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Mr. president, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies offer extraordinary opportunities, but opportunity without inclusion can become another source of inequality. The digital divide must not become the next development divide. Developing countries must not remain passive consumers of technologies designed elsewhere. We need the capacity to participate in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, standard setting and global technology governance. Technology must serve humanity, and the governance of artificial intelligence must be inclusive, responsible and grounded in international cooperation. This is particularly important for the world's least developed countries. As The Gambia prepares to assume greater leadership within the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDC Group, we do so with a clear sense of responsibility. LDCs continue to face structural constraints, including limited productive capacity, high debt burdens, climate vulnerability, narrow export base technological gaps, and restricted access to affordable finance.
South-South cooperation remains an important complement to ODA. Partnerships among developing countries have enabled us to share expertise, technology, innovation and practical solutions suited to our circumstances. The support of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, India and our Pacific family embodies the true spirit of South-South solidarity and we value it deeply. We also acknowledge the partnership of multilateral organisations, NGOs and the private sector in supporting development work in Solomon Islands. At home, my government is working hand in hand with churches to build stronger, more inclusive communities. Cooperation and partnership at every level and across borders are critical to nation building, and my government remains fully committed to them. Mr. president, as a small island developing state, our vulnerability remains a fundamental reality. A single natural disaster can erase years of investment and progress and push the nation backwards. The Multidimensional Vulnerability Index captures the special circumstances of SIDS in a way that income measures alone does not. We call on international financial institutions to integrate the MVI into their financing decisions for SIDS without further delay. Mr. president, last year, the world spent more than $3 trillion on its militaries. That is more than 16 times all ODA. In less than 18 days, the world spends more on arms than developed countries provide in a full year of climate finance. In the same year that military spending reached its highest share of global output since 2009, development aid had its steepest fall on record. Bilateral aid to the least developed countries fell by a quarter. This imbalance must be corrected. Redirecting even a small share of this spending would fully capitalize the Pacific Resilience Facility and the Loss and Damage Fund, secure the Green Climate Fund's third replenishment and meet ODA targets.
The Lao PDR remains fully committed to its formal graduation from least developed country status, in accordance with relevant General Assembly resolution. As the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres rightly stated LDC graduation must be a reward never a punishment. To safeguard our hard won development gains and prevent structural setbacks, we are executing a robust, smooth transition strategy for the period of 2026 to 2029. We call on our international partners to provide predictable transition support, extend smooth adjustments regarding international support measures, and expand concessional financing to build enduring economic resilience. The 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development remains fully embedded within our national planning. As we prepare to present our fourth voluntary national review at the 2027 High Level Political Forum, we remain dedicated to an open, transparent assessment of our progress.
Lesotho is increasingly experiencing severe floods and droughts, resulting in unparalleled land degradation and extensive damage to critical infrastructure. Despite contributing minimally to global greenhouse gas emissions least developed countries like Lesotho bear a heavy brunt of climate impact. Global warming and rising sea levels pose terrible threats, particularly to small island developing states. We stand in solidarity with these nations and call for greater global action. To cope with these climate related challenges, we call upon developed countries to honour their commitments by providing new, adequate, predictable and accessible climate finance. Further, we urge developed countries to transfer environmentally sound technology and to strengthen capacity of developing countries to effectively mitigate and adapt to the adverse effects of climate change. Climate justice demands nothing less. Just energy transition is therefore an imperative if one is to be spared from the terrible threat of climate change. Under the visionary leadership of His Majesty King Letsie III, Lesotho has launched the His Majesty King Letsie III Just Energy Transition Fund, designed not only to decarbonise our economy, but to transform it from one historically reliant on migrant labour to one rooted in renewable energy exports. The fund seeks to attract investment to build new energy generation capacity, unlock energy independence and lay a new foundation for national prosperity that benefits every Mosotho. We therefore call for partnerships to mobilise the requisite resources for clean energy projects, which can create significant employment opportunities for our youth and women. As the first Member state to pilot the UN blueprint for national AI and data strategies from design into national implementation, Lesotho stands ready to share the lessons of that journey with fellow developing countries, particularly across Africa and among least developed and landlocked developing countries, charting similar paths towards digital sovereignty.
