Allow me to begin by offering Ireland’s sympathy to all those in Mexico affected by the devastating earthquake earlier this week and to commend those who have been engaged in the heroic rescue operations of the last few days. I also want to extend condolences to the representatives of people in the Caribbean islands, who are facing extraordinary difficulties following the recent, relentless hurricanes.
Now is no time for business as usual at the United Nations. The international community is facing unprecedented challenges and must respond. I am here because I think that this Organization matters. It is an Organization that now faces daily challenges to its political authority and management missions.
My country, Ireland, has kept faith with the United Nations since we joined as a young republic that had fought hard for its own independence and saw being a Member of the United Nation as fundamental to its future and the future security of its people. Over 60 years later, we still do. Our faith has not been misplaced, and it is as strong today as ever. However, we certainly have something to say about the future of the Organization and the role we believe it must play in reducing suffering across the globe and securing a shared peace and security and prosperity for everybody.
Given our history as a small country, with its own troubled past, we see very clearly the advantages of a rules-based order in international affairs. It is because Ireland is small, outward-looking and heavily dependent on external trade for our own well-being that we pursue an active foreign policy.
As Ireland’s experience in the European Union has shown us, we are far stronger acting collectively than we are acting alone. Partnership and cooperation has brought peace and prosperity to the European continent. In fact, for Ireland, our membership of the European Union, working closely with other member States, has strengthened our independence and self- confidence and security rather than diminished it. It is therefore through collective actions that we reinforce our own security and well-being, which is what the United Nations needs to be all about.
The case for international cooperation and multilateralism is compelling. By working together, we lay foundations of trust, align our perspectives more closely and accept our differences more willingly. Perhaps most importantly, we build habits of cooperation that better allow us to address the common threats and opportunities that we should be facing together.The alternatives — unilateralism, transactional diplomacy, protectionism and confrontation — are not, in fact, viable at all. Their short-term populist appeal obscures their long-term cost. Surely we have learned that from history.
We are living in an era when local and global challenges are intersecting with increasing force. Today’s problems do not carry passports or recognize international borders. There are no unilateral solutions to the vast majority of the global challenges that we face together. Local and regional issues, from climate change, migration, armed conflict and hunger to the destruction of the marine environment in certain parts of the world, often become global issues, including in corners of the world that are far from the origins of the problems.
The enormous scale of the challenges that face the world might lead some to question whether multilateralism and the United Nations are up to the task. My response is that we can be, and we must be. When properly mobilized, when we pull together and move from debating halls like this Hall to actually getting things done on the ground, we can move mountains together. The United Nations delivers extraordinary results, such as the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The United Nations has led the global effort to eradicate smallpox, end apartheid, promote arms control, save the lives of millions of children through UNICEF and protect our cultural heritage through UNESCO.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a stand-out recent achievement. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have the power and potential to transform our world, addressing the root causes of poverty, inequality and instability. However, their potential can be realized only through a strong and confident multilateral system that empowers Member States to reach the ambitious but necessary targets we have set ourselves. Having played an important role in facilitating agreement on the SDGs in 2015, Ireland is committed to their implementation, domestically and through our foreign policy.
Failure should not be an option here. The United Nations is the fulcrum upon which we can leverage the change required. However, the walls dividing the three pillars of the United Nations — development, human rights, and peace and security — have in the past impeded our efforts to accelerate sustainable development. In my view, the SDGs represent a fundamental breakthrough, recognizing the many aspects of sustainable development that straddle those pillars. As we move forward on implementation, we must break down the Organization’s institutional silos, which sometimes hinder progress.
Since we gathered here a year ago, we appointed António Guterres as Secretary-General. Ireland believes that he has the skills, experience and, perhaps most importantly, the compassion to do a very tough but hugely important job. The difficult international environment demands, more than ever, brave and principled leadership. We welcome the clear direction the Secretary-General is providing and the steps he is taking to reform the Organization.
While we, the Member States, have expressed confidence that the Secretary-General has the abilities to lead the United Nations forward at a time when the world is crying out for better multilateral engagement, we must allow him to lead. It is very tempting for Member States, particularly large ones, to micromanage the work of the Secretariat, but such an approach is likely to impede and not enhance reform.
However, it is not enough that only the internal mechanisms of the United Nations meet twenty-first century standards. United Nations political bodies must also reflect today’s world and realities. Nowhere is that more evident than with regard to the composition of the Security Council. The Security Council does not reflect the world that has evolved since the United Nations was established in 1945. Quite plainly, we would be hard pressed to find any entity, public or private, anywhere in the world that remains so untouched by the changes and realities of the world around it.
Vast areas of our world are either insufficiently represented or not represented at all on the Security Council. In our view, the need to increase the size of the Council is clear. Ireland sees the obvious need for a much stronger African representation on the Council, so that there can be a greater African say in the Council decisions that affect their continent. We would also favour consideration of a designated seat for small island developing States. Those changes are politically controversial, but we cannot ignore them forever.
