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The first and foremost challenges of humanity are to redress economic injustices, create wealth, and more broadly and accurately ensure fair distribution of wealth and income. The prevailing injustices stem from the denial of the rights as well as enabling environment for humanity to create and accumulate wealth without any encumbrances on the one hand, and the usurpation of the right and opportunity for rational distribution of whatever nominal wealth they create under suppressive conditions on the other. This is precisely the reason why the prevailing international order has become, and is dubbed as a zero sum game. In the event, the imperative for installing a new world order predicated on justice and rationality, and that jettisons the zero sum system remains humanity's fundamental individual and collective rights. In this respect, the overarching mission of the endeavour struggle of mankind can be summed up in one to fairly own their economic resources and produce of their work, and march on a sustainable path of generational progress and prosperity by accumulating wealth. Two to secure peace and stability in order to guarantee prosperity and economic growth. Three to ensure prevalence of fairness and justice as vital prerequisites for peace and stability. Four to promote mutual respect, complementarity and cohesion or integration so as to bolster wider regional and global peace and stability, as well as mutual growth.
Mr. President, excellencies, my friends, we meet at a time when the obstacles confronting human progress are multiplying, obstacles to peace, obstacles to food and clean water, obstacles to finance, medicine and education, obstacles to movement and opportunity. Obstacles to technology, to the knowledge and infrastructure needed to use it, and increasingly, obstacles between nations, between communities, and between people who no longer agree on the same facts or trust the same institutions. War continues to destroy lives and communities. Even though the international community possesses more tools than ever before to prevent conflict and to facilitate dialogue. The climate crisis is accelerating. Even though the science is clear enough for us to act, and many of the solutions are already known. And despite unprecedented global wealth, millions remain without reliable access to food, water, health or shelter. These challenges, my friends, are creating the crises of which we constantly speak, and at the same time, new challenges are emerging. Artificial intelligence is opening extraordinary possibilities in health, education, science, and productivity while also creating new risk of exclusion, exploitation, surveillance and the distortion of truth. And yet, the cooperation needed to confront these challenges is under strain. It is why I believe the theme this year is so apt. Restoring trust. Managing transformation. A United Nations that delivers for all. The theme reminds us that we have institutions created to preserve peace, to advance development, and yes, to protect human dignity. The institutions are these very United Nations. We have shared principles grounded in sovereign equality, and in the recognition that our responsibilities extend beyond borders. The reality is that we understand that there is, regrettably enough, for us to be able to invest in prevention rather than waiting to finance reconstruction. We understand enough about the climate crisis to reduce the emissions that are warming our planet, and take the necessary steps for our populations to adapt. We equally now understand enough about the rapid development of AI to know that as we welcome its promise, we must anchor its development in a universal, humanizing framework that does not imperil our existence as human beings. The failure, my friends, to address these challenges, therefore, is not one simply of knowledge or capacity. It is a repeated failure to convert what we know into what we do. To turn principle into practice and global capacity into solidarity. So beneath our many crises lies yet another one. And yes, it is a crisis of responsibility. Mr. President, that responsibility begins here in these halls.
Mr. President, few situations illustrate so painfully the gap between international commitments and lived reality as that of the East of the DRC. For more than three decades, millions of Congolese have been suffering attacks, forced displacement, and bereavement. Territories have been occupied, families dispersed, women and girls have suffered sexual violence, while children are recruited by armed groups or deprived of education. At the same time, the looting of our resources continues to fuel international trade. My country continues to face a war of aggression led by Rwanda through its proxy, the AFC M23, in violation of its sovereignty, our sovereignty, and our territorial integrity, as documented by the UN. The atrocities committed by other armed groups, especially the ADF and CODECO, are exacerbating this humanitarian crisis even further. To combat this challenge, the DRC has chosen the path of diplomacy without ever abandoning its rights. The peace agreement signed in Washington on June 27, 2025, the commitments made as part of the Doha process, and the roadmap coordinated by the African Union have opened up prospects that we have constantly supported. I commend the United States, Qatar, the African Union, African facilitators, regional partners, and all those who are sincerely striving to restore peace. However, for the sake of truth, we must recognize that for millions of Congolese, this peace remains only a promise. Resolution 2773 of the Security Council has laid out an unambiguous path. It calls for an effective cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory, an end to all support for armed groups, the disengagement of the AFC M23, the dismantling of parallel administrations, the restoration of state authority, unhindered humanitarian access, and the safe and dignified return of displaced persons and refugees. But we don't need new texts to replace those that have already been adopted. What we need is their implementation. With regard to the issue of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, the FDLR, long cited by Kigali to justify its military presence on our territory, the DRC is shouldering its responsibility. The protocol signed by the political and military leadership of the FDLR on May 30, 2026, provides for the disarmament, demobilization, and containment of their combatants, with a view toward their repatriation or resettlement without prejudice to potential judicial prosecution for serious crimes, until the movement is disbanded. The repatriation on September 8, with the support of MONUSCO, of 120 persons associated with the FDLR, is a first testament to the protocol's implementation. The issue of the FDLR, therefore, should no longer serve as a pretext for maintaining foreign military presence in our territory. The coordinated implementation of the mechanisms of Washington, Doha, and the African Union must be subject to a precise time frame, independent verification, regular information exchange, and clear consequences in case of violations. In this context, MONUSCO maintains a vital role in protecting civilians, monitoring the ceasefire, and supporting agreed-upon mechanisms. Any change to its presence must be determined by the conditions of security on the ground, the strengthening of national capacity, and the guarantee that no vacuum of power will remain to the detriment of populations. The DRC, for its part, will continue to fully shoulder its responsibility, especially through pursuing reforms of its defense and security institutions, through bolstering state authority, and through reconstruction on territories affected by the conflicts. And because the peace sought after in the subregion ought to go hand in hand with cohesion within our nation, the President of the DRC launched on August 28 a national dialogue for peace, cohesion, and the rebuilding of the state. This dialogue is open to the political and social forces that are committed to the Republic, our constitution, our territorial integrity, and to the rejection of violence. It does not aim to circumvent institutions nor to distribute power. It ought to help us address the structural causes of our vulnerabilities, to consolidate national unity, and to build a state that is more just, more involved, and more protective. Our hand remains outstretched toward all of the children of Congo that choose peace, Republican debate, and loyalty to their homeland. We Congolese speak to each other with frankness and responsibility, but no internal dialogue can transform an external aggression into a simple domestic dispute. At the same time, no external aggression should absolve us of correcting our own weaknesses. National cohesion and the defense of our territorial integrity are not mutually exclusive but mutually complementary. Because the peace that we seek cannot be limited to a ceasefire, it ought to also help our country regain full control of its future by transforming the wealth that has too often gone to fuel conflict into tools for development and shared prosperity. Mr. President, it is another paradox that my country's experience is showing the world, that some of its resources that fuel conflicts on its territory are also those that a growing proportion of the transformations of the global economy depend upon.
