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Japan is striving to become the world's leading nation in disaster risk reduction. To share Japan's expertise and technology in disaster risk reduction and contribute to global efforts in this field, I appointed a new Minister of State for International Disaster Risk Reduction Cooperation in my cabinet reshuffle last week. I myself in 2015 as Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications, attended the United Nations World Conference on Disaster Reduction, where the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction was adopted. Promoting this framework remains one of our top priorities to this day.
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-work 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.
Mr. president and Excellencies, the challenges that impede our sustainable development are increasing. We must respond by implementing science based emission reductions, scale up national climate commitments and accelerate transition to renewable energy. We demand accessible and predictable adaptation grant financing to support investments in resilient infrastructure. We must operationalize the loss and damage fund. And further, we must keep the 1.5°C goal and sustain methane reduction. This is not a substitute for long term decarbonization, but can slow near-term warming, protect vulnerable communities and oceans, and preserve critical time for those on the front lines of the climate crisis. Micronesia endorses the proposed Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation treaty. A just and orderly transition away from fossil fuel is now inseparable from the wider geopolitical and economic realities shaping global energy markets. Instability in the Middle East and volatile fuel prices are the vulnerability of small island developing states to expensive fuel, unstable supply and widespread economic fragility. Shift to renewable energy is an economic necessity. Solar, wind and ocean based technologies can reduce dependence on external fuel markets, strengthen energy security, and lower emissions in line with science. The world must accelerate the transition to resilient, affordable and community centred renewable energy system. Mr. president, our people are the most important and most valuable national resource. We remain committed to delivering effective public services and advancing Micronesia priorities for our citizens wherever they reside.
What has changed is the world around it. What has changed, first and foremost is Chile. For the vast swathes of the 90s and until the beginning of the 2000, Chile was a success story and a model for many regions and nations. Our country implemented economic policies that prioritized economic stability, openness to trade, and private investment in the Latin American context in which many nations were facing inflation crises and external debt. Chile distinguished itself because it continued to show fiscal responsibility, display high rates of growth and poverty reduction. What happened then? Chile ground to a halt. Things stagnated. It took bad decisions. Public policies were implemented that increased taxation, regulation and obstacles to entrepreneurship. We also weathered a very difficult juncture. In October 2019, Chile then fell to its knees in our streets. For months, there was an outbreak of violence. Chaos reigned and disorder prevailed. All of that brought consequences. With it, investment plummeted, employment ground to a standstill and homicide levels rose to an extent that Chile had never seen in modern history as a result of the rising tide of organized crime. And that all happened until very recently. Until now. Distinguished. I've come to this forum to tell you that Chile is back, and that is no slogan. It is the very reality of a country that today begins to stride towards development. Our government took office with one conviction. Order does not run counter to freedom. Order is one of the preconditions of freedom. The freedom to walk home worry free and to not be a victim of crime. The freedom to run a business and not be stymied by the action of the state. The freedom to invest and not find ourselves in a situation where the rules of the game are continually changing. We have been in government for six years and we're getting our house in order. Today, Chile is a safer, more competitive country and a nation with far less red tape.
We now have capable people, institutions, policies that are proudly guiding our national transformation agenda. We must also ask ourselves why we continue to mobilize vital resources to respond to crisis, while investing far less in preventing them. The UN office for Disaster Risk Reduction estimates that every $1 invested in proactive measures, resilient infrastructure or early anticipatory actions saves between 3 to 15 USD in future damages and response costs. Therefore, we cannot remain trapped in a cycle of financing the consequences of the conflict while neglecting the peacebuilding or responding to humanitarian emergencies while underinvesting in resilience and anticipatory actions. Prevention is more cost effective, it's more humane, and it's more sustainable. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Now El Nino is strengthening and is likely to bring another period of significant climate stress across the world, with disproportionate impact on nations like Somalia.
