateral system that is principled yet practical, ambitious yet accountable and representative yet effective.
We are the largest coffee exporter in Central America and the fifth largest globally. Fifty percent—57%— of the coffee which Honduras exports is coffee recognized to be of extremely high quality, as well as accredited and specialized coffee. That is a reflection of the quality of our production and its standard of excellence. Honduras sees its agriculture, fisheries, and poultry industries as fundamental pillars for economic development, as well as for food security and job creation. Our commitment is to breathe momentum into these sectors sustainably. We want to empower our producers and bring high-quality Honduran products to international markets. Our land harbors mineral wealth with vast potential that has yet to be harnessed. We have the opportunity to develop a modern, responsible, and sustainable mining industry so that we can create employment and transform these resources into development and prosperity for our people.
And as we mark 80 years of membership to the United Nations. When Thailand joined this organization, the postwar international order was still taking shape. Today, it is being reshaped once again. Many of its old certainties are giving way. But what comes next is not yet settled. We are seeing many transformations taking place. Power is becoming more fragmented. Strategic competition is becoming sharper and international rules are under strain. At the same time, technology is transforming our societies. While climate change is testing our resilience, our institutions, however, are struggling to keep pace. Confidence in our ability to work together is weakening, and that is why this year's theme speaks directly to the task before us. Managing the transformation requires trust. Trust between countries, trust in the rules we share, and trust that our institutions can deliver. But trust cannot be taken for granted. It must be earned. Trust weakens when principles are applied selectively. When. When countries have little say in decisions that shape the future and when promises made in this assembly fail to improve lives beyond it. Rebuilding trust means addressing each of these concerns. We must uphold common principles and consistently, we must give countries a genuine stake in the international system, including a stronger voice for the global South. And we must take shared responsibility for turning commitments into results. Mr. president, the UN's purposes remain as relevant as ever to promote peace and security, human rights and dignity, sustainable development and cooperation among sovereign equals. But we cannot build lasting peace if security is assured for some and denied to others. Universal human rights lose their meaning when applied selectively. Development loses its purpose when prosperity remains in the hands of a few. For Thailand, peace means more than the absence of war. It requires dialogue to settle differences and respect for international law, so that all countries can live with security and dignity. The situation in Palestine continues to demand our attention. It reminds us that the principles we uphold must protect people when they need them the most. That is why humans must be. Human rights must be universal in practice. As a member of Human Rights Council, Thailand believes that our work must reach beyond resolutions and make a real difference in people's lives. Development must be people centred and sustainable. Growth must improve people's lives. Today, without closing off the opportunities of tomorrow. Consistent application of principles gives countries the confidence that they will be treated fairly. But that confidence must also extend to how decisions are made. Countries need to know that their voices count. Mr. president, the UN's membership has become nearly universal, but representation has not evolved at the same pace, and international system cannot command trust. If large parts of its membership feel they have too little to say in shaping it. Rebuilding trust requires shared ownership. The United Nations must reflect today's world, not the distribution of power. 80 years ago. And that is why Thailand supports Security Council reform that gives developing countries and underrepresented regions, particularly in the global south, a greater role in decision making. Asia, too, must be better represented. For all its economic weight, Asia must be able to help shape global decisions and carry more responsibility for the outcomes And representation must also mean that women have a meaningful voice in the decisions that shape our common future. They are already at the forefront of this organisation's work, from development to peacekeeping. As the UN considers its next secretary general, maybe it is time that this representation be reflected at the highest level. Representation and effectiveness must advance together. We commend Mr. Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his commitment to reform, including through the UN aid initiative. We stand ready to work with his successor to carry this work forward. Mr. president, having a stronger voice in global institutions means countries working together on the problems closest to them.
As we forge ahead with the SDGs, reform of the United International Financial Architecture is critical to a more equitable and inclusive global economic order. Such reforms should create greater policy space and access to financing to enable countries to expand their economies through value addition to their natural resources, including critical minerals, for our people to have full benefit of our resources. This will accelerate sustainable development, address inequality, create jobs for our youth, and lift our population out of poverty. In this context, we welcome the creation of the African Credit Rating Agency to be launched in Mauritius in October this year. This development is a building block of Africa taking ownership of her development and prosperity agenda. It demonstrates progress in Africa's ambitions to drive impetus for the reform of the international financial architecture in order to ensure a level playing field. Middle-income countries continue to face high borrowing costs, limited fiscal space, debt vulnerabilities, climate-related shocks, and persistent inequality. Namibia reaffirms this severe commitment as an important step towards reforming the international financial architecture and strengthening the global partnership for sustainable development.
Trust is an intangible asset, perhaps the most valuable of all. It takes great effort to build, yet very little to destroy. When international commitments are relativized, when the charter of the UN ceases to serve as the shared framework guiding the actions of states, when international humanitarian law is violated with a frequency that risks normalizing horror, what is weakened is not only peace itself, but also confidence in the international order and in all the organizations that represent and promote it. From this Assembly, Andorra wishes to reiterate a conviction it has upheld for more than three decades: for small states, multilateralism is not a strategic option, but a guarantee that all countries, regardless of their size, can make their voices heard on an equal legal footing. It is the clearest expression of the principle that the force of law must always prevail over the law of force. It is precisely for this reason that we continue to firmly defend the need to uphold the charter of the UN and international law. We also support, more than ever, the efforts of the International Criminal Court to identify those responsible for the gravest crimes, and we condemn any act of aggression—once again, and unambiguously— that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a state. In this sense, we continue to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of the consequences of a war that has lasted for far too long already, and we reiterate our support for efforts aimed at achieving a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace in accordance with the principles of the charter of the UN and international law.
The United Nations was born in 1945 from humanity's determination that the tragedies of war should never again define our common destiny. Eight decades later, the world continues to look to this organization as a century where nations can assemble, where differences can be resolved through dialogue, and where hope can be transformed into tangible action. Yet, at a time when conflicts persist, inequalities deepen, climate-related disasters intensify, and countless communities continue to struggle against poverty and insecurity, the international community must renew its commitment to global cooperation. To ordinary people across the globe, this Assembly must not be perceived merely as a forum where the world discusses its problems, but as an organization that actively solves them.
All those who provide them with support, financing or arms must be held accountable. Mr. president, there can be no way to sustain peace and development without effectively addressing the challenge of climate change, which is no longer a future threat. It is already affecting water and food security, as well as the stability of territories, economies and the living conditions of populations. Despite its limited contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, Morocco remains among the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Accordingly, in line with the vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him The Kingdom has adopted a proactive policy based on the continued construction of dams, the interconnection of water basins, seawater desalination, the reuse of treated wastewater and the rationalization of water resource management, particularly in the agricultural sector. This national effort forms part of an international commitment to climate action. On that basis, the Kingdom has set for the period 2026 2035, a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by up to 53% by 2035, while placing adaptation and the strengthening of territorial resilience at the top of its priorities. This effort has extended to the African continent, which suffers from the devastating effects of climate change. The Royal Initiative to establish three African climate commissions for the Congo Basin the Sahel region and the African island states, has generated promising momentum to strengthen African climate action and coordination among the states of the continent in addressing these challenges. However, addressing climate change cannot rely on national efforts alone. It requires the provision of affordable and accessible financing, technology transfer and genuine international solidarity, enabling developing countries to fulfill their responsibilities towards present and future generations alike. Mr. president, Madam President, the Palestinian question remains a constant priority in the foreign policy of the Kingdom of Morocco, based on its belief in the justice of this, that this is a just cause and its central to achieving peace and stability in the Middle East region.
Today, I stand here to make clear the Republic of Korea's bold resolve to lead the effort to restore the spirit of the United Nations and reconnect the world as a nation that has risen through the solidarity of the international community. The worldwide popularity of K-culture serves as an example, demonstrating that universal empathy is possible, showcasing the potential of global connection. The stories and content that grew out of Korea's unique experience have become a language of solidarity that crosses borders. Just as culture has connected people across borders, so too can nations reunite in the face of common problems. The Republic of Korea will build on the power of empathy and solidarity that culture has brought to light. We will harness that power to address the common challenges facing all of humanity. To that end, allow me to set out the three visions of the K-Initiative toward fulfilling this commitment.
Small states must never become collateral damage in the competition among larger powers. The security of a small nation is no less important than the security of a large one. The credibility of multilateralism depends on fairness, but it also depends on delivery. The true test of multilateralism is not whether we can agree in this room. It is whether our agreements can transform lives outside of this room. That is why I welcome the central challenge of this 81st General Assembly, restoring trust. Excellencies. The world does not need another generation of promises that remain unfulfilled. It needs delivery. It needs institutions that respond faster. It needs financing that reaches vulnerable countries more efficiently. It needs partnerships that produce measurable results. And it needs a multilateral system that people can believe in again. For Dominica, restoring trust means closing the gap between international commitments and the lived experience of our people. It means ensuring that when the world says it supports climate resilience, resources actually reach the communities that need them. It means ensuring that when we call for sustainable development, financing mechanisms do not make sustainability harder to achieve. And it means recognizing that the challenges confronting small island states are not marginal issues. They are an early warning of the challenges that the wider world will increasingly face. The United Nations must remain a place where every country, large or small, can believe that its voice matters.
Irregular migration is increasingly becoming a security issue, and it requires a coordinated international response. Ladies and gentlemen, if we want a United Nations that is more effective in terms of decision-making, more efficient in managing available resources, and up to date on technological developments, we adopt as its shared task to readjust the structure of the United Nations around the three pillars, and well as reassess how the United Nations operates. Estonia supports a system-wide reform of the UN 80 and humanitarian reset, which are both well underway and have already delivered some encouraging results. Now it's time to build on this momentum and to move decisively forward with reforms. We need ambition. For example, the humanitarian sector, alongside stronger data harmonization, could move towards a shared interoperability model that allows many systems to coexist while quickly and safely exchanging data. Estonian humanitarian organizations are already testing these solutions, from Palestine to Sudan. We also need determination. Above all, we need action. Action that strengthens the UN as the main actor responsible for multilateral cooperation and prepares it for future challenges. This year, the United Nations is set to make arguably one of its most consequent decisions: the selection and appointment of its next Secretary-General. As an active member of the Accountability, Coherence, and Transparency Group, Estonia has stood for a transparent, fair, and inclusive process. At this challenging time for the organization, we need a strong and principled leader with an impeccable track record in championing and upholding international law, human rights, and the principles of the Charter. Estonia also feels that after 81 years, it is time for the organization to be led by a woman. Allow me to take this opportunity to commend and express our gratitude to our current Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, for his steadfast commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, including his support for a just and lasting peace in Ukraine. With regard to the Security Council, it must be said that its inability to take timely and decisive decisions on some of the worst crises we are seeing today risks rendering the United Nations irrelevant. We have not seen unified and decisive council action on Ukraine, Sudan, or in Myanmar. The use of the veto and the threat of its use continue to loom over the Council and paralyze any of its attempts to take action. Estonia has strongly advocated for permanent members to refrain from vetoing resolutions aimed at ending mass atrocities, in line with the France, Mexico proposal, and the ACT Code of Conduct. It is also important to call on the Security Council members to start fully implementing Article 27(3) of the Charter once again, and to abstain in cases where members of the Council are a party to a dispute. The General Assembly resolution" United for Peace" gives the most representative and democratic body of the United Nations, a toolbox to act on matters related to international peace and security when the Council is unable to deliver. In concert, we must reinforce the role of the General Assembly when it comes to peace and security, and this will help us in collectively finding solutions where the Council is powerless. Ladies and gentlemen, Estonia firmly believes that respect of human rights is a prerequisite for peace, security, and prosperity. We stand firmly behind the United Nations human rights system and will continue to defend and strengthen it.
Economic uncertainty, disrupted supply chains, and rapid technological technological change, and an information environment corroded by disinformation. These crises do not remain where they begin. Conflict arises or conflict raises the cost of the cost of fuel and food far beyond its borders. Carbon emitted from the Pacific takes our shorelines, our homes and our sacred places. For small island developing states, decisions are no longer insulated from the global shocks. Too often, it magnifies their cost. Trust, therefore, is not restored by declarations alone. It is restored when commitments are kept and when international law is applied consistently, and when institutions listen, and when people can see and feel the results of multilateral action in their daily lives. Mr. President, Fiji reaffirms an enduring principle. The international law is not optional and peace cannot be secured by power alone. For small states, the principles of the charter sovereign equality, territorial integrity and peaceful settlement of disputes are the safeguards against the world in which the size of military strength decides whose rights matters. When the world are small states to choose between competing power blocs, Fiji chooses principles and we choose the charter.
This is best told in numbers. In 2025, the world witnessed more armed conflicts than in any year since 1946: 65 active conflicts, eight of which between the States. More than 240,000 lives lost to organized violence, the deadliest all in three decades. About 120 million people driven from their homes, roughly 1 in 70. So are we leaving a better world to the generations after us, or have we eroded trust in our collective capacity to evade conflicts and confront the challenges that face the world today? Trust is not built through declarations. Trust is built when commitments are honored, when rules are applied consistently, and when institutions act with responsibility, and when people can see that international cooperation produces tangible results in their lives.
For over five decades, our people have dreamed of choosing their leaders through their vote. The last democratic election that took place in Somalia, held in 1969. Today, we are determined to change that history through constitutional reform. We are laying the foundations of universal suffrage accountable institutions and a multi-party political system that allows every Somali citizen have a voice. We engaged all Somali political leaders, federal member states, civil society, women groups and youth groups, and the diaspora to take part constructively in the hopeful political transformation. This is the first time that a real political reform is taking place in Somalia. In the more than six decades that we were independent. Our aim is to become an effective democracy, where differences are resolved through dialogue, law and elections, not violence. We invite the United Nations and our international partners to support this transition by helping to strengthen democratic institutions, but always respecting our ownership of the Somali democracy. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, this new progressive chapter where political power is determined by citizens, guided by constitutional law and safeguarded by the rule of law. That is how we are building a durable Somali state Our ours is a democracy where every citizen has a voice, where every vote has a value, and where every government is accountable. That is our commitment to our people and to our world.