But we must also understand why this disaster matters beyond Nepal. Nepal contributes less than 0.1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. We did not create this crisis, yet we are paying a colossal price for it. Our glaciers are retreating, our mountain slopes are becoming unstable, our rivers are becoming less predictable, and every major disaster threatens to erase years of development. For Nepal, climate catastrophe is not just a humanitarian event, but a development emergency. It destroys roads, bridges, schools, homes, farms, and livelihoods. It destroys clean energy infrastructure that we need to fuel our future. And it forces a poor country to borrow money to repair damage it did not cause. But we are not here to blame any country or continent. We are not here to turn climate change into another geopolitical battlefield. We are here to ask everyone to recommit to shared responsibility and solidarity. Through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community has already agreed to the principle of common differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities. Those who have historically contributed more to the problem, and those with greater capacity to respond, must do more. Climate justice cannot remain a beautiful phrase in a United Nations document. People of our country be allowed to build their future instead of constantly rebuilding their past. Excellencies, the Hindu Kush Himalaya is home to nearly 2 billion people. These mountains provide water, ecosystems, agriculture, and livelihoods to populations far beyond Nepal. The Himalayas are not peripheral to the planet; they are part of the planet's life support system. That is why, as an urgent first step, we propose that we establish a Himalaya Climate Resilience Mechanism led by Nepal, India, and China. Through this mechanism, let us share satellite data and expertise, let us monitor dangerous glacial lakes, let us strengthen joint early warning systems, and when disaster strikes, let us coordinate assistance across borders. Let the Himalayas become a laboratory of international cooperation rather than a frontier of fragmented information. Remarkable for a least developed country, Nepal is already playing a global role exceeding its ecological share. We have restored forests that cover nearly half of our territory. We are installing hydropower at a pace enough to power all clean energy needs and displace dirty sources abroad. We are promoting electric mobility with an adoption rate to match parts of Europe. We are strengthening climate adaptation at the local level, and we shall do more to withstand increased intensity and frequency of climate disaster. But Nepal cannot build resilience alone against a crisis made worse by the failure of global governance. This is why this assembly must note six words: relief, rehabilitation, reconstruction, and also responsibility, reparation, resilience. The first three are what we need after disaster. The second three are what we need to ensure that disaster does not become a permanent condition. When a climate-driven disaster destroys infrastructure of a poor country, the answer cannot simply be another mega loan or a patchwork of small grants. We need adequate grant-based support from the world. The Loss and Damage Fund, the Global Environment Facility, and other financing mechanisms remain grossly inadequate. Climate finance must not become another bureaucratic maze through which vulnerable countries spend years that they need help. When the house is burning, we do not ask family to complete 50 forms. We act. This is what climate justice must mean.
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No. 6
Timor-Leste09/23 · first at about 16 min2 mentions
They are what we allowed, what we still allow, and what we will answer for. There is a painful cry for a better world order as we witness the weakening into irrelevance of multilateral institutions. No country, regardless of size or power, can address today's interconnected challenges alone. Excellencies, leadership is not merely discovering the angriest instinct of the electorate and amplifying it. Leadership is sometimes telling our own supporters that they are wrong. It is explaining complexity when a slogan would be easier. It is asking people to consider tomorrow when they are angry about today. It is persuading citizens that humanity of others who may worship differently, speak another language, or vote for another party does not diminish their own freedoms. Statesmanship requires patience, persuasion, courage to compromise. And above all, it requires an understanding that power brings responsibility, not exemption. The Charter of the United Nations was not written to make the strong weak. It was written to prevent the strong from making the world unlivable. Soon we will elect a new Secretary-General. The regional rotation precedent must be preserved. Africa had an unprecedented continuous three terms: Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 1992-1996, Kofi Annan, 1997-2006. Now the Security Council will elect a Latin American as our Secretary-General for 2027-2032. And after more than 80 years of men at the helm of our organization, needless to say, we ought to have enough wisdom and elect a woman with unquestionable integrity, unblemished record, and in defense of human rights, a strong advocacy of gender equality and inclusion, rule of law, democracy, solid experience in senior management in national and multilateral institutions. Mr. President, Excellencies, for developing countries, particularly small island developing states and least developed countries, efficiency must translate into stronger delivery on the ground, not reduced essential support. Timor-Leste urges comprehensive reform, expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, so that developing countries and historically underrepresented regions have a stronger voice in decisions concerning international peace and security. The veto is inconsistent with the sovereign equality of member states. President, Timor-Leste reaffirms the principles of climate justice, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances. Greater climate ambition must be accompanied by accessible, predictable finance: adaptation support, technology transfer, and capacity building. Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape our societies. Developing countries must actively participate in their governance and development.
