Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir, President of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly;
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen Heads of State and Government;
Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations;
Ladies and Gentlemen;
Honourable Delegates;
Mr. President,
At the outset, I would like to congratulate you on your brilliant election to the Presidency of the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, and to pay a heartfelt tribute to your predecessor, Professor Tijjani Muhammad Bande of Nigeria, for having been able to adapt the functioning of the General Assembly to the constraints derived from the 2019 coronavirus disease (Covid-19).
I also pay tribute to the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his tireless plea for greater support for developing countries in the face of this unprecedented health crisis. The unprecedented format of this 75th session of our General Assembly points to the gravity of the situation the world is experiencing, and the need to do everything possible to ensure that our Organization can continue to fulfil its missions in the service of humanity.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
For the past several months, Covid-19 has been disrupting life in our countries and plunging the world into a large-scale socioeconomic crisis, the most serious since the beginning of the 21st century. Despite significant advances in health and scientific research, we seem powerless to stop the spread of the virus or mitigate its impact. The death toll from the pandemic is on the rise, the global economy is practically at a standstill and countries are now holed up behind their borders. People’s daily lives have been thrown into disarray, with dramatic consequences for the most fragile sectors of the population.
Under these circumstances, the pandemic could wipe out more than a decade of economic growth and social progress made by the African continent, which everyone agrees is demonstrating extraordinary resilience. This progress is due, in particular, to the foresight of Governments and their ability to adopt bold response plans, despite limited resources.
To confront this pandemic, my country, Cote d’Ivoire, adopted a Health Response Plan of approximately 171 million US dollars and an Economic, Social and Humanitarian Support Plan of 3 billion US dollars, intended to support the private sector and low-income households. In total, this massive unprecedented effort, which represents 5% of my country’s GDP, has produced impressive results in the fight against COVID-19. These results are among the best on the African continent, thanks in particular to our competent and devoted health-care workers.
This is the appropriate setting to commend the international solidarity that has benefited Cote d’Ivoire through the implementation of these programmes and to thank all the friendly countries and development partners who have provided us with support and assistance through various financial, technical and material contributions.
These excellent results are also the fruit of major reforms and investments in the health-care sector. In fact, during the 2018-2020 period, we invested around 1.5 billion US dollars in the health sector to support the implementation of Universal Health Coverage. We intend to pursue this virtuous approach in terms of health governance throughout the 2021-2025 period, with an investment of around 3 billion US dollars.
However, in the face of this common enemy, Covid-19, the world has persistently displayed a divided front, delaying the emergence of a collective and effective solution. Amid the panic instigated by Covid-19, we abandoned the frameworks and instruments that would have enabled us to show greater solidarity and mobilize the resources necessary to finance national health, economic and humanitarian response plans. As far as Africa and particularly my country are concerned, the multifaceted support provided by some of our main development partners is important, but it is insufficient and incommensurable as compared to the amounts released individually by the major economies, or collectively by certain regional communities for the benefit of their members.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
Faced with the spread of Covid-19, developing countries, especially African countries, are more severely affected by the economic and social effects derived from the lack of global initiatives supporting their economies. In this context, in my capacity as Champion for the implementation of the African Union’s Agenda 2063, I welcome the G20’s initiative to grant a moratorium on bilateral government debt repayments to the benefit of several African countries.
I call on all partners across the continent to take bolder measures aimed at relieving the burden on our economies, which have been hard hit by the effects of Covid-19. Africa’s financial needs are estimated at 100 billion US dollars per year over three (3) years, or a total of 300 billion US dollars. In addition, countries should be granted room for budgetary manoeuvre to allow them to pursue the necessary social investments and take into account security needs, especially in countries combating terrorism.
The world must finally hear the call of Africans to cancel their countries’ public debt. My country supports the African Union’s efforts to collectively renegotiate the continent’s debt with creditors, and to obtain an extension of the above-mentioned debt moratorium. But we must go further and act without further delay. African countries need lasting solutions, including funds and investment, in order to withstand the unprecedented shock suffered by our peoples and pursue the continent’s development process.
Among these solutions, I recommend recourse to the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights — a mechanism that already proved to be effective during the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.
The fight against Covid-19 must not obscure other diseases such as malaria and AIDS, which claim more victims in African countries. Above all, it must not destroy our efforts to combat poverty. In this area, my country launched vigorous reforms that have reduced poverty by 15.6 percentage points in eight years.
The regional study on poverty by the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) and the World Bank indeed confirms that Cote d’Ivoire went from a poverty rate of 55.01% in 2011 to 39.4% in 2018. This means that around 1.6 million Ivorians were lifted out of poverty during that period.
Furthermore, again according to recent statistics from the World Bank, Cote d’Ivoire’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita has more than doubled, from 1120 US dollars in 2011 to 2290 US dollars in 2019, meaning Cote d’Ivoire has the highest per capita income of any country in the West African subregion.
Cote d’Ivoire owes these results to a dynamic economy driven by rigorous governance, which has enabled us, over the past nine (9) years, to achieve an average growth rate of 8% per year. The economy’s growth rate is estimated at around 1.8% in 2020 and forecast to be around 7.9% in 2021. Despite the particularly difficult context with regard to Covid-19, we are continuing to roll out programmes with a social impact, such as the Government’s Social Programme, which will enable us to further reduce the poverty rate.
In that respect, thanks to electrification programmes, improved access to drinking water and enhanced education and health care, we have enabled millions of our fellow citizens to benefit from electricity and drinking water, and the presence of schools and health-care centres near to their living spaces.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Covid-19 pandemic reminds us how much the world needs the United Nations in order to act, together, for the common good. We must put our common Organization back at the centre of the collective response to this pandemic. At the health-care level, that means ensuring that everyone has access to a vaccine as soon as it becomes available.
On the economic front, the financial assistance provided to developing countries must be increased and better coordinated.
Covid-19 underscores the threats our world is called upon to face over the coming few years, which should lead us to strengthen the means of action of the United Nations, and its partnership with regional organizations. No country will be able to meet these new challenges alone, owing to their global nature and harmful consequences on people and economies.
Sadly, nowadays, the effectiveness of the United Nations and multilateral cooperation mechanisms, where consensual solutions are forged to tackle global challenges, are constantly put under severe strain, as a result of unilateral initiatives fuelled by strategic rivalries and competing leaderships.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The United Nations is celebrating seventy-five (75) years this year. I remain convinced that we must support and revitalize multilateralism as the only means of guaranteeing lasting international peace and stability. The challenges related to global warming, poverty, terrorism and the persistence of the nuclear threat and armed conflicts, among others, further legitimize this renewed multilateral ambition to which my country subscribes. This underpinned our accession to the Paris Agreement on climate change and the decisions undertaken during our mandate on the United Nations Security Council, which ended in 2019. It is also the reason for our participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations, and our commitment to finding peaceful solutions to disputes in our region.
In order to give greater legitimacy and credibility to our common Organization, there is an urgent need to carry out the reform of the Security Council. It is necessary to build the broadest consensus around the issue of Africa’s full and effective entry into the United Nations Security Council on a permanent basis. It is time for Africa to finally take its place in this important Organ.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Ivorian people will elect their next President of the Republic on 31 October 2020. Despite the Covid-19 health crisis, all measures have been taken to ensure that this election is peaceful and transparent, as was the case in 2015.1 am delighted with the effective participation of all stakeholders in this process and would like to express my deep gratitude to all partners, in particular the United Nations, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, which have all committed to the success of this electoral consultation alongside Cote d’Ivoire.
This election is taking place in a democratic environment, bolstered by important sociopolitical reforms and by undeniable economic and human progress, making my country a prosperous nation and one of the most successful economies in the world.
Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the full support of Cote d’Ivoire for the United Nations, which must remain the preferred framework for providing lasting responses to the major challenges of our time.
I wish the United Nations every success and a happy 75th anniversary.
Thank you.


Distinguished President of the United Nations General Assembly,
Distinguished Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Esteemed Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honored to have the opportunity, for the first time, to address, on behalf of the Republic of North Macedonia, this global forum, which this year, due to the circumstances in which we meet, is unique — for the first time, and I sincerely hope for the last, without our personal presence, at the headquarters of our organization.
This 2020 is undoubtedly one of the most difficult years that humanity is living in recent history. In just a few months, the pandemic, in addition to taking nearly one million lives, has left far-reaching consequences in almost every area of our lives, which will take years to fully recover. COVID-19 caused tectonic changes in the order we know, but also provided us with a realistic insight into the national capacities of public health for dealing with crises of planetary dimensions.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
COVID-19 is just another in the whole spectrum of crises we face as humanity and none of them is fully isolated from the others. The health crisis is both economic and social because it causes poverty, and poverty is fertile ground for extremism and conflict. Conflicts threaten human rights and freedoms and cause humanitarian catastrophes and waves of refugees. This vortex of crises and threats generates fear, uncertainty and mistrust and polarizes the relations between states, but also within states, and finally undermines multilateralism, which today is more needed than ever.