Procedural · at 1 min · 2 mentions in this passage
In the name of God, the All-Powerful, Most Merciful. Distinguished President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, ladies and gentlemen. As President of the Republic of Burundi and the current Chairperson of the African Union, allow me to first, on behalf of the people of Burundi and of Africa, congratulate His Excellency Dr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, on his election, and wish him every success in the fulfillment of his mandate. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my warmest congratulations and express my deepest gratitude to His Excellency Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for the unwavering commitment and dedication he has demonstrated throughout his tenure in the service of peace, security, and sustainable development around the world. His good offices, exercised with wisdom, humility, and determination, have helped bridge the widest divergences of opinion and provided invaluable support to nations, particularly those in the Global South, in their quest for stability and prosperity. Burundi, which has always been able to count on the United Nations' generous support, wishes to commend his leadership and his unwavering commitment to the principles of multilateralism.
We wish them well, and they as they complete their tenure at the end of this year. Mr. president, fellow, few institutions embody the principle of sovereign equality as visibly as this assembly with the. Within these walls, differences in power, wealth and influence may shape the realities our nations confront, but they do not confer a greater claim to membership or participation. And perhaps more than anywhere else, this assembly reminds us of a simple truth. Our differences are real but so is our interdependence. This is why this organization was created with the understanding that disputes must be resolved through dialogue. Human dignity must be protected, and that nations must work together. If development, peace and human rights are to be sustained. In other words, that our common future requires common institutions. Eight decades later, we must ask ourselves whether we have remained faithful to that insight. And perhaps more importantly, do we still trust one another enough to act on it? Because today, Mr. President, trust is being tested. Geopolitical divisions are widening. Wars have become more protracted, with devastating humanitarian consequences. Respect for the United Nations Charter and international law is under visible strain, with developing countries facing intensifying debt burden. Climate vulnerabilities, huge gaps between commitments made and implementation, and feeling of marginalization and inadequate representation in the global system. Therefore, the task before us is building stronger, better equipped, representative responsive and effective multilateral system and global financial architecture that delivers for all nations and regions. Mr. president, the governments own experience within the. This organization gives us grounds for optimism. We have seen within this very institution that multilateralism can still deliver. During the 80th session of the General Assembly the government had the honor of chairing the second Committee at a time of profound disagreement over some of the most consequential economic and development issues before us. That experience reminded us that multilateralism does not require unanimity on every issue. It requires the willingness to remain at the table to listen, negotiate, and courage to make compromises. Our experience demonstrates that in this period of deep disagreement, progress remains possible.
Mr. president, Mr. Secretary General, Your Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, let me congratulate you, Mr. President on your election to preside over the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly You assume this solemn stewardship at the time of intense geopolitical fragmentation, deepening inequality, and eroded trust in our multilateral system? Ghana is confident that your proven commitment to inclusive, consultative and principled dialogue will guide this assembly well, and you have our full support. I also wish to commend outgoing UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his dedicated service to our world body over the last ten years. Mr. president, Ghana's national anthem contains a profound petition. It asks God to make us bold to defend forever the cause of freedom and of rights.
True leadership requires both. Prudence, in this case, means not only knowing what we want; it also is about, um, pursue of goal while calling aggression by its name, and also condemning those who disrupt the world order without turning a blind eye when they violate the rules. Ladies and gentlemen, for many years, representatives of my country have been trying, in this chamber and in the Security Council, to point out that a situation in which a permanent member of the council, Russia, attempts unsuccessfully, but with ruthless persistence, to conquer a neighboring state and destabilize the entire region is a violation of the principles we all uphold as signatories to the Charter of the United Nations. Russia is destabilizing the situation in Europe through open aggression, hybrid operations, acts of subversion and sabotage, and by ignoring successive resolutions of this Assembly. It displays the same imperial arrogance that, in the past, led to unimaginable suffering and the tragedies of two world wars. Contempt for international law must not become the norm. It is not too late to restore the primacy of international law and strengthen the foundations of a system in which principles matter, and in which the international community, acting jointly and in solidarity, opposes aggression, which is prohibited by the Charter of the United Nations. Ladies and gentlemen, the Russian Federation, guided by an imperial and neo-colonial vision of the world, is attempting to impose its will on others. In doing so, it is effectively challenging the right of every nation to determine its own destiny. Neo-imperial and neo-colonial policies are, in essence, an attempt to return to a world in which the borders, security, and future of states and nations would be decided not by the states and nations themselves, but by other states that consider themselves stronger and predestined to dominate. And there might would replace law. It is an attempt to return to the concert of powers. This cannot be accepted. It is the force of law that should decide, not the law of force. Poland is particularly aware of the consequences of Russian colonialism and imperialism. History has taught us that freedom and sovereignty cannot defend themselves. That is why we are determined to counter the threats that the Kremlin's aggressive policies are posing to us, with increasing audacity. As a representative of a country neighboring Russia, I want to make it clear: we are not the ones seeking confrontation. We are strengthening our alliances, developing our military, and modernizing its equipment, not to wage war, but to prevent it. Our goal is deterrence and defense, the defense of two values that also form the foundation of the United Nations Charter: freedom and sovereignty. We continue to view the North Atlantic Alliance as the guarantor of European security. NATO remains united in the overarching goal of defending our community on both sides of the Atlantic, in Europe and America, on its eastern flank and along its northern border. We therefore welcome with satisfaction the strengthening of security in the Arctic region, which is now becoming a reality thanks to the agreement signed yesterday between our allies. Ladies and gentlemen, we must, however, make it clear: modern security threats are not limited to classical military actions. Russia is carrying out actions aimed at undermining the foundations of international stability, striking at global food security through attacks on ports and ships transporting grain, as well as by deliberately provoking crises that affect millions of people outside of Europe. At the same time, a large-scale hybrid war is being waged, involving sabotage, cyber attacks, and destabilization operations on an unprecedented scale, including an artificially induced migration crisis. These are planned, coordinated, and consistently executed actions. Their goal is to weaken states, undermine public trust, and shatter the unity of the international community. We are not dealing with isolated incidents, but with a sustained, well-thought-out strategy. And that is precisely why the response to these actions cannot be ad hoc or half-hearted. It must be firm, consistent, and it must also be united. For if aggression, whether military or hybrid in nature, is not met with an adequate response, it becomes an invitation to repeat it. Ladies and gentlemen, even if today we have reservations about the effectiveness of the Security Council, we respect the achievements of the United Nations in maintaining and building peace in many parts of the world. The role of UN peacekeeping operations in preventing the resurgence of conflicts is undeniable. Poland advocates for stable funding of peacekeeping missions and for granting them more transparent mandates that also take into account tasks related to the protection of the population and support for the reconstruction of state institutions. Poland also fulfills its commitments to global security through its participation in UN peacekeeping operations as well. Polish blue-helmet soldiers are currently serving in Lebanon, carrying out their duties with dignity despite the difficult security situation throughout the region. We will support efforts to de-escalate conflicts, protect civilians, and uphold international humanitarian law, and work toward the implementation of a two-state solution, ensuring the peaceful coexistence of Israel and Palestine. Ladies and gentlemen, this is precisely why the response to contemporary threats cannot be limited solely to reacting to crises. It must be based on clear principles and reliable partnerships.
Our military is the most powerful on earth. Our technology is second to none and we are leading in virtually everything. Our energy is fueling the planet. America is rising. Our nation is growing. Our power is expanding. Our country is doing better than ever before, and our future is very, very bright. Since I took office, we have created more than 1 million new private sector jobs, and more Americans are working today by far than ever before. Last week, it was announced that the poverty rate has reached its lowest level in American history. We lifted 1.5 million Americans out of poverty last year alone. Another record, the African American and Hispanic American poverty rates are at all time lows. Real household incomes for Americans have soared to the highest level in history, 87,000 on average, surpassing the prior record that I set in my first term. From day one, my administration has worked to remove every single unnecessary regulation and obstacle to doing business in America. We passed the largest tax cuts in American history, and as a result, more money is being invested in the United States right now than has ever been invested in any nation, anywhere in the world. U.S. stock markets have set all time records. And that's just in the last 12 months. We've secured commitments for $21 trillion in new investments from all over the planet, compared to less than $1 trillion in four years in the previous administration. Two years ago, our country was dead, and now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world. Before I took office, we had the worst and most dangerous border on earth. And now we have the most secure border in American history. Nobody comes in unless they're invited. Unless they have permission. In the past 16 months, zero illegal aliens have been admitted to the United States. And that's done by some very sophisticated people. It's not done by the Trump administration. Zero. As a result, last year we achieved the largest drop in violent crime ever recorded. The murder rate has plummeted to its lowest level in 125 years. Since the year 1900, I sent our crime busters into Memphis, Tennessee, and New Orleans, Louisiana, and crime in each place went down over 80% and will go down still further. More importantly, when I arrived on January 20th of last year in Washington, D.C., it was riddled with crime. And now crime is down 87% and we're going for 100. Tourism is, if you take a look and I guess a lot of you have been there. Tourism is thriving. Restaurants are bustling, and people are proud of our nation's capital. They're proud like never before. We've invested more money in the United States military in the past 12 months than ever before And this term, it will be $1.5 trillion. We inherited a dark Age of America from the previous administration, and we turned it into the golden age of America. The entire world is being lifted by the wealth, strength, spirit, and momentum of a newly energized and a very powerful United States of America. And just as we moved quickly to address problems we inherited at home, we have acted with decisiveness and speed to reshape the world stage and solve problems that have plagued us for far too long. Every leader in this room and your great leaders, many great leaders.
Your Excellency Dr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the 81st General Assembly; Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations; Excellencies, heads of delegations, ladies and gentlemen. Good evening. On behalf of the Government of Rwanda, allow me to begin by congratulating His Excellency Dr. Kahlul Rahman on his election as President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly. Rwanda also wishes to commend the Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, for the steady commitment with which he has led this organization through a period of extraordinary strain. We reiterate our full support as he carries through the remainder of his mandate. Last year, we gathered under the theme of "Better Together," marking 80 years since the charter was signed.
Mr. president, Mr. Secretary General, excellencies, distinguished delegates. On behalf of the government and the people of Liberia. I congratulate Your Excellency Khalilur Rahman on your election as president of the 81st session of the General Assembly, and I assure you of Liberia's full support. We also thank Our Excellency Annalena Baerbock for her leadership during the 80th 80th session. As Secretary General Antonio Guterres prepares to conclude his tenure, Liberia salutes his principled leadership and tireless commitment to reform.
The United Nations is a political masterpiece of humanity. It will be constantly evolving and will reflect the decision of its members. The results in maintaining peace and security will, to a large extent, depend on the decision by the members of the Security Council and particularly its permanent members. For the UN to achieve the goals we have set, we must. We must make it more agile and effective. To that end, we must at the outset honor our financial commitments. We must provide the UN with the appropriate resources so that peacekeeping missions in which Portugal is proud to participate can make a difference on the ground where they are deployed. We must strive to make the Security Council more representative, which requires permanent seats from Africa for Africa, Brazil and India, thereby reflecting the changing world.
Amílcar Cabral, one of the greatest figures of our history, left us a lesson that continues to resonate across generations: learn in life, learn from our people, learn from the books and learn from the experiences of others, learn always. Perhaps this is an ability that the world must rediscover: the ability to learn from history, to learn from one another, and to understand that there can be no lasting development without peace, just as there can be no lasting peace where poverty, exclusion, and lack of opportunity persist. In this spirit, Cabo Verde reaffirms its faith in the United Nations, in dialogue among nations, in cooperation among peoples, and in the primacy of law over the use of force. In the face of wars, inequalities, and crises confronting our world, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the Charter of the United Nations, to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states, to the protection of civilian populations, and to the peaceful resolution of conflicts.
We should keep development at the center of the international agenda and jointly forge a global development partnership based on unity and equality, and that is balanced and inclusive. It is important to give priority to key areas including poverty reduction, food security and energy transition. Step up resource input and increase support for countries in the global South. Developed countries should honor their commitment to development, financing and climate financing. The international community should also build consensus and pull strength to formulate the post 2030 global development agenda. Facing a new scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, especially the dynamic development of artificial intelligence. We should take a people centered approach and develop AI for the positive and for good, narrow the digital divide and promote development that is universally beneficial. Both history and reality prove that countries can hardly achieve development without an open and cooperative international environment.
As part of fulfilling our commitment to enhance resilience to climate shock, we were able to produce an improved climate-resilient wheat variety seed. In a very short period, we have transitioned from a wheat importer to one of the largest wheat producers in Africa. At a time where food provision has become a political battleground and the global food supply hangs precariously in the balance, we send a clear message that Africa can feed itself. Since the launch of the Green Legacy Initiative in 2019, we were able to plant 56 billion trees, which is not only expanding our forest coverage but significantly restoring our ecosystem.
Madam President. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, 35 years ago, Lithuania returned to its rightful place in the global community of sovereign states. By joining the United Nations, we reaffirmed our strong commitment to the global order based on international law, territorial integrity, state sovereignty, and human dignity. It was a glorious moment for a nation well taught by historical experience, that freedom and independence cannot be taken for granted. They must be constantly and consistently defended. Today I am standing here to speak for the same dream that inspired Lithuania in 1991. The vision of the more just, secure and peaceful world. Today I am backing up the principles of the United Nations, which sadly are being put under increasing pressure. Recent years have brought us numerous high intensity and far reaching conflicts that dominate the global affairs, on a scale not seen in decades.
Mr. president of the General Assembly, your Majesties, Your Highnesses. The United Nations Secretary General, your excellencies, heads of State and government, your excellencies, heads of delegations, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. Peace be upon you. At the outset, I would like to. On behalf of the Comorian delegation, I wish to express our sincere gratitude to the authorities of the United States. We thank them for the hospitality and arrangements extended to us since our arrival in New York. For this 81st session of our Assembly. Allow me to also congratulate His Excellency Doctor Khalilur Rahman on his election as president of the session, and to wish him every success in his noble mission. I would also like to pay a well-deserved tribute to Her Excellency, Miss Annalena Baerbock, for her work and her wisdom in guiding the previous session. I would also like to pay tribute to the leadership of His Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary general of the United Nations, and commend his commitment to peace and development at a time when the international order is under severe strain.