I come from a country made up of 10 islands in the Mid-Atlantic, a country aware of its vulnerabilities, but one that has learned that the size of a territory must never determine the size of our dreams. The history of Cabo Verde is also a history of learning. We have learned to confront drought and scarcity to transform a sea from a barrier into a bridge, but above all, we have learned that a nation's greatest wealth lies in its people. We even have a word for this wealth, which is morabeza, a term that defines the cordiality, determination, and kindness of our people, which the world was able to witness a little during this year's Football World Cup.
We are the largest coffee exporter in Central America and the fifth largest globally. 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.
Last year at this rostrum, I noted that Suriname is diversity. And at a time when diversity is too often manipulated as a source of division, Suriname has chosen the path to recognize the distinct histories of its people, while strengthening their unity and their shared responsibility for the future. Our experience affirms that diversity, when grounded in equality, mutual respect, and meaningful participation, is not an adversity. It is a source of national resilience and prosperity. Last month, the Republic of Suriname observed its first heritage month under the theme "Hoe wij hier ook samen kwamen, hoe wij samen verder gaan", meaning as much as "However we came here, united we move forward". This initiative was conceived not merely to celebrate our culture and the diversity in it, but as a deliberate national undertaking centered on growing inclusion, mutual respect, and unity. And this process is also relevant for the global community. Mr. president, the development of Suriname's offshore natural resources, including oil and gas, will present significant, significant opportunities to accelerate national development and improve the well-being of our people. Yet, we are equally conscious that oil and gas cannot and should not become the only foundation of our economy. Our approach is therefore clear. We must transform temporary resource wealth into lasting national prosperity, using resource revenues strategically to strengthen our economy and make it more resilient through diversification. Additionally, we will need to improve our energy security. And although we are preparing for gas to shore and gas to energy, renewable energy will be part of our national energy mix.
We seek to reduce our dependence on imports, increase national production and ensure better market access for farmers so that a greater share of the value generated by quality products such as cocoa and coffee, remains in the country. If the land is essential to our food security, the sea and our biodiversity represent one of the broadest horizons for our development. The recognition of our territory by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve confirms the exceptional value of our natural heritage and reinforces our responsibility to protect it and make the most of it. We aim to turn this wealth into opportunities for sustainable development through fisheries, the blue economy, research and nature based tourism that generates jobs and income for local communities.
For Malawi, the pursuit of wealth creation, self-reliance and economic transformation is not merely a political aspiration; it is an urgent survival strategy. Because of this, we have remained steadfast in implementing the SDGs in alignment with our long term development vision, the Malawi 2063. On this note, Mr. President, I'm happy to report that Malawi successfully presented our third voluntary national review during the 2026 ECOSOC High Level Political Forum, thereby reaffirming our commitment to the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and the Malawi 2063, as well as our desire to accelerate sustainable development and economic transformation. The review revealed that even though we face numerous structural challenges, we have made some progress on many of the SDGs. Mr. president, our goal is to systematically transform our economy by modernising agriculture, expanding mining and accelerating digitalisation.
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No. 9
Sierra Leone09/22 · first at about 9 min2 mentions
Through ECOSOC, Sierra Leone will champion a development system that responds more effectively to Africa's priorities. Mr. president, restoring trust and delivering for all must also embrace the unfinished cause of Reparatory justice. In March, this Assembly adopted a resolution led by Ghana and supported by the African Union and Caribbean Community, recognising the trafficking and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. For Sierra Leone, this history is neither abstract nor distant. From Bunce Island, in our own river estuary, thousands of Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic into enslavement. Freetown, our capital, would later become a home for formerly enslaved and liberated Africans. This history is woven into our national identity. However, the consequences did not end with abolition. Their legacy continues to be reflected in enduring disparities in wealth, power and opportunity across our world. Reparatory justice is therefore not a plea for charity. It is a call for acknowledgement, formal apology the return of cultural heritage fair redress and guarantee of non-repetition. Sierra Leone stands with Africa the Caribbean and the wider African diaspora in advancing this cause, not to remain captive to the past, but to build a more just and equitable future.
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No. 10
South Africa09/24 · first at about 4 min2 mentions
Today, the top 10% own roughly 75% of global wealth, while the bottom 50% own only 2%. This extreme concentration of wealth at the top and poverty at the bottom is neither inevitable nor insurmountable. Together with Brazil, Norway, Spain, South Africa calls on this assembly to throw its weight behind the establishment of an international panel on inequality.
it did not make. The promise of our generation was made 81 years ago with the founding of this United Nations from the ashes of the worst war in human history. Its ideals have proven its worth. No nation is too small to be sovereign, no people too poor to be equal. And the strong should be bound by the same law as the weak. Sad to say, United Nations has drifted from its promise. The Bahamas comes today to insist on it. Mr. president, all week we've been told this is an age of uncertainty. With respect, I do not agree. Uncertainty is the language of those who have already decided and do not wish to say so. Treaties are being torn up, institutions are being starved, rules are giving way to deals, and the benefits of the deals go to whoever holds the most leverage. Once again, we hear the language of spheres of influence, of backyards and hemispheres. For 500 years, the Caribbean was somebody's backyard. We did not win our freedom to once again become somebody's backyard. The message to small nations is very clear be as sovereign as we allow you to be. Mr. President, a sovereignty that must ask permission is not sovereignty. It is a lease. Our ancestors did not break their chains so that their children could become tenants. These are not uncertain times. These times are very certain. The only uncertain thing is how we respond to the opportunities and challenges of this time. People often say that the world lacks political will. I do not agree. The world has never lacked political will. In 2008, when the banks of the richest nations were failing, trillions of dollars were found in a matter of weeks. When a global pandemic reached the capitals of the powerful, the political will returned. The will exists. It is simply pointed elsewhere. Somewhere, a bank is always too big to fail. Similarly, a nation should never be too small to be left behind. What the world lacks is not political will for change. It is political change itself. A change in who writes the rules. A change in whose suffering counts. A change in who decides and who pays. Political will is a feeling. Political change is a decision about who holds the power. And Mr. President, that is what I have come to speak about today. Power. 2500 years ago, the envoys of Athens stood before the small island of Milos and told his people a simple truth about power. The strong will do what they can. The weak will suffer what they must. 81 years ago in San Francisco, humanity wrote a different law: the sovereign equality of nations, not equality of size or wealth, equality of standing. The United Nations was the world's answer to Milos.