We are well aware of the challenges faced by the least developed countries and small island developing states. In the Security Council, Portugal will be committed to three big priorities: prevent, partner and protect. Preventing crises and conflicts with severe human impact, which are rampant across several continents. Because there are several and not only those that are on the news. Because for us, there are no first or second class conflicts. They all concern us. All of them cooperating and developing our partnerships within a more transparent, more representative and more democratic council and protecting human dignity by combating poverty and safeguarding fundamental rights, food security, and the future of the new generations. Mr. President, excellencies and friends, the magnitude of the challenges we face demands collective responses.
Mr. President, colleagues, on October 25th, 1971, right here in this august hall, the General Assembly adopted resolution 2758 at its 26th session with an overwhelming majority by which UNGA decided to restore all the rights of the People's Republic of China in the UN and recognize the representatives of the government of the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representatives of China to the UN. This is of profound and far reaching significance for both China and the world. Over the past 55 years, China has been a stabilizing force in times of volatility. China is firmly committed to pursuing peaceful development and has the best track record on peace and security among major countries. It is the largest contributor to peacekeepers among the permanent members of the UN Security Council. It also took the initiative that led to the issuance of the first joint statement of the leaders of the five nuclear weapon states on preventing nuclear war. China has been a main engine driving common development. China has created two miracles at home, namely fast economic growth and long term social stability. And over many years, it has contributed around 30% to global growth. China has joined hands with more than three fourths of the countries in the world in pursuing high quality Belt and Road cooperation. It has mobilized over 23 billion USD and carried out more than 2000 projects under the Global Development Initiative. And it has granted zero tariff status to all the African countries and LDCs having diplomatic relations with it, to empower the Global South in pursuing modernization. China has been a progressive force in an era of change. China has always spoken up for the global South, stood up for the legitimate rights and interests of developing countries, and continued to work toward a more just and equitable global governance system. In October, China will host the Global Governance Forum in the Xiong'an New Area. You're welcome to attend the forum and join in the discussion about the way forward in global governance. Mr. President, colleagues. No matter how the international dynamics evolve, China remains unchanged in its pursuit of peace and development and its dedication to safeguarding fairness and justice, and in its commitment to multilateralism. China will join hands with all other countries to build a community with a shared future for humanity and make the world a better place for all of us. Thank you.
We have heard that this also requires United Nations Security Council able and willing to discharge the responsibility entrusted to it. As I said at the opening of this debate, in the eyes of the world, when the Security Council works, the United Nations works. Excellencies. Development, another pillar of the United Nations, featured prominently throughout the debate, but the message was clear time is running out and promises remain unfulfilled. We heard that only a few of the Sustainable Development Goals are on track. We heard that progress has stalled, and we heard the question that should trouble us all. Should we have done much more? The answer must be a resounding yes. The burden is not shared equally. Those speaking most urgently about development were often the countries facing the heaviest debt burdens, the narrowest fiscal space, the greatest climate vulnerability, and the least voice in the institutions that shape the global economy. Debt was spoken of more forcefully by those who bear it not by those with the greatest ability to resolve it. We have heard that we must honor the Sevilla Commitment to reform the international financial architecture, provide affordable and accessible finance, expand fiscal space, strengthen productive capacities, and invest in people. And we must deliver on the promise of Paris. Climate disasters are erasing hard earned development gains and deepening inequality. For small island developing states, low lying coastal countries, least developed countries and climate vulnerable nations, adaptation and resilience are not optional expenditures.