Where writing and law were born. And one of the founding members of the United Nations. I stand here to renew my country's commitment to the United Nations Charter and principles, and to present Iraq's vision for its future, its region, and the world at this critical juncture. Iraq, perhaps more than others. Has experienced wars and the damage they cause. We have lived through the conditions they create, along with the siege and terrorism imposed on us. Our people have paid a hefty price and lost the lives of their children, their resources and their development opportunities. Despite these difficulties that have made our country over several decades an arena of war and conflict. Today we are confidently presenting our vision for the future. Iraq aspires to exercise its influence and have an impact as an effective economic power in the region. And as a bridge for dialogue and cooperation among the peoples of the region.
Nigeria stands ready to assume greater responsibility on the strength of obligations honoured and sacrifices made over decades in the service of peace from Liberia and Sierra Leone to Darfur, Mali and The Gambia. We have committed personnel resources when international solidarity required action through a course the African Union and our Gulf of Guinea partnerships we continue to advance mediation, democratic governance, counter-terrorism and maritime security. Mr. president, our foreign policy rests on the same conviction that guides our economic reforms through sound macroeconomic management, stronger institutions, private sector development and strategic public investment. We seek to give practical meaning to our sustainable development commitments.
Your excellencies, some things demand our immediate attention, others demand sustained attention. Injustice demands both. Jordan understands this all too well. We know what it means to live in a region where one crisis arrives before the last one has receded, and we know that we cannot choose between responding to the emergency before us and building the future beyond it. So we're doing both. We are strengthening connections from the Gulf to the Mediterranean as a hub for trade, industry and technology while responding to humanitarian crises. We are confronting terrorism in the region and beyond, while developing our own defenses and remaining a frontline against threats like narcotics. We are protecting Christianity in its communities and heritage, in its native and historic land, while promoting the true image of Islam against the voices of hate. And through it all, we will not abandon our commitment to a just peace. We will continue to support Palestinian resilience, we will continue supporting UNRWA, and we will continue to uphold the Hashemite Custodianship and historic and legal status quo at Muslim and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem. Most importantly, Jordan is striving to build a different model principled, open and steady at a time when certainty is rare and politics can shift by the day. A country the world can count on, true to our principles, true to our word, ready to talk to everyone and ready to work with anyone seeking peace. However, our bias towards diplomacy will never supersede our commitment to human values and should not be taken for granted or mistaken for weakness. My friends, whether in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, or anywhere people live with war, displacement and fear. Whether crisis began weeks ago or has endured for decades, our principles cannot change with the world's attention. Military force cannot deliver meaningful solutions. It cannot feed the hungry, return the displaced, or build peace, nor can it repair our planet, manage mass migration, or guide technological progress.
Mr. president, excellencies, I am appearing addressing this assembly representing the first female president of my country, doctor Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo whose government places people at the heart of the actions of the state and works on a daily basis to achieve freedom, democracy, social justice and substantive equality. Mexico conducts its public life according to a conviction that I'm bringing to you today, from this rostrum, to make shared prosperity a reality for all people. This conviction coincides with the commitments that we all made in the United Nations Charter, whose first article establishes as goals to maintain international peace and security, to engage in friendly relations between nations, and to cooperate to resolve economic, social and cultural problems and humanitarian problems. Promoting respect for human rights without any type of distinction. Mexico, a culture with more than 3000 years of history, is experiencing a profound transformation that is a continuation of the journey that, uh, was started with the independence movement, the reform, and then the revolution the three defining moments when my country expanded the rights of its people. My country today aspires to achieve a prosperous society with rights and a decent life for all. This is a transformation with clear goals to bring about shared well-being, to strengthen our competitivity, to develop our own capacities, and to determine our own destiny. It's for this reason that my country has come to share the experience of a nation that decided to show, through concrete actions, that it is possible to improve the quality of life of our people by expanding their rights and their capacity to exercise these rights. Please allow me to underscore some of the progress made. The first is the reduction of poverty. Between 2018 and 2024, more than 13 million people were lifted out of poverty in Mexico, the most significant reduction in the history of our country. It's also important to underscore that in 2025, we had the lowest in white poverty rate in our history. This effort continues with a national social policy. In 2026, the well-being programs of our countries reached 42.8 million people. In addition to this, we have sustained investment in infrastructure, healthcare, trains, highways, schools and water infrastructure. Looking towards 2030, the investment in infrastructure for development with Well-Being plan plans to make investments in energy, transport, water, health, education and emerging technology. The second concrete action is security that the government of President Sheinbaum understands from a comprehensive perspective, addressing the causes that push youth towards crime and also zero impunity. And the results speak for themselves. In just 22 months, the 22 months to July 2026, intentional homicides declined by around 51%. This is the result of a national security strategy that is being strengthened thanks to international cooperation on shared challenges. And that, respectfully, um, I'd like to respectfully recall, is grounded in four principles one respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity. Two, shared but differentiated responsibility, three mutual respect and trust, and four, cooperation without subordination. This milestone was not achieved through war, nor by renouncing human rights or through reliance on force as the sole response. Mexico combines education and employment for youth with intelligence investigation, strengthening institutions and boosting the presence of the state where before it was absent. Today we can say proudly that our progress in security really make Mexico stand out on the international stage. That's why we wish to, um, put forward a truth to this assembly, um, a truth that is valid for all peoples, that peace cannot be decreed or imposed. It's built with social justice. The third action is focused on employment. Since 2018, the minimum wage has increased in real terms by 154% And today we have the highest purchasing power in more than four decades. And we achieved this with dialogue between the government workers and employers. With inflation under control and one of the lowest unemployment rates of any OECD economy. We've demonstrated in practice something that was denied for decades in theory, and that is that, um, paying workers better does not make economies poorer. It actually strengthens them. The fourth, fourth action that we've engaged in has transformed the history of our country. For the first time in two centuries of independent life, Mexico is being governed by a woman. And this did not happen alone. Um, and she's not governing alone either. She, uh, has a cabinet with gender parity, a Congress with gender parity, and a reform that made substantive equality a constitutional mandate.
And if there is one word that sums up much of our vocation as a country, that word would be peace. We do not view peace simply as an absence of war. We understand it as something that has to be constantly built. The possibility for people to live, to work, to educate their children, pursue their aspirations, and to look to the future without fear. Uruguay. With its virtues, but also, like every country with its darker times, has been a country that has sought to resolve its differences through institutions, through dialogue and through the quest for agreement. In this assembly, we reaffirm our enduring willingness to contribute to peacekeeping missions with a deep sense of responsibility and solidarity. Uruguayan men and women can bear witness to the value of this instrument in easing suffering and guaranteeing respect for the human lives of the most defenseless populations. You can continue to count on Uruguay here. We are not a country given to grand gestures We are a country of deeply held beliefs. And one of these beliefs is that peace building is never finished. We can't take it for granted. Every generation has the responsibility to build it anew They can't be peaceful some and another peace for others. No suffering matters more because it happens closer to home, and no lives are worth less because they were born in another country. When people suffer, humanity as a whole bears a responsibility. When a people is displaced, when a family loses its home, when young people can see no way out and their mental health is under threat. When a child grows up under the sound of gunfire, when millions of people live in poverty or without any opportunities, we can't stand indifferent to that, nor can we stand indifferent to the pain caused by a state of endless war. The fear and pain generated by organized crime, or the constant threat of terrorism, the repression born out of tyranny, or the suffering triggered by a rigid economic blockade such as that endured by the Cuban people. We don't believe that taking one side or another in a war, confrontation or dispute necessarily contributes to resolving it. Indeed, very often it only serves to further the divisions. We have a different commitment, that is, to seek paths towards understanding, to open spaces for dialogue, and to help to ensure that conflicts find a peaceful resolution. This doesn't mean indifference. It doesn't mean downplaying suffering. It doesn't mean overlooking responsibilities. It means understanding that peace demands something more difficult than merely taking sides. It means that we need to work so that that confrontation can be brought to an end as soon as possible. And to do that, we also have to recover something that at times seems to have been lost in international debate. Humility.
The theme of this session, Restoring Trust, Managing transformation. A United Nations that delivers for all, reflects the core of our responsibilities towards the common goal of this organization that was established after the horrors of the 20th century. They decided to rely on the strength of law and not that of the might. They decided to choose dialogue instead of confrontation. Our responsibility today is to maintain the scores, and we have to counter the selectivity in applying international law, especially when there is a systematic avoidance of collective commitments. Some countries do not want to uphold the same rules that they call on others to uphold. This leads to weakened collective cooperation mechanisms. We no longer can prevent conflicts or settle them. This danger extends to institutions that might falter and fail. Multilateralism is not limited to the interests and sovereignty of states. It is not a a an example of weakness. It. Instead, it is a necessity to ensure human dignity, bring peace, and confront challenges. Defending the United Nations is a defense of the right of all peoples to determine their future and participate in decision making. Those decisions that define their destiny. We want a more just United Nations. A United Nations capable of confronting the current challenges. Challenges. After more than eight decades since the establishment of the UN, the Security Council reform has become a necessity to ensure. A fair representation of Africa, including permanent and non-permanent. Membership. While reviewing the financial architecture, this will ensure a participant cooperation on equal footing and open greater opportunities for development. The reform of this organization cannot be complete without promoting its ability to meet the promises of development. As 2030 approaches, we call for accelerating the implementation of the SDGs, and we support the UN 80 initiative as well as the pact of the future.
I come from a land in which history was carved into stone, and in which geographical challenges were transformed into opportunities for civilisations to meet. Centuries ago, the Incas built Capernaum, a majestic network of roads that was built to meet the peoples, to bring together diverse realities and to ensure that no corner of the empire was left isolated and forgotten. This same spirit, this spirit that seeks to bring together, is the spirit that brings us here today. I am appearing at the General Assembly of the United Nations today for the first time. Only 57 days ago, I had the honour of assuming the presidency of the Republic of Peru. Mine is a proud and resilient people and we are a founding member state of this organization. Peru comes to this assembly reaffirming its ironclad commitment to the United Nations Charter and its fundamental principles peace and security, development and human rights, the three pillars of the United Nations. I come from a country which is all too well aware of the high price of peace. We conquered terrorism, but regrettably, today, still, after 34 years, those who took up that mantle continue to be judged and tried, despite the fact that they have demonstrated that due process was violated. Peru, as other Latin American countries, has. Seen agendas imposed upon us that have divide us as a as a society, politics have been instrumentalized, democracy has been eroded, eroded, and the institution of the family has been weakened. An institution that is so crucial for the Peruvian people.
The question is whom it will obey, under what law, and in the service of what purpose? Albania has made its own modest choice. We choose acceleration, not surrender. We choose innovation, not abdication. We choose augmentation, not atrophy of human capacity. We choose freedom of speech. We know what it is to live without it. And precisely because we choose it, we refuse to confuse it with the unchecked freedom of machines, money, and foreign powers to reach everyone, everywhere, without disclosure. We choose the truth, not because truth is always easy or comfortable, but because without a shared commitment to reality, there cannot be a shared public life.
My dear colleagues, this evening I want to talk about the need for nations to work together on the new challenges that we face climate change, emerging technology and the breakdown of international rules. Eight decades ago, the citizens and leaders of our nations made a solemn promise to future generations. Having known the untold sorrow of two devastating global conflicts in their lifetimes, they vowed to work together to prevent another. The pioneers who built this institution from the ruins of war, proud Australians among them, were also coming to terms with two terrible truths the horrors of the Holocaust and the unprecedented horror of nuclear weapons. A depth of evil and a scale of destruction beyond imagining even a decade earlier. Yet rather than recoil from that reality, our leaders stood together to face it, learn from it, and most importantly, guard against its return. And instead of surrendering to fear or dealing in retribution, or abandoning their fate to a world governed by force alone, they came together to renew and affirm their faith in humanity, in the essential and equal dignity and worth of every individual, in the sovereignty of every nation and in the capacity and indeed the responsibility of all of us to give the Universal declaration of human rights, life and weight and real meaning by engaging in the dialogue that builds trust and deepens understanding and backing those words with actions. In this moment, we need to lean in and strengthen and modernise the fundamental parts of the UN system that help to build peace and promote economic development and sustainability, sovereignty, prosperity and peace are never guaranteed. They must be created, nurtured and protected by each generation, supporting the jobs, homes, schools and healthcare that represent the fullest expression of the UN's commitment to the economic and social advancement of all peoples. We know that the surest way to minimise the potential for conflict is to create the prosperity, opportunity and economic justice on which lasting peace depends. That means cooperating on the urgent challenges that confront each of our sovereign nations, and creating solutions that work for our citizens. This was the founding purpose of the United Nations. And for the leaders who have gathered here this week, this remains the test of our time. A test we can and we must pass. Whether it is climate change or artificial intelligence. There is always the temptation to say that our generation is being confronted by issues that our predecessors could not possibly have imagined while dealing with the world they would not recognise. But for all the transformation the past eight decades have brought, the fundamental, fundamental stakes haven't changed. And just as its values, our values, our ideals, our commitment to dialogue and cooperation proved equal to that task, then we can rise to meet these new challenges now. We can reaffirm our national sovereignty and our shared humanity. We can seize and share and shape the opportunities this moment holds in the interests of our citizens. But we can only do it together. From the very first days of this forum, Australia has always known that we understand that the UN mission cannot be entrusted solely to the great powers or the biggest countries, or even the loudest voices alone, nor can it be subcontracted to the world's richest companies, or dictated by the pace of technology. Then now and always, shaping a secure, peaceful and prosperous world is a task for all of us. And that world must be driven by the values and aspirations of all of us. We all have a part to play. And that is why Australia is seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2029 2030. The world faces tough times and Australia wants to respond to partner and to make a difference. Should our Security Council bid prove successful. Our purpose and approach will be consistent with how we have always conducted ourselves at the UN. We will listen with respect. We will partner as equals. And we will protect what matters most. Mr. president, a safer world is one governed by rules, not by power and force alone. It is a world in which all countries have the freedom to decide their own future. And all countries have their decisions. Listen to. As a member of the UN Security Council, Australia will safeguard the rules that protect us all by upholding international law, including the UN charter and the sovereignty of all states. We will amplify the voices of small states and middle powers to ensure a wider range of perspectives shape the council's decisions. We will work to prevent crisis, resolve resolve conflicts and protect civilians through diplomacy, peace building and practical action. Our objective will be to support a more effective, representative and responsive UN that is equipped to address the fast growing challenges of today. Listening, partnering. Protecting colleagues. The world is changing rapidly. New issues are becoming international issues demanding our full attention. Climate change, where the science foretold of the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events that we are now experiencing emerging technology, including artificial intelligence, which is evolving at a furious pace, and the breakdown of trust, civility and social cohesion, which is promoting conflict within and between countries. Clearly, the multilateral system we have all known and benefited from is under immense strain. To promote the peace, to create a world of human dignity, to do justice to the UN's mission, we must embrace change and we must embrace reform. Australia supports the rules and institutions that underpin open trade and connectivity. That order, based on agreed rules and institutions, faces massive disruption. This doesn't mean abandoning multilateralism, it means working to reform it.