Niger is not pursuing confrontation with any country. It opens its arms to all partners that wish to build a new relationship based on equality, reciprocity and mutual interest, and shared interest. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, for more than half a century, uranium, this miraculous substance, Niger's uranium, has lit the cities of Europe, while our cities have remained in darkness. That injustice is now over. It is at an end. In June 2025, the state of Niger recovered control of SOMAÏR, the Société des mines de l'Aïr. Our resources will now be managed by us and for us and Niger intends to sell its uranium on the international market in full transparency and in strict compliance with its nuclear non-proliferation obligations. You will have heard at some point in the past, Air France say that Niger was intending to use this uranium. When they left our country, they sabotaged all of the material. And Niger has invested some 30 billion of our francs to continue that production. Totally making use of Nigerien workers and experts. Not a single foreigner was involved in that. The current stock belongs to our country. It does not belong to anyone and we will sell it to all those who wish to buy in total transparency, as I have just said. Similarly, in 2024, our country became an exporter of crude oil thanks to the oil pipeline linking Agadem to the Atlantic coast along the African continent, the longest one in the African continent, making Niger one of the continent's fastest growing economies in 2025. That revenue is going into our own security to agriculture, electrification, water and sanitation, education, health, the health of our fellow citizens. And the Solidarity Fund for the safeguarding of the homeland, which is made up of the voluntary contributions of millions of Nigeriens, tells you everything you need to know about a people that has understood that sovereignty has a price and that it is willing to pay it. Ladies and gentlemen, three years after breaking with the old order, progress on the ground is remarkable. Our economy has seen 7% growth in 2026. In 2025, excuse me. Driven above all by oil and agriculture. Inflation, which reached 9.1% in 2024, has fallen to -4.7% thanks to exceptional agricultural production and a targeted reduction of fuel and cement prices. All of the country's riches will be redistributed to benefit our population.
Minister Murat Kurum, representing the incoming COP31 presidency, has put the challenge plainly the time for simply setting out goals is behind us. Anyone who experienced this summer in Europe and elsewhere knows that it was the hottest on record, and the super El Niño has not even yet hit. The proposed action agenda places methane reduction at the centre of climate implementation, and we welcome that focus. It is true that carbon dioxide must remain central to the global energy transition, but emissions are not falling quickly enough, and the full benefits of action will take time to emerge. So, Mr. President, under Barbados's presidency of the CVF Climate Vulnerable Forum and its V20 countries, 74 countries got together and advanced the call to pull the methane emergency brake at the G20 Ministerial Dialogue in April of this year. The finance ministers agreed that methane reduction must be treated not only as an environmental priority, but also an economic, fiscal and public health opportunity. We must now implement. Climate vulnerable countries need to mobilise approximately $490 billion each year by 2030, and yet the current inflows are roughly $90 billion. As a young people in Barbados would say, the math simply ain't mathing. We must also correct the inequity of the borrowing costs that these countries face. It is almost 1.2 percentage points higher for climate vulnerable countries than for advanced economies. Now that figure seems small to you, but that actually generates an estimated $62 billion more a year in excess interest payments each year.
These are not unrealistic propositions. They are the only possible foundations of a stable world. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a reliable and responsible member of the United Nations. Among other things, I would like to remind that Bosnia and Herzegovina is aware of climate change and committed to contributing to global efforts committed to the transition towards renewable energy sources and the reduction of harmful gas emissions, and determined to combat all forms of terrorism.
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 pool 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.
Mr. President, the sustainability of our oceans and fisheries is closely linked to the changing climate, and the pressures we face on our marine resources are increasingly compounded by its impacts. Climate change remains one of the most pressing challenges to our development and way of life. Sea-level rise, coastal erosion, saltwater intrusion and extreme weather events continue to place pressure on our communities, infrastructure, water security and livelihoods. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report reinforces the urgency of these challenges and particularly the risks faced by small island States. Through our long-term national development vision, the Kiribati Vision for 20 years, and our national priorities under Te Motinnano policies, we continue to invest in resilient infrastructure, water security, coastal protection, disaster preparedness, renewable energy and community-based adaptation. Our objective is clear: to continue building a wealthy, healthy and peaceful Kiribati, where our people can live with dignity, in peace and with opportunities. Renewable energy is increasingly important to Kiribati’s development and energy access. We therefore see greater investment in renewable energy as an important opportunity to reduce our reliance on imported fossil fuels and strengthen the resilience and sustainability of our energy sector. But national action must be matched by international action. We call for greater ambition, stronger support for adaptation and climate finance that is adequate, predictable and accessible, particularly for Small Island Developing States. Kiribati recognises the importance of international law in addressing climate change. The International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change advances climate justice by affirming that all States have binding duties to protect the climate system and achieve deep, rapid, and sustained greenhouse gas reductions consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. We welcome growing recognition that climate resilience must be locally owned and driven. The Pacific Resilience Facility is a Pacific-led, Pacific-owned mechanism that strengthens the region’s capacity to finance climate and disaster resilience. The Pacific’s co-hosting of COP31 with Türkiye later this year further demonstrates the value of local action.