The makeup of the Security Council is not the only problem. Let us be clear and honest. While the use or threat of the veto remains in place, as it does today, the work of the Council is often impeded and the United Nations can be paralysed in its capacity to respond to the gravest crises facing the international community. The failure of the Security Council to take action in preventing mass atrocity crimes — most recently with regard to Syria, but also on other occasions — betrays victims and weakens the credibility of the Organization. The case for reform is therefore not an academic or institutional question; it is a deeper question of fundamental legitimacy and effectiveness and credibility for the United Nations in the future.
Although geographically a small island on the periphery of Europe, Ireland’s people and its outlook are global, influenced by connecting with people and events around the world, as we do. In many ways Ireland, like some of the other nations represented here, is like a global tribe that extends far beyond our own island.
No part of our contribution to the United Nations resonates more with Irish people than our United Nations peacekeepers — the thousands of men and women who have served under Blue Helmets, representing Ireland, our people and values. They are true ambassadors. Since 1958, when Irish troops first began serving the United Nations, not a single day has passed without Irish participation in United Nations peace-support operations. We believe that we are making a difference. Ireland’s peacekeepers have been natural soldier-diplomats in trouble spots across the globe, particularly in Africa and the Middle East, doing United Nations work day by day and deed by deed.
Today, we have almost 550 troops in the field. Ireland is the highest per capita European Union contributor of troops to United Nations peacekeeping, with deployments to six United Nations missions across the Middle East and Africa. We are making a substantial contribution to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon in particular, where, as always, our peacekeepers act with impartiality and integrity and provide the necessary leadership required in a very difficult and challenging environment.
I am pleased to note that Ireland is committed to doubling the number of women in our defence forces — I was the Minister for Defence when that decision was made — with the aim also of significantly increasing female participation in peacekeeping, a demand of the Secretary-General. As the Secretary-General said at the Security Council this week (see S/PV.8051), and as we know from the women and peace and security agenda, increased female participation leads to better decision-making, improved situational awareness, a better focus on protection of civilians and enhanced reporting of and accountability for sexual exploitation and abuse.
We all know that conflict prevention has the potential to save lives and to protect hard-won development gains, and that it comes at a far lower financial cost than peacekeeping operations, post- conflict peacebuilding or, in some cases, State-building. We strongly support the Secretary-General’s efforts to reorient the international community’s thinking toward crisis and conflict prevention. Ireland seeks to share our own national experience and past in our work on conflict prevention, mediation and State-building. We have made some mistakes, but we have also had successes, and we would like others to share the lessons from that experience.
As the first State to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in 1968, we have a deep commitment to its full implementation. Earlier this week I was very pleased to sign the recently approved Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was supported by 122 members of this Assembly, and growing. Ireland is proud to have played a leadership role, together with Austria, Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa, in bringing forward the Assembly resolution convening the diplomatic conference that negotiated this ground-breaking treaty.
The case for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons has never been stronger, as the volatile situation on the Korean peninsula makes very clear this week. I unreservedly condemn the recent series of missile and nuclear weapons testing by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. These developments highlight the urgent need for the swift and immediate entry into force of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty. I understand that I will be followed today on this rostrum by the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic, and I would urge him to de-escalate the provocative language and tensions of this week. This is a conflict that the world does not need and must move away from.
The scale and severity of humanitarian crises is one of the greatest challenges facing the international community. Ireland is committed to providing humanitarian assistance and contributing to international efforts to ease the plight of civilians caught in conflicts in South Sudan, Syria, Yemen and Iraq, to name but a few. As those large-scale crises dominate the headlines, Ireland is conscious of the many forgotten or underfunded crises and the need to maintain a focus on ensuring that human suffering, wherever it occurs in the world, is not ignored.
The vast majority of displaced people are being sheltered in communities that are already experiencing high levels of vulnerability and poverty, placing a huge strain on already limited resources. Therefore Ireland is supporting both refugees and vulnerable host communities on the basis of need. I particularly want to acknowledge the generosity of so many States — such as Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda and many more — that are hosting very large numbers of people displaced by conflicts in neighbouring countries.
Ireland is proud of its strong and targeted contribution to eradicating global hunger, reducing extreme poverty, addressing conflict and instability and responding to humanitarian crises wherever they occur. It is horrifying to think that in 2017 we have four famines affecting more than 20 million people, 70 per cent of whom are children, and that we as an international community have allowed that to happen, knowing that it was on the way. For Ireland, strong partnerships, especially with least developed countries, will remain at the core of our approach as we work together for a peaceful and prosperous future. We applaud the Secretary-General’s efforts to enhance coherence, effectiveness and accountability, as well as the delivery of results where it matters most — which is on the ground.
The Charter of the United Nations does not begin “We the Member States” but rather “We the peoples”. Our policies and actions must reflect the inherent equality of humankind at the core of our multilateral system. In practice, that means listening to and heeding the voices of women, the voices of young people and the voices of the marginalized. The women and peace and security agenda has had a hugely positive global impact with the realization that we can create more durable and sustainable peace by working to ensure that women play their rightful role in conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts. Ireland will play our part, including as Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women for the next two years.