Mr. President, Excellencies, as the UN Secretary-General reminded us a few years ago, the United Nations is a product of hope. Eighty-one years after its birth, that hope is being tested. Technology, including artificial intelligence, is advancing at rapid speed; climate change is reshaping our societies; the international landscape is becoming more complex, more contested, and more unpredictable. The international order is not simply changing; it is being tested in an unprecedented manner. But it is in such times of uncertainty that the foundational values of multilateralism must be protected: international law, the UN Charter, respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for human rights, the equality of states. All these are not principles of the past; they are principles that transcend time, the essential ingredient for the present and for the future. The challenge before us is therefore clear: as the world changes, our institutions must be able to respond to new realities and threats while guided by the painful lessons of history and the vision of the founding fathers of this organization. And this is the essence of the theme of the 81st General Assembly: restoring trust, managing transformation, a United Nation that delivers for all. Ladies and gentlemen, transformation is inevitable. What must remain constant is the UN Charter as our compass. It directs all of us, irrespective of power, size, and leverage. For small-sized countries, the principle of equality of states is fundamental, and it has formed the binding trust between us. We rely on an international system in which sovereignty and territorial integrity are respected. We expect international law, including the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to be applied consistently. We believe in the peaceful resolution of disputes, and we demand that the rights of every state be protected. These are the integral elements of our collective trust, and this is the code of conduct of Cyprus's diplomatic engagement. And in a rapidly changing world, small-sized states must seek synergies while continuing to pursue strategic autonomy. Preserving trust also requires institutions capable of responding to the world as it is today. The United Nations must therefore continue to evolve. The UNAIDT initiative is an important part of this effort. The Pact for the Future and the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals are also part of the effort to ensure that multilateral cooperation can respond to the needs of our time. This moment of reform also comes as the UN Secretary-General approaches the completion of a decade leading this organization. Cyprus wishes to acknowledge his leadership during a period of extraordinary global developments, his steadfast commitment to multilateralism, and his effort to strengthen and reform the UN. But reforming our structural setup is only part of the answer. What is also needed is a genuine willingness of member states to contribute and protect the multilateral system. After all, states bring different capabilities, experiences, and perspectives. Great powers have scale; smaller states must have persuasion. We cannot compel, but we can coalesce. We cannot dictate outcomes, but together we can help shape them. There is no doubt that the challenges of today require cooperation and partnerships based on the knowledge of regions and of the realities. And the Republic of Cyprus has consistently sought to do exactly that. And of course, it has built the capabilities for it. Our geographical position at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa places us close to some of the most complex dynamics of our world. At the same time, it gives us the opportunity to actively contribute to address them.
Say our name. Naoero. Mr. president, Naoero is an ocean state. We are not merely guardians of the ocean, but rightful participants in its future. For Naoero, the ocean represents both opportunity and responsibility. Never one without the other. Both are essential, or the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is left hollow. Today I focus on a part of it that belongs to no one, the deep seabed area beyond national jurisdiction. Mr. president, the convention established the International Seabed Authority and charged it with a clear legal obligation to put in place regulations and regulate activities in parallel with sponsoring states. Its role is not to determine whether deep seabed mining is, as a matter of public policy, a correct course of action. Naoero joined trusting in the commitment set out in the convention and the 1994 agreement. For 15 years, Naoero has invested critical resources in sponsoring the exploration of a portion of the deep seabed. Our sponsored entity, NORI or Nauru Ocean Resources, has contributed about one petabyte of data more than one third of all Clarion-Clipperton Zone data held in the authority's DeepData. We called on the authority to seek an advisory opinion on the responsibilities of sponsoring states, and we followed it. We established a national regulator with the powers and due diligence obligations that opinion requires. At every stage, our decisions have rested on the best available scientific evidence, on the convention and on that opinion. At every stage, we have called for the mining code to be finished, and when progress stalled, we looked to the 1994 agreement and invoked the two year rule. We were told then that we were rushing. That was five years ago, and today the rules remain unwritten. We are participating in the first contentious proceedings before the Seabed Disputes Chamber, because our obligations as a sponsoring state require legal clarity. For 15 years, we have done everything a member state can do, consistent with our obligations as a sponsoring state. And today we continue to wait. Mr. president, there is a general understanding within the authority's council that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and that the regulations will be adopted by consensus. Achieving that is a great challenge for an institution whose members remain deeply divided on whether deep seabed mining should proceed at all, a question the convention never asked the authority to decide. Naoero welcomes every effort to ensure that seabed mineral development proceeds responsibly, and I ask this Assembly to reckon with this. A principle declared in 1970 and a bargain struck in 1994, both in this hall still wait for the rules that would give them effect. When a multilateral process cannot deliver, the world does not stand still. Those with the means to act will not wait. And every year of delay makes that more likely not less. That is why the theme of this session matters. A multilateral system that cannot deliver for a state like mine does not deliver for all. That holds here, in this assembly and in any institution we build. Naoero therefore calls upon the authority to let the waiting end.
Now it's time for a woman to serve, a Latin American woman. Because, ladies and gentlemen, how can an organization that claims to speak on behalf of the whole of humanity never have had a woman leading the organizations? How can we represent all of the continents if, for 3 decades, we haven't let the third most populated continent have this role? The United Nations came to being with the promise that all human beings had their place in this house. Therefore, the time has come to fulfill the outstanding half. The time has come for a woman from Latin America to become United Nations Secretary-General. This is an historic debt that we must settle. And today, more than ever, when feminism is being attacked, when thousands of women are falling victim to machism, violence, and xenophobia, we must reaffirm this commitment. And I want it to be very clear: I'm not saying this because I think that women have anything to prove. I'm saying it because it is the world that needs to show itself that on the road to equality, there's no going back. In my country, ladies and gentlemen, in Spain, it was women who were the first to show us that security could not be achieved through force but through social progress. It was brave women like Clara Campoamor, the first to defend in Parliament the rejection of war as a way of interacting with the world, and opting instead for empathy and peace. That should always be what we do. If only more of the leaders that came up to this rostrum this week had even half the courage and lucidity of Clara Campoamor. Feminism, ladies and gentlemen, is one of the main forces of transformation and progress that the world has experienced in the last century. And it's time for this force to guide this institution in much more of a clear and robust way. And it's for these reasons, ladies and gentlemen, that I believe. I believe that in order to get off on the right footing in this new decisive step forward for the United Nations, the UN needs a female Latin American Secretary-General. And I believe, what's more, that in order for her not to be alone, she will also need the support of brave governments who are prepared to do things right, however high the price to pay may be. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the option and the way forward that Spain has chosen.
In Yemen, we're not confronting a purely local terrorist militia. Rather, we face an extension of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps with which uses. Which is also using terrorist groups to threaten international peace and security. The Houthi militias use of the safety of navigation as a tool for blackmail threaten not only Yemen. It is taking hostage the entire global economy. Recent years have clearly demonstrated a truth that the international community must not dismiss, namely, that ensuring security at sea begins with eliminating the source of the threat on land. Protecting ships is important, but it only addresses the consequences and does not remove the threat. Therefore, we warn the world do not be reassured by false promises from a terrorist militia that has repeatedly made endless commitments, just as it failed to honor them. Its abstention from targeting ships today does not mean at all. It will not do so tomorrow. It is a strategic mistake. It is a strategic mistake to assume that maritime security can be sustained through assurances that can be walked back. A lasting maritime security in the Red sea, Bab el Mandeb and the Gulf of Aden cannot be built, while a non-state armed militia remains on the shores. Nor is the threat confined to Yemen and the Red sea. International reports have exposed growing cooperation between the terrorist Houthi militias and terrorist organizations, including in the Horn of Africa, through networks linking militias, terrorist groups, smugglers and organized crime networks, thereby undermining states and threatening security and stability. Ladies and gentlemen We say with full confidence, and we firmly believe that restoring the Yemeni state and restoring the security of Bab el Mandeb are inseparable. They are not two separate issues, but one and the same. Supporting the Yemeni government and strengthening its economic, security and military capacities is an investment in international peace and security. Protecting this strategic waterway is a shared regional and international responsibility which Yemen cannot shoulder alone. It is the responsibility of every economy that depends on secure supply chains, energy security, and freedom of navigation. In this regard, we commend the initiative of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to establish a multinational maritime defense coalition. This initiative reflects a deep appreciation and understanding of collective responsibility to protect navigation, deter threats and combat smuggling. The path to a secure at sea requires a stable Yemen. There is no stability in Yemen without restoring the state, sustainable peace cannot be achieved while an armed militia remains above the law and outside state authority, restoring the Yemeni state is restoring. The Yemeni state is not just a national interest, it is a direct contribution to regional security and stability and to the protection of one of the world's most vital maritime corridors. Ladies and gentlemen our Yemeni people aspires to peace, but our people will not abandon their state. Our government is committed to peace, but it cannot accept that the armed coup becomes a fait accompli. There is no peace with arms outside state authority.
Mr. president, Your Excellencies, peace and development are inseparable, which compels us to consider strategies that can help accelerate the implementation of the 2030 agenda. The important decisions adopted under the Pact for the Future and the Seville Commitment can help advance development programmes in Africa. However, in order to achieve concrete results in these areas, it is essential to ensure affordable financing, debt relief, technology transfer, capacity building and a greater participation of international financial institutions. African countries spend far more resources on the exorbitant cost of debt servicing than they are able to invest in health, education, infrastructure development programmes. This situation obviously limits productive investment, deepens inequalities and economic disparities, and threatens economic and social stability. In view of this, it is imperative to correct these distortions and I therefore reiterate the call for the immediate reform of the international financial architecture in order to make it fairer, more equitable, democratic and geared towards the progress and wellbeing of humankind. These challenges are inherently complex, and are further exacerbated by climate change, which has a severe impact on Africa with severe and prolonged droughts, floods, desertification, food insecurity and population displacement. This situation clearly illustrates the need to establish predictable, affordable and additional climate financing without further aggravating the debt of developing countries.
Instead they are the identity of the Bahraini society and the foundation of our national unity. Thus, we have introduced the initiative adopted by the General Assembly, designating the 28th of January as the International Day of Peaceful Coexistence. His Majesty the King also issued the Kingdom of Bahrain Declaration on Religious Freedom and Freedom of Belief. The King Hamad Global Center for Coexistence and Tolerance was later established, and the King Hamad Award for Coexistence and Tolerance was launched. The same approach underpins our development journey. The Kingdom continues to advance its economic vision. 2030, pursue its commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and strengthen the status and advancement of Bahraini women. The Kingdom embraces the women, peace and security agenda and the youth peace and security agenda.
Mr. president since last February, the state of Kuwait, the countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have been subjected to illegal Iranian aggression involving ballistic, ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. All while we are not a party to the conflict in the region. These attacks are a flagrant violation of the international law, international humanitarian law and the UN charter. These brutal attacks have systematically and repeatedly targeted civilian objects and critical infrastructure, including Kuwait International Airport, power and water stations, oil facilities as well, revealing a hostile approach aimed at disrupting the foundations of life and critical infrastructure. These heinous attacks have claimed the lives of several martyrs and innocent civilians. They have also resulted in numerous injuries and have inflicted material and economic damage. And furthermore, to inflict harm on the economies of the region and the world, and to disrupt global trade and oil markets, Iran is obstructing maritime navigation and closing the Strait of Hormuz to use it as a bargaining chip in the war in violation of international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions. In this regard, the State of Kuwait expresses its deep appreciation to the brotherly and friendly nations who have stood by Kuwait and demonstrated solidarity. We also salute the countries that have sponsored Security Council Resolution 2017 and the other resolutions issued by the Human Rights Council and the International Maritime Organization, which have condemned the Iranian aggression as a threat to international peace and security. Demanding its cessation and affirming the inherent rights of states to self-defence, as per article 51 of the UN charter. They have also stressed the importance of guaranteeing freedom of navigation without restrictions or conditions and based on. Kuwait's belief that the security and stability of the Arabian Gulf region constitutes a fundamental pillar of regional and international security and stability, as demonstrated by the repercussions of the war and Iranian aggressions. We reiterate the support for all diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation and a peaceful resolution to the existing dispute, and we applaud the mediation efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan, while emphasizing the need to reach a sustainable regional understanding based on a firm commitment to the principles of good neighbourliness, respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs, as well as refraining from the use or threat of use of force. In addition to ceasing support for proxies and militias and addressing the security concerns of all countries in the region, including. The Iranian nuclear file, ballistic missiles and drones, while stressing the guarantee of freedom and safety of navigation and the right of passage through the Straits of Hormuz and Bab el Mandeb. In accordance with the international law and the 1982 UN convention on the law of the sea.