2020 should be a turning point for all of us. Today, instead of the existing static order created after the Second World War, we need a functional and dynamic system of shared rules and principles that we believe in, adapted to the new times. We need a new model of active, inclusive multilateralism, recognizable by solidarity between nations and humanity among people. In this context, one of the great tasks of the United Nations is to help us keep our focus and keep our collective consciousness and conscience for the global good awake.
When it comes to our shared goals, let me recall the words of the former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, who said that the purposes of the Charter “are expressions of universally shared ideals which cannot fail us, though we, alas, often fail them”. In other words, our organization can be as effective as its Member States allow.
Therefore, in order to overcome this period, we need solidarity between the states, which shall not be reflected only in the field of health. We must also be in solidarity with the future that we need to build together.
Esteemed Excellencies,
The tragedy caused by COVID-19 should not be used to raise geopolitical tensions and strengthen the geopolitical rivalry among the great powers. Science must stay aside from the logic of profit, but also from the destructive effects of propaganda and misinformation. Policies focused on quick results always have a short-term effect. If we treat crises in isolation from each other, we will only alleviate the symptoms without curing humanity. An integral approach is therefore necessary. The pandemic is also an opportunity to restructure economies, technologies and lifestyles, in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. We will not eradicate poverty only with short-term financial assistance to the poorest, but through systematic adaptation of those people to have a dignified life and equal opportunities to work, earn money, start families. If we do the opposite, the gap between rich and poor will widen and inequality will still be passed down from one generation to the next.
We see that a new generation of inequalities related to education, technology and climate change is already approaching, which will surely result in new, huge divisions within the societies. We already see that in young people. While some, disappointed by the lack of prospects, leave their countries, others flee to instant gratification and superficial values.
Member States must continue to strive for universal education for all, because education is the most powerful guarantor of human rights and freedoms.
The 25th anniversary of the World Conference on Women reminds us that it is necessary to continue our efforts to reduce inequality between men and women, which is still a reality in many parts of the world. Moreover, we need to continuously strengthen tolerance for different lifestyles and protect these groups from the widespread violence against them.
Our economic and technical-technological development must become climate neutral. In doing so, we need to focus on developing and supporting innovative environmental approaches and sustainable development strategies. Unfortunately, in order to repair the economic damage caused by the pandemic, many governments and companies are already making compromises at the expense of the environmental and climate agenda. By doing so, they only protect the unsustainable economic model of development based on fossil fuels and the use of underpaid labor.
If we hope that new technologies can continue to build on our old habits, we will only worsen the situation. We must learn, acquire new, sustainable habits that will be adequate to the new technologies.
It is clear to all of us that the time for action is very short. We have only 10 years left to implement the ambitious Agenda 2030. Even before the pandemic, we had difficulties in implementing some of its key goals. Now, for their implementation, we must simultaneously mitigate the economic and social consequences of the pandemic that is still present. To win this race against time, instead of half-effective measures that only delay the consequences, we need bold and long-term solutions that will surely outlive the governments that have passed them.
Dear Friends,
The promotion of peace and the prevention of conflicts, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law, have no alternative. Terrorism and violent extremism threaten us all. The Republic of North Macedonia joins the Secretary General’s call for a global truce and full respect for international humanitarian law in these extraordinary circumstances. My country, within its capabilities, is an active participant in UN peacekeeping missions, but also within regional organizations such as the OSCE, the European Union and the missions of the North Atlantic Alliance. In this context, we support the efforts for a new nuclear arms control treaty and believe that the efforts of our strategic partners to include new nuclear forces therein is an important contribution to greater efficiency in preventing a new race for armament.
As a small country in South-East Europe, we have brought additional stability to the region by resolving, through the mediation of the UN, the complex dispute with our neighbor Greece. Now we are implementing in good faith the agreed, which will benefit both our countries and the region as a whole. At the same time, we are ready to resolve all open issues through dialogue of equal subjects, seen in the Good Neighborliness and Cooperation Treaty with our neighbor, the Republic of Bulgaria, which serves as a significant example thereof.
Unfortunately, our region still faces unresolved political and historical disputes that have the potential to take us back to the 1990s. The solution to these problems lies only in overcoming historical myths, the way out is certainly not in the ideologies of the 19th century for ethnic and religious domination.
In this context, it is of utmost importance that investments are not reduced to investing only in economies. Democracy, which after the end of the Cold War we were convinced had no real alternative, is today under fierce attack on populist and authoritarian tendencies. If we want to maintain the moral superiority of democracy over other models of political governance, we must invest in it, especially among the young generations. In this sense, one of the fundamental challenges before us is to invest in the education about democratic values in order to suppress the awakened radical ideologies, such as neo-fascism, ultra-nationalism and racism. It is a task for the states and formal education, but, not less for the system of non-formal education, as well as for the civil society.
To be successful, this battle is fought on multiple fronts simultaneously. Every country, every nation and every organization can contribute. But preconditions for achieving the goal are effective international cooperation and global solidarity, for which we need the United Nations, reformed and adapted to the new reality.
With all its shortcomings, this organization remains the only truly global, neutral and legitimate platform for cooperation. Regarding the need for its thorough reform, the challenges we all face can only be solved with more, not less multilateralism, which, in addition to governments and states, will include the private sector, international governmental and non-governmental organizations, academia and associations of young people, women and the marginalized, who rightly seek truth, justice and equality.
In the spirit of multilateralism, the Republic of North Macedonia will continue to fulfill its international obligations and support the work of the United Nations and
its specialized agencies in creating and implementing public policies on issues of global importance.
On our decisions today, at the peak of the pandemic, depends how our world will look like after the pandemic. This is a rare opportunity, supporting the world organization and supporting each other, to take steps towards creating a more peaceful and just world in which faith in humanism, freedom, solidarity and respect for human dignity will be restored. It is clear that only by investing in the United Nations will we be able to build a better world for both present and future generations.
Thank you for your attention.


President of the 75th Session of the UN General Assembly, H.E. Volkan Bozkir,
Secretary-General of the United Nations, H.E. Antonio Guterres,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am, indeed, delighted to participate in this 75th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, despite the unusual circumstances created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Let me, take this opportunity Mr. President, to thank you and to congratulate you on your election and I wish you a productive and successful 75th session and assure you of Kenya’s full as well as constructive support.
I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate your predecessor, H.E. Professor Tijjani Muhammad-Bande for ably steering the 74th Session of the General Assembly during this very very difficult season. He ensured that, not notwithstanding the difficulties of the pandemic, the work of the United Nations continued.
Mr. President,
The 75th Anniversary is a moment to reflect on the journey that we have taken. It is a moment to introspect, to establish if the anchor still holds or if our community of nations has become unanchored by the challenges of our time.
This is an occasion to reflect on our world and its institutions; have our relations and institutions been refined by experience and the passage of time or have our institutions become battered and left not fit for purpose.
At 75, the United Nations is older than most of its Member States and more importantly older than over 96 per cent of our global population. A clear majority of the global population today cannot relate to the circumstances of its founding. Yes, the United Nations in its birth “brought rules and hope for a world in ruins” that was seven and a half decades ago, but what does it bring to the world today?
Seventy five years ago, delegates from fifty nations who had endured immense disruption and suffering, seized the opportunity to chart a bold new course for mankind. They were determined to save future generations from the scourge of war and in so doing they gifted us a timeless Charter that has remained our shared framework of international cooperation.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
On this occasion of the 75th Anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, “We the People of the United Nations” must rekindle the Idealism, Will and Spirit of the San Francisco conference that founded our great organization.
Today, mankind is confronted by complex, multifaceted and gravely serious challenges. Across the world, we are witnessing constant disruptions that are generating great anxiety, uncertainty and unpredictability. The COVID19 pandemic best defines the challenges of our time; a challenge that affects us all, a challenge that we can only overcome if each of us succeeds.
The COVID19 pandemic and other contemporary challenges including the climate and biodiversity crisis that we face, our growing geostrategic tensions, social as well as economic inequalities, the crisis of legitimacy and governance as well as the vulnerabilities of our digital world, have, indeed, redefined the imperative for multilateral action.
Kenya believes strongly that if we remain anchored in multilateralism and with unity of purpose, if we are much more agile in embracing change and positive transformations, if we remain rooted in a rule-based international system and act innovatively and selflessly, we can transcend our challenges and secure lasting peace and prosperity for all.
This firm persuasion is born of our own experience and evolution of as a nation.