Our presidency demonstrated that mine action is indispensable foundation for poverty reduction, human dignity, and sustainable development. Mr. president, as the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, prepared to complete his distinguished tenure at the helm of our organization the government and the people of Lao PDR wish to express our profound appreciation and heartfelt gratitude for his principled leadership, moral clarity, and unwavering dedication to the United Nations. A true and trusted friend of Lao PDR and fellow peace loving developing nations across the Global South, Secretary-General Guterres, will be warmly remembered for his tireless advocacy for international financial architecture reform, climate justice, sustainable development financing, and the dignity of the countries in special situation. His legacy of solidarity and bold championing of equity would continue to inspire our collective, multilateral effort for years to come. Mr. president, in conclusion, the Lao PDR firmly believes that the United Nations remains the essential home of global cooperation. No single nation can overcome today's complex global challenges alone. Let us unite our collective strength, renew our trust in multilateralism, and work together to build a peaceful, resilient and prosperous world where no nation and people is left behind.
We call for stronger international cooperation to protect young people from nicotine dependence and to put public health before profit. Resilience must also transform into how we power our homes, move our people, and connect our islands. Energy security is climate security and national security. Through the Manubada Call to Action, the Pacific reaffirmed a shared vision of 100 percent renewable energy and a just, inclusive, and equitable transition away from fossil fuels. This is not about reducing emissions; it is about reducing vulnerability to imported fuel, external shocks, and prices we do not control. Palau is carrying that regional commitment into national action. Our latest commitment targets a 44 percent reduction in fossil fuel use by 2035, supported by renewable energy generation and practical policies that make the transition affordable and reliable. Our energy future reflects a larger truth: resilience requires partnership shaped by our priorities and respects our sovereignty.
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No. 13
Saudi Arabia09/26 · first at about 11 min1 mention
We have to ensure that the Iraqi territory will not become a source of attack against other neighbouring countries. Mr. President, the achievements made through Saudi Vision 2030, ten years after its launch, represent a model of comprehensive national transformation. The latter is based on economic diversification, investment in human capital, promotion of innovation, empowerment of youth and women, development of the private sector, and consolidation of sustainability. The Vision has contributed to strengthening the Kingdom's position as a regional and international hub for business, investment, tourism, industry, technology and logistics. Thus, non-oil activities accounted for 55% of non-oil GDP. The level of unemployment among Saudis has declined, reaching 6.4% in 2026, compared with 12.3% in 2016. Mr. President, energy security rests on the strength and resilience of the energy system and its capacity to withstand and adapt to disruptions. Ensuring the stability of energy supplies, protecting critical infrastructure, diversifying supply routes and safeguarding freedom of navigation are all shared responsibility that require sustained international cooperation. The Kingdom demonstrated this commitment in practice during the disruptions affecting maritime navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining the continuity of energy supplies. Through its long term investments in infrastructure, the East West pipeline, together with its petroleum reserves outside the region, also contributed to mitigating the effects of those disruptions and enhancing the reliability of supplies to global markets. The Kingdom affirms that energy security and climate action are mutually reinforcing objectives. In this context, we stress the importance of not excluding any source of energy and of pursuing realistic and comprehensive transition pathways that achieve energy security, protect the climate, and support economic development. This approach has contributed to making the Kingdom one of the countries with the lowest carbon and methane emissions globally from hydrocarbon resource production operations. The Kingdom continues to develop a more efficient and sustainable energy system through the deployment of emissions reduction technologies, including carbon capture, utilisation and storage, and carbon dioxide removal.