A similar strategic approach must also be taken in engaging young people in all our countries. Young people must have a role in shaping a future that they will ultimately inherit; otherwise, we are, on a generational basis, robbing a future from them. We have a phrase in Irish that the interpreters will not be able to translate: “Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí”. Broadly translated, this means “Praise the youth and they will come”. I cannot think of any continent where that is more relevant today than Africa. Young people are key to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and we must find ways to encourage their active participation, again and again and again, ensuring that they are part of shaping the solutions for their future.
There are positive signs: the vitality of entrepreneurship, the creative use of technology, infrastructure development, the potential of renewable energy, increasing access to good education, improvements in agricultural yields, adding value to commodities, and better prospects for women and girls in politics and economic life. African countries are particularly affected by global challenges that lie outside their control in many ways, such as climate change, conflict and food insecurity. Those issues can be addressed only in their African contexts, in a spirit of effective global partnership. Such partnership requires understanding local perspectives anchored in local experience, particularly regarding how to tackle root causes.
I want Ireland to play a leading role in Europe in helping to build better and more effective partnerships with the continent of Africa as a whole, rooted in shared interests and values and sustained over the medium to long term on the basis of parity of esteem and equality. We need a new political architecture, in my view, for the relationship between the European Union and Africa, one that matches the urgency and scale of the shared challenges we know we are going to face over the next twenty years. We are in the same global neighbourhood, and we need to put structures in place to treat each other as true neighbours.
The Middle East is also part of Europe’s close neighbourhood, and its challenges resonate deeply with the people of Ireland. The conflicts in Syria and Yemen have caused untold suffering. Ireland has responded as generously as we can with almost €100 million in humanitarian aid, but what the people of Syria and Yemen need most right now is peace to enable them to rebuild their lives and start the process of rebuilding their countries. I urge all sides in the two conflicts to work for an end to violence and to engage in the search for peaceful political solutions under United Nations auspices and for accountability for crimes committed.
Ireland is committed to constructive and principled diplomatic action on the Middle East peace process. Next year will be the twenty-fifth anniversary of the signing of the Oslo Accords. We cannot let ourselves become complacent about the status quo because the status quo is not acceptable, and we know where it is going. We cannot let our efforts to achieve peace stagnate either. Palestinians need an end to occupation, and Israelis need security. Continued construction of settlements undermines both objectives, and we need to act on that. I wish the United States success in its efforts to build some momentum for peace and a new peace initiative for the first time in quite some time.
Ireland will give all the support it can to achieving a two-State solution, which we remain convinced is the only way to secure prosperity and security for both peoples. The time to act on this is now. We cannot become cynical or jaded. We owe it to all Palestinians and Israelis to continue to bring energy, resolve and ideas to the table and help them finally deliver a lasting peace, which would not only be good for both of those peoples, but also a welcome, if not a desperately needed, positive news story for the broader Middle East as well.
In relation to Myanmar, Ireland strongly condemns the violence in Rakhine state that has driven hundreds of thousands from their homes into neighbouring Bangladesh. Here at the General Assembly we have to insist on an end to violence, to the upholding of the rule of law and the recognition of the right of return of all those who have been forced to leave their country. I know the situation is difficult — my friend from Singapore has highlighted its complexities — but we have to ensure that standards are met.
Ireland sees itself as a natural child of the United Nations. We are small. We are an island that has experienced colonization and conflict, as many of us here have also done. But here at the United Nations, we listen to others, especially if we hold a different view on an issue or a policy. We are convinced that in today’s globalized world we must live in each other’s shelter and not in each other’s shadow.
Ireland’s contribution to the United Nations in the fields of sustainable development, humanitarian assistance, disarmament, human rights and the rule of law has been steadfast. United Nations membership has been and will continue to be at the very heart of Irish foreign policy. Ireland is proud to be a candidate for a seat on the Security Council in the elections to be held in 2020. We have presented our candidature because we believe deeply that we should step forward and play our part in support of multilateralism at a time of significant global instability and realignment of geopolitical influences.
We have something to say, and we will listen to others when they speak. We will be courageous on behalf of the United Nations when needed. With Ireland, the world knows what it gets — a small country with big thinking, a country that listens and a strong independent voice that promotes the values that should inspire the Organization in future.


Let me begin by expressing my deepest sympathy and solidarity with the people and the Government of Mexico following the devastating earthquake that has taken the lives of hundreds of men, women and children.
It is a great honour for me to address the General Assembly for the first time as the Prime Minister of Mauritius. I am here today to reaffirm my country’s continued commitment to the universal values of the Organization.
I congratulate you, Sir, on your election as the President of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session. I assure you of our total support as you steer the work of the Assembly. The six priorities that you have identified under the theme of focusing on people echo our own aspirations as a nation.
We extend our warm congratulations to Mr. António Guterres on his appointment as the new Secretary- General. I commend him for the multidimensional vision he has for the United Nations and for the process that he has initiated on the repositioning of the United Nations development system to effectively and efficiently deliver on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We also welcome the consultative process that he has initiated with Member States in that regard. We fully support his initiative and encourage him to make greater use of modern communication technology and of local capacities in the implementation of United Nations-sponsored projects. We also appreciate his view that the reform we seek is but part of a larger reform of the United Nations system, including the revitalization of the role of the General Assembly.