Much like the United Nations, our country was founded on the ideals of liberty, unity, rule of law, democracy and participation of the people, grounded on human dignity, equity, social justice, inclusiveness, equality, human rights and good governance. I believe these are all shared global values and Kenya acknowledges that we have had our challenges in meeting this but that doesn’t change the vision that we have for the future.
All these issues have worked for us in our domestic context and I believe that they will serve the United Nations well and we are confident that our community of nations, can do far much more collectively than any one country could ever do alone.
Excellencies,
The theme for our 75th Assembly namely, “The Future that We Want; the United Nations that We Need: Reaffirming our Collective Commitment to Multilateralism”, is most appropriate and indeed timely. It speaks not only to the urgent need to review our actions at both the national and global levels, but also responds to the pressing demand for effective multilateral action, within a rule-based international system.
Indeed, the COVID-19 pandemic should give fresh impetus to our collective efforts to strengthen international cooperation. This global pandemic has deepened unfortunately existing inequalities, hitting the poorest and most vulnerable communities the hardest. It has created an unprecedented synergy of challenges and demonstrated the limits of our institutions.
There is, therefore, an urgent need to improve readiness in the area of global crises management. But more importantly, to effectively take urgent, coordinated and collective measures to build resilience that would insulate our societies and our economies against the adverse effects of such pandemic and crisis.
In Kenya, we have had to undertake special and targeted efforts. A national multi agency team on COVID19 is in place to ensure such appropriate interventions. We have revamped and expanded our national and county health care systems. The interventions that we have taken have targeted the old and the vulnerable, the unemployed and our youth and specific programmes to keep them healthy and productively engaged. We have also recognized that this pandemic has in itself produced the challenges of gender inequality and more so gender violence.
We have introduced financial and tax interventions to keep the economy and businesses viable and solvent. And like everyone else, introduced social health measures including cessation of travel, social distancing, the wearing of masks and improved hygiene for all.
And this has been achieved to the best of our abilities within an environment of constitutional civil liberties and rights to prosperity and development of all our citizenry.
At the continental level, Mr. President, working with the African Union, I have been involved personally in guiding collective continental actions, together with other Heads of State and Government, who are members of the African Union Bureau. We adopted a continental COVID-19 mitigation strategy, which has had great success in coordinating continental efforts to prevent severe illness and death from COVID-19; as well as minimizing social and economic disruptions.
Excellencies,
What we have learnt in the past six months is that no Country and I repeat again no country can manage a crisis of this magnitude, on its own. We have had to work collectively in order to build back better.
We, therefore, call upon the global community to enhance cooperation and assistance to developing countries in vulnerable situations so as to bolster their economies and health care systems; and to achieve Universal Health Coverage as envisioned in the 2019 UHC political declaration.
Mr. President,
This Assembly is the pinnacle platform for debate on matters of global political concern. At no time in our recent history have global developments been as concerning as they are today.
Global geopolitics and competition between global powers have complicated and severely undermined the global response to the COVID19 pandemic. Indeed, they have caused severe anxiety and undermined coordinated responses to an economic and social character that would have left us in a stronger position as a global collective.
Excellencies,
As President in Office of the Organisation of African, Pacific and Caribbean States, an organization comprising 97 countries, some of whom are most vulnerale and poorest, I have become acutely aware of global geopolitics and competition that is not focused on helping us better build, a stronger, safer, healthier and more prosperous world.
What is equally important is that even after addressing the acute phase of the pandemic, we must all remain collectively committed to global recovery. Developing countries seeking to have the existing debt moratorium refined and extended to December 2021, and an early replenishment of the IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust (PRGT) and the World Bank International Development Association (IDA) as well as an early decision on the Special Drawing Rights.
Excellencies,
I am confident that we have the answers to the challenges we face. The SDGs are a model for multilateral action, which capture the common aspirations of mankind; to end poverty, protect our planet’s biosphere and to ensure prosperity for all.
The challenges that confront us today only serve to underscore the need to reaffirm our commitment to the implementation of the SDGs particularly with regard to fighting poverty and inequality; but also our shared responsibility to effectively contribute to this common vision.
Mr. President,
Turning to Climate Change, I believe Kenya’s stance on Climate Change and the Environment is known to all. Climate Change can unpackage our efforts to attain the SDGs. Kenya acknowledges the disproportionate impacts of climate variability in Small Island Developing States as well as states with fragile ecological environments.
In this regard, Kenya was honoured to co host the United Nations Secretary General’s Climate Action Summit in September of last year, which resulted in landmark commitments as well as initiatives.
Similarly, the interdependent crisis of the biodiversity loss, an ecosystem degradation requires urgent and collective action. Our global home that was teeming with millions of species of God-given creatures, both great and small, is slowly dying. Kenya once again calls for urgent collective action to halt the decimation of our biodiversity.
We must find a global balance between human beings and other creatures on our earth. We must put harmony between people and nature. Our world is yearning for us to stop its ruin! In this regard, we in Kenya look forward to the upcoming Biodiversity Summit that shall be held later.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
As host to the United Nations Environmental Program, and the UN-Habitat, of which we are proud, Kenya calls for the expansion of the two Programmes’ their viability to harmonize, and to domicile all environmental and human settlements issues, in their rightful place which is at their Headquarters.
Kenya remains committed to continue offering the global community a conducive environment to declare the mandate of these two important UN organizations, UNEP and UN-Habitat.
Let me also remind all of us, Mr. President, that Kenya and Portugal will co-host the Second UN Ocean Conference in the second quarter of 2021. We welcome you all to participate at the highest level in Lisbon, as we strive to harness science and innovation, to scale up our conservation and the sustainable use of our oceans and blue economy.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Let me pause at this moment to sincerely thank each and everyone of you for electing Kenya to the Security Council for the 2021-2022 term. The vote was an overwhelming affirmation of the trust and confidence that many Members have in Kenya.
I wish to assure you that Kenya will deliver on our commitments to the Council, under the mandate of the African Union. We will work closely with all member states to ensure that the Council discharges its mandate in an inclusive, responsive and consultative manner because peace is a collective effort.
Mr. President,
Kenya has been a frontline state in global efforts to confront terrorism and violent extremism. We have consistently advocated for the need to build partnerships for a strategic and operational approach to prevent and to combat violent extremism not just here in Kenya or our region but globally.
And even as we struggle with all the other challenges of development and cooperation, we cannot afford to take our eyes off the ever present danger of the existential threat of terrorism.
Kenya was honoured to have hosted the first ever African Regional High-Level Conference on Counterterrorism and Prevention of Violent Extremism in July last year. Kenya also welcomes the envisaged establishment of a UN Counter-Terrorism Programme Office here in Nairobi.
As a country that has long contributed to global peace keeping operations, it has been our experience that cooperation among various stakeholders, a clarity of mandate, appropriate training and equipping of troops, an integration of conflict prevention, peacekeeping and peace building measures, the participation especailly of women, as well as the periodic reviews of the effectiveness of missions, greatly strengthens peace keeping operations. Kenya will continue to advocate for inclusive, meaningful triangular consultations between the Security Council, the UN Secretariat and troops and police contributing countries.
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Even though the world has made great progress since the creation of this great body, the United Nations 75 years ago, our present challenges may appear dispiriting and the journey ahead seem daunting and arduous. But existence is like a marathon of global proportions.
I come from a country of marathoners; and I, therefore, appreciate the demands of endurance, teamwork and persistence in conquering the road ahead. Together, I believe we can win this race, mankind can triumph and secure peace and prosperity in a greater biodiversity for present and future generations.
Finally Mr. President,
The Secretary-General’s recent appeal for a global ceasefire also includes a humanitarian call for the roll-back of international sanctions and to reinforce the efforts of vulnerable, fragile and conflict-affected countries, to deal with the impact of COVID-19. I state today that Kenya stands behind this initiative.
In this connection, I wish to make a special appeal for an end to the economic and commercial as well as financial embargo against Cuba, sanctions against Zimbabwe and Sudan. The United Nations provides us a platform, a platform to resolve age old differences and unburden ourselves of these antiquated conflicts.
It is also Kenya’s desire to see, at this critical and historical juncture, an inspiration for peace between Palestine and Israel.
Kenya calls for renewed and genuine international efforts to find a just and lasting solution to the conflict, based on the existence of two States, the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, within the framework of the relevant United Nations pronouncements.
I want to thank all of you for your attention. Thank you and God bless you all.


-	Excellency Volkan Bozkir, President of the General Assembly,
-	Excellency Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General,
-	Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen!
This year’s General Assembly is an exceptional event in the history of the United Nations, not only it is held for the first time virtually via videos, but it takes place during a time when the world is overshadowed by a number of crisis and uncertainties.