Our continent holds vast mineral wealth, immense agricultural potential, extraordinary renewable energy resources, and the world's youngest population. We are a market of more than 1.5 billion people, increasingly connected through the African Continental Free Trade Area. These are not merely African assets. Properly developed, they are part of the answer to the world's search for food security, clean energy, resilient supply chains, and a new source of growth. Africa's resources must become the beginning of African industry, not the end of Africa's contribution to the value chain. Extraction defined too much of our past. Investment must underpin our future. This transition is already taking shape. Cocoa-producing nations are moving from bean to brand. Cotton producers are building garment value chains. And Africa has made its position clear. The clean energy transition must not become another extractive transition. The African Continental Free Trade Area must be more than a market for what Africa already produces. It must become the platform on which Africa makes more of what it now imports. Kenya intends to be part of that transformation. In the next one week, we expect to break ground on the East African refinery in Lamu. A refinery capable of producing 700,000 barrels of oil a day, an investment of approximately $16 billion. Its significance extends beyond one project or one country. It represents the Africa we seek to build: adding value at home, creating jobs for our people, and building industries capable of serving continental and global markets.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen, The faultlines in our world are widening. Cracks have become canyons. Over the last decade, wars erupted with devastating consequences and dragged on with despicable cruelty. Civilians were targeted. Human rights trampled. Hunger weaponized. Humanitarians killed. International law cast aside. Geopolitical divides have deepened. Inequalities have intensified. Trust has frayed. The climate crisis went from distant warning to daily reality. And artificial intelligence moved at a speed that has blindsided even those who created it. These are not separate crises. They are chapters of the same story. The story of power. Who has it. Who is denied it. How it is used. And how it is changing. Excellencies, Power is being reshaped in three fundamental ways. First, among States. New centres of economic, political and technological influence have emerged. Second, we are witnessing an extraordinary transfer of power away from governments to a handful of private corporations and individuals. Their reach now extends across politics, economies, information flows, technological development, and the civic space on which societies depend. And, third, humans are increasingly handing over power to machines – with Artificial Intelligence agents going rogue, and lethal autonomous weapons going from science fiction to military reality. Yet our institutions and systems of global governance continue to reflect the power realities and interests of a largely bygone age. That is the defining challenge before us. At the very moment when humanity faces an unprecedented convergence of threats, our mechanisms for collective action are under growing strain. Excellencies, We are clearly moving towards a multipolar world. And that movement is irreversible. But there are different ways that multipolarity can take shape. One possibility is a world of fragmentation and transactionalism. A world of rising tensions and deepening mistrust. Of fractured markets and weakened institutions. Of shrinking cooperation and zero-sum calculations. In many respects, that is the trajectory we are on today. But there is another path. A path towards networked multipolarity. A world built on interdependence – and sustained by a dense web of economic, political, social and technological connections. A world in which multiple centres of influence coexist within a common framework of international law and shared rules. Such a world can help us avoid hegemonic tendencies and what I have called the Great Fracture: The division of the world into two rival blocs with separate economic, technological and security systems. A networked world recognizes that no power can solve today’s challenges alone. Of course, competition will remain a permanent feature of international relations. But competition does not have to mean confrontation. Healthy competition can drive innovation, strengthen resilience, and expand opportunity. But only when it operates within frameworks that preserve stability and enable cooperation where cooperation is indispensable. Building a networked future begins with a recognition, especially by superpowers: That their power isn’t so super. That their power has limits. The events of recent years have made that unmistakably clear. Military power alone cannot secure peace. Economic power alone cannot command stability. And technological power alone cannot guarantee security. A networked multipolar world can create the conditions for more balanced and representative global problem-solving. But it requires a multilateral system centred in the UN that is balanced and representative. Strong, effective institutions that reflect the realities and the progressively changing relative weight of countries and economies in today’s world – not the power arrangements of 80 years ago. Fortunately, we are not starting from scratch. We already have a binding foundation: The Charter of the United Nations. And the principles that give it life. The primacy of international law. Upholding human dignity. And the pursuit of justice in all its dimensions. These are the backbone for the effective, legitimate and responsible exercise of power in the 21st century. Excellencies, It comes down to this: Will we act to ensure that power is governed by law or by force? By cooperation or coercion? By responsibility to young people and future generations or indifference to their fate? Because the defining challenges of our age are not separate from the question of power. They are expressions of it. And they will determine whether we drift deeper into division and instability – or move toward cooperation, justice and collective security. Looking ahead, our future will be shaped by how we address four great tests of power: The power over war and peace. The power that concentrates wealth and drives inequality.
Excellencies. Ladies and gentlemen, his Excellency Paul Biya, president of the Republic of Cameroon, has bestowed upon me the immense honor of representing him in this encounter for the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, and to deliver the following statement on his behalf, I quote, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, heads of State and Government. Ladies and gentlemen, heads of delegation. Mr. Secretary General, excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Allow me to begin by warmly congratulating you on behalf of Cameroon for your election to the presidency of this 81st session of the General Assembly. Your eminent skill as a diplomat, your knowledge and your wealth of experience when it comes to United Nations issues as well as your vision, the vision that you proposed for our organization are a good omen for the success of our work. The delegation of Cameroon, through my voice, would like to assure you that you have our total and full cooperation to ensure that your mandate is a resounding success. I would also like to welcome the work of your predecessor, Madam Annalena Baerbock of the Federal Republic of Germany, for the commitment and dynamic energy that she brought to her mission, and this is remarkable, in a particularly turbulent period for the international arena. Finally, I would like to avail myself of this occasion to reiterate to the Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Cameroon's sincere esteem for his constant commitment to the ideals, purposes and principles of the charter of the United Nations, as well as for his efforts and the remarkable results that have characterized his two consecutive mandates as Secretary General of our organization. We would like to welcome his courage and his tenacity in a context that oftentimes has been difficult. He is preparing to leave his important post in a few months, and at this time, Cameroon would like to thank him for his unswerving commitment to the United Nations, and we pay him a vibrant tribute for the magnitude of his legacy. Mr. president, you decided to select as a theme for this session Restoring Trust, managing Transformation for a United Nations that delivers for all. Cameroon appreciates the relevance of this theme and its pertinence for our current context. We are, in effect, facing together three needs that cannot be teased apart.