The last time there was a reform of the Security Council was in 1965. That was more than 50 years ago, and Assembly membership then stood at 117. We now have 193 Member States. The Security Council needs to reflect those changes, and that should be done at the earliest. I believe the time has now come for us to proceed with text-based negotiations to be concluded within an agreed time frame. The African Common Position on this matter, which has so far not been challenged, can with appropriate additions provide a basis for such negotiations. Mauritius fully supports the Ezulwini Consensus and Africa’s aspiration for a more pronounced role in the Security Council. For far too long, Africa has been left on the side when it comes to global governance. It is time to correct that gross injustice.
We also fully support India’s aspiration to a seat on the Security Council. We equally believe that small island developing States (SIDS) must play a more prominent role in the Security Council and that their call for a dedicated non-permanent seat is legitimate and appropriate.
The maintenance of peace and security requires tremendous and constant effort, negotiation, understanding and compromise. Mauritius voted in favour of the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons last July, and we hope to see complete denuclearization throughout the world. We urge all those involved in potential conflicts around the world, especially where there is a possibility of nuclear weapons being used, to exercise restraint and promote dialogue instead of belligerent posturing, which only feeds unrest and dangerous escalation.
We urge restraint and dialogue in Myanmar, where violence continues to displace thousands of people and has caused numerous victims. We make an appeal for the unrestricted provision of humanitarian assistance to all those affected. We also call for the early implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State with a view to finding a long-lasting solution.
Despite our best efforts, terrorism continues to claim innocent lives and undermine the sovereignty of States. We condemn terrorism in all its forms, wherever they occur, and we stand in solidarity with the Governments and the peoples that are victims of terrorism. We congratulate the Secretary-General on establishing the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism. We expect the new Office to provide leadership, coordination and coherence, to strengthen assistance for capacity- building to Member States, and to improve visibility, advocacy and resource mobilization for United Nations counter-terrorism efforts. We also need to address the root causes of that scourge, and we expect the Office to provide valuable input in that regard.
The situation in the Middle East and the plight of the Palestinian people continue to be issues of great concern. We call on all sides to sincerely start talks for a peaceful solution to the Palestinian issue. Mauritius has always supported a two-State solution, with Palestine and Israel living peacefully side by side. An independent and viable Palestine is more likely to provide security both to Israel and the region.
Mauritius highly values the importance of its integration within Africa and believes in the universal benefits of the continental integration of Africa. The Agenda 2063 of the African Union, adopted in January 2015, is in consonance with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and provides a strategy for development that is people-driven and respectful of the rule of law. That vision of Africa will be carried by its people and youth, and Africa is today home to a growing youthful population and experiencing increased urbanization. Along with the digital transformation of the continent, improving infrastructure and connectivity, and its rich wind, hydro and solar capacity, Africa has the potential of becoming a beacon for sustainable development. It is geared to become a driver of economic growth and a huge consumer market.
In July, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development met to review the status of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda two years after its adoption. I would like to congratulate the 44 countries that presented their voluntary national reviews. In Mauritius, a coordinating mechanism has been set up for implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) . We are in the process of consultations with the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders, and we expect to submit our voluntary national review at the next High-level Political Forum, in 2018.
Addressing climate change is central and critical to the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda. With the increasing number and intensity of climate-related disasters, including storms, droughts and flash floods, it would be naïve on our part to dismiss climate change. We have just recently witnessed the devastating violence of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. I would like to express my Government’s deep sympathy to and solidarity with the Governments and the peoples of the islands of the Caribbean and the United States for the lives lost in the devastating trails of those hurricanes.
Mitigating the effects of climate change and effectively implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction will require substantial effort and resources, especially for SIDS, if we want to be more resilient in the aftermath of those natural calamities. Although we welcome the generous pledges made thus far, including the establishment of the Green Climate Fund, we need to streamline and simplify the procedures for SIDS to access those funds, especially in the light of recent events.
This year’s High-level Political Forum recognized the specific challenges faced by SIDS and middle-income countries. Classification as a middle-income country renders SIDS such as Mauritius ineligible for most official development assistance (ODA) and concessional funding. Middle-income countries are often victims of their success in graduating from the status of least developed country and run the risk of getting stuck in the middle-income trap. Middle-income SIDS such as Mauritius aspire to be partners in development rather than mere recipients of ODA. With the help of the United Nations development system and other partners, as well as the provision of tailor-made programmes, those countries can contribute to the sharing of experience and knowledge with countries aspiring to graduate from LDC status and consolidate their own economic development at the same time.
Oceans are of vital importance to SIDS. Mauritius, with its exclusive economic zone of more than 2.3 million square kilometres, is a large-ocean State. That is why my Government has developed an ocean strategy covering fisheries, tourism and deep-ocean- water applications, as well as resource exploration and exploitation. We call on our partners to assist us in implementing that strategy, as expressed in paragraph 13 (q) of the Call for Action of the United Nations Ocean Conference.
Mauritius is honoured to co-chair the High-level Panel on Water convened by the former Secretary- General and the President of the World Bank. The Panel met today to take stock of the progress achieved following the adoption of its action plan in September 2016, which called for a transformative approach to the management of water resources. The outcome package of the Panel is expected to make concrete proposals for the achievement of the targets of SDG 6, and we hope that all world leaders will support it.