Certainly, the world is facing great turmoil unprecedented in the last 30 years, as a result of the tectonic convergence of a potential New Cold War, which could lead to a profound transformation of the entire geopolitical landscape, the continuous outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, climate and environmental change, non-state terrorism, not to mention the millions of human beings still suffering from hunger, misery and exploitation etc.
On top of that, the world is now facing irreversible metamorphose into a Polycentric Structure marked by intense rivalry-turn-adversary between superpowers, parallelly accompanied by the pre-eminence of middle powers moving rapidly to the foreground of regional politics.
However, this year, we are commemorating the 75th anniversary, marking the end of the Second World War, which is an unforgettable event for everyone. In this connection, we have to salute the Founding Fathers of the United Nations, who have laid the groundwork for the modern system of international relations and multilateral engagement, driven by their idealistic desire “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind”.
In this context, I would like to share my personal views on some topics for discussion in today’s event as follows:
New Geopolitical Tensions and Their Impact on the World
Excellency President!
The longest period of stability and prosperity in modern times, a fruit born out of the international order built in 1945, is being deeply shaken because the fundamental values underlying it as well as the core principles of international law are being flouted and no longer respected. Moreover, the trend of unilateralism and the exertion of force against weak countries is on the rise, undermining international order and multilateralism.
Truly, nowadays we note the degradation of the international arms control system and a significant increase in nuclear risks. Also, there has been an alarming shift in doctrinal military and political policies towards the idea of waging war as a mean to maintain one’s own supremacy, which is an unacceptable act. For instance, global commitments made are unilaterally reneged; violent blows are levelled against international institutions; and the voices of reason are stifled by the arbitrary practice of unilateral sanctions and other coercive political, economic and financial measures, all because of the strongest country uphold their interests above everything else.
Furthermore, there is an abusive use of the right of interference, which has taken on such a proportion that it undermines one of the fundamental principles of our UN Charter: the right of peoples to self-determination and the national sovereignty. The damages on the current international order are causes for great concern. In addition, the possibility of a so-called New Cold War has also become a significant concern because this small country, once caught in the midst of the Cold War conflict, ideological rift and nationalist fanatism, paid a very high price. Thus, we must outright reject any attempt to allow tragic history to repeat itself.
Covid-19 Pandemic, Economic and Social Recovery
Excellency President!
Never, in our history, has a health crisis had effects and consequences of this magnitude. Although we have yet to grasp the full impact of the pandemic on the world economies, we can anticipate the gloomy prospect of business bankruptcies and massive layoffs, which have been affecting the lives of millions of people.
Paradoxically, the pandemic has reminded us of the indispensable solidarity that unites the people of the world. For the world economy to recover faster, we must work more closely to address this crisis through international institutions based on the principles of transparency and efficiency. Now more than ever, we must renounce the inward looking “Me First” attitude, which is the very negation of the universality of the human values. Cambodia has shown its humanitarian gesture early this year, when the MS Westerdam cruise ship, floating at sea with no port to anchor, was allowed to dock in our port, thus allowing the stranded passengers and the crew safe passage to their respective country.
Global Issues and Challenges
Excellency President!
Now, I would like to raise key global issues and challenges, starting with the effects of the pandemic on Sustainable Development Goals.
Looking at the global economies which have severely been hit by the COVID 19, my worries are particularly related to the compounding effects on the resources to deliver on the key priorities necessary to achieve the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda on time, and this may require us to re-evaluate the feasibility of achieving the goals set in the past.
Climate change is another matter of great concern. Global C02 emissions have increased by 1.5% per year over the past ten years. 75 per cent of the Earth’s environment shows significant signs of degradation by plastics, pesticides, nitrates, and heavy metals. As scary as these statistics show, it is mind-boggling to note that not many countries have done enough to meet their respective COP21 commitments.
Cambodia is a small country with limited resources, but we strive to address the challenges related to climate change, under both national and international frameworks. For instance, we have taken efforts to meet the obligations born of the COP21: climate change action is a key component of our national development policy.
In fact, we will update our Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ahead of the COP26 meeting in Glasgow.
Non-State Terrorism and Peacekeeping Operations
Excellency President!
Next, let me now shift to two other important issues related to peace and security, namely non-state terrorism and peacekeeping operations.
In my view, it would be a very serious mistake to brush aside the threat of non state terrorism, in the mere hope that it would go away by itself. We have to admit that the root causes of this religious radicalism, or for that matter for all forms of radicalism, have yet to be addressed. In fact, all forms of radicalism or violent extremism stem from a deep sense of social injustice, based on discrimination on gender, language, skin color, beliefs or origins. Moreover, there remain other critical threats to the peace and security all around the world.
In this context, Cambodia is proud of our peacekeeping contributions throughout the years under the UN umbrella. As of now, there are nearly 800 Cambodian blue helmets, of which 10 per cent are women, serving in Sudan, South Sudan, Lebanon, Mali and Central African Republic.
On this 75th anniversary of the UN, we must honor all those brave persons, including the Cambodians, who have given their lives for the noble cause of contributing to a better and more peaceful world. Cambodia remains committed, today as ever, to continue our peacekeeping efforts with a view to promoting peace and development for all. Cambodia counts nevertheless on the UN to provide adequate resources, regular trainings in pre- and post-deployments, and continuous supports to the Peacekeeping Operations to enable them to deliver on their mandate fully, efficiently and safely.
Denouncing the injustice
Excellency President!
As a peace-loving small country committed to democratic principles, Cambodia can play its part in the international community only if it is assured that the rules governing the international system are fairly applied. Unfortunately, all too often, depending on the political ambition and hidden opportunistic agenda of some countries, Cambodia had to deal with hypocritical double standards, biased and politically motivated decisions; in short, injustice.
This story of injustice reminds me of a historical “deja vu”.A little more than 40 years ago, Cambodia was liberated from the Khmer Rouges’ genocidal regime, where more than 2 million Cambodians have perished in the hand of the barbaric regime. For many years, the traumatized and exhausted survivors, totally stripped of everything, had to rebuild the nation from scratch. Quite ironically, it was to these very same survivors who were being punished by a majority of UN member states while allowing the Khmer Rouge executioners to occupy the Cambodian seat in the UN. These same governments that preached incessantly about democracy and human rights were the ones that have deprived the entire surviving population access to food, health, education, housing, development and even peace for 12 long years.
I believe history repeats itself in the case of the EU’s withdrawal of the EBA at a time when Cambodia struggles to survive amid the COVID-19 pandemic. That struggle notwithstanding, Cambodia is strongly determined, as it did 40 years ago, to defend what it believes is the rightful path, that is to defend our sovereignty and to protect our so hard-won peace, which is fully cherished by Cambodians who have gone through the most tragic devastation and are now rising as a nation be on an equal footing, status and rights with other nations in the region and the world.
Excellency President!
In conclusion, let me state outright that our world is in trouble. People are suffering and the planet is suffering. Major challenges are ahead of us and yet some countries have been shirking themselves from their own responsibilities. Ultimately, it is up to the most powerful country to stop threatening world peace and the survival of the planet as much as it is up to the super and middle powers to work together to ensure a new world order based on the respect of the sovereignty of others and their peaceful coexistence.
Thank You!


Bismilliah ah Rahmaan ah raheem
Mr President, Mr Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
Congratulations Mr President, on your election as the President of the seventy- fifth session of the UN General Assembly. A distinguished person of your wisdom and caliber at the helm of this assembly brings comfort, during these extraordinary times we face.
I also wish to express our heartfelt appreciation to the outgoing President for his excellent stewardship of our work through unforeseen challenges.
Mr. Secretary-General, my country applauds your sincere and hard work during these tiring times.
“A handful though we are, we dedicate ourselves to the principles of
this world body and declare our faith in the support of the Charter of the
United Nations”.
Mr President,
These were among the first words that the first Permanent Representative of the Maldives to the United Nations Mr Ahmed Hilmy Didi spoke at this chamber, 55 years ago. 55 years ago, we declared our firm conviction that “the UN is the chief architect” of peace. 55 years later, our conviction remains stronger than ever.
Today, as we grapple with one of the greatest global challenges in recent history, deliberating “the future we want, the United Nations we need” and “reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism” not only seems opportune but a necessity.
The stark and tragic images of the Covidl9 pandemic still remain etched in our minds. Healthcare workers treating patients on makeshift beds. Undertakers struggling to bury the dead. Empty roads, empty schools, empty airports. And the eerie silence blanketing it all...
In the Maldives — a vibrant and thriving nation — our lives, came to a standstill, almost overnight. With no tourists, revenue declined, and debt increased. The economy is set to contract — for the first time in a decade.