President, 81 years after the adoption of the charter, the best way to defend the United Nations is to defend its ability to discharge its mandates. We need a U.N. which is more effective, transparent and agile, able to prevent conflicts, forge consensus even in times of deeply rooted polarization. We need a UN able to offer tangible responses to the challenges of the 21st century. For this reason, Costa Rica has presented the candidacy of Miss Rebeca Grynspan to the position of Secretary general of the United Nations. She is a Latin American woman with a wealth of political, economic experience and experience in the multilateral arena. She has a proven track record of leadership. She knows the United Nations from the inside and from outside, and she understands that knowing an institution intimately and serving it also involves having the courage to reform it. Her candidacy is rooted in a simple but powerful idea. Defending the United Nations means and requires having the courage to reform it. Today, we need a leader able to unite the membership, strengthen the organization, and renew trust in international cooperation. We need a UN that does what it is called upon to do in its founding charter, that is, maintain international peace and security, ensure respect for human rights and advance development. Costa Rica firmly believes that the next secretary general must be a Latin American woman.
While wealth accumulates in the hands of the few, billions endure the downside of structural deprivation. However, we believe that we are capable of charting the blueprint, the resources, and the wisdom to bridge this divide. What the global community lacks is not the means of implementation, but the moral courage to keep the promise we made eight decades ago. Poverty and systemic inequality also fuel ecological and environmental crises.
And I'm here not to sell you a product or a policy, or yet another declaration. I am here to sell you an idea. An idea conceived and spearheaded by His Majesty King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, an idea embraced by the people of Bhutan. An idea already being built. That idea is Gelephu Mindfulness City, GMC. And my sales pitch is simple. Come and build it with us. Now, the world has built new cities before financial centers, freeports, technology hubs, special economic zones. But GMC is different. You see, Gelephu Mindfulness City is a special administrative region, an SAR. Under its Royal Charter, GMC exercises full autonomy in governance, legislation and the judiciary. Think one country, two systems. Think of the agility of a microstate. But GMC was not inherited from history. It was not created to manage a transfer of sovereignty. It is being deliberately created by Bhutan within Bhutan on sovereign Bhutanese territory for the future. GMC covers more than 4000km². That is more than five times the size of Singapore. But its greatest opportunity is not its size. Its greatest opportunity is an institutional blank slate. GMC was given something extraordinarily rare the freedom to design an entire city and its operating systems from first principles. So we asked if you could begin again. How would you govern? What laws would you write? How would we regulate business? How would we guarantee an independent judiciary? How would we attract the best talent? How would we use technology and especially artificial intelligence? How would we create wealth while protecting nature? And ultimately, what would all that prosperity be for? These were not theoretical questions. We answered them. And we are making full use of that institutional blank slate. If Singapore has legal principles that work, we learn from Singapore. If Abu Dhabi has financial regulations that work we learn from Abu Dhabi. If leading jurists from the United Kingdom can help us build an independent judiciary, we learn from them. And if international experts can strengthen our institutions, we learn from them. The principle is simple. Search the world for what works. Take the best, adapt it, and make it work for GMC. The result is a core operating system that is now in place, designed to give investors clarity, familiarity, and predictability. But GMC's operating system was designed around a deeper conviction that prosperity and values should reinforce one another. That means rejecting the assumption that we must choose between enterprise and well-being, between technology and humanity between development and nature. At GMC, we believe a balanced approach can deliver substantial profits while protecting the values that make prosperity worthwhile. Balance is not the enemy of profit. It is the foundation of lasting profit. And at GMC, balance is not a slogan. It is built into the operating system. And this matters deeply to Bhutan. You see, Bhutan is peaceful and stable. Our forests are intact. Our culture is alive. Our people are educated. But our economy is small. It cannot yet create enough opportunities for our young people. So too many of them leave home to find opportunity elsewhere. For a country as small as ours, this is not only an economic challenge, it is an existential one. We cannot simply tell them to stay. We must give them a reason to stay and a reason to return. Jobs. Opportunities. Enterprise, a future. So Bhutan must transform. But we refuse to believe that transformation requires us to become somebody else. We want economic growth. We want investment. We want technology. We want successful companies. We want our people to become wealthier. But we also want to protect what makes Bhutan Bhutan. That is the driving force behind His Majesty's vision for GMC. And that is why His Majesty is personally spearheading its development. GMC is not a project on the margins of Bhutan. It is at the heart of our national transformation. Our people have embraced GMC as a people's project and investment in our children, our economy and our shared future. Bhutan is not waiting to see whether the world believes in GMC before committing to it.
Botswana comes to this podium with a power and weight of genuine conviction. When Botswana gained independence in 1966, we carried a founding belief that our security and prosperity would come from disciplined integration into a community of nations governed by rules that all had agreed to honor. We honored our treaty obligations and opened our economy in accordance with the norms of this organization. We regarded compliance with international law as one of Botswana's strongest protections. 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.
Mr. President, Africa is ready for the future. Our resilience, our ingenuity, our youthful population, our natural wealth and our expanding markets can make us a major driver of global growth in this century. The African Continental Free Trade Area offers exceptional scope to deepen regional integration, accelerate industrialization, and strengthen our place in global value chains. Developing countries must be recognized as indispensable partners whose contributions to global solutions and shared prosperity extend far beyond their need for assistance.
This is the first Olympic event in history to be held in Africa. It will be held from the 31st of October to the 13th of November. It will welcome athletes from 206 National Olympic Committees. It will welcome young people from across the world. And in doing just that, Senegal will do much more than host a sporting competition. It will host a promise. We will host a generation that wish to come together rather than stand apart, one that wishes to build together rather than pit themselves against each other. That is our promise to those young people, and it is the Olympic promise. And ultimately that is the promise of the United Nations that is making strength out of our differences, making wealth out of our diversity, and making our human community the very bedrock of peace. In that Olympic spirit, I invite all Member states to attend the opening ceremony of the Youth Games on the 31st of October 2026 in Dakar, and I thank you for your kind attention.
Trust returns when cooperation produces real, measurable results. It returns when a child is in school, a community is protected from violence, a mine is removed from a field or food reaches family, and it returns when institutions prevent conflict before it even begins. Last year alone, the world's official development assistance was reduced by almost 25%. This drop is the largest annual contraction on record for international aid. Refusing to spiral into negative trends, Croatia is contributing more, not less. Between 2016 and 24, our official development assistance increased five fold, while our humanitarian assistance grew more than 21 fold. With our U.N. partners, we are translating our commitment and funds into action. We support girls education in Kenya, provide humanitarian assistance in Gaza and assist Syrian refugee children. We also advance mine action in Ukraine, drawing on Croatia's own post-war experience and protect women and girls from digital violence. This practical, inclusive and human centered approach is also what Croatia brings to ECOSOC. If elected to the presidency of ECOSOC for the 2027–2028 cycle, Croatia will work to strengthen coordination and accountability. As 2030 approaches, accelerating implementation of the sustainable goals continues to be a central priority. Croatia persistently ranks among the world's 15 highest performing countries in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. Our experience is not a universal prescription, but evidence that national reform and international responsibility can and do advance together. It is this credibility that is in the foundation of trust in multilateralism that we wish to see rebuilt. Credibility, which is strongest when every country regardless of its size, wealth or power, has a meaningful voice. The answer is therefore not less multilateralism that delivers.