Adherence to international law, safeguarding fundamental human rights and respect for the territorial integrity of countries underpin relations among countries. With regard to Mauritius, all those principles were flouted when an integral part of its territory, namely, the Chagos Archipelago, was excised prior to its independence, in violation of international law, including obligations reflected in resolutions 1514 (XV), of 14 December 1960 and 2066 (XX), of 16 December 1965, and all the inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago were forcibly evicted. Our decolonization remains to be completed five decades following the adoption of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples.
A crucial role of the International Court of Justice is to provide guidance through its advisory opinions to the organs and agencies of our Organization for the fulfilment of their responsibilities. It is in that spirit that States members of the Group of African States proposed a resolution in June seeking an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965. We were very pleased that the resolution was adopted, and even more so by the fact that it was by such a resounding majority. That vote demonstrated the great importance that Member States from across the globe — not just in Africa, but also in Europe, Asia and the Americas — attach to the need to complete the process of decolonization, as well as their concern for the injustices caused to the evicted inhabitants of the Chagos Archipelago. As a matter of fact, that overwhelming vote has renewed their hope that they might finally return to their place of birth.
The United Nations membership has indeed made it clear that it wishes to see the decolonization process of Mauritius completed, and, to that end, has turned to the International Court of Justice for guidance. We are hopeful that the Court’s advisory opinion will not only guide the important work of the General Assembly, but will also allow Mauritius to move forward, including with an appropriate programme in favour of the inhabitants who were displaced from that part of the Mauritian territory. Many members had the opportunity in June to see an exhibition on the tragedy surrounding that eviction and to interact with those who were forced to leave in such inhumane conditions.
We thank Member States for their support and look forward to their continued encouragement as we complete our decolonization. In this regard, we express the hope that as many Member States as possible will contribute to the proceedings in which the Court has invited them to participate.
I would like to take this opportunity to reaffirm that Mauritius has no intention of seeking the disruption of the security arrangements currently in place in Diego Garcia, the largest island of the Chagos archipelago. I would also like to reiterate what successive Mauritian Governments have clearly stated. Mauritius is willing to enter into a long-term renewable lease with the United States to allow these security arrangements to remain in place. In this regard, completing the process of decolonization will enhance security by providing legality and certainty.
With respect to Tromelin, which has always formed and continues to form an integral part of the territory of Mauritius, we welcome the constructive progress made with France, including the agreement reached in 2010.
During this seventy-second session of the General Assembly, we have an opportunity to commit ourselves to agreements and decisions that would considerably improve the lives of ordinary people all around the world. As we prepare to turn this planet over to later generations, I would renew our commitment to striving for a world where peace, security and prosperity do not remain mere distant dreams.


Allow me at the outset to extend my sincere congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-second session, as well as my best wishes for your success. I would also like to congratulate the new Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, and wish him every success in his mission. The Niger assures him of its full support.
The present session is taking place in a specific context, marked by the deterioration of the security situation in some Member States and, recently, by the destruction caused by hurricanes in others. To those affected countries, I would like to reiterate our solidarity and compassion. For those who have the flaw of forgetting or neglecting nature, it has reminded us that often it can be indomitable and has shown us that climate change can at times bring disaster and irremediable losses. We must therefore be aware and resolute in our conviction that new norms of production and consumption are being imposed on us.
The Niger is aware that each country is responsible for its own development and each person for his own
destiny. However, the most vulnerable countries — I am speaking of the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States — deserve the support and assistance of the more affluent nations. Cooperation and solidarity are essential pillars of our common Organization. It is an original commitment of all Member States to work together so that all peoples can attain a decent standard of living.
That is why, while recognizing some positive developments, it is important for the States Members of the United Nations to make a greater commitment to partnership and cooperation in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to combat inequalities among and within States. In that connection, the Niger stresses the imperative need for effective mobilization of the resources needed to finance development, in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Plan.
For its part, and to give meaning to the Niger people’s struggle for prosperity and shared progress, the Government of the Niger has successfully carried out the Economic and Social Development Plan 2012- 2015 and has just adopted a second plan for 2017 to 2021. That plan takes into account the main trends of the Renaissance Programme Act 2 of His Excellency Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou, President of the Republic of the Niger, and of the Sustainable Development and Inclusive Growth Strategy, Niger 2035. It was designed to continue and amplify the Government’s efforts to face the immense challenges to our development. It is an expression of our determination to improve, substantially and sustainably, the basic social indicators, guarantee universal rights, realize food self-sufficiency, protect the environment, build strong democratic institutions, defend the integrity of our territory and ensure the security of goods and people throughout the national territory. It also takes into account the main features of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Very opportunely, that plan will be presented to the Niger’s technical and financial partners at a donor round table in Paris from 11 to 13 December 2017, under the patronage of the President of the Republic of the Niger. The Niger will mobilize to produce the maximum amount of internal resources to finance the plan, but it also knows it can count on the active solidarity of its development partners. I therefore appeal to States and the private sector that believe in our potential to be a partner in that project.