They are asking whether it works. Yes, there have been wars and conflicts that we could not prevent, and issues we could not resolve. The Palestinian issue continues unresolved for decades. Wars and conflict and their aftermath are ravaging Sudan, Gaza, Ukraine, Myanmar, and the Middle East. But even as those wars raged, the United Nations stayed and served. I’ve seen this in my own country, where the United Nations country team in Cox’s Bazar is striving to do more with less to support Rohingya refugees in the camps. Just recently, a representative from a war-torn nation said to me: “Your peacekeepers from Bangladesh were not just blue helmets. They built roads and communities. They fed children. They helped rebuild societies and put us on the road to proper governance.” In Iraq, the United Nations system helped nearly five million people return home. It rehabilitated hundreds of schools, electricity stations and water-treatment plants. And right now, in Haiti, the entire United Nations family is delivering amid immense security and governance challenges. These stories rarely make the headlines, but we should never lose sight of what is working. (BRIEF PAUSE) At the same time, let us not turn a blind eye to where we have fallen short, particularly in a world where challenges seem to multiply by the day. The war in Gaza has left over 70,000 people dead, including thousands of children. Humanitarian support has been a fraction of what is needed. The ongoing wars across the Middle East and Europe have consequences far beyond the frontlines. And the heartbreaking disaster in Nepal and China, was not just an isolated event, but yet another horrible climax to our collectively insufficient response to climate change. The circumstances and politics of these crises differ. But our commitments under the Charter do not. The principles of multilateralism, international law, the protection of civilians and humanitarian access cannot be applied selectively, not if we want the world to trust us.
Generations move on. But the institutions and powers created on the pretext of those alleged emergencies remain. And if for a moment we allow ourselves to believe that the lesson had been learned after so many failures, the arrival of artificial intelligence demonstrates quite something else. The printing press, the steam engine, electricity, the internet— every great technological revolution has been accompanied by fears about what it would destroy, particularly jobs. There is no doubt that this is one of the most effective ways of instilling fear in human beings, given the role of work as a means of subsistence. Take the Industrial Revolution as an example. When it began, the world was home to some 800 million human beings. If, in keeping with the Luddites and the perennial pessimists, employment had at best remained constant, then, given that the world's population has since increased more than tenfold, the global employment rate today would be at 90%. That is absurd, something that few of us few seem to have stopped to consider, perhaps except perhaps those of us with a passion for reading Borges, who love his approach for testing an idea by taking it to its logical extreme. Ultimately, these technological advances have not only failed to produce any of the catastrophes, but in addition, all of these ended up bringing an end to what human beings were able to do. Today, we have built machines that are able to carry out tasks that only a few months ago seemed out of our reach. Where we many see a threat, we see a new frontier: artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, as Donald Trump said, can double our productivity in a way that we do not yet comprehend. To invoke Adam Smith, artificial intelligence will be the pin factory of the 21st century, and much more besides. It can transform our economies, our medicine, our education, even the way we govern. That calls for prudence, yes. But prudence doesn't mean fear. Moreover, under no circumstances should fear automatically translate into obedience. Indeed, the dystopian scenarios commonly invoked to instill fear and justify state control make no sense from an economic standpoint. The answer lies with Adam Smith. Artificial intelligence, like the division of labor in the case of the pin factory, is an accelerator of productivity growth. Smith noted, however, that the division of labor is limited by the extent of the market. Growth will therefore be constrained by its counterpart in genuine demand, without fiscal deficits or spurious money creation. But that's not all. Those projects must also be financed, and that should be done with the resources of human beings. That is, their initial endowments and level of wealth, which correspond to the side of the market. Moreover, the purpose of producing more is to achieve a higher level of consumption. Yet the satisfaction generated by consumption increases at a decreasing rate, while the loss of satisfaction involved in surrendering leisure in order to produce more rises disproportionately. Consequently, the point at which the gain from greater consumption is equal to the loss of leisure brings the system to an equilibrium, leaving no room for dystopian terror. That is why, when we hear that the state should control artificial intelligence, we should remember something basic. The state is not an abstract creature. It is made up of people, officials, and bureaucrats. Granting it control over innovation means granting some people, in the best and most naive of cases, the power to limit what everyone else can create. History gives us reason to scrutinize such power carefully. For centuries, fear over tomorrow has been used as an argument for restricting freedoms today, always with the same promise: give us a part of your freedom and we will protect you from this new threat. We will apply a different principle. In the face of uncertainty, we propose determination. In the face of fear, courage. In the face of decline, ambition. And in the face of resignation, we propose optimism. That is why I tell you that when it comes to artificial intelligence, Argentina will stand at the forefront of freedom. We have the critical minerals, the energy, the talent, and the capacity to compete at every link in that value chain. And we want to become the most competitive place in the world in which to develop it, with a cutting-edge legal framework, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, limited liability for companies operating with AI agents, and tax incentives. Because artificial intelligence is not geopolitically neutral. The West must lead the development of this technology to ensure that it is consistent with our fundamental libertarian values, namely respect for life, liberty, private property, and the notion of human dignity.
And I do so at a moment of particular importance. As Greece reaches the end of our second year on the U.N. Security Council and is again preparing to assume its presidency next month. 12 months ago, as we marked the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we spoke of the need to reinvigorate multilateralism And one year later, that need has only become much more urgent as we are living through extremely perilous times. Conflicts are multiplying, tensions are deepening, and perhaps most alarmingly, we're witnessing a further erosion of restraint and international affairs. The rules and understandings that have long provided a relative degree of stability in international relations between states are increasingly being tested. Secretary General Antonio Gutierrez has steered these United Nations through this exceptionally turbulent decade, with a steadfast commitment to its charter and the values it embodies, and the selection of the 10th Secretary general presents a historic opportunity for the reinvigoration of the organization when it is most needed. Ladies and gentlemen, the first step in restoring confidence in multilateralism is acknowledging where it has actually succeeded. And few examples are more powerful than the United Nations Convention on the law of the sea. With 172 parties, Unclose provides the binding legal framework within which disputes can be managed peacefully rather than through force, and from the Strait of Hormuz and the Red sea to the Indo-Pacific. Strategic maritime routes are increasingly becoming arenas of geopolitical confrontation. Commercial vessels are being targeted and vital trade routes are used as instruments of pressure, with grave consequences for supply chains, for energy markets and for future food security worldwide.
Japan will play a more proactive role in the peaceful settlement of disputes. Furthermore, the maritime order based on the rule of law is currently being greatly shaken in the Strait of Hormuz. Ensuring free and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz for all vessels without additional costs, as has been the case, is extremely important not only for the security of the Middle East, but also for the stability of the global economy as a whole. Similarly, it is essential to ensure stability in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Japan will continue to work closely with relevant countries and the International Maritime Organization towards the maintenance of maritime order in the Middle East. Madam President, next I would like to set out Japan's efforts and commitments towards the United Nations and multilateralism. Since becoming a member state of the United Nations in 1956, Japan has acted decisively to address global challenges such as eradication of poverty, economic and social development women's empowerment, climate change and global health.
Dear friends, as you know, climate change has become a global challenge. The average temperature of our planet and the number of climate related emergencies are rising rapidly, while the negative impact on energy, agriculture, food security and the economy as a whole has reached a significant scale. Kyrgyzstan is a mountainous country. We are particularly vulnerable to the effect of melting glaciers, and this is not an abstract threat. It is an environmental challenge of the regional significance. I believe it is extremely important and necessary to unite international efforts in addressing climate challenges and the problems facing mountainous regions. In this regard, the 21st 23rd October 2027, Bishkek will host the second Global Mountain Summit, Bishkek plus 25. Taking this opportunity, I invite all of you to participate in the summit. The summit will serve as the concluding event for the five years of action for the Development of Mountain Regions for 2023 2027 term. During my meeting with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in Bishkek on 31st August 2026, I proposed organizing this summit jointly with the organization. These efforts demonstrate our country's leading role among mountain states and its commitment to unite international efforts to address their challenges. Therefore, Kyrgyzstan stands fully ready to serve with the United Nations as the voice of small and developing countries in addressing the climate related challenges affecting mountainous regions. Distinguished heads of delegations. Continuing the topic of climate change, I would like to draw your attention to another environmental challenge. As we all know, global problems and disasters often have their origins at the local level.
This session of the General Assembly is convening on the eve of the 65th anniversary of Mongolia's full fledged membership in the United Nations. In 1961, Mongolia made history by raising its national flag with the Golden Soyombo at the United Nations and becoming the 101st member of the United Nations, the guarantor of global peace and security, and the beacon of hope and trust for the world's nations. Mongolia welcomes the convening of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly under the theme Restoring Trust Managing Transformation a United Nations that Delivers for all, reaffirming its belief in the central role of the United Nations in fostering mutual trust, mutual respect and cooperation among the nations and peoples of the world. Mongols say if you do your best, fate will do the rest. The United Nations is an organization based on the trust and commitment of each member state, and the UN is strengthened by their dedication and sustained efforts. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us, Member States to uphold the mission of the United Nations with a sincere heart. Rather than simply expecting support and assistance, we must remain deeply conscious of our own responsibilities and duties and dedicate our wholehearted efforts to strengthening the United Nations. It is through trust and hope, dedication and commitment and engagement and participation of every Member State that we can strengthen the United Nations. A stronger United Nations, in turn, will deliver more efficiently towards global peace, security and sustainable development, thereby creating conditions for all Member States to benefit. As the conflicts and confrontations flash across the world, the walls of distrust rise higher and the chasm of misunderstanding grows deeper, it is becoming crucial to shape and develop international relations, not through a form of multipolarity that risks driving the world toward division, but through a multi-pillared principle that respects the pluralism inherent in each nation's history, culture, civilization, core national interests and chosen path of development. Eight centuries ago, our ancestors established the great Pax Mongolica, promoting, for the first time the idea to the world that nations could mutually recognize one another's values, and that peoples of diverse civilizations and faiths could coexist. This historic contribution of the Mongols to the advancement of humankind continues to be recognized by the international community. Let us strengthen multilateral cooperation through the multi-pillar principle, inspired by the ideas of Pax Mongolica, so that we may restore our trust and hope through shared responsibility, reform the United Nations with a common purpose and build a better, more peaceful world through the strength of our collective action. Mr. President, despite the remarkable heights of development and progress humanity has reached, our planet is currently confronted with more than 90 armed conflicts, around 30 of which are international, demonstrating that global peace and security remain unstable and that geopolitical and geostrategic competition continues to intensify. This results in the disruption of global economic supply chains, a rise in the prices of energy, fuel, raw materials and food, as well as economic strains on nations around the world. All of this is weakening the international order established since the Second World War, changing the universally recognized norms of international law and undermining the stability of multilateral relations and cooperation. Mongolia shares the view expressed by United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres in his annual report on the work of the organisation that in a world marked by turbulence, division and uncertainty, the United Nations is more necessary than ever. Hence, Mongolia underscores the tangible progress made under Secretary General's UN80 initiative to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the United Nations in response to the challenges of our time and reaffirms its active support for this initiative. The effectiveness of the United Nations, the decisiveness of its actions, and the ability of nations to unite their efforts will ultimately depend upon us, the Member States. Mongolia is confident that the soon to be appointed Secretary General will steadfastly uphold the principles and purposes of the United Nations and international law, ensure that the voices and positions of all Member States are equally heard and reflected, and provide strong leadership in restoring trust and managing transformation within the UN. Believing that reform of the Security Council should be at the core of broader United Nations reform, Mongolia maintains its principled position in support of expanding the number of both permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council ensuring equitable representation of developing countries in the Council, and promoting greater openness and transparency in its work. Mongolia is one of the 58 countries that have never served as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council. Therefore, Mongolia aspires to actively participate in the work of the Security Council and contribute to finding collective solutions to the problems and challenges facing the international community. In manifestation of this aspiration, I officially announce from this rostrum today that Mongolia is presenting its candidature for a non-permanent seat of the UN Security Council for the term 2048 2049. Mr. President, on behalf of the people of Mongolia, I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the United Nations and its system organizations for their valuable contributions to our country's development and progress and their long standing, constructive cooperation over the 65 years since Mongolia's accession to the United Nations as a full fledged member. Mongolia has been contributing with honor to the efforts on strengthening international peace and security, advancing social and economic development and protecting human rights, the core pillars of the United Nations. For instance, more than three decades ago, in pursuit of its foreign policy to ensure national security through political and diplomatic means, Mongolia declared its territory nuclear weapon free. Since then Mongolia has consistently pursued policies and taken actions to verify the status legally. In this spirit, the United Nations General Assembly adopts on a biennial basis the resolution entitled Mongolia's International Security and Nuclear Weapon Free Status, initiated by Mongolia in 1998.
Excellencies, we are gathering in this hall of nations, countries, large and small, some insanely rich, too many shockingly poor, but all enjoying equal voting rights. Yet we know equality is an illusion. Some possess non-threatening antiquated guns, while few others have perfected their nuclear arsenals, now 100 times more destructive than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. As primitive as they were then, these experimental bombs incinerated two cities, almost all living beings in them. Those unfortunate ones who survived the blast died long, painful deaths. Russia, U.S., China, France, the U.K. —all members of the NPT— were joined by four countries not members of the NPT: Israel, India, Pakistan, North Korea. Yes, North Korea had a nuclear arsenal estimated to be around 100. And North Korean leaders seem to have learned lessons from Libya, Ukraine, and the ongoing Iran-Israel-Yes war. Dismantle your nuclear capabilities and you lose. The only deterrence you have against a nuclear power deciding to bomb you into submission. On June 30, 2019, President Trump traveled to DMZ in the Korean Peninsula. The mysterious Swiss educator leader of North Korea, half the age of the American president, walked halfway, and the two leaders engaged in an embrace that promised peace. This is what leaders do to advance peace: they show courage, audacity. President Trump, you did the right thing. Friends are friends. We cherish and embrace our friends, never ignoring them or excluding them from the table. But we talk to adversaries so that we don't become enemies. We talk to enemies to prevent wars, and perhaps we become partners in peace. Those countries amassing nuclear weapons keep us all living near imminent catastrophe. One day, any day, by accident, miscalculation, computer error, madness, or foolish strategic design, we could become the last human generation. All the while, the brandishing of these weapons reinforces adversity and fear, which create a high barrier to achieving rational cooperation necessary to fulfill our responsibility to future generations. Trillions of dollars are invested in perfecting forms of death. Instead, we invest in a fraction of these trillions in clean water: food, schools, clinics. No thought was given to the tens of millions of fellow human beings pushed back to extreme deprivation by COVID-19, Ukraine-Russia war, and as if innocent bystanders on the periphery had not suffered enough, we are presented with another catastrophe: the Iran war and disruption of vital waterways for trade. We know the madness of Iranian leaders seeking regional supremacy, pouring fuel into the fire of religious extremism in neighboring countries to destabilize wealthy, stable monarchies. Iranian leaders launch unwarranted attacks against neighbors, destroying civilian industries, infrastructure. Iran's rationale for these attacks is that those countries host American bases. So is Iran going to launch waves of drones and missiles against U.S. bases in Europe? Can we change course? Can we stop slipwalking into wider wars? My invitation to President Trump: be audacious, be unpredictable, be visionary. Invite all nuclear powers and all major conventional military powers and industries, without exception, to a summit somewhere, maybe a town in Portugal, to talk on no first strike. Enhance regular communication between leaders of the nuclear powers. Commitment on reduction of nuclear weapons toward total deactivation and destruction of nuclear arsenals over a decade. Be yourself, be President Trump, be audacious, be unpredictable. Do the unthinkable, and you will gain worldwide gratitude and respect. The humanitarian situation in Cuba is heartbreaking. We understand that the U.S. has provided $100 million in emergency humanitarian assistance to Cuba through CARITAS. In keeping with the U.S. humanitarian tradition, and toward creating an environment conducive to normal, long-term Cuba-U.S. relations, trade relations between Cuba and the U.S. and the rest of the world could be improved. Regarding the situation in Israeli-occupied territories: Gaza and West Bank.