The principality calls on all countries to show more ambition in their national contributions, and not to abandon island and coastal states, which are the most vulnerable, because the climate crisis is no longer a distant threat. Heatwaves, fires and floods are multiplying, and the Mediterranean, which my country borders experienced last year, its second highest surface temperature ever recorded. And because science is being questioned, let us recall, as the prince did in COP30 in Belém, that science has never been as certain, as accessible and as clear. Four years before the 2030 deadline, the Sustainable Development agenda must not become the symbol of our broken promises. Let us be candid as we take stock. States alone cannot make progress. We need to have a renewed framework for cooperation with those who create wealth and shape innovation: businesses, first and foremost, and civil society.
We commend and thank him for his sincere and positive leadership of this organization. In the same vein, Saint Lucia wishes to express its endorsement of the candidate of the Republic of Guyana, Ms. Caroline Rodrigues-Birkett, for the post of Secretary General. Her distinguished record of public and international service speaks directly to the kind of leadership this moment demands. On 25th March 2026, the General Assembly approved one of its most historic and consequential resolutions that declared the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialised chattel enslavement of Africans as the greatest crime against humanity. This resolution, and the subsequent establishment of the High level Global Advisory Council on Reparatory justice is a very significant step in the search for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and the enslavement of Africans in the Americas and the Caribbean. I want to thank the President of Ghana for spearheading and championing this resolution. Saint Lucia congratulates the Government of Jamaica on its successful petition to the British monarch for him to refer three questions to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council over the legality of the enslavement of Africans in Jamaica. Mr. president, reparations are not about vengeance. They are about truth, acknowledgement, repair and transformation. Reparations are not about seeking charity or revisiting history for its own sake. History is not behind us when its consequences remain embedded in wealth, power, institutions, and opportunity. Reparations are about addressing the continuing effects of slavery and colonial exploitation, restoring dignity, advancing development, and building more equitable
Your excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, this session of the General Assembly is of particular significance to my country as it takes place in the year in which we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Republic of Angola's admission as full member of the United Nations organization, which took place in December 1976. At that time, it was a historical achievement for the Angolan people, who waited more than 12 months from the date of proclamation of the national independence for the country to be accepted as a full fledged member of the international community. That event of great significance for the history of my country took place in a global context in which Angola became a victim of confrontation between world powers in the struggle for control of sphere of influence within the spirit of Cold War. Our entire journey towards the attainment of peace in 2002 was closely linked to the spirit of that period, which hampered the fulfillment of the dreams of Angolans and their plans to building a prosperous nation committed to its own development. These facts belong to the past, but have left us with a wealth of experience and lessons that we have drawn upon to build peace, understanding and reconciliation among all Angolans, and to chart the course of our foreign policy. Peace and national reconciliation is now a reality as shown through concrete gestures, including the holding of award ceremonies to honor the main political leaders of national liberation struggle and representatives of all segments of civil society, within the framework of the 50th anniversary of national independence. Still, within this framework, a monument in memory of all victims of the political conflict that occurred in Angola, from the proclamation of national independence until achievement of Peace in April 2002 will be inaugurated in October this year.
Centuries of enslavement and colonial extraction transferred wealth from our societies, and denied the generations the means to build prosperity. Political independence did not erase those harms. Today, countries that contribute least to climate change must borrow at high cost and rebuild from disaster driven overwhelmingly by emissions that we did not have anything but that comes from afar. That is where climate debt meets historic debts. Antigua and Barbuda stands firm with CARICOM and Africa in demanding reparatory justice for people of African descent. Reparatory justice requires acknowledging responsibility, repairing continuing harm, and correcting structures that still reproduce inequality. Expressions of regret are not enough. Justice requires honest dialogue, followed by concrete measures and repair and restoration and development. Reparatory justice is not a favor. It is a claim grounded in responsibility, equality and human dignity. Madam president, development finds its true meaning in the lives and dignity of people.
They are now being held to account for centuries of colonial plunder, for the destruction of cultures traditions, and identities of enslaved peoples, and for the slave trade which claimed millions of lives. And in line with this, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution in March of this year declaring the trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity. Belarus supported this resolution without hesitation. This is not just a diplomatic gesture. It is the voice of a country that has itself endured a similar hellish chapter in history. We know what genocide is. A third of our population during the war was murdered in cold blood and tortured by civilized Europeans, united by Hitler 85 years ago. Now their descendants are telling us that they have nothing to do with this, and nor did their grandfathers, supposedly. But that village house filled with Belarusian children, the elderly and women, was not burned down by the Führer himself. And there were thousands of such houses. We know what the plundering of cultural heritage means. Our wealth, resources, works of art were all taken to the West. Young people were forcibly taken into slavery there as well, in Europe. And today, facing unprecedented sanctions, we have once again felt what it means to be a target. That is why we wholeheartedly and with fraternal feelings, support those who demand historical justice, including on the issue of reparations raised by the African Union. But reparations are not just about money, they are also about respect for memory. They are about returning people's own history to them. How many names remain on the world map that have erased millennia old memory? Here's a simple example. The great waterfall that the peoples of Zimbabwe have for centuries called Mosi-oa-Tunya the smoke that thunders. The colonizers, quote unquote, discovered it 150 years ago and named it after their queen, who had never even set foot in Africa. What is that, if not identity theft? Western elites do not like the new multi-polar world in which their voice is no longer decisive. But instead of adapting to positive changes they continue to exploit instability.
It is here at the centre and it is not going away. This Assembly has rightly and finally declared slavery as the gravest crime against humanity. But this recognition is only the beginning of an obligation, and the obligation is that we must not build the next chapter of development on the foundation of the last. If we are to be honest about that foundation, then we would acknowledge that the wealth of the industrial age largely came from the labor of enslaved and colonized peoples, and its rewards flowed almost entirely away from them. When independence came, the flags changed. The structures did not. The terms of trade did not change. The cost of capital did not change. Who sits at the table when the rules are written did not change. The imbalance was not undone. It was inherited. Now we stand at the threshold of yet another transformation. Technology is moving faster than any framework we have yet devised to govern it. Will we do it differently this time, or will we do it again?