I have just mentioned our development challenges and our responses to them. But our country and all the countries of the Sahel face significant security challenges. In reality, they are strategic threats that may even jeopardize the existence of our States. The Niger is facing three hotbeds of threats.
The first is related to the situation in Libya. Without a Government exercising control over the whole territory, with dozens of militias, terrorist groups and all kinds of traffickers and a process in difficulty, the situation is of concern not only for the Libyans but also for neighbouring countries such as the Niger. Because of the uncontrolled movement of arms of all calibres, armed groups have become direct threats to both the Libyan people and neighbouring countries. Until that country is stabilized, we will have no guarantee that the Sahelo-Saharan space will not continue to face violent upheavals.
The Niger calls on the entire international community to genuinely commit to the restoration of a democratic order in Libya. The Niger has only one agenda in Libya — peace. That is why we believe that we must already be supporting the process of revising the Libyan Political Agreement. We call on all parties to make every effort to ensure that the Libyans themselves are masters of their political destiny; that reconciliation is inclusive and excludes groups terrorists; that the army is unified and national; that militias are disarmed and terrorist groups neutralized; and, lastly, that the referendum and electoral process is undertaken on the basis of a new constitution and consensual electoral laws.
The second threat that we face is linked to ongoing presence of Boko Haram in the Lake Chad basin. For more than two years, in synergy with Cameroon, Chad and Nigeria, we have been fighting hard against the terrorist group Boko Haram. That barbarous group, which has claimed several thousand victims, is today considered one of the most cruel of recent years.
Thanks to the Multinational Joint Task Force, we have gained meaningful victories and fear has changed sides. Today we have considerably reduced the offensive and harmful capacities of Boko Haram. It is no longer possible for that criminal organization to control and administer, as it did so easily before, any locality in any one of our countries. However, even though they are weakened and wandering, elements of Boko Haram still remain dangerous. They organize suicide attacks by young girls forced to become human bombs or sex slaves, and engage in racketeering and kidnappings. In that connection, I wish to recall the 39 women and children abducted last July in the Niger by the terrorist group Boko Haram. The Government of the Niger remains strongly engaged and mobilized until their liberation.
The third threat, and by far the most worrying for us, is the situation in northern Mali. We must resolve two questions there. The first concerns the implementation of the Algiers peace agreements, and the second concerns fight against terrorist groups and traffickers.
From our point of view, the most important of those two issues is the fight against terrorist groups and traffickers. Until they are defeated, it will be difficult to implement the peace agreements or to hope for the restoration of the authority of the Malian State throughout its national territory. Therefore our primary objective is the eradication of those groups and the destruction of all trafficking that has become the source of their financing. That is why the member countries of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) decided to set up a joint armed force.
Despite the commitment and determination of the G-5 Sahel member States, we remain deeply concerned by the weak mobilization of the international community to make that force operational. The Niger is convinced that the force will make it possible to impose the conditions for an irreversible balance of power in favour of peace and stability in Mali and therefore throughout the Sahel. I therefore call for a real start so that we can make the necessary decisions. The Niger calls on the Security Council to adopt a new resolution that foresees a commitment of our forces under Chapter VII and to provide a mechanism for predictable and sustainable financing. Moreover, it is simply a matter of reorienting existing resources to enable the force to achieve its objectives.
What is at stake in the Sahel is a fight not only for the peace and security of the region, but also for international peace and security. Failing to help the G-5 Sahel and leaving the situation in Mali to deteriorate even further would be a mistake that the Member States should not commit. I would therefore like to thank all partners who already have announced their contribution to the operationalization of the G-5 Sahel joint force. The Niger welcomes the recent consultations undertaken by the Secretary-General and encourages him to continue his efforts to enable the deployment of the force.
With regard to peacekeeping operations, is it not time for the United Nations to question their effectiveness and to learn lessons from the shortcomings and failures observed here and there? Indeed, the nature of and actors in those conflicts have changed. We are dealing with non-State actors resorting to asymmetric actions for which peacekeeping missions are neither adapted nor prepared. That is why the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali has become one of the deadliest United Nations missions today. This it is important to review those missions with regard to their composition, their armaments and, especially, their mandate.
In discussing the issue of terrorism and the determined fight that our defence and security forces are waging, I would like to say here that the Niger will remain eternally grateful for the sacrifice of its daughters and sons who, with courage and honour, are fighting to preserve and safeguard the integrity of our country. We are certainly paying a heavy price for this fight, but the Niger will continue to play its role and live up to its duty to ensure that never again will any terrorist or criminal organization be able to occupy or take control of any part of our territory. That is why the Government will not stint on its considerable efforts to ensure that our forces take control and that their capacities are boosted. We will never let up in our determination, and I know we will win this war because our cause is noble.
Every year thousands of migrants throughout the world put themselves in danger to seek a better life, and the deserts and oceans of the world have become open- air cemeteries. Irregular migrants, victims of criminal smugglers with neither faith nor law, should be protected. The Niger, essentially a transit country, reaffirms its determination to fight the irregular migration networks and will continue to do everything possible to attack the root causes of such migration. That is the meaning of the plan that our country presented at the European Union-African Union Valletta Summit on Migration.