Facts have taught us that war is abhorrent, that peace is the only objective to pursue, and that we must stop watching from the sidelines, stop talking, and start acting. Paraguay comes before the community of nations with one non-negotiable conviction: the dignity of the human person must be at the heart of every decision. For this reason, we defend freedom, democracy, the sovereignty of states, respect for human rights, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. For this reason, we uphold human life from conception, and we recognize the family as the fundamental unit of our society. Because when human dignity is forgotten, humanity itself disappears. Human dignity, from conception until the end of life, is the foundation of our presence on this earth. There is an increasingly visible gap between the commitments we make and the results we achieve. And as that gap widens, trust erodes. People no longer believe us. And that trust will not be restored through mere statements or beautiful slogans. It will be restored by confronting problems without fear, proposing solutions, and delivering results. The first issue that I wish to address here is one that is in my own neighborhood in Latin America.
So can businesses. So can peace processes. And so can this General Assembly. Excellencies, The third great power test is the climate crisis. In many ways, it is the most profound intergenerational power imbalance of all: One generation consuming the future of the next. One group profiting, while those least responsible suffer first and worst. Three years ago in the mountains of Nepal, I sounded the alarm on accelerating glacier melt – warning that the rooftops of the world are caving in. Some dismissed it all as overstating dangers. But – as tragic events have shown – impacts are arriving sooner, hitting harder, and spreading further than many anticipated. Now we face a near certain breach of the 1.5 degree limit, with a supersized El Niño speeding straight for humanity. The dangers are real. But so is the hope. The last decade has fuelled one of the most promising shifts in power of our time. The rise of clean energy. The sun belongs to no one. The wind cannot be embargoed. Innovation can come from everywhere. This is a profound rebalancing of power relations. Renewables are now the cheapest source of new electricity in most of the world. And the most viable path to energy security, independence and sustainable growth. Excellencies, A future beyond fossil fuels is in sight. The question is how. Will it be a just and orderly transition built on international cooperation – or chaotic and costly leaving people and countries behind? Today I call on every government to adopt a national plan to transition away from fossil fuels aligned with 1.5 degrees, with clear timelines and protection for affected workers and communities. We know fossil fuel interests won’t step aside on their own. For decades, Big Oil has treated the atmosphere as an open sewer – and cashed in on the consequences. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, five major Western oil companies have pocketed nearly half a trillion dollars in profits. Compare that with just 34 billion dollars in international public adaptation finance for developing countries in the latest year reported. Meanwhile, everyday people are paying more for energy, food and insurance. We have seen this kind of abuse of power before. When the harms of Big Tobacco became undeniable – governments acted. The climate crisis demands the same determination. Those who polluted the most – and profited the most – must do far more to repair the damage they caused. Polluters must pay. And to the leaders, cities, civil society and citizens working to hold them accountable: You are on the right side of history. Keep going. And governments must keep going on all fronts: To end deforestation. Invest in grids and storage. Cut methane emissions. But these actions are not enough: We need climate justice with a focus on adaptation and finance. Developed countries must respect their commitments. They must triple adaptation finance. And make the Loss and Damage Fund work at scale. We must also ensure that the mining of critical minerals does not dig deeper into the inequities of the past. Producing countries and affected communities must retain a far greater share of the value created from their resources. No more plundering.
We look forward to your stewardship of this assembly, and we move to restore trust and indeed to carry reforms from proposals to implementation. But reform cannot be selective. We cannot move swiftly to reorganise offices and reporting lines while allowing the most consequential questions of power and representation to remain unresolved. Transformation and development. Peacekeeping and humanitarian aid cannot succeed if member states are unwilling to fund it Let's be very clear no organizational chart can overcome the refusal of states to respect decisions that they find inconvenient. We cannot continue to ask international organisations to do more, while failing to provide them with the resources necessary to fulfil the mandates that we ourselves have agreed. And if member states believe in the institutions that they have created, then we must also be prepared to sustain them. Barbados has consistently met that responsibility, and I give this body the assurance that we will continue to do so. Our commitment to multilateralism, to an international rules based order, must be measured not only by what we ask of these institutions, but by our willingness to support them. So yes, let us improve the machinery, but let us also reform the exercise of power. The Security Council still has 15 members, five of them permanent. And armed with that veto. Africa, with 54 states has no permanent seat. And you've heard speaker after speaker after speaker come to this platform to say that this must change. Small island developing states equally confront threats that now reach squarely into the council's mandate from climate and security and illicit armed arm flows to organised crime and displacement. And yet, despite constituting one quarter of the world's states, we have no assured representation within the councils. This, to my friends, must change. And the world we know has already changed. The council has not changed with it. But reform is not only about who sits at the table, it is about how power is exercised. Barbados is therefore joining 123 other member states in supporting the Franco-mexican initiative on the use of the veto in the cases of mass atrocities. Its principle is fundamental where populations face genocide, crimes against humanity, or large scale war crimes, the veto should not be allowed to paralyse the Security Council when action is most urgently needed. This is why people are losing trust in the United Nations and its council. Mr. president, it's not fair to the majority of member states who still believe in the promise of this body, even as we call for greater equity with the reform of the Security Council.
Many citizens see a gulf between what we agree on here and what people experience on a daily basis. Closing this gap is the task of our organization. A lot of citizens realize that this is the task that our generation must take up. And as a founding country, Ecuador believes in the United Nations, and it's precisely for this reason that we want an organization that's able to respond to the challenges of the world today, not of 1945. Supporting the organization, the United Nations, also needs to involve a willingness to transform the United Nations. And that's why we support the UN80 initiative and pose an essential question: what United Nations of the world needs today? We need an organization that's more efficient, with the ability to prevent conflicts, resolve crises, and support states to challenges that didn't exist when the organization was created. An organization whose legitimacy depends not only on the decision that we adopt, but the way that they adopt. And we need the charter and international law to remain our common language. More than 80 years ago, countries understood that peace didn't depend on everyone's power, but rather is something that we built organizations to cooperate to achieve. This remains our main strength. The citizens of the world will not judge this organization by its declarations; they will judge it by its ability to turn commitments into peace and security, into respect for human rights, into real opportunities for development, and how many lives we really save. President, the criminal gangs already coordinate with each other. Now we need to do better. Ecuador has come to this Assembly to defend collective solutions, because no country can build a safe, prosperous, and sustainable future alone. And because when international cooperation works, we are all stronger for it.
As the 2030 Agenda enters its final years, partnership must remain central to accelerating SDG progress. Kiribati recently presented its Second Voluntary National Review (VNR), reaffirming our commitment to the 2030 Agenda. We value our longstanding diplomatic relations with traditional partners and welcome countries seeking new partnerships based on mutual respect, shared interests, transparency, sovereign equality and respect for our national priorities. This year, following the submission of our second VNR, my Government convened its first Development Partners Forum on Kiritimati Island, or Christmas Island, which we highly value as the world’s largest coral atoll and the first island to see each new day’s sunrise. The Forum strengthened partnerships between Kiribati and its Development Partners and showcased two flagship projects critical to accelerating economic growth and sustainable development. Participants included Australia, the People’s Republic of China, the European Union, New Zealand, Japan, the United States of America, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and UN agencies.
Romania will continue to promote maritime security and unrestricted freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as in the Black Sea area and elsewhere. It is a shared responsibility and a priority to my country. Specialized bodies such as the International Maritime Organization can make a contribution to this effort. The suspension of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, following Russia's unilateral withdrawal in 2023, reminds us that agreements only matter when the parties honor their commitments. Lasting peace in Sudan, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, Libya, in the Sahel, and in all regions of Africa affected by conflict. Romania is contributing to conflict prevention, mediation, peacebuilding, and economic recovery, while stressing the importance of African solutions and, in full respect of the charter, prevention and mediation must play a greater role. Peacekeeping operations must have a clear mandate, produce measurable results, ensure responsible financing, and equitably distribute responsibilities. Since 1991, Romania has contributed to United Nations peacekeeping missions through political support, troop and equipment contributions, as well as through training of blue helmets and close protection officers.
But let's ask ourselves a simple question: what if we, as world leaders, would start again following the UN Charter? Would reform even matter if we finally did our best for global peace? Too many conflicts are still driven by the belief that political problems can be solved by force, by changing borders, violating sovereignty, and ignoring international rules. We need to reject this logic. Leadership is not shown by the willingness to escalate. It requires the courage to de-escalate. International rules may sound abstract in this hall, but on the ground, they are very real. They can mean the difference between life and death. When these rules are ignored, civilians suffer. Communities are destroyed. Millions are displaced. Supply chains are disrupted. Prosperity is lost. And there is even a deeper danger: if violence becomes normal for the next generation, diplomacy itself will become harder. What is difficult to solve today may become impossible tomorrow. That is why our most urgent task must be clear: stop the violence, keep diplomacy alive, and prevent today's conflicts from becoming tomorrow's normal. The war in Ukraine, now in its fifth year, continues to bring destruction close to Slovakia's borders. Attacks on civilian areas and critical infrastructure remain unacceptable. A ceasefire is still distant, and lasting peace even further away. We should support every serious diplomatic effort that can help end Russia's war against Ukraine and build a safe future for our neighbor. Our commitment to international law and human dignity cannot stop at Europe's borders. The same basic principles must guide us in the Middle East. International humanitarian law must be respected. Civilians must be protected. Humanitarian aid must reach those who need it, including in Gaza. There can be no justification for terrorism, antisemitism, anti-Muslim hatred, or calls to violence. Israelis and Palestinians both deserve to live in security and dignity. And Slovakia continues to support a negotiated two-state solution, with Israel and an independent Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security. Other conflicts that are currently out of the spotlight must not escape our attention and our efforts to solve them. Take, for example, the civil war in Sudan that has triggered the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Excellencies, the first words of our Charter are: we are the peoples of the United Nations. Today we need that sense of shared responsibility again. Armed conflicts have reached levels we have not seen since the Second World War. Civilians continue to pay an unacceptable price. We already have institutions. We already have rules.
An efficient, effective, nimble and well-coordinated UN is urgently needed. Sweden strongly supports the Secretary-General's UN80 initiative and expects all UN entities to engage fully with a clear focus on improving delivery at country level. We also expect Member States to give the UN adequate resources. Assessed contributions must be paid in full and in time. As members, we also need to carefully consider institutional reforms and align mandates with available resources. UN80 is an opportunity to strengthen the UN's impact across all three pillars and to reinforce the international system firmly grounded in the UN Charter and international law. Sweden remains firm in its defence of the UN's normative mandates on human rights, gender equality, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. Everyone has the right to live freely and with dignity, to be who they are and to love whom they choose. Sweden will always stand up for that freedom and for equal rights of all. Mr. President, a balanced expansion of the Security Council would strengthen its credibility and the legitimacy of its decisions. Sweden would like to see permanent and non-permanent seats added, and a fairer representation of all continents on the council. Africa, home to 1.3 billion people and the largest regional bloc in the United Nations, has no permanent seat. This is neither logical nor fair. Further, the veto should never be used to prevent the UN from acting against serious violations of international law or in humanitarian disasters. Mr. President, we must continue to strengthen our United Nations to make the organisation stronger and better equipped to prevent conflict and meet the challenges of tomorrow. We must continue to find common agreements based on the fundamentals. Every country's sovereignty and territorial integrity, prohibition of the use of force, respect for international law, human rights and humanitarian principles. It is our shared responsibility to ensure that the UN remains relevant, effective and resolute. That it becomes greater than the sum of its parts. To show once again that we can turn the page on conflict and chaos and move towards peace and prosperity. Mr. President, this year also marks 65 years since Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld died. His integrity, conviction and commitment to the vision and values of our organisation are still remembered. Sweden continues to support the UN investigation aimed at clarifying the circumstances surrounding Secretary-General Hammarskjöld's death, and I would like to conclude with the words of Mr. Hammarskjöld. It is no news to anybody, but we sense it in different degrees that the world of today is more than ever before one world. The weakness of one is the weakness of all and the strength of one, not the military strength, the real strength, the economic and social strength, the happiness of the people is indirectly the strength of all.
193 states that have signed up to the UN charter that have signed up to one essential principle that relations between states are not governed by sheer power, but by rules. Today, this commitment is being tested by conflicts, by shifts in power, by new technologies. And our global institutions are struggling to keep pace. So let me ask you a simple question that I believe sits underneath everything we are discussing this week. Who decides? Who decides whether a border is aligned to be respected or a target to be crossed? Who decides whether a human being or a machine pulls a trigger? Who decides who gets hurt and who is left waiting outside the room?