From primarily a recipient of invaluable assistance during the years of Doi Moi, Vietnam today is making proactive contributions to our common endeavours while deepening and broadening our substantive relations with the UN. Vietnamese military personnel and police officers have served and will continue to serve in UN peacekeeping operations, carrying our nation's aspiration for peace to places where peace remains fragile. A tradition of independence and self-reliance provides a foundation for Vietnam to strengthen its strategic autonomy and proactively pursue international integration. Looking towards our goal of becoming a developing country with a modern industrial base and upper middle income by 2030 and developed high income country by 2045, Vietnam is establishing a new development model based on productivity, quality and added value with science, technology, innovation and digital transformation as key drivers, with economic growth closely linked to cultural development, social progress and equity and environmental protection. Autonomy also means proactively adapting and cooperating with the world on an equal footing. Vietnam, therefore, pursues a consistent foreign policy of independence, autonomy, self-reliance, peace, friendship, cooperation and development, and of multilateralism and diversification of external relations. Vietnam will remain steadfast in upholding the UN charter and international law, promoting dialogue on the peaceful settlement of disputes and deepening its participation in UN peacekeeping missions. Vietnam is working with fellow ASEAN member states to build a united, self-reliant and resilient ASEAN and actively preparing to host APEC in 2027 and as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, Vietnam champions dialogue and cooperation in promoting and protecting human rights and ensuring that all can share the fruits of development. We stand ready to share our experience in poverty reduction, agricultural development and climate change adaptation, and work with partners to broaden cooperation for common interests. The world will continue to change. The direction for such change will depend on the choices we make and the responsibilities we shoulder today. Vietnam chooses peace, cooperation and development. We will work steadfastly with all countries to strengthen the UN, uphold international law and translate our shared commitments into tangible benefits for our people. We believe that with a strong UN, together we can build a more peaceful, equitable, inclusive and better world for all. And on this journey, Vietnam will remain an active member, a reliable partner and a responsible nation, always standing ready to contribute to the common endeavours of the international community.
Mr. president, development also requires peace and security. For Jamaica and our wider Caribbean region, transnational organized crime remains a serious threat. Last year, from this very podium, Prime Minister Andrew Holness called for a global war on gangs, a coordinated international effort capable of matching the reach, financing and sophistication of transnational criminal networks. Jamaica reiterates that call today. Illicit firearms do not manufacture themselves in our communities. They cross borders. Criminal money crosses borders, criminal networks exploit technology and operate across borders. Our response must therefore also cross borders. We call for stronger cooperation in firearms tracing and interdiction, intelligence and information sharing, financial investigations, and law enforcement capacity building. We also urge major arms-exporting states to strengthen export controls and post delivery verification. At home, Jamaica has invested heavily in our security forces, strengthened legislation, enhanced intelligence gathering oversight and transformed policing. The results are remarkable by any standard. In 2025, Jamaica recorded its lowest number of homicides in more than three decades. And in 2026, with even further reductions, the Global Peace Index ranked Jamaica the most peaceful country in the Caribbean. We recognize that there remains work to be done, but the direction is clear and our objective is not merely fewer crimes. It is a durable ecosystem of peace in which every Jamaican can feel safe, raise a family, do business, and fulfill his or her potential, and retire in Paradise. Mr. president, nowhere in our region is the challenge of criminal gangs more devastating than in our CARICOM sister nation of Haiti. Jamaica stands firmly with the Haitian people.
The second opportunity is strengthening climate action resilience. Mr. president, Malawi contributes negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions, yet we remain on the front line of the climate crisis. In recent years, devastating cyclones, prolonged droughts and increasingly erratic weather patterns have destroyed infrastructure, devastated crops, displaced thousands of our citizens and inflicted severe damage on our economy. This year, we face the added threat of El Nino related extreme weather, which risks further undermining livelihoods food security and economic stability. As such, we are fighting back by embedding climate resilience into our national development planning and strengthening locally driven adaptation measures. However, our efforts are continually outpaced by the scale and speed of climate change. Climate shocks repeatedly destroy infrastructure, decimate agricultural production and make worse food insecurity and erode hard-won development gains. Mr. president, the global community must therefore move beyond rhetoric and translate commitments into meaningful action. We call for the full and effective operationalisation and capitalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund. Major historical and current emitters must honour their climate finance commitments by providing accessible, predictable, grant based and highly concessional financing rather than relying on debt-creating instruments that further burden countries already struggling to cope with the consequences of a crisis they did little to cause. Mr. president, Malawi, therefore, calls for enhanced, predictable and easily accessible climate finance, with greater emphasis on adaptation and disaster risk reduction. We need sustainable investment in early warning systems, climate-resilient infrastructure, sustainable land management, climate smart agriculture and locally led adaptation. Climate change is an existential threat to Malawi's development and to the hard won gains we have made. Mr. president, the third opportunity is to reform global governance and strengthening multilateralism. The current global challenges underscore a fundamental truth.
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.