That is why Bolivia is fighting to overcome this crisis and be able to produce and export. We want investment, employment, technology. We want resources. We want to integrate into the world. We want to do that while also preserving something that no economic growth can replace. And that is its people, its territory, and its extraordinary biological diversity. Ladies and gentlemen Bolivia has one specific feature which is also perhaps an opportunity. We are a country with a small population but with vast diversity. The Andes, the Altiplano, the Amazon. We make up 60% of the water that the Amazon receives comes from Bolivia, one of the greatest cultural wealths of the continent and the world, and not just from one culture. Many cultures within a single nation. And we have strategic natural resources, which could be important for the energy and technological transition for the world. Each of the cell phones, the mobile phones that you have here in the room today 10% of the tin that is in those cell phones comes from Bolivian tin. We have the capacity to provide the world with the resources that it needs to be able to develop a better world. Bolivia does not want to repeat the history of countries that exported their natural resources for decades and remained poor. We do not simply want to extract minerals from the earth so that other countries can add value to them. The ideology, and this is very important. I spoke earlier about organized crime and the mafia in Bolivia.
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 COP30 in the city of Belém, 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.
Excellencies, peace first. Peace is the source of all good. Peace in our hearts, peace in our societies, peace in our countries. Let us begin by restoring peace within our own community. Let us consolidate peace in our respective countries. Let us rebuild trust among our peoples and restore the image of humanity in our midst. This year, when Burundi holds the rotating chairmanship of the African Union, we are keenly aware of the responsibility that falls to us. As the African Union champion for the youth, peace, and security agenda, I have, this year, once again convened a continental youth dialogue coupled with the women, peace, and security agenda. During this dialogue, I sense the enthusiasm of young people and women to build a community with a shared future in the spirit of Ubuntu. In these young people, I sense the desire to connect with one another and to live together, side by side. But unfortunately, there are still states that prevent their citizens from living together with other peoples as brothers and sisters. They cultivate and perpetuate xenophobia and intolerance. They sow division by failing to implement preventive and corrective measures, by highlighting disparities in development, labeling some as rich and others as poor, and thereby creating a divide among peoples based on wealth and material possessions. And on that basis, they have come to regard themselves as saints while reproaching others for being inferior. How, then, can we build trust among nations without first starting with building connection and cohesion among our peoples? We, the leaders, must rekindle the spirit of Ubuntu within ourselves, the Ubuntu with which God created us. Indeed, God did not create a man who was selfish. He created a man of Ubuntu, the Ubuntu that I see in you and that you will find in me. Ubuntu is the common denominator that must restore trust among all human beings. Excellencies, as an African and a voice for Africa at this time when I hold the rotating chairmanship of the African Union, I must also state the following: we are here to convey a conviction.
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.
We need a United Nations that does more than respond to crises after lives have been lost and communities destroyed. We need an organisation that works with determination to prevent conflict, advance sustainable development, confront injustice and protect those who are most vulnerable. We need a system in which every country, regardless of its size wealth or influence, has a voice and a meaningful place at the table. We need multilateralism that is not selective in its concern or uneven in its response, but fair, effective and responsive to the needs of all people. Our development must include young people, women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, persons with disabilities, the elderly and communities that have too often been left behind. If the United Nations is to deliver for all, it must first see, hear and include all. Multilateralism is our best hope for addressing challenges that cross borders, threaten our shared future, and demand collective action. We therefore remain committed to peace, climate action, sustainable development and the dignity of every human being. We remain ready to work with all nations in a spirit of mutual respect and shared responsibility to build a fairer, safer and more resilient world. Mr. president, let this 81st session be remembered as the moment when we collectively renewed our faith in cooperation and matched our words with action. Let this 81st session be remembered as the moment when vulnerability was met with solidarity, promises were honoured and trust was rebuilt through meaningful delivery. Above all, let this 81st session be remembered as the moment when this family of nations found the courage to act together and recommitted ourselves to ensuring that no country, no community, and no person was left behind.
One of my favorite bands when I was growing up was Talking Heads. And little did I know at the time that David Byrne iconic song We Are On a Road to Nowhere would ring so prescient four decades later. For the first time, for the first time in the history of our species, we have created a technology that openly challenges the supremacy of the human mind as the pinnacle of our evolutionary development. I will not dwell on the positive, transformational potential of this revolutionary technology, whether in disease eradication, productivity enhancement or fighting climate change. However, it is simply impossible to ignore the fact that at present, the risks of an unchecked and unregulated advance in artificial intelligence could greatly outweigh its potential benefits. When the people developing the technology tell us openly that, left unchecked, AI could outrun our ability to control the systems, the same people admit that we only understand a tiny fraction of what goes on in these models, alarm bells should ring very loudly for all of us. In simple words, the AI bosses are telling us that they have no idea on how recursive self-improvement, the ability of AI to constantly create better versions of itself, actually works. Add to that the possibility of massive job destruction, the likelihood of unprecedented wealth creation in the hands of very few, and the impact that AI may have on the very nature of human relationships, especially for our kids, and you have all the ingredients of an unprecedented political and social upheaval. The idea that big tech companies will find some voluntary arrangement to self-regulate the development of AI is naive. It flies in the face of everything we know about the history of capitalism. The prize for the winners is simply too great to believe that benign consideration for the well-being of humanity will outweigh the relentless drive of capital to constantly seek better returns. And given that the leading AI models are being developed here in the United States, this is primarily an issue for the US government to address. Fortunately, there are precedents from which we draw lessons. In the 1940s and the 1950s, the American government heavily regulated another technology so powerful that its creators believed it could bring about either a golden age in human flourishing or the end of the world. That technology was nuclear. The same needs to happen now, and it needs to happen fast. AI companies need to be licensed based on specific requirements, adherence to human values, transparency, and most importantly, safety. In order for a new plane to fly, it has to undergo a myriad of rigorous tests approved by the regulator. The same is not true for a frontier artificial intelligence model. At the same time, I take the call by leading AI executives for a voluntary pause in the development of their models very seriously. But only, I repeat only as a temporary measure to buy time for a powerful regulatory authority to be set up. Liberal capitalism has a history of reining in market excesses, whether it was breaking up powerful monopolies, or setting rules and standards to allow the market to operate with an eye on the common good. And the same needs to happen now. And as much as the cooperation of China and the rest of the world is necessary to address this huge challenge, the fate of artificial intelligence and the impact it will have on humanity as a whole will not be decided in Brussels, in Tokyo or Brasilia. It will be decided primarily here in the United States. With great power comes great responsibility.