We have committed fully. Now let me tell you why GMC is built to succeed. Begin with location. GMC sits directly on the border with India, our closest friend and neighbour. The vision enjoys the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the government of India and our neighbours across the border in Assam. Beyond that border lies the world's most populous country and one of its largest and fastest growing economies. GMC is also a gateway to the markets of South Asia and Southeast Asia. So GMC begins with what many new cities spend decades trying to acquire access to vast and growing markets, connectivity and in India, a trusted friend. Bhutan brings another advantage one that cannot be bought. Trust. Trust built through peace, political stability, the rule of law and a record for honouring our commitments. For long term investors, trust creates something invaluable. Predictability. Bhutan has spent generations building that trust. GMC puts it to work.
Mr. President, and Excellencies, we are at this General Assembly at a moment of profound global uncertainty. And with a renewed democratic mandate that reflects the aspiration of a new generation, our youths have demanded a politics of integrity and accountability. The generational shift is not only a national story. It is part of global awakening against conflict, inequities, and lack of opportunities. The commitment of my government is clear: to build a state that delivers decent jobs, social protection, and a fair chance to every Nepali to thrive at home. The Nepal floods signal a future safe. The Nepal flood signals a future safe by rising climate extremes. Our baselines are no longer relevant.
It will be held this year. Ladies and gentlemen. A lasting peace cannot be decoupled from development. 40 years after the adoption of the declaration on the Right to Development, we know what we need to do to achieve that goal. There needs to be a wholesale reform of international financial architecture. There needs to be sustainable debt. There needs to be equitable taxation and better access to concessional financing. There also needs to be the implementation of the severe commitment as well as of the pact for the future.
It is also built when states continue to engage in dialogue. Switzerland is neutral. This neutrality goes hand in hand with a steadfast commitment to the UN charter, international law and the UN's three pillars peace and security, human rights and sustainable development. Our experience has also taught us that dialogue is not a sign of weakness. Engaging in dialogue does not mean glossing over disagreements or abandoning one's principles. Engaging in dialogue means maintaining contact when positions begin to diverge. A bridge does not require the two banks of a river to become alike. It simply allows us to cross from one to the other. In times of tension, this possibility often becomes essential. Dialogue is a tool for de-escalation when crises erupt. Above all, it can serve as a means of prevention before crises arise. It is in this spirit that Switzerland will continue to offer its good offices and provide spaces where those who are no longer on speaking terms can, when circumstances permit, resume dialogue.
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan, established on August 8th, 2025 with the support and personal engagement of U.S. President Donald Trump, has opened up new opportunities for our region, the South Caucasus. On this occasion, I would firstly like to address what President Trump referred to from this podium two days ago. I have said it and I reiterate it now. The breakthrough in the establishment of peace between Armenia and Azerbaijan simply would not have been possible without President Trump's personal engagement and his resolute commitment to establishing peace. President Trump's personal presence has practical and symbolic expressions on the ground as well. The fourth paragraph of the peace declaration, adopted at the Peace Summit held at the White House on August 8th, 2025 reads, quote. The Republic of Armenia will work with the United States of America and mutually determined third parties to set forth a framework for the Trump Route for International Peace and Prosperity (TRIPP) connectivity project in the territory of the Republic of Armenia. We confirm our determination to pursue efforts in good faith to achieve this goal in the most expeditious manner.
The Republic of Guatemala reaffirms its commitment to the peaceful settlement of disputes and the observance of international law We welcome the fact that the International Court of Justice has set the date for the oral hearings concerning the territorial, insular and maritime dispute with Belize. For my country, this is more than a procedural milestone. With the notification of the hearings, the final procedural stage before the court delivers its judgment has begun. It marks the culmination of a legal dispute that has accompanied the people of Guatemala and successive governments since independence, and whose conclusion we eagerly await. We recognize that the court's judgment, once delivered, will bring the dispute to an end, and we trust that it will provide legal certainty to both parties and lay the foundations for a new chapter in relations between Guatemala and Belize. In closing, I wish to say that Guatemala will continue to do its part strengthening democratic institutions capable of meeting the needs of our people, resolutely confronting transnational organised crime, and those who seek to capture institutions defending international law, consistently promoting regional responses based on shared responsibility, and working for a United Nations capable of transforming itself to fulfil the promise contained in the opening words of our charter, we the Peoples. Restoring trust will depend on our ability to show that even in times of uncertainty and division, we remain capable of building together solutions that none of us could achieve alone. Thank you very much.
To be driven from their homes, from their lands, and remain silent in the face of these threats and dangers? And when they defend themselves, they're labeled as terrorists? The language makes it, unfortunately, clear the type of world that we're living in today. Our regional issues must be resolved in the region, at the hands of the countries in the region, without becoming a toy in the hands of outside aggressors. No relationship with a foreign power can become the tools of threatening neighboring countries in the region. And now, a few words with those who are responsible for having planned and carried out aggressions against our country and our people have experienced firsthand the result of their deadly aggression. And they have tested the strength and the steadfastness of Iran, and they have learned that Iran cannot be made to surrender. Iran has never, ever been an aggressor, has never started a war, and has always shown her commitment to the negotiating table.
Mr. president, the Marshall Islands faces complex challenges in tackling the SDGs but we are committed, with all of our efforts to ensure no one is left behind. Our national planning is now firmly linked to SDG goals and targets, and our actions prove our commitment. We have developed direct assistance to vulnerable groups, including mothers and early childhood development, and we are also reaching out to our entire in-country population with quarterly supplemental income and improved access to digital finance tools. Our aspirations must be better matched by partnership and island scale investment and policy innovation. I must underscore the direct need for data capacity support to measure progress and effectiveness for small island developing states. If we cannot assess the SDGs, we cannot correct course. Mr. president.
Nowhere on earth is a planet warming faster than in Western Europe. But in the Caribbean, part of our kingdom, including the countries of Aruba, Curacao and Sint Maarten the effects of climate change have already been felt for much longer. And the same is true for many of your countries. For too long, the consequences of climate change have been trivialized or simply denied. But after the horrors experienced by Nepal and a long series of forest fires, the truth should be clear to everyone the climate crisis will not just disappear if we pretend it doesn't exist. We are living on borrowed time, and the generations that come after us will pay the price. And if you want to prevail that prevent that, we must commit now to both mitigation and adaptation. And we all know what needs to be done. Countless reports are agreed on that. And we have all the technology we need. Unfortunately, we are making progress. Last year, the electrical vehicle market grew by 20%. Wind power capacity grew by 14% and solar power by more than 30%. And this growth in renewable energy has exceeded even the most optimistic projections from ten years ago. And the challenge now is to accelerate this transition in all sectors and all parts of the world. And at the same time, to reduce carbon emissions and phase out fossil fuels. That is why the Netherlands, jointly with Colombia, organized the world's first conference on transitioning away from fossil fuels. This event in Colombia was attended by 57 countries, and together these countries account for one third of global GDP, one third of energy demand and one fifth of supply. And together we worked to find concrete and practical solutions to take the transition forward. But climate action requires everyone to contribute. In November, we will gather at a cop in Turkey. And I know that many of you don't have high expectations. But in my view, this can only be explained by the pessimistic idea that we are somehow powerless. But that is not true We have the knowledge and we have the technology to combat climate change. And a better world is really within reach. Thanks to our joint efforts on the Sustainable Development Goals, 92% of the world's population now has access to electricity. And since 2015, we have doubled the amount of renewable energy we generate. Child mortality has dropped sharply to because of this axis So climate action can be a catalyst for everyone to work together on solutions that concern us all. And we don't need to reinvent the wheel. A lot of good things are happening already. For decades, the Netherlands has been working with partners around the world to develop climate smart agriculture and future proof water management solutions. And we are keen to share our knowledge and knowhow And we want to learn from what other countries are doing. There are so many great initiatives on the way. But I also know there's much more to be done. The need to accelerate and scale up our efforts is only to clear. And that demands our common commitment. The Netherlands wants to build practical partnerships with other countries, so we are once again making funding available for this purpose. And at the same time, we need to adapt to climate shocks that can no longer be avoided. These adaptations will require major investments, both public and private. Because here too, we cannot do it alone. Today, I call on all countries to stick to these ambitions because one way or another, a climate transition is coming. But we can decide how it unfolds. It can be chaotic, or it can be carefully planned with an inclusive approach and economic benefits for all. Ladies and gentlemen, as I come to the end of my remarks, I have an even stronger sense of what Anne Frank was telling us.
International law must not change with geography or bend according to the identity of the accused. In the Middle East the UN charter and international law must guide us. Civilians must be protected, humanitarian access ensured, aggression and occupation ended and freedom of navigation safeguarded. The inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination must be realized through a viable state of Palestine, living alongside the state of Israel in peace and in security. That same commitment to peace requires progress on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation through diplomacy. In Sudan, civilians continue to endure atrocities and displacement, underscoring the cost of delayed action. Sierra Leone calls for their protection, unhindered humanitarian access, accountability, and a Sudanese led political process that safeguards the country's sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. In the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, agreements have not yet silenced the guns or allowed millions to return home. Across West Africa and the Sahel, terrorism feeds on poverty, exclusion, unemployment and weak institutions. These conflicts differ in origin and circumstance, but they carry a common warning. Military action may contain a threat, but it cannot by itself build lasting peace. When hunger, exclusion and despair deepen, insecurity takes root. The connection between peace and development must therefore move from our resolutions into our budgets. In 2025, global military expenditure reached about 2.9 trillion USD, the 11th consecutive annual increase.
We know that inequality is at the heart of the rising appeal of politics, founded on hate and exclusion. Across the world, citizens who have seen little improvement in their economic fortunes are turning to ideas diametrically opposed to the values of the UN charter. As we mark the 25th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action, South Africa reaffirms its commitment to confronting racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance. We are determined to confront racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance through our Constitution, our laws and our institutions.
It is time to resume the offensive and inflict a defeat on denialism. Nature reminds us every day that we live on one planet. The glaciers in the Himalayas are melting. The super El Nino may cause torrential rains, droughts and forest fires in different parts of the globe. Its effects will hit the most vulnerable, the hardest. Brazil has been demonstrating that it is possible to combine economic growth with reduced emissions. We have achieved our self-sufficiency in oil and will continue to explore the potential of new reserves, such as those in the equatorial margin. But we will not abandon the environmental agenda. We will move forward with the roadmap for the decarbonization of the Brazilian economy. The Tropical Forest Forever facility, launched at Cop 30 in the city of Berlin, shows that it is possible to change old paradigms. The forest is worth more standing than destroyed. We will continue to reduce deforestation, which has been cut in half in the Amazon and reaching its lowest level in 11 years. We have the moral authority to reject protectionist measures disguised as commitment to the environmental cause. Brazil is a global reference in green energy. We have the critical minerals and the rare earths that the world needs to make the energy transition. Our natural wealth belongs to the Brazilian people, and it is in their benefit that it will be exploited.
Chile understands that in a multipolar world, institutional stability is not a luxury, it is a need. For example, we are a pioneer in the energy transition. Chile possesses around a quarter of global lithium reserves, and we are the largest producer of copper on the planet. Chile has a lot of sunlight, the heat of the sun, a long Pacific coast, lakes, rivers, volcanoes that can create vast stores of energy. Chile also has the Strait of Magellan, a crucial alternative route for global trade. Our nation will become the bridge and the port for the bioceanic corridors that will unite America with Asia. This richness, this wealth is not only fortune that we have in our coffers, it brings with it responsibility. Responsibility to you. Chile will never renounce its sovereignty. Neither will it cease to exploit its own minerals. We have our sovereignty, of course, but at the same time, we say that the energy of the future must serve humankind, and energy must not be held hostage by monopolies or actors that do not abide by the rules. Please make no mistake here it is possible to reconcile growth and sustainability. The two are inseparable. Chile understands that environmental protection and economic progress form part of one single development strategy one in which investment and innovation are linchpins when it comes to improving the quality of life of our people. Sustainable development requires robust institutions, clear rules, timely decisions and effective administration able to turn commitments and diagnoses into tangible results for both people and the environment. President, I now wish to turn to a discussion of our continent, Latin America, because I sincerely believe that the coming decade can be ours.
After years of political division and polarization that have drained the state and society, Libya no longer needs more crisis management, but rather the will to end the crisis. Our goal is clear: a unified sovereign state whose institutions derive their legitimacy from the will of its people. The path to that goal is a return to the people through constitutional and legal mechanisms, referendums, and free and fair elections. The people are the source of legitimacy, and it is they who can give institutions their unity and stability. Temporary deals cannot do so, nor can fragile settlements that collapse whenever the balance of power shifts or loyalties change. Here, we welcome the effort and intention of every state sincerely seeking to end the political and institutional division. We also appreciate the role entrusted to the United Nations support mission in Libya and its responsibility for facilitating the political process. Nevertheless, past experience obliges us to be clear. Any sustainable political process must not violate four governing principles. First, respect for legitimacy and for the constitutional and legal frameworks enforced, without circumventing them or creating political arrangements outside established frameworks and procedures. Second, the principle of national ownership is a red line. International mediation must not turn into custodianship or into solutions crafted from abroad. The will of Libyans is the foundation, and the inclusion of all the different parties without exclusion or imposition is the true guarantee of the sustainability of any solution. Third, ensuring equal opportunities for all parties, as well as rejecting the use of force, influence, or effet accompli to impose predetermined political outcomes. Fourth, commitment to transparency in understandings and agreements. This requires defining the phases of implementation, their timelines, and the entities responsible for them. It also requires establishing clear mechanisms for oversight and accountability so as to ensure outcomes that are implementable, legally sound, and capable of producing legitimate and stable institutions. Experience has taught us that fragile settlements can begin to unravel as soon as the balance of power shifts or their outcomes emerge. Any arrangements that disregard national legal frameworks expose themselves to challenge and dispute. They reproduce the crisis rather than end it. Sustainable legitimacy and legality are not created by effet accompli, nor are they protected by shifting balances of power. They are created by the will of the people and protected by the law. In translating these principles into national responsibility and concrete action, we announce from this rostrum the launch of work on a national committee for de-escalation and confidence building. The committee will draw on national and local initiatives. It will aim to prevent conflicts, contain escalation, and prevent its recurrence. This is in addition to supporting reconciliation and creating a safe environment for the political and electoral process. Here, we call upon all Libyan parties to engage in this framework. We also call upon the UN and Libya's partners to support and facilitate it with full respect for sovereignty and national ownership.