The issue concerns the unique high altitude Lake Issyk-Kul, which is part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve and is included among wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Framework. Today, this invaluable natural water reservoir is under severe climatic stress. Over the past 170 years, the water level has fallen by almost 14m, while over the past five years the rate of decline has reached approximately seven centimeters per year. 101 rivers historically flowed into the lake, but today only 30 flow throughout the entire year. The main source of water for Lake Issyk-Kul is the glacier of the Tien Shan Mountains. Over the past 70 years, more than 30% of the region's mountain glaciers have melted. Nearly 20% of this reduction has occurred within the just past 7 to 10 years. This process poses a direct threat to the biodiversity of the region and economic stability of hundreds of thousands of people. As part of our efforts to preserve Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyzstan is mobilizing all available domestic resources, in particular the state concept for the sustainable Development of the Issyk-Kul ecological and economic system until 2030 is being implemented. Strict environmental restrictions have been introduced and pilot projects have been launched to monitor the depths of the lake using the underwater robotic technologies. Large scale efforts to clean the lake bed and its waters are continuing on a regular basis. The scale and speed of climate change exceed the capacity of any individual mountain country and require consolidated international action. The loss of Lake Issyk-Kul would not be merely a local tragedy. It would become an irreversible environmental loss for the entire region. In order to understand the potential scale of this environmental challenge and the costs associated with preventing, it is important to look at the fate of the Aral Sea and Lake Chad, both of which have suffered severely over recent decades. Please take a look at. Not so long ago the Aral Sea and Lake Chad, just like Issyk-Kul today, were full and reservoir was full of water. Today they have largely dried up. For us, this example must serve as a clear warning. Taking this opportunity, I officially call upon the United Nations, international financial institutions and donor countries to support our initiative to establish under the auspice of the organization the Special Joint Trust Fund for the Preservation of Lake Issyk-Kul. In order to demonstrate our commitments through concrete actions, we are prepared to contribute 10 million USD from the state budget to this fund. In our culture, there is a concept known as Amanat. It means the duty to carefully preserve what our ancestors have entrusted to us and to pass it on to future generations. In this sense, it would be fair to state that Lake Issyk-Kul is our shared climate Amanat. We are not asking for help. We are proposing a joint global partnership to preserve this unique natural resource for the earth. Before it is too late, let us unite our efforts and resources within the framework of this Trust fund. Distinguished participants.
In this process we will begin with a stop to further advances in North Korea's nuclear and missile capabilities, followed by their reductions in the medium term moving toward the Korean Peninsula free from nuclear weapons over the long term. I hope that the United Nations, which created a pivotal moment for peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula 35 years ago, and the Security Council, which has safeguarded the peace and stability of the international community, will once again play a responsible and constructive role.
The above would enable developing countries to invest in education, health, agriculture, climate resilience and other productive sectors to holistically address their interconnected challenges. Mr. president, climate change presents another test of our collective credibility, and for The Gambia, it is not a distant threat. Coastal erosion, changing rainfall patterns, pressure on water resources, food insecurity and environmental degradation are already affecting our communities and livelihoods. However, we are responding with determination by investing in renewable energy, coastal resilience, mangrove restoration, disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, water security, and nature based solutions. National electricity access reached 90% universal access by the end of 2026. We are expanding our solar energy in schools and health facilities, modernizing our electricity network, and advancing a 150 megawatt solar park. We have also adopted our first national disaster risk mitigation Plan, but we urge that our national ambition be supported by external action to make climate finance accessible, predictable and adequate, including through the sustained implementation of the new collective Quantified Goal on climate finance and effective arrangements to address loss and damage, build climate resilience and a fairer international order in which those who have contributed least to the climate crisis are not left to bear the greatest burdens.