Yet it also raises challenges for the future of work and for human rights and fundamental freedoms This calls for international governance that places the human being with his or her freedom and privacy at the heart of this transformation. Above all, we must not allow an artificial intelligence divide to emerge on top of the existing gaps in wealth and development. Restoring trust requires that every individual feel that the law protects them, that development does not exclude them, and that progress leaves no one behind. Mr. president, if restoring trust is a challenge facing our world today for Lebanon, it is not a mere slogan.
It is Arab in its identity and language, African in its geography, destiny, and belonging, Mediterranean in an intrinsic part of its culture, interests, and partnerships, and Islamic in its civilizational values, which incline toward peace, security, and building bridges with its neighbors. The multiplicity of these circles is not a contradiction but a source of strength, responsibility, and opportunity. From this geopolitical vantage point in particular, we have learned a harsh lesson in recent years. When the state weakens, the vacuum does not remain empty; competing interests fill it, armed groups become active within it, criminal and smuggling networks spread, illicit funds seep in, and institutions themselves become arenas of struggle for influence. At that point, the state does not merely lose part of its security. Its national decision-making begins to lose its independence. This brings us to the essence of what sovereignty means to us. Sovereignty is not merely a flag raised or borders drawn on maps, nor is it slogans repeated while judicial and oversight institutions fail to exercise their roles independently and responsibly. Sovereignty means that national decision-making is free. It also means that our cooperation and integration with United Nations bodies are based on transparency, seriousness, and impartiality, free from selectivity and double standards. Sovereignty means protecting the rights and dignity of the Libyan people from violations, whoever the perpetrator, and ensuring that no one is above the law and no one escapes accountability. Sovereignty means that state institutions are stronger than individuals and groups, and that weapons are subject to the law. It also means that the country's wealth remains the property of the people, not spoils to be divided among parties, networks of interest, or dubious partnerships that exercise some sort of custodianship over the state. Sovereignty means preventing corrupt money from buying influence. It means preventing influence from becoming an immunity that shields corrupt money. If that cycle becomes entrenched, it weakens the state from within and threatens the survival of its institutions.
Mr. president. Mr. president, we find ourselves at a critical juncture in the history of the United Nations. The organisation is facing significant challenges both internally and externally. Internally, there is the process launched by the Secretary General to update the administrative and financial structure of the organisation, to allow our organisation to be better equipped to overcome future challenges. Externally, the role and the functions of the organisation, as well as the composition of its principal organs, are in doubt and need to be redefined. The will expressed by the international community following the war to create an instrument for cooperation in order to establish a new world order, is still there. The fact that the number of actors has more than tripled in the past eight decades reflects an engagement and commitment that is even bigger and even more diverse than it was when the UN was created. We are confident that the international community, around half of which is made up of young people that aim to protect the planet, that want to better share wealth and aspire to use new technologies advisedly, will be able to overcome new challenges. We reiterate our commitment to multilateralism, as well as our confidence in its ability to respond to people's expectations. Thank you, Mr. President.
Within the framework of the National Development Plan 2025-2044, Mozambique is committed to transforming its potential into shared prosperity for the people through the valorization of resources and investing in human capital, especially in the youth and women, which are the majority. We also want to increase value to natural resources. We also want to modernize our agriculture, promote industrialization, develop tourism, expand access to energy, invest in infrastructures, education, health, science and technology, digitalization, and in the economy in general. Natural resources should contribute to the economic diversification of our economy, the mobilization of income, and investment in our biggest asset, which is the talent of the Mozambican people and the talent of the African people. Our location in the Indian Ocean, our logistic corridors, and our agricultural potential, energy, and minerals make Mozambique a strategic platform for investment and regional integration. We therefore seek partnerships that build national capacity, promote local content, respect the environment, and generate employment, especially for the young people and women. Mozambique will continue to diversify its partnership in a sovereign way, transparent, and mutually beneficial manner, working with all the parties in light of the national priorities. This is also Africa's ambition: to be the architect of their own destiny, to participate in setting the rules, and to fully benefit from the wealth it helps to create.
We continue to support its meaningful participation in the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization, and other relevant mechanisms, and reiterate that differences across the Taiwan Strait must be resolved peacefully. Mr. President, no generation has a greater stake in our decisions than young people. Half of the world's population is under 30. Yet 67 million young people were unemployed last year, and more than a quarter of a billion were neither in employment, education, nor training. AI, the green transition, and climate change are reshaping their future jobs. We must prepare them. Last year, our Prime Minister introduced this Assembly to our ASPIRE Program, achieving success through personal investment, resources, and education for citizens aged 5 to 18. Built on savings, investment, and financial education, ASPIRE has opened more than 4,000 savings accounts, with our government committing more than US$2 million to give children a financial foundation for adulthood. We are now piloting our financial education curriculum in schools and training teachers for national rollout. We are not simply giving children money. We are giving them the knowledge to make money work for them. Financial independence must not be reserved for those born into wealth.
And that is also what we wish to see reflected in the world. We need a world where our capacity to uphold humanity grows faster than our capacity to destroy it. That is the transformation we should seek. It is for these reasons that we are pained by the developments in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories. Mr. President, the global security environment has deteriorated significantly in recent years. It is difficult to accept that in a world with so much wealth and knowledge, vast resources continue to be spent on weapons while children face starvation and are deprived of medicine and education. Sri Lanka remains deeply concerned by the conflicts in West Asia, and by the heavy cost being borne far beyond the region. International law, including international humanitarian law, must be adhered to and respected by all parties. We reaffirm our position that dialogue is the only viable way forward. Sri Lanka continues to support the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their rights to self-determination. We are among the countries that first recognise Palestine as a distinct state in the 1980s. We stand in solidarity with the international community in calling for an independent and sovereign state of Palestine, existing side by side with Israel in peace within the pre-1967 borders. We welcome the resolution of the Security Council on a ceasefire in Gaza and urge all parties to uphold it. Humanitarian assistance must reach civilians without obstruction. The recovery and reconstruction of Gaza must be an urgent priority. Mr. President, Sri Lanka is proud of its long standing contribution to United Nations peacekeeping in pursuit of global peace and security, having deployed more than 21,000 personnel on numerous missions since 1957. Our Blue Helmets, through their dedication and service over many years, have earned the trust of local communities and the commendation of UN Field Mission. Today, they continue to serve with distinction in some of the most challenging environments under the UN flag, protecting vulnerable civilians deterring violence and helping war-torn communities transition from conflict to stability. Sri Lanka has also long championed multilateral disarmament, from our early call for an Indian Ocean Zone of Peace to our leadership at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference.