Responding quickly to the Covidl9 health impacts was our first priority. We immediately declared a National Health Emergency. President Solih established the National Emergency Operations Center, and chaired the Committee’s meetings himself. We boosted testing capacity, established Covid treatment facilities, mobilised and trained healthcare workers. The dedication of our frontline workers in ensuring effective provision of quality healthcare, and uninterrupted services has been extraordinary.
Our second priority was to minimise shock to the economy, and support households and businesses. Income support, stimulus packages, debt moratorium, and tax reliefs programs have been initiated; Social security including universal health insurance, single parent support and elderly pensions, have continued despite many logistical and financial challenges.
A National Taskforce on Response and Recovery has been constituted, and it has prioritised building resilience into our post Covid action plan. The aim is to ensure that the development gains we have made over the past decades are not eroded; to ensure that development projects promised and planned go forward without delay; and to ensure that our commitment to the 2030 Agenda, ensuring that no one is left behind, does not remain unfulfilled.
Mr President,
There are many lessons that can already be learnt from Covidl9.
First, the asymmetries in the international system have been laid bare like never before — whether it be the unevenness of the impacts, the digital divide, the deep shocks due to disruptions in supply chains — no country has been spared from the impacts. But not every country has been affected in equal measure. In countries like mine, where tourism contributions both directly and indirectly account for 75% of GDP, the loss has been immeasurable.
Second, the toll that debt burdens have on the economies of Small Island Developing States like the Maldives is clearer now. We appreciate the G20’s debt service suspension initiative. But there is little difference between 31 December and 1 January, apart from the change in year. Economies will still be in recovery, and hurting. So, we request the G20 to extend their initiative until the end of 2021.
But, debt suspension is only half the story for SIDS. We need structural change, innovative facilities, and better and greater access to concessional financing. We need a proper assessment of our vulnerabilities that will shape the way for better- targeted approaches in SIDS.
Third, the pandemic has also highlighted the importance of global cooperation. In the Maldives, without the support of our friends, our bilateral and multilateral partners, we would not be able to continue weathering this storm. As we work towards finding a vaccine, our hope is that every person who needs it will have access to it. That we will work together to ensure equitable access.
I thank all our partners who have generously extended financial, material and technical support during this crisis, even when they themselves are going through challenging times. One such example is India. The recent budget support of 250 million US dollars, was the single largest financial assistance from a donor during this pandemic.
Mr President,
The Covid pandemic has given us the opportunity to recalibrate our approach to development, and focus on building a more resilient world — one that delivers for planet, people, and prosperity.
For countries like mine — climate change remains a significant threat — but also a threat that is difficult to overcome on our own. The number of islands that require emergency shore protection, flood or disaster relief are rising each year. The frequency, and severity of the events are pushing towards the limits of adaptation. There is also an increasing trend on the slow-onset events such as sea level rise. For the Maldives, the impacts of climate change are no longer the future. For us, it is our lived reality.
But climate change does not discriminate. It does not recognise borders. Big or small, rich or poor, every nation is facing the impacts, although at different scales and magnitudes. Climate change is a risk multiplier. It continues to be a threat to international security.
Our hope is in realising the lofty ambitions of the Paris Agreement. What we need is stronger NDCs by all countries. We will most certainly submit ours! We need actual realisation of pledges made, including financial commitments. We need easier, and faster access to finance. Climate financing has to be new, additional and predictable in nature, and rolled out now, to achieve the target we set in 2015. Adaptation is no longer something to plan for, in the future. It is our every day.
As we rebuild our economies after COVID-19, it must not be business as usual. We have to use this as an opportunity to build back greener. In doing so, no country should be left alone. This is another opportunity to reduce emissions to keep global temperature rise below 1.5° Celsius. Let us make the road to Glasgow, one that is paved with meaningful action that includes all.
Meaningful action is also required towards the protection of our ocean. Millions of people rely on the ocean and its bounty, for their survival. For Maldivians, as custodians of over 90,000 square kilometers of the Indian Ocean, it is part of our identity, our way of life, our economy.
This is why protecting the ocean from the harmful impacts of marine plastic pollution is crucial for us, and many other countries like us. President Solih announced here at the GA last year, our pledge to phase out single use plastics by 2023. We continue to work with like-minded countries for an effective international framework to this end. We have committed to the protection of 20 per cent of our own waters and are also committed to working with the Global Ocean Alliance towards achieving the global target of protecting 30 per cent of the ocean in the coming years.
Friends, it is our shared responsibility to preserve, and sustainably use, the ocean and all of its bounty. Let us not fail. Not on our watch!
Mr President,
Ensuring human rights is fundamental to a progressive society, and sustainable development. The promotion and protection of human rights is a cornerstone of President Solih’s administration from its inception.
Of the core human rights Conventions, Maldives has ratified seven, and withdrawn several of the reservations to CEDAW. We will also ratify the Convention on Enforced Disappearances in the coming months. The Child Rights Protection Act, and the Juvenile Justice Act are recent examples of our efforts to align our legal instruments with international obligations.
We have also ratified the Third Optional Protocol to CRC, and signed the Declaration under Article 22 of the Convention Against Torture, allowing for enhanced access to justice.
We firmly believe that a rights-based approach prioritises the empowerment of all segments of society — especially women and youth. For the first time, the Government is working on a draft Youth Bill that will identify and ensure the rights of young people, including their participation in decision-making. A multi-dimensional, holistic approach that includes leadership, political participation, gender equality, counter-radicalisation, health and wellbeing, guides our youth policies.
Mainstreaming gender equality in society, and in public life, is an ongoing process — a process that no country has completed. As we move towards marking the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women, every effort must be made to reaching the vision of Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. In the Maldives, several steps have been taken in the right direction. For example, recent amendments brought to Local Councils Act allocated a third of all local council seats to women, ensuring their participation in the decentralised goverance system. I am also proud to announce that we have achieved gender parity among Heads of Missions of the Maldives Foreign Service.
It is because of the importance the Maldives places on the promotion and protection of human rights that the Government has taken the decision to present its candidature for the Human Rights Council for the term 2023-2025. We believe that domestic and global efforts to promote and protect human rights go hand-in-hand. And as a Small, Island State, we wish to share the unique experiences of our efforts to align our laws, and cultivate a culture of respect for human rights.
Mr President,
Terrorism remains one of the most complex and challenging global issues of our time — one that requires cooperation, coordination, and also consensus. We have to work together to address the root causes of terrorism and violent extremism, especially in light of advances in social media and digital technology.
The global community also has to work together to ensure the rights of the Palestinian people. For decades, Palestinians have cried out for dignity, respect, and statehood — to no avail. We reiterate our call for a two State solution on the basis of the pre-1967 borders with East Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.
The Rohingya people continue to endure extreme deprivation and hardships. We will not standby and stand witness to genocide. We will do all we can to challenge the mistreatment, displacement and wanton killing of the Rohingya people. We will continue to advocate on their behalf, including at the International Court of Justice.
Mr President,
As the UN celebrates 75 years in existence, there is much to celebrate, and be thankful for. The UN helped shape an international order following years of warfare, and strife. The UN gave the world a platform to share its problems and prepare solutions. The UN gave countries like mine — the smallest of the smallest — an equal voice, a place at the table, the ability to contribute, and to make a difference. It remains the best hope for the security of small States like mine.
Yes, we all agree that the UN needs reform, to come to terms with the current membership and the current times. But we cannot dispute that the UN is still necessary. The UN still presents the best hope for humanity, the best opportunity for cooperation, the best platform for dialogue, the best check against rising tide of ultra-nationalism, and xenophobia.
Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
We must once again come together, determined to uphold peace, preserve fundamental human rights, human dignity, and the worth of every person, and every nation large and small.
We must once again, commit to practise tolerance, promote dialogue over war, and employ global cooperation for the advancement of all people.
We must once again, come together, resolute in our commitment to the principles of the UN, to revive the true spirit of multilateralism, to herald in a truly just and happier world.
Mr President, “A handful though we are” — the Maldives stands ready to do our part —just as we did 55 years ago!
I thank you.


It is a great honour for me to speak at the general debate of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session for the first time, as Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala on behalf of President Alejandro Giammattei Falla.
My country highlights the importance of the central theme of our deliberations and acknowledges the focus on our collective commitment to multilateralism and confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action.
I join others in expressing our condolences to the families of all those who have lost loved ones as a result the terrible consequences of COVID-19. I appreciate the heroism of all the health-care professionals and their support staff who have worked tirelessly every day for many months, while working with courage and commitment on the front lines of this crisis.
The event has required us to devise urgently needed comprehensive responses, which has involved joint efforts among Governments, active political forces and multilateral organizations and international cooperation to coordinate capacities and resources to combat the disease, while safeguarding health, security and every citizen’s right to food.
