For Kiribati, the theme reaffirms our shared duty to strengthen the United Nations and ensure it serves everyone. Mr. President, Kiribati is an ocean nation. We are a Big Ocean Sustainable State. Our economy, food security, livelihoods, culture and way of life depend on healthy, sustainable marine resources. Sustainable management is essential to our long-term development and we call for increasing efforts and partnerships to help agreeable, equitable progress towards SDG 14, “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.” The 2026 Sustainable Development Goals Report reminds us that our oceans and fisheries continue to face mounting pressures from overfishing, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, pollution, warming and acidification. The entry into force of the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement marks an important step towards stronger and more equitable ocean governance. Kiribati is proud to have signed and ratified this Agreement and calls on Member States to recognise the vital importance of our shared ocean and to work collectively to translate the Agreement’s historic ambition into meaningful global action.

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President, I come from a country that is small in size but huge in terms of our nature. The Galápagos Islands, where Darwin found evidence of the evolution of life, are a world heritage site for the whole of humanity, and today they are threatened by illegal fishing networks that operate with the same logic and the same financing of other organized crime groups. The same is happening with illegal mining in the Amazon that's destroying forests and funding gangs. Protecting nature is also a matter of security.

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Every nation, regardless of population or economic power, possesses an inherent right to sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national dignity. Today, however, sovereignty faces quiet, insidious threats. Transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing threaten our security, wreck our marine ecosystems, and steal from our people. Because these threats interconnected, our response must be equally integrated, stronger international intelligence sharing, expanded maritime surveillance, and practical law enforcement support. It is unreasonable to expect nations safeguarding vast oceanic domains with modest budgets to meet standards set by heavily resourced states, without providing them the tools to do so.

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For Micronesia, climate impact are a national concern. We underscore the importance of safeguarding maritime security across the Blue Pacific. Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, transnational crimes and environmental degradation threatened not only our economies, but the health of our marine environment as well. We urge the international community to enhance cooperation, share technology and support capacity building to ensure that the ocean remains a zone of peace governed by international law.

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At the same time, in the face of threats posed by illegal fishing and transnational crime, Sao Tomé and Principe will continue to work with the states of the region and international partners to strengthen maritime security and promote a sustainable blue economy, thus preserving our resources for future generations. The preservation of these resources and the building of sustainable development ultimately depend on people and on the opportunities afforded to them. The future of Sao Tomé and Principe hinges on our ability to create opportunities for the next generation. Our priority is to ensure that young people have the conditions to study, work, start businesses, innovate and fulfil their life aspirations in their own country. In a nation of our size, every talent counts and every young person is an indispensable force for national progress.

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Our most pressing threats are already reaching our shores. Transnational crime illicit drugs, illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, cyber threats and unresolved consequences of nuclear testing and radioactive contamination remain. In this respect, our region is committed to directly utilising innovative technologies and working closely with our trusted security partners to address our security challenges. We are committed to protecting the rights of marginalised people and ending violence against women and young girls. This year, Tonga ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with disabilities, reaffirming our commitment to the dignity and the equal participation of persons with disabilities.

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Illegal fishing, pollution, biodiversity loss and warming, acidifying seas do not respect national boundaries. No island nation can meet them alone. This year, the agreement on marine Biodiversity beyond national Jurisdiction entered into force a genuine achievement of multilateralism and Fiji calls for universal ratification for a first conference of the parties that delivers a functioning institution and for capacity building technology transfer that are real rather than aspirational. And in the deep sea, we ask for others not only the discipline, but we ask ourselves and no exploitation proceed until the science is sufficient and the rules are sound. The common heritage of humankind is an obligation owed to those not yet born. Mr. president, Fiji comes to this great assembly as a small island state, but not with a small vision.

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Solomon Islands reaffirms that maritime boundaries, once established and deposited in accordance with UNCLOS, together with the rights and entitlements that flow from them, shall continue to apply notwithstanding any physical changes caused by climate change related sea level rise. Sir, the ocean is not simply a resource. It is our identity, our heritage and our future. It sustains our livelihoods, our culture and our economy. We do not own the ocean. We belong to it. We hold it in solemn trust for generations yet to be born. Yet our ability to benefit fully from our own ocean is undermined by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, which costs our region US$300 million every year. Solomon Islands is fighting back, working with the Forum Fisheries Agency and partners including Australia, France, New Zealand and the US to strengthen surveillance and enforcement across our waters. Mr. president, the SDG 14 remains among the least funded of all the Sustainable Development Goals. With just four years left until 2030, the fourth UN Ocean Conference must raise the bar on ocean finance and secure the ocean's place in the development agenda beyond 2030. Solomon Islands welcomes the entry into force of the agreement and the preparations for the first conference of the parties in January. We look to that conference to establish, without delay, the Secretariat and the institutional arrangements to implement the agreement. Plastic pollution is poisoning our ocean and our food. As negotiations resume in Bangkok, Solomon Islands calls for an ambitious, legally binding treaty that addresses the full cycle of plastics from production to disposal. Mr. president, our people are our greatest asset. With more than half of our population under the age of 25, my government is prioritising legal frameworks that empower young people, advance gender equality and strengthen the protection of women and children against domestic violence.

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