We also express sincere appreciation to your predecessor for her stewardship over the past year. I rise before this Assembly at a time when the world is not short of promises, declarations, or commitments. What we need is proof that our institutions can respond to the realities people face. For small island developing states like ours, the question is immediate: Saint Kitts and Nevis therefore comes with a clear proposition: trust will be restored not by what we promise, but by what we deliver.
Hope has retreated, while cynicism and doubt have grown. Nevertheless, we hear the insistent calls for justice, peace, and for a rules based international order that applies equally to all nations. Mr. president, I come here for the first time representing my country, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with a clear mandate and a commitment that governance must be transparent, that individual actions must consistently reflect integrity, and that public resources must be used to improve the lives of ordinary people. We are a small democratic Multi-island Caribbean nation committed to multilateralism and the peaceful resolution of disputes. Those principles serve us well and we believe should bind all of us in this chamber. We, in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines experience firsthand the vulnerability of living on the front lines of climate change, having experienced only two years ago the sudden destructive power of a category five hurricane. We also feel enormous strains imposed on small nations and our small, open economy by distant wars that have disrupted supply chains and by decisions made in places where our voice is never heard. Yet we will not let vulnerability define us or limit our ambitions.
That is the responsibility of taking Venezuela from uncertainty and conflict to a full democracy which is recognized by its own people and the world. This will be a new era of well-being from which Venezuela will be reborn. To my beloved people, I wish to say this is not the end of a speech. It is the beginning of a commitment. I wish to say to the international community: Venezuela is ready to walk hand in hand with those that believe in respectful international relations, relationships which exist without prejudice or interference. I wish to say the following to my young people, people that have grown up in a fractured country and which often decided to leave in search of what they couldn't find in our country. I wish to say to them that it is worth believing in the country once more. It is the time to rebuild the country that many wish to return to. We want it to be a country that they want to return to, and not just one they want to flee from. I wish to say to all the Venezuelans who suffered the material and human losses of the earthquake, if they're wondering if it's worth carrying on, I say, yes, it is. The strength of a people is not measured in easy times, but rather at times like these. We've lived many a catastrophe as a nation, but we have always emerged more united than we were before it was unleashed. To the Venezuelan people, I say the following: I do not promise you an easy way forward. The country's recovery will take time. Rebuilding our national soul will be our priority. Let us walk united as one nation that decided, in the wake of pain, to choose hope. May this political and geopolitical juncture go down in history as the time at which we decided to get back on our feet together, to rise up, and to allow Venezuela's rebirth. On the 16th of December, we will mark 200 years since the anguished appeal of the father of our freedom, Simón Bolívar. He spoke to them to save them from dissolution, division, and civil war. He said, "Venezuelans, you will be consulted so that you can say when, where, and according to which terms you wish to convene the great national convention. There our people will exercise fully their power. There we will establish our fundamental laws. Only a man can know his worth and be the master of his own fate. An all-powerful individual, a party or a faction, cannot be that figure. Only a people is sovereign. No all-powerful individual, no party, no faction must prevail. We will all work together. We must pool our strengths to ensure the rebirth of our homeland, the homeland that our daughters and our sons deserve.
We cannot speak about interdependence without speaking about migration. People have always moved and they will continue to do so, and governments have a duty to manage that movement and to ensure that migration takes place safely, regularly and in accordance with the law. Order is itself a matter of human rights. When migration is left in the hands of smugglers and traffickers, people are exploited, placed in danger and sometimes lost at sea. But the way in which governments maintain order matters just as much. States have both the right and the responsibility to manage the borders. They must do so in full respect of international law and fundamental rights. A person's legal status may change. Their human dignity doesn't. Every person counts. That is why countries of origin transit and destination must work together. Safe, orderly and regular migration and respect for human rights are not competing ambitions. They must go hand in hand, and we can either manage our interdependence or be at its mercy. Health crises have taught us the same lesson. Outbreaks do not recognize borders. Cooperation is a necessity. Those who refuse to cooperate weaken themselves. But if our commitments are to hold, we also need institutions capable of upholding them.
It also charged it to advance the economic and social well-being of all peoples. Peace and prosperity were never two mandates; they were one promise. Today, both sides of that promise are under strain. The crisis of multilateralism is not a shortage of commitments, institutions, or rules. It is the widening distance between the equality this system proclaims and the inequality that is inherent in its structures. That is precisely why we cannot accept its present limitations. On peace and security, the contradiction is increasingly difficult to ignore. Every nation in this hall has one vote. Every nation is sovereign and equal under the charter. Yet, on the gravest question of war and peace, five nations possess a permanent power that the other 188 do not. The equality proclaimed in this Assembly ends at the doors of the Security Council. That imbalance might have reflected the world of 1945. It does not reflect the world that we know today. Africa has 54 member states, more than a quarter of this Assembly, yet no permanent voice in the body entrusted with the primary responsibility of international peace and security. We are frequently the subject of its decisions: permanently discussed, yet permanently excluded. The problem is not that the world lacks law. It is that confidence in its consistent application is weakening. International law cannot be invoked loudly in one crisis, cautiously in another crisis, and disregarded when convenient. Every perceived double standard carries a price, and that price is trust. Trust cannot be restored by declaration. It must be earned by consistent application. But the cost of failure is measured in more than lost trust. It is measured in children driven from their classrooms. Children who go to sleep hungry. Children who learn the sound of gunfire before they know the safety of peace. When collective security breaks down, schools close, hospitals collapse, families flee, and economies are consumed by war. Peace is not separate from development. It is its first condition. When the institutions entrusted with peace fail, it is too often the youngest who inherit the consequences. Excellencies, Africa exposes this contradiction most clearly. In 1945, most of our continent could not speak for itself as San Francisco because it remained under colonial rule. Only four African states were represented. The architecture of collective security was therefore designed at a moment when most Africans had neither a nation at the table nor a voice in shaping the institutions that it would govern the peace. The world, ladies and gentlemen, has since transformed. The Council, the Security Council, has not. We cannot manage transformation with institutions that refuse to transform themselves.
That is the only way that we will manage to find paths to progress on the all too many, all true, all too intractable conflicts blighting our world today. In Malta, the smallest member state of the European Union, we have always been a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. So allow me to focus on two of those conflicts on our doorstep. Firstly, Ukraine. It is all too easy and all too great a mistake for us to fall in the trap that repelling the invasion of Ukraine becomes another never ending conflict, a grinding tragedy on the corner of our continent about which we can do nothing. Malta will never accept that despair. Europe must never accept that despair. The world must never turn its head away in despair. Malta remains as adamant in our condemnation of that invasion today as we were on day one in February 2022. And Malta is equally as adamant that a just and lasting peace must guarantee Ukraine's sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders. That will only come about through a diplomatic process that the Ukrainian people can have full trust in. They will only have such trust if the process follows a full and unconditional cease fire and the full participation of Ukraine and its people in the subsequent peace talks. Rightly the Ukrainian people will never have trust in any search for a settlement which involves their government being frogmarched to the table, one arm tied behind its back, whilst the guns still blaze. The issue of trust is clearly also central to the very worrying situation in Gaza The people of Israel need to have trust that Hamas will be disarmed, and that they will play no future role in the governance or security structures of Gaza. But the people of Gaza need to have trust that there is a path to a just peace. It is impossible to build that trust with a humanitarian situation as acute as that being experienced in Gaza right now. Malta's voice remains unwaveringly with the global calls for safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza in accordance with international law. We firmly believe that the Gaza peace plan provides the best path towards ending the conflict and advancing credible political progress. To achieve that progress, all parties and I emphasize all parties must fully respect and implement the objectives and commitments set out in the plan. And naturally, no progress can be made. If there is any question of the forced displacement of any of the Palestinian population. Indeed, it is incumbent on each and every one of us in the international community to rebuild the trust needed to underpin the conditions where genuine progress can be made towards a negotiated and lasting two state solution. That is the only solution. Nobody, however, is under any illusion how out of reach? Unfortunately, that seems at the moment. But nor is this the moment to shy away or run away from the only goal that will guarantee the people of Israel and Palestine living side by side with the peace, prosperity and stability that they both deserve. Sadly, any progress towards a long term solution is being endangered by the situation in the West Bank settlement expansion, running directly counter to the resolutions of this General Assembly and designed to undermine the Palestinian territorial integrity, must stop and stop now. So too, must the violent settler attacks on Palestinian communities increasing at an alarming rate. Behold, they must be halted. These are all essential preconditions to a just and lasting peace, as is a credible and reformed Palestinian Authority that can demonstrate to citizens of both Palestine and Israel that it has the transparency, the accountability, the institutional effectiveness, and, above all, the democratic legitimacy to be a truly effective partner for peace. Malta stands ready to play its part in building the capacity of both a renewed Democratic Palestinian Authority and the robust civil society that must underpin it, not just in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel, but across the world. Be it the conflict in Sudan, the ongoing violence in Myanmar or the instability across the Sahel. It is evident that diminished trust means diminished chances of finding solutions. You could put it as starkly as no trust equals no peace. Of course, no matter the conflict, each with its own individual and particular circumstances, there is no easy way of building trust. But equally, there is no easy way of avoiding the need to build trust. We all know from our lives as much as from the experiences of our own countries, just how hard it is to rebuild trust when it has evaporated. Yet we also know the consequences if we give up trying, and the rewards that can come. If, however, slowly and however tentatively, we can start. If it is hard enough to build trust human to human face to face, it can be, of course, infinitely harder to build trust.
Mr. president, the theme of this session, Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: a United Nations that delivers for all, perfectly chimes with the concerns of those peoples aspiring to peace and progress, even while bombs and other devices of mass destruction are endlessly causing death and devastation in every corner of our planet. How can we restore trust and manage transformation in the world, so that the United Nations can effectively bring peace and good fortune to all peoples? How then, can we achieve this goal? I would recall that our previous session called upon us to act better together. That message remains just and it remains relevant, but it requires us to take stock to look at what has been accomplished and to acknowledge what has not been accomplished. Because trust is not built through more and more promises, but rather through their effective implementation for the benefit of the peoples. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, trust cannot be decreed. It is built, it is earned, and it requires truth and justice. How to restore trust when for decades, propaganda has been used to maintain the idea of a poor Africa condemned to do everything it is told to do to survive, thanks to the assistance of supposed international generosity, even while its resources, its riches are stolen and locked away for the benefit of other agendas. How to restore this trust when the international institutions that are supposed to protect us have become the tools of a world order in which some peoples count and others merely survive, and in which international law does not apply equally to all. What can we say of the crimes committed in Libya, in Iraq, in Palestine in Lebanon, in Cuba, in Venezuela, and in our Sahel, the Sahel, in the name of supposedly universal values, which nevertheless remain unpunished. Those crimes, even while sovereign nations are threatened with sanctions for simply having wanted to decide on their own fate. Niger, my country is following with deep concern the tragic situation in Palestine, particularly in Gaza where civilians are paying an unbearable human cost. We call for the effective protection of civilian populations, for unhindered humanitarian access, and for the pursuit of just and lasting peace. Niger reaffirms its support for a two state solution, allowing the State of Palestine and the State of Israel to live side by side in peace, security and dignity. How to restore trust when 81 years after San Francisco, Africa, with its more than around 1.5 billion inhabitants and its 54 states, still does not have a single permanent seat on the Security Council. Through me, Niger reaffirms its commitment to the Ezulwini Consensus and calls for this historic anomaly to no longer be the subject of sterile debates, repeated day after day to at long last, become subject to a full and concrete decision. Excellencies, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, our Sahel is at war. It is in a war of liberation against a conspiracy aimed at recolonizing it. What is happening in the Sahel is not merely not simply an armed rebellion or a war of religion, nor is it the inevitable result of our own weaknesses, what some call terrorism in our region is the cynical machinery of recolonization dressed in the trappings of extremism.
If we wish to manage the coming transformation responsibly, we must first reinforce the foundation on which the international order rests. Those foundations are simple. The sovereign equality of states, respect for territorial integrity, the prohibition of the use of force, except in the cases expressly provided for in the UN Charter, and the obligation not to change the rules from one case to another. Esteemed colleagues, to those of you who know Serbia and our region, as well as those less familiar with this part of the world, I wish to express my gratitude to all who have honored Serbia by confirming their participation in the specialized exhibition Expo 2027 to be held next year in Belgrade under the theme "Play for Humanity, Sport, and Music for All." Culture, science, sport, technology, business, and young people from all parts of the world will come together in Belgrade, and I look forward to our hosting a large number of the states represented in this hall today. At the outset, I spoke about trust and responsibility, and that is where I wish to conclude. We will not restore trust through grand declarations if we then continue to act as before. Each of us must begin with our own decisions. Serbia endeavors to do so by preserving peace in its neighborhood, participating in peacekeeping missions far from its borders, assisting others when they are in danger, speaking even with those with whom it disagrees, and fulfilling the commitments it undertakes. What will restore trust in international law and in the United Nations is more actions such as those. At the end, I thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
That's what I want to talk to you about this evening, how the world can come through the turbulence of today to reach towards something better in the decade ahead. Overcoming the forces of division and instability starts with national security. So we will keep investing in our defence, meeting our NATO commitments and strengthening European capabilities. We will be relentless in building up our hard power and deterrence. But we will not play Russia's game of trading escalatory rhetoric. Unlike Russia, we do not seek confrontation. Instead, we will be prepared, but not panicked, clear eyed but cool headed and unflinching in defending our people and our allies. True resilience depends on this military strength. But the last ten years tells us that it is also about something deeper as well. It is about the strength of the social fabric that binds us together. There is no national security without a strong, cohesive society underneath it. That's the starting point for everything we hold dear and everything we want to achieve.