The Government of Guatemala acknowledges that no one will be safe until everyone is safe. I therefore express my country’s interest in gaining immediate and fair access to vaccines and our readiness to cooperate with regard to logistics and their distribution in the countries of the region, particularly Central America.
We know that, by pooling efforts, we can find a solution to counter the virus and that we will be able to count on global solidarity, as we have in the past. We are grateful for the support that has been provided by the United Nations system’s agencies, international actors, and friendly countries throughout the COVID-19 crisis.
Mr. President,
Faced with the challenge of COVID-19, despite the fact that Guatemala took early preventive health-care measures, declared a “State of Calamity” and established a specialized commission to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease, the country has been severely affected. However, that has presented an obstacle to the country’s development efforts.
The health-care sector, the economy and food security, among others, have been the areas most affected. We therefore implemented plans to strengthen the social and economic reconstruction of our country, while highlighting the importance of attending to the most vulnerable people.
In the area of health care, we encountered a system that had been neglected and forgotten for many years. Added to that was our having to deal with the current pandemic, which forced us to act from day one with aggressive plans to restore the health-care system. We have upgraded existing hospitals and opened up an additional five others in record time throughout the regions of the country. In recent months, we have increased the number of beds to more than 2,000, as well as resources and capacities to provide timely medical care to the Guatemalan population.
I would like to acknowledge the invaluable support provided by multilateral cooperation and the friendly countries that have prioritized assisting the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare.
With regard to the economy, the Law of Economic Rescue to Families for the Effects Caused by COVID-19 was adopted, as a result of which the Family Bonus Fund was established, as a social financial support measure to mitigate the economic crisis within the country. Likewise, the Employment Protection Fund was also created to support companies experiencing financial difficulties so that they could continue to employ their personnel, while providing them with the option to suspend work for the duration of the crisis and a payment for three consecutive months to ensure income. In the case of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, programmes are being promoted to provide soft loans so that they can overcome liquidity problems and avoid closing down.
Within the framework of food security, the COVID-19 food support and prevention programme was established, which involves the delivery of basic food needs, while taking into account cultural considerations, to vulnerable families or those in areas at risk. The pandemic has aggravated one the most challenging problems already facing us — malnutrition.
That is why we are implementing the Grand National Crusade for Nutrition, as one of the most important programmes to be developed during my Government. The initiative aims to unite all sectors of the country in order to improve the nutrition of Guatemalan families, with an emphasis on the poorest and most marginalized areas, while applying a comprehensive approach to address the problem’s myriad causes.
We are promoting our candidature to become a member of the Executive Board of the World Food Programme (WFP) for the period from 2021 to 2023, whence we are certain that we will be able to contribute to the promotion of food security and sustainable agriculture and the eradication of hunger and malnutrition, which represent fundamental challenges for our region.
Moreover, in the area of respect for and the promotion of human rights, we are in the phase of restructuring the functions of the current State Ministries, with a view to addressing compliance with the Agreement on a Firm and Lasting Peace, the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights and social conflict agreements in an effective, responsible and consistent manner in line with the Government’s priorities. A detailed record was made of the international commitments assumed by the State of Guatemala in those areas in order to continue providing adequate follow-up to the reports and recommendations issued by the human rights mechanisms of both the United Nations and the inter-American systems.
Ladies and Gentlemen
Guatemala is convinced that the work of the United Nations is crucial to sustaining peace, protecting human rights and promoting development by serving the most vulnerable. Accordingly, I will mention several important points that we must consider:
Migrants today represent a major portion of the population and continue to suffer humiliation and unjustified discrimination because of their origin. Two years ago, Guatemala, together with other friendly States, established the International Day of Family Remittances, which is commemorated every 16 June and reminds us of migrants working far from home to support their families.
Owing to our geography, we are a country of origin, transit, destination and return. We are deeply committed to respecting the human rights of migrants, particularly as we are currently dealing with the pandemic. We urge the international community to avoid the criminalization of migrants as their work is vital to their communities’ development.
Through the relative United Nations agencies, we are finding opportunities to meet the challenges. That is why we advocated an agreement with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in order to viably support dialogue on and the exchange of proposals enabling an increased focus on returning migrants.
The situation has provided us with lessons learned, which have enabled us to establish and improve the health-care protocols for the migrant population and responsibly shoulder our obligation to receive our fellow countrymen in a dignified manner, while preventing the pandemic to spread.
We continue to witness how hatred, racism, discrimination, radicalization and their dire consequences, such as terrorism, continue to claim innocent lives. As a nation with a peaceful mission, Guatemala will always advocate strengthening political dialogue to avoid any escalation of violence and seek peaceful resolutions, based on the exercise of constructive diplomacy with respects for international law.
To renew the purposes of the United Nations and take effective steps to prevent and eliminate threats to and breaches of peace, and suppress acts of aggression, Guatemala calls on the Security Council to act in a manner consistent with its functions, including the responsible use of the veto in order to avoid aggravating international crises. In that regard, Guatemala supports the French-Mexican initiative to limit the use of the veto in the case of mass atrocities. Therefore, it is important that efforts to reform the Council continue.
The reform of the United Nations remains a key issue. I emphasize this point. We need to re-engineer and enhance coordination within the entire system. We must work together for a less bureaucratic Organization. We want efforts to have a direct impact on the people most in need, while investing in development with existing human resources.
We know that measures to reform the Secretariat are under way, but the imperative reform of the United Nations remains an outstanding issue, and the lack of faith in multilateralism demonstrates that. As a country, Guatemala wants to show people that general debates and multilateral meetings are not vacuous speeches or pretty words. They embody the ambition to join our efforts for the sake of communities.
We have the human resources needed to carry out our work. We do not need United Nations cooperation to be focused on administrative issues or technical assistance. We are confident that we are working under the same banner to achieve prosperity and that, in moments of crisis, we will work to renew development, the economy and employment, all of which will translate into improved living conditions for our citizens.
We must promote strengthening a model that allows us to move from a paradigm of cooperation to one of investment in which countries like ours can acquire their own capacities to reduce the gaps that today challenge their development. More than ever, we are called upon to promote profound transformations. To that end, it is necessary to re-engineer the work of the Organization.
Among the threats facing the world, the use of nuclear weapons poses one of the greatest threats to humankind’s existence. Guatemala reiterates its position in favour of complete, irreversible and transparent nuclear disarmament according to established timelines and condemns any nuclear test or threat of the use of force involving this category of weapon, which jeopardizes the continuation of life on earth. The early entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is of great significance.
Mr. President,
All actions taken by global leaders will undoubtedly impact the Sustainable Development Goals. Countries must take responsibility for their own development within the framework of a common path.
Guatemala will be a member of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) under the banner of inclusive development for all. Guatemala’s election to ECOSOC represents an important commitment for my country in terms of meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Within that framework, we will expand mechanisms to address the devastating effects of climate change, which not only affects developing countries disproportionately but constitutes a crisis that must be urgently addressed.
The lockdown, which most of us have endured, has shown us that it was a respite for our shared home — Earth. Climate change is a reality that we cannot ignore. We must work to revitalize our ecosystems and maintain cleaner water sources, without the overbearing pressure of pollution.
Likewise, we will seek to advocate for and promote the participation of indigenous peoples — while taking into account the fact that their millennial culture, traditions and ancestral wisdom are an essential part of sustainable development — and people with disabilities, whose talent, efforts and perseverance in the face of adversity embody strength. We will therefore be their voice so that their needs will be heard.
Mr. President,
Today, before the Assembly, I reaffirm my country’s commitment to permanently and definitively resolving, before the International Court of Justice, the territorial, insular and maritime dispute we have with Belize, with which we aspire to have a privileged relationship and a permanent dialogue to peacefully resolve our common issues.
We are convinced that the dispute’s resolution will bring about economic, social and political benefits for both States, and, above all, development for those people residing in the adjacent zone; while, as a State, Guatemala reaffirms its democratic mission and full respect for international law.
On behalf of my country, today more than ever, on its seventy-fifth anniversary, I affirm my commitment to the United Nations, multilateralism, peace, respect for human rights and sustainable development for present and future generations. Let us build together more inclusive nations, while promoting prosperity and respect for our planet.
Guatemala does not stop!
Thank you very much!


In the name of God, the most merciful,
Your Majesties and Excellencies Heads of State and Government,
Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Ladies and gentlemen,
May the peace, mercy and blessings of God Almighty be upon you.
It is my pleasure to address you today, over a year since the glorious December revolution, for which the young women and men of the Sudan paid the price with their precious blood. The revolution represented a sincere expression of the people and their aspirations to freedom, peace and justice.