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 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: The UN was not created to take mankind to heaven, but to save humanity from hell. That is the exact scope of our task, and that is why we do not have the right to give up. First in Ukraine for almost five years, a permanent member of the Security Council has been waging a war of aggression against a sovereign state in flagrant violation of the charter. From the very outset, Monaco condemned this aggression unambiguously and unreservedly. We voted in favour of all of the General Assembly's resolutions calling and demanding for Russian forces to withdraw. We took all restrictive measures aligned with EU measures, and we also provided our humanitarian support to the Ukrainian people and hosted people displaced by the war. Our support is unwavering and it will remain so. Monaco will never recognize any annexation of territory obtained through force. Allowing this for one state would be tantamount to allowing it for all. The principality welcomes the ongoing diplomatic efforts and hopes that they will lead to fair, comprehensive, lasting peace, respecting Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Next to the Middle East, Monaco was greatly relieved by the cease fire, which entered into force in Gaza, and the fact that the hostages were freed. Nothing can ever justify the acts of terror of the 7th of October, but nor can anything justify the price paid by the civilians in Gaza. The principality calls on all parties to strengthen the fragile ceasefire and to respect every stage of it, ensuring full, safe, unhindered humanitarian access. We support efforts to rebuild Gaza, and we are concerned about the ongoing violence in the West Bank, in the occupied territories which ride roughshod over human rights and dishonor democratic values. Our belief remains the same. The only viable option is the two state solution Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security, within safe and recognized borders. Any policy that makes that scenario less likely through settlement building, or sowing terror makes peace less likely too. In Lebanon, too, Monaco supports de-escalation efforts and calls on all parties to fulfil their commitments, first and foremost Security Council Resolution 1701. The people of Lebanon have the right to a fully sovereign state in peace throughout its territory. In the Persian Gulf, finally, tensions around Iran remain a source of deep concern. Monaco pays tribute to all the civilian victims of the conflict and reiterates its solidarity with the countries of the Gulf who have been affected by the attacks. Here again, only negotiations can lead to a global agreement on the Iranian nuclear program and will prevent further escalation. Above and beyond these crises, Monaco will continue to contribute to international cooperation focused on the least developed countries through its support to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Food Programme, through development aid geared towards the health, education and empowerment of women and girls. Restoring trust also means changing the organisation itself.
Bangladesh is awaiting graduation from the list of least developed countries. For Bangladesh, as well as for all other countries undergoing this process, sustained support in areas such as assured financing greater market access, technology transfer and capacity building is essential to make the graduation process sustainable. In the present world order, all countries are interdependent. Bangladesh believes that, particularly at the regional level, we can help one another achieve prosperity through the facilitation and expansion of trade, effective connectivity and meaningful cooperation.
Last year OECD donors spent about $175 billion on development assistance... a 23% drop year-on year. And yet military expenditures approached $3 trillion.... capping 11 straight years of growth. All the while progress on the SDGs has stalled at just over a third of targets, and developing countries are now paying the price for supply chain disruptions they did not cause and cannot cure. The contrasts could not be more stark. We must better prioritize how our resources are spent by augmenting development assistance, addressing debt burdens, reforming the international financial architecture, fulfilling our Sevilla and Paris commitments. And implementing the programmes of action for LDCs, LLDCs, SIDs, as well as the AU’s Agenda 2063. Because where we have done so, the results are clear: Over the past decade, nearly one billion people have gained access to safely managed drinking water. Electricity now reaches 92 per cent of the world’s population. And internet access has risen from 40 per cent to 74 per cent. Behind these figures are healthier children, more resilient communities, greater opportunities for women and girls, and renewed hope. These gains show that accelerating the SDGs is possible when developing countries and development partners work in concert. This indeed is a shared responsibility. Developing countries must also intensify their own efforts through domestic resource mobilization and plug any leakage or corruption, including capital flight — A plague that, until recently, undermined development in my own country under a repressive, authoritarian regime.
This transition should ultimately lead to free and fair elections, in which all Sudanese participate under international and regional observation, allowing our people to determine who governs them at the conclusion of the democratic transition. Sudan has joined the borrowers Platform in recognition of the importance of development financing. We are actively participating in its foundational work in preparation for its first session next October. This is undertaken in support of efforts to implement a roadmap for debt relief. Sudan also seeks to improve relations with international financial institutions, secure the lifting of its temporary suspension from the International Monetary Fund, and establish development partnerships that will enable it to manage the recovery stage. We wish to express our sincere gratitude to the Least Developed Countries Group for the confidence it has placed in us, and for electing us as vice chair of the group's International Coordinating Bureau by consensus. We shall work to advance its development interests and economic recovery and ensure a smooth and secure graduation from this category. In the same spirit, Sudan has been among the first countries to join the Global Alliance for South, South and Triangular Cooperation. This reflects our belief in the importance of strengthening solidarity, mutual benefit and horizontal partnership as an alternative to traditional vertical aid based relations. We hope that our membership will help leverage the considerable influence of this alliance in preparing the country for the post war period, including economic recovery and reconstruction. Mr. president, we reaffirm Sudan's openness to any sincere and constructive effort aimed at ending the war imposed on its people, thereby securing peace, preserving the unity, territorial integrity and political independence of the state and preventing the outbreak of another armed rebellion.