We remain committed to strengthening water security climate resilience and sustainable management of water resources while working with the international community to ensure that climate and water action delivers tangible benefits for our people and future generations. Mr. president. Africa's youthful population is one of our greatest assets and represents an enormous opportunity for global prosperity. According to demographic forecasts, one in every four youths on the globe will be African by 2050. We have a wealth of young Africans with potential to become entrepreneurs, scientists, engineers, farmers, innovators and artists, and indeed future leaders. Our responsibility is to equip them with quality education, relevant skills, access to technology, entrepreneurship opportunities, and decent employment so that they can become active drivers of economic transformation and sustainable development. We are alive to the fact that we should ensure that we keep this youthful and productive population healthy in order to harness positive dividends. In the health sector, Zambia has increased domestic budgetary allocations from approximately 7% to over 10%, enabling the recruitment of health workers, expansion and modernization of health infrastructure, and improved availability of essential medical supplies.
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 unemployment rate today would be at 90%. That is absurd, something that few of us seem to have stopped to consider, 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 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 size 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, 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.
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No. 42
Burkina Faso09/28 · first at about 23 min1 mention
Burkina Faso is engaged in a dynamic of deep seated transformation spearheaded by progressive popular revolution. At the time where we are beginning to commemorate our fourth anniversary, we must underscore the progress made in several areas in life in our country. On an economic level, Burkina Faso is resolutely pursuing its efforts to undertake structural transformations of our economy and to achieve development that is based more on our own priorities and potentials, in synergy with other Member states of the Confederation, our country's working to strengthen our productive capacities, to harness our natural resources, and to further promote local processing of raw materials. In agriculture and industry, particularly significant presidential initiatives are being implemented to stimulate national production, to create jobs, and to strengthen the participation of our populations in our economic activity. Under the leadership of Comrade Captain Ibrahim Traore, President of Faso, Burkina Faso has made a choice to place the people at the heart of all endeavours, encouraging the creation of new production units and processing units by encouraging better use of our resources. And through these initiatives with six great presidential initiatives, our economy is becoming more dynamic and progressively being strengthened. Our ambition is to strengthen the bases for local, lasting and inclusive development while pursuing the deep seated reform and renewal of our society and strengthening our economic sovereignty. This transformation also includes infrastructure. The relaunch 2026 to 2030 plan in this regard is a major framework to deliver this approach and to support the changes that are currently underway in our country. By relying first and foremost on our own forces and respecting the choice to exploit and process our resources locally, we intend to create more value within our economy and to ensure that the wealth of our country benefit our population as a priority.
We wish them well as they complete their tenure at the end of this year. Mr. president, few institutions embody the principle of sovereign equality as visibly as this assembly. 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 Gambia's own experience within 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 Gambia 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 when member states approach negotiations with political will, mutual respect, and a sense of responsibility.
For concern for creation and concern for humanity are inextricably linked. That is why, in the center of our reflection about the future of the world, what must remain is human and their dignity. Ladies and gentlemen, human rights are not an afterthought to international politics. They are at its foundation and also stem from ethical principles older than our organization. Violating them always leads to violence, destabilization, and conflict. History, including the history of my country, teaches us this lesson in a very clear way. The social movement that led to the fall of the communist government imposed on Poland was called Solidarity. It was an expression of the courage of people who, despite repression and the lack of freedom, refused to live under a system based on lies and violence. We may differ in our assessments of the extent to which the crimes of the communist system have been addressed. This debate is still ongoing in my country, but this is precisely why we should pay tribute to all those people, especially the workers, thanks to whom we have a free world today and who do not boast of their wealth and status gained at the expense of others, but remain faithful to their values and commitments. They are the ones who showed that freedom begins with courage, always. Ladies and gentlemen, too many people around the world still face persecution because of their faith. This applies to many different religious communities, but today we must speak in particular about the plight of Christians in regions affected by conflict and persecution. Until recently, Christian communities were a natural part of social life there, present for 2,000 years, helping to shape the culture, language, and identity of entire regions. Today, in many places, their numbers have dwindled dramatically. Sometimes, only traces of their former presence remain. Along with these people, a living tradition is disappearing, the heritage of the first centuries of Christianity. This legacy has been stopped in many places and perhaps even lost. Attacks on places of worship, discrimination, violence, and even loss of life. This is a reality that cannot go unanswered by the international community.
Tunisia renews its support for regional and international efforts to find a solution to the crisis in Yemen. Mr. president, the abundant human resources, natural wealth and promising potential of Africa make Africa an essential partner in advancing development at the international level. Yet Africa the Africa we want, continues to face intertwined security and economic challenges that require a comprehensive approach. In this regard, Tunisia reaffirms its commitment to the principle of African solutions to African problems, thereby strengthening the ownership of African countries and peoples over the resolution of their crises and reinforcing the role of African mechanisms and institutions in maintaining peace and security. Tunisia renews its support for the reform of the African Union so that it may better fulfill its responsibilities and respond effectively to current challenges. Tunisia also stresses the importance of strengthening the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union in conflict prevention, mediation, peacekeeping, peacebuilding and sustainable development. In this context, Tunisia emphasizes its determination to continue contributing to peacekeeping efforts in Africa, a commitment it has maintained since the first years of its independence. Tunisia also reiterates its commitment to strengthen economic integration across the continent, particularly within the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, COMESA and the African Continental Free Trade Area.
These are the five key areas. I could have been more exhaustive in my comments, but I'll leave it there. This is what France will be defending across these five areas. My message is to stand firm. Do not yield to the situation which is developing. The world is slowly becoming more divided. The rhetoric of defeat that is giving way to empires, abusing their powers, threatening the sovereignty of some nations, abuse of power by some who are monopolizing productive capacity, those who are monopolizing the ability to make calculations, abuses of power by those who wish to concentrate wealth in their own hands. In the face of such abuses of power, we must go back to the very spirit of this organization, which is multilateralism, the defense of common interests, of justice for all, something that through unity, justice and cooperation is the way to take effective action, the way to restore just and lasting peace in all of our nations, a way to once again achieve unity between the North and the South. A way of crafting an agenda for taking proactive measures on technology, on the climate. We will not yield. Today, more than ever, we need the United Nations as we elect a new Secretary General. And I'd like to pay tribute to the efforts of António Guterres over all these years under such testing conditions. He never gave in. We must address old crises, tackle new challenges. Against this backdrop, we must continue taking action. Today, more than ever, we must be courageous in our optimism. We must mobilize to take useful steps not to yield for the benefit of each and every one of us.
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. I know all of you very well, but they know that given only a short time to make this world better, safer, and more prosperous for our children, for the people on earth, we have to take advantage of it. As president of the most extraordinary nation in history, I have no interest in leaving dangers to grow for another day. I do not believe in letting problems fester. They only become harder to solve.