The Paraguay that, after the military catastrophe, became a true open-air graveyard, is today a very different country. Paraguay has risen up. And it is ready to take its place in the world. We rose up through hard work, through openness to the world, and through the stubborn determination of a people that did not choose its geography but did choose their own destiny. Today, Paraguay is experiencing one of the finest economic periods in its history. And it has become an example to other countries of macroeconomic stability, sustained growth, and poverty reduction. As a result of this, in December 2025, Standard & Poor's awarded us our second investment-grade rating, making Paraguay the first country in more than a decade to achieve that distinction. In the final quarter of that year, unemployment fell to 3.6%. This is the lowest level on our records. Growth only matters if it is felt at home. Decent employment is one of the best social policies a state can provide. And that's not all. Paraguay has reduced poverty to levels never seen before. In less than 20 years, we have brought the poverty rate down from 58% to 16%, faster than any other country in the region. Because people matter to us. Moreover, the future is bright, not only because our electricity supply is abundant, stable, and 100% renewable, but also because our region possesses land, energy, critical minerals, and, most importantly, its extraordinary people. Mr. President, as I come to the end of my statement, I wish to return to the idea with which I began. People no longer want slogans alone. They want solutions to their problems. And above all, they want peace. They want freedom, security, democracy, prosperity, and opportunities for their children. And those of us who are entrusted with the responsibility of leading our countries must rise to those expectations. Paraguay knows that the road ahead is difficult. But we also know that it is not impossible. We believe it is possible to build a world in which cooperation delivers results, a world where democracy is not an empty promise, a world where technology serves humanity, a world in which development reaches those who need it most. And we believe that Paraguay has much to contribute to that future. We are a country that did not choose its geography. But we are a country that chose our destiny, a country that has confronted adversity and chose to rise again, a country with energy, resources, talent, and, above all, an unbreakable determination to progress. We are a country that has stopped asking what we lack and has begun asking," How far can we go?" This is the Paraguay, the Paraguay of great ambitions, a Paraguay that is engaged with the world, that opens its door to opportunity, that defends its sovereignty, that embraces peace, freedom, and democracy, a Paraguay that seeks to grow without leaving anyone behind. And that Paraguay has a message for the world today. We have come to show what we are capable of.
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-US 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-educated 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 of investing 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 sleepwalking 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.
At this critical historical juncture for the United Nations, we look forward with great hope to the selection through the process of electing the new Secretary-General of the most capable and deserving individual to lead the organization with a bold, strategic vision, building upon the efforts of his predecessor and capable of providing practical solutions for the various regions whose peoples continue to suffer the consequences of crises, wars, instability and inequality. A vision that restores hope to future generations for a better future in which the conditions for a dignified life are available to all. Mr. president we meet during this 81st session under the theme Restoring Trust and Managing Transformation a United Nations that delivers for all. This prompts us to ask, how can we restore this trust? And before managing the desired transformation, how can we create the conditions and lay the foundations necessary for it? Our questions stem neither from doubt nor from pessimism, but from a firm conviction that restoring trust requires serious and responsible reflection on the reasons behind its decline. Tunisia's belief in multilateral action is not a product of current circumstances. Rather, it is the continuation of a journey that began before independence, when the national movement brought the cause of the Tunisian people before the United Nations and made the right to self-determination and the recovery of sovereignty, an integral part of the struggle for freedom. Following independence, Tunisia engaged fully within the United Nations to complete the foundations of its sovereignty and to build the modern state, and it succeeded in doing so. Restoring confidence in the organization and in multilateral action requires, in our view, two essential conditions a genuine commitment and a meaningful reform process. First, there must be a sincere determination and responsible commitment by all states to respect international law founded on agreement and the principle of sovereign equality among states, and to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN charter, particularly refraining from the use of force, the settlement of disputes by peaceful means and fulfilling international obligations in good faith. Second, the United Nations must embark on a comprehensive and profound reform process that responds to the transformations that have taken place in the world. This requires, in particular, reconsidering the mechanisms of decision making within the organization to ensure a more balanced and equitable geographical representation, and establishing more effective mechanisms for transparency and accountability, thus reinforcing the confidence of states and peoples in the organisation's ability to respond to the aspirations of all. Unless genuine progress is achieved on these two tracks, collective action will remain hostage to narrow geopolitical calculations, and the gap will continue to widen between the principles we agree upon and the realities we witness on the ground. We may choose either to continue meeting under the idealism of slogans, or to commit ourselves to what can truly achieve development, prosperity and peace for all. If we have the will, we have the capacity. Tunisia welcomes the efforts undertaken within the framework of the UN80 Initiative. We regard these efforts as a true opportunity on which we should build, rather than a final destination in the reform process. We support the three reform tracks proposed by the initiative, provided that they are pursued through an inclusive, consultative process that preserves the intergovernmental nature of the organization and does not undermine the negotiating mandates of member states. Tunisia also believes that addressing the liquidity crisis in the organization requires all states to meet their financial obligations in full. We stress that reform should not result in a reduction of support allocated to developing countries, or to humanitarian missions and development programmes supervised by the organization and specialized agencies. Tunisia, therefore, calls for a fair and balanced approach that safeguards both the effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations. Mr. president.