I have mentioned the security situation in western and eastern Niger. I would like to recall here that as a result of those conflicts, our country, although among the poorest in the world, is hosting more than 200,000 refugees, internally displaced persons and returnees. For the Niger, what is most important today is to get past those emergencies so as to launch socioeconomic recovery in the areas affected by those conflicts. We need to move from humanitarian issues to development.
Turning to certain international issues, I recall that the Niger is in solidarity with the struggle of the Palestinian people for freedom and independence. Our position remains unswerving support for the just and definitive resolution of that question, guaranteeing the creation of a sovereign State of Palestine with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The abuses against Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar are unacceptable. Such serious and massive violations of human rights must be punished. The Niger unequivocally condemns those atrocities.
The Niger, a State party to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, will respect its commitments. We are convinced that there is no alternative for saving our planet and especially for preserving it for future generations. The Paris Agreement is not only the realization of our awareness, but also proof of our shared responsibility before history. Taking a step backward is not possible unless one believes that the fate of the Earth and of humankind is not concern for everybody.
The Niger urges the United States of America and Cuba to persevere in the constructive dialogue that had begun between the two countries until relations between the two are normalized and the embargo is fully lifted.
The issue of disarmament is a crucial. It deserves special attention to enhance trust among States. The Niger strongly supports the actions undertaken by the United Nations with a view to bringing about general and complete disarmament with regard to both weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons.
The new challenges generated by globalization, the transformations that have affected international relations for decades and the need to take into account new geopolitical dimensions, particularly in regard to Africa, require that we deal with the crucial issue of the reform of United Nations organs. In accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus, Niger calls for the composition of the Security Council to be reviewed, for the General Assembly to be revitalized and for the United Nations to remain a democratic Organization that enshrines the sovereign equality of States, not a tiered organization in which the powerful and the weak have different rights.
To conclude my remarks before the Assembly, I would like to reaffirm that at every opportunity and before every challenge, my country, the Niger, will always rise to play its proper role to promote and defend peace, to eradicate poverty and inequality and to preserve our environment. We are fully aware of our responsibilities to change our own fate and contribute to making the world safe and better. We assume these responsibilities fully and in a determined manner.
May God bless the Niger and the United Nations.


At the outset, on behalf of Mali, allow me to extend warm congratulations to the President on his election to guide the General Assembly at its seventy-second session. I also commend the outstanding work of his predecessor, Ambassador Peter Thomson. I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-General of the Organization, my dear friend António Guterres, for his leadership, vision and commitment to the common values, purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Mali welcomes the choice of the theme of the present session — “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable
planet” — which is both timely and relevant in a world that is confronted with the various challenges to peace, security and the considerable efforts needed to improve the living conditions of our populations. The highest priority of our joint efforts at present is not the effective preservation of our planet, which is of course in our best interests, but, more urgently, the interest of our future generations.
Given those numerous challenges, from which no one — not even my country, Mali — has been spared, since assuming my post as head of State, I have consistently devoted myself to working to quickly bringing peace and security for my people to an acceptable level, in creating genuine conditions for a decent life for the benefit of the Malian people and in improving our living environment. Since my election in 2013, I have firmly dedicated myself to the search for a negotiated political solution to the internal dimension of the Malian crisis.
After eight long months of intense and steadfast negotiations in Algiers — and, once again, I would like to say how much we appreciate the efforts of our Algerian brothers, especially those of President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, and we thank them for the welcome and the hospitality we received in that wonderful white city — the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali was concluded. Today Mali is pleased with the conditions that were thus created for its future. The principal merit of the Agreement would have certainly been to immediately restore confidence among the Malian parties — no more belligerence.
With the implementation of the Agreement, the general situation of the country has significantly improved.
I shall spare the Assembly the long list of the measures and concrete actions taken by the Government of Mali to implement the Agreement in strict accordance with the letter and the spirit of the commitments we have made. As an example, I would simply point out that, as of today, what we call in Mali the interim authorities and transitional colleges — two key elements of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation — are operational in the five regions of northern Mali.
In the same vein, I am particularly pleased with the current efforts aimed at the definitive return of the Malian administration to Kidal. That fortunate prospect was made possible by the efforts of the Malians themselves, aided by international mediation and the support of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA). At the same time, the Government, under my authority, is working to stabilize the security situation in the central regions of the country, which today are a source of great concern for us and the whole country. That particular situation has become acute and urgent after the Algiers talks, which is to say that there is a new front to be secured and pacified. Important measures have therefore been taken and are currently under way, with very encouraging results.
Those results undoubtedly speak of the common will of Malian men and women to achieve peace, reconciliation and the re-establishment of genuine conditions for a good life together. We also owe those results to the multifaceted support of the men and women of the United Nations system in Mali. They have paid a high price to help us, otherwise maintaining peace would have been bloody. That is why I would like to commend the excellent work of the civilian and military staff of MINUSMA, who work under conditions that I know are difficult and often dangerous. From this rostrum, I would like to pay tribute to the memory of all of the victims, both civilian and military, Malian and foreign, who have fallen in the field of honour in Mali.