It is our great hope that the work of this session will be successful. I am also pleased to extend my sincere congratulations to you, Mr. Volkan Bozkir, on your election as President of the General Assembly, and wish you success. I must also express my appreciation for the great efforts made by your predecessor, Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, the outgoing President of the General Assembly, for his tireless efforts during the seventy-fourth session.
The deliberations of the current session are taking place at a most critical time. The world is facing a strange, mysterious enemy that spreads rapidly and ferociously, leaving devastation in its wake, surpassing all geographical boundaries without distinction between rich and poor countries. It has left the world with no choice but to choose solidarity as a means of response.
Therefore, from this rostrum we call for enhanced cooperation and strengthened collective action mechanisms so that, together, we may face the challenges posed by the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. We must strive to achieve this session’s theme: “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism — confronting COVID-19 through effective multilateral action”.
In that connection, we would like to state our support and appreciation for the World Health Organization and commend the role it has played in combating the pandemic from the outset. We also commend the technical support it has provided to affected countries. We also wish to thank all the countries and organizations that supported us in this area.
The Sudan is currently experiencing exceptional circumstances due to the impact of unprecedented torrential rain and floods, which have exacerbated the challenges we already face. The flooding of the Nile has led to severe loss of human life and property throughout the areas adjacent to it. Great damage has also been caused by the rain and floods in other vast areas, including the partial or total collapse of tens of thousands of homes. I would like, in that regard, to pay tribute to all our friendly and brotherly countries that have demonstrated their solidarity by providing generous support in response to that catastrophe.
As the Assembly is aware, the Sudan is undergoing a transitional phase following a glorious popular revolution against injustice, tyranny and socioeconomic decline. The transitional Government is addressing the broad aspirations of the Sudanese people and trying its utmost to tackle the new challenges most important of which is establishing peace and economic reform.
The COVID-19 pandemic has further complicated the situation for the transitional Government, which inherited a crippled economy and weak and devastated service sectors, particularly the health sector, which has been neglected for decades.
It is important to preserve the values of multilateralism and international cooperation that underpin the Charter of the United Nations and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That is essential in order to reinforce the three pillars of the United Nations: security, development and human rights.
Moreover, global issues such as climate change, geopolitical tensions and humanitarian crises in their various forms mean that we must reach understandings that respect the values and interests of people. This calls for our shared interest and action through multilateralism and diplomacy, especially at a time when the political, social and economic landscapes and relations among countries are being impacted by technological progress and information acceleration.
The adoption of the Constitutional Declaration on 17 August 2019 constituted the second stage of the victory of the revolution, making peace and putting an end to the war the top priority of the transitional Government. That was the basis upon which the Juba process was launched. It was not simply a negotiation between two warring parties, as it had been in the past, but rather a process of dialogue between the partners of a revolution in order to achieve peace and the cessation of war, as well as to address all the root causes of the conflict. The Juba peace agreement will be signed on 3 October.
Regarding the humanitarian situation, we express our thanks and appreciation to the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies, all international organizations and the donor community for their support to the revolution Government in its efforts to address the issues of displaced persons, refugees and repatriated citizens by providing food and health care.
In that context, we wish to note that the revolution Government hastened to remove all restrictions and obstacles that were hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to those in need in conflict areas. Within that framework, as part of its national plan to improve humanitarian action and ensure that the needs of its population are met, the State is adopting projects to find sustainable solutions to improve the living conditions of displaced persons, in accordance with the provisions of international instruments and laws governing humanitarian work
Our country is now working closely with UNAMID on its exit strategy on 31 December in line with Security Council resolution 2525 (2020). The latest step taken on the transfer of tasks was the implementation of phase one of the national plan for the protection of civilians, which has been circulated as an official Security Council document since 21 May. We also submitted our first progress report on its implementation until 15 August. We will continue to implement our national plan in order to fully assume all tasks relating to the protection of civilians before 31 December, after which the Sudan will be hosting the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in the Sudan (UNITAMS).
On the economic front, the economic situation continues increasingly to weigh on the citizens and is a result of economic distortions caused by the defunct regime. Furthermore, the profound reforms that we set out to implement, which are aimed at remedying the structural defect in the Sudanese economy, have indirectly increased the cost of living. These reforms are painful and arduous, but they are necessary in the long term. In order to mitigate their effects, we have started implementing a social programme to support families and provide direct financial aid to the poorest families with the aim of mitigating the effects of these reforms. This programme is also aimed at supporting production by providing direct support to agricultural and labour groups that are productive in rural and urban areas. The Government also supports establishing cooperative projects and implementing a commodity programme, which are projects aimed at providing basic commodities to citizens.
My country’s Government attaches great importance to the issue of the rule of law at the national and international levels and is making continuous efforts to address national laws with a view to developing them and ensuring their consistency with international standards and conventions. These efforts are also consistent with multiple initiatives undertaken locally by relevant authorities in the areas of building and strengthening national capacities and empowering the competent bodies to fulfil their responsibilities and tasks in accordance with the constitution and related laws. The process of achieving the rule of law at the national level is the responsibility of States and Governments.
The Constitutional Declaration has given special attention to human rights issues, as a whole chapter has been devoted to freedoms and rights. In implementing the Declaration, the transitional Government has taken a number of positive steps to address the distortions that were attached to this issue throughout the period of the previous totalitarian rule. First among these steps is the repeal of a number of laws that restrict freedoms; promote the role of women in society; protect their rights; allow freedom of opinion, expression and peaceful assembly; and combat impunity. The transitional Government has also been eager to strengthen cooperation with the international community. In this context, an agreement was signed to open the regional office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in September 2019. The office has been operational in the Sudan since January.
Regarding efforts to reintegrate the Sudan into the international system, we take this opportunity to express our high appreciation for the initiative of Germany, with the participation of a number of countries, to establish the Group of Friends of the Sudan. Success in the formation of the Group and the regularity of its meetings represent momentum towards the reintegration of the Sudan into the international system after isolation that lasted 30 years. This was exemplified by the success of the Sudan Partnership Conference in Berlin on 25 June, with the participation of more than 50 countries and regional and international organizations.
The Sudan continues to actively contribute to supporting the stability of the political and security situations in the countries of the African continent, especially the countries of the region, through its active membership in regional organizations such as the African Union, IGAD, the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region, the Sahel and the Sahara. On this occasion, I would like to express our appreciation to the great positive role that the African Union has played in confronting the coronavirus pandemic in Africa.
I also stress that the Sudan, during its presidency of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, has strived to achieve goals consistent with the strategic goals of IGAD. The decision of the sixteenth IGAD Ordinary Summit in November 2019 to agree on the Sudan’s presidency of the organization was an affirmation of Sudan’s strong return to the region. The Sudan has laid down a vision for its presidency related to peace, security, regional integration, empowering women and youth and revitalizing the organization. IGAD held a number of summits, including one to support the peace process in the sisterly Republic of South Sudan and another to address the coronavirus pandemic.
The Sudan expresses its solidarity with the victims of terrorism around the world and with all countries that have suffered from terrorist attacks. We have renewed our rejection and condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations through our cooperation, accession and effective contribution to the international and bilateral efforts against terrorism and its financing. We are committed to implementing the relevant international resolutions issued by the Security Council.
The Sudan, despite the change caused by the blood of its martyrs after decades of oppression, injustice and backwardness, and despite the achievements made during the brief span of its glorious revolution, the transitional period still faces a number of daunting challenges that must be overcome with the continued support of the international community and friends in order to complete the implementation of the Government’s plans. The aim is to address the economic hardship that the country is going through, foremost among which by the waiving of the Sudan’s debts and the granting of soft loans, as well as the commitment of friends to fulfilling their pledges announced during the Sudan Partnership Conference in Berlin. Before all that, the name of the Sudan must be removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism, so that our country can return fully to the international community after a forced interruption of three decades. In that context, I wish to commend the recent steps taken by the US administration and the US Congress to support the transitional Government, including the determination to accelerate steps to drop the Sudan from the list of terrorist countries.
In conclusion, I want to confirm our determination to complete our construction projects, reform our internal institutions and strengthen our external relations so that the Sudan can become an active member in its region. We want to participate with the international community in creating the future we want and in occupying our rightful place in order to contribute to strengthening the role of the United Nations. A few days ago, we celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary. We want it to be the Organization we need with a view to achieving cooperation, pluralism and collective work as a successful approach to meeting the challenges that threaten the peoples of the world.


In the Name of God, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate
Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly,
Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Assalamu’alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh.
At the outset, I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir on assuming the presidency of the Seventy-Fifth Session of the General Assembly, wishing him every success and favorable outcome. I also thank His Excellency Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, President of the previous session, for the appreciated efforts he exerted during his tenure, and I avail myself of this opportunity to commend the role of His Excellency the Secretary-General. Mr. Antonio Guterres in promoting the role of the United Nations and achieving its goals.
Mr. President,
The convening of this session comes as we celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, and it is opportune on this occasion to remember that it is an institutional expression of our awareness that we belong to one humanity. There are many historical experiences that substantiate this fact and prove the risk of underestimating it.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us that we live on the same planet, and that multilateral cooperation is the only way to address the challenges of epidemics, climate and the environment in general, and it’s also preferable to remember this when dealing with the issues of poverty, war and peace, and realizing our common goals for security and stability.
Based on this understanding, and after the State of Qatar hastened to take all preventative actions and measures to protect the citizens and the residents on its territory, it has not seen any contradiction between its duty in this respect and providing aid to more than 60 countries and five international organizations, and participating actively in the international efforts to mobilize resources and potentials to address this epidemic and its repercussions, as well as supporting research centers in several countries to limit the serious negative ramifications of this pandemic and to expedite the development of a vaccine for this virus.
Mr. President,
After more than three years since the start of the unjust and illegal blockade on the State of Qatar, we have continued the march of progress and development in various fields.
Despite the blockade, Qatar has strengthened its effective participation in the multilateral international action to find solutions to other crises.
And during the unjust and unlawful blockade it is going through it also has securely established its policy founded on respecting the rules and principles of international law and the United Nations Charter, especially, the principle of respecting the sovereignty of states and rejecting intervention in their internal affairs.
And based on our moral and legal responsibilities towards our peoples, we have affirmed, and we will continue to reaffirm, that unconditional dialogue based on common interests and respect for the sovereignty of states is the way to solve this crisis which had started with an illegal blockade, and whose solution starts with lifting this blockade.
On this occasion, I reiterate my deep appreciation for the sincere efforts of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the sisterly State of Kuwait, and to commend highly the endeavors of brotherly and friendly countries to bring this crisis to an end.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is an international consensus on the fairness of the Palestinian cause, but despite this consensus, the international community stands helpless without taking any effective steps vis-a-vis the Israeli intransigence and persistence in occupying the Palestinian and Arab lands, besides imposing a stifling siege on the Gaza Strip, continuing a policy of expanding settlements, imposing a fait accompli policy in a flagrant violation of international legitimacy resolutions and the two-state solution agreed upon by the international community.
A just and desired peace can only be achieved through Israel’s full commitment to the terms of reference and decisions of the international legitimacy accepted by the Arabs and upon which the Arab Peace Initiative is based, while Israel tries to circumvent it and acts as if the Palestinian cause does not exist. Any arrangements that are not based on these terms of reference will not achieve peace, even if they are called peace. It may have intents other than the just solution to the Palestinian cause, and other than achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
The lingering of the Palestinian cause without a just solution, and Israel’s continued settlements and creation of pretexts on the ground without being deterred pose the biggest question mark on the credibility of the international community and its institutions.
We call on the international community —especially the Security Council — to assume its legal responsibilities to obligate Israel to lift the siege on the Gaza Strip, put the peace process back on track through credible negotiations based on the international resolutions and not on force, to address all final status issues, ending the occupation within a specified time frame and establishing an independent Palestinian state within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, and to end the Israeli occupation of all Arab territories.
And in the context of our endeavor to prepare the appropriate conditions to reach peace and to respond to the economic and humanitarian difficulties facing our brothers in Palestine, we, in coordination with our international partners, have continued providing humanitarian and developmental aid to cater for urgent and longterm needs in the besieged Gaza Strip, in addition to increasing our contributions to UNRWA.
Mr. President
Based on our firm belief in resolving disputes by peaceful means, and with the grace of God and thanks to Him, the State of Qatar’s mediation efforts have culminated in signing a peace agreement between the United States and the Taliban movement, in Doha, on 29 February, 2020, and was able to make an exchange of prisoners between the government of Afghanistan and the Taliban movement a success during the discussions held in Doha last month.
Our efforts, along with our international partners, to convene the Intra-Afghan peace negotiations which began on the 12th of this month, in Doha, have culminated in success, and its ensuing success now depends on the Afghan brothers themselves. We will exert our efforts in cooperation with the international community to facilitate the dialogue, in the hope that peace and stability will soon prevail across Afghanistan, if everyone decides to completely renounce violence, and accept diversity, difference and equal citizenship in this country.
Mr. President,
After more than nine years since the Syrian crisis which witnessed unprecedented humanitarian tragedies, whose serious negative impacts are year after year, it is still impossible to reach an end to this crisis due to the intransigence of the Syrian regime and the inaction of the international community, especially, the Security Council, in assuming its duty to maintain international peace and security and protect civilians.
The Syrian regime still obstructs even the process of drafting a new constitution, proposed by Russia, which, unfortunately, is all that was left of the international efforts to realize some sort of a peaceful solution. The regime deals with this effort with the same strategy of keeping up pace with the international community that it followed by ostensibly participating in negotiations to gain time without intending to make any change.
On this occasion, I reiterate the firm stance of the State of Qatar that the only way to end the Syrian crisis is a political solution based on the Geneva Communique (1), and the implementation of Security Council Resolution 2254 (2015). The State of Qatar also affirms that it will continue, with the international community, to support efforts to realize justice and holding accountable the perpetrators of atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Syria.
In the humanitarian field, we will continue to provide all forms of support and assistance to the brotherly Syrian people in areas of displacement and refuge till the end of this crisis.
As for the raging war in sisterly Yemen which is still demolishing the urban buildings in Yemen, wiping out the necessities of life, and threatening security in the region, we affirm that the only way to resolve this crisis is through negotiation between the Yemenis in accordance with the outcomes of the National Dialogue, the Gulf initiative, and the relevant Security Council resolutions, particularly, resolution 2216 (2015). We affirm our firm position on the unity of Yemen and its territorial integrity.
As for the brotherly Sudan, we value the signing of a peace agreement in Juba, between the Transitional Government in Sudan and a host of armed movements, and we express our appreciation to the state of South Sudan for sponsoring the signing of this agreement, and we look forward to the rest of the factions to join the peace process. We stress the firm stance of the State of Qatar beside the brotherly Sudanese people to successfully pass through this transitional period and achieve their aspirations for stability and development.
We reiterate the call on the relevant countries to facilitate the efforts of the brothers in Sudan to remove the name of Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, as the difficulties and hardships they are facing have taken their toll on them. In this context, Qatar stood with the brothers by providing them with support to counter the flooding that severely inflicted serious damage to facilities and the people as well, and we call upon the international community to provide them with all kinds of necessary support to counter the natural disasters.
Regarding the Libyan issue, we reiterate welcoming the ceasefire agreement and activating the political process in accordance with the Skhirat Agreement and all its outcomes, to achieve a comprehensive political settlement that will maintain Libyan sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence, and stem the bloodshed of its people and preserve its wealth. It is beneficial for all to understand the impossibility of imposing a military regime by force in Libya.
We were pained by what Lebanon went through in the aftermath of the explosion at the port of Beirut. We stood beside our Lebanese brothers without conditions. It is not our habit to impose political conditions to show solidarity during disasters. But in the end, it will be incumbent on the Lebanese themselves, and not by a dictation, to find agreed upon ways for reform to fulfill the aspirations of an entire generation for a state based on citizenship rather than any other affiliations. This, incidentally, is an aspiration shared by the younger generation across the entire region.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Terrorism remains one of the most prominent challenges facing the world as it poses a real threat to international peace and security, and impedes achieving sustainable development for peoples. We in the State of Qatar spare no effort to actively participate in international and regional efforts to address this phenomenon and tackle its roots, especially by supporting education for millions of children, youth and women and creating job opportunities for young men.
In this context, Qatar is strengthening the strategic partnership with the relevant United Nations agencies. I am referring here to the opening of a program office of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Office in Doha next May to implement behavioral insights on combating terrorism and violent extremism.
Mr. President,
In the field of development assistance to developing countries and the least developed countries, and to support countries affected by the negative impacts of climate change, Qatar has fulfilled its pledge by providing a contribution of $100 million to support the Least developed countries and Small Island Developing States to deal with climate change.
We are pleased to host in Doha from 23 to 27 January 2022 the Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. We are confident that this conference will support their march towards achieving their development for the next decade in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In conclusion, we affirm the State of Qatar’s commitment to the declaration adopted by the General Assembly on September 21st with the participation of Heads of State and Government, and in which the State of Qatar assumed — in partnership with the Kingdom of Sweden — a role in facilitating the international negotiations for its adoption. We will continue to work with the United Nations to achieve its goals and address the common challenges to maintain the interest of our peoples and the good for humanity.
Thank you, and may God’s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you.