There have been numerous obstacles to the implementation of the Agreement, which have resulted in long delays, procrastination and postponements — all of which have generated immense impatience in national opinion and among international community.
I would like to take this opportunity to express our deep appreciation to the Security Council for the adoption of resolution 2364 (2017), which renewed the mandate of MINUSMA. In addition, I am particularly pleased by the adoption, on 5 September, of resolution 2374 (2017), which establishes the legal framework for a sanctions regime against perpetrators of acts impeding the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. Those two resolutions are aimed at the effective resolution of the types of difficulties underlying the implementation of the Agreement. They also reflect the steadfast determination of my Government to tirelessly continue in its political and institutional efforts for firmness and diligence in the processes related to the effectiveness of the Agreement.
The deterioration of the security situation in Mali has had a negative impact on the implementation of the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation. Insecurity in Mali and the Sahel is a source of great concern for my country and for our neighbours. The situation poses, in all respects, a real threat to international peace and security. It is marked by terrorism, violent extremism and other forms of organized transnational crime, including trafficking in drugs, weapons and people.
The Sahel is swarming with organized-crime groups. They have access to substantial material, financial and logistical resources and pose serious challenges to the individual functioning institutions and organizations of all our States. They sow death through their criminal and asymmetrical attacks. Working to conquer areas only partially under our sovereignty, they find themselves free to maintain and spread their criminal activities, thereby seriously threatening the foundations, and even the very existence, of our States.
No single country by itself would be able to confront those cross-border threats. That was the entire rationale behind the establishment of the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel) by Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, the Niger and Chad so as to confront together shared challenges related to the security and the development of our countries. From its founding, in February 2014, to the present, our organization — which I have the privilege of chairing in 2017 and 2018 — has made tremendous progress. In particular, it has put in place the force conjointe du G-5 Sahel to combat terrorism, transnational organized crime and the trafficking of migrants.
Although the adoption of Security Council resolution 2359 (2017) was certainly an important step, we would have preferred it to have been adopted under
Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, which would have ensured its predictable and sustainable funding, including through the United Nations, in accordance with the decision by the African Union Peace and Security Council of 13 April.
The force represents the collective resolve of our States to work together to secure and develop the region that we share, with the support of our partners — whom I commend here for their constant support at our side. Today we are working tirelessly towards the effective operationalization and functioning of the force, with the very much appreciated support of friendly countries and partner organizations.
The first operations of the force will, we hope, begin in October. I can assure the Assembly that those operations will be carried out in strict compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law. A civilian mechanism will be deployed within the force so as to monitor that issue, which is so important to us, because the success of the force depends on the full and continued support of our people.
I would nevertheless like to draw the Assembly’s attention to some of the challenges that characterize the operationalization and maintenance of the force. Among them, mobilizing comprehensive funding for the force figures prominently. I would therefore like to take this opportunity to invite all friendly countries and international partner organizations to the international contribution planning conference for the force to be held in Brussels in December. I would like to give my assurance that resources allocated to the force will be managed with total transparency. Moreover, we remain open to any support from our partners that can help ensure better management of the resources of the force conjointe.
I would also like to add, for the benefit of the friendly countries and international organizations that are ready to help us, that the Joint Force is in the public interest of all. Although we are going through a transitional phase today, the battle that we are waging in the Sahel is akin to a dam. If that dam were to give, that would be a misfortune for the civilized world, which shares our values. Therefore, in areas that involve equipping battalions and reinforcing logistics resources, as well as communications, emergency medical evacuation and combating the use of improvised explosive devices, we need the world’s help.
Alongside security issues, the G-5 Sahel places high priority on issues involving development, the resilience of populations, governance and decent jobs for the youth of our countries, among others. I would like to call on members of the General Assembly and the international community to provide sustained support to the G-5 Sahel Priority Investment Programme.
Implementing the Sustainable Development Goals remains a priority for Mali. In that context, in 2016, the Government adopted its strategic framework for economic recovery and sustainable development for the period from 2016 to 2018. Its overall goal is to promote inclusive and sustainable development, with the aim of reducing poverty and inequalities in a united and peaceful Mali, while building on the potential and capacity for resilience, with a view to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.
The macroeconomic framework of our country has improved, and numerous indicators show encouraging developments, including robust economic growth with an annual average of approximately 6 per cent, and a substantial improvement in the business environment. This was noted by the Arab Maghreb Union. In that context, Mali will hold the Invest in Mali Forum on 7 and 8 December in Bamako, and we invite friendly countries and international organizations to come and bet on Mali.
As a Sahelian country with an agro-sylvo-pastoral system, Mali remains deeply concerned about climate change, which is one of the major challenges involving the survival and development of humankind. That is why I would like to reiterate Mali’s commitment to the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, to which it is party. In that regard, the international community must remain committed to its implementation so as to preserve the ecosystem for present and future generations.
The world continues to face numerous public health challenges, such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and Ebola. While commending the progress made in the fight against those pandemics, we must strengthen international efforts so as to achieve the shared goal of eradicating those diseases. We must redouble our vigilance and efforts so as to implement, in particular, the Political Declaration on HIV and AIDS: On the Fast Track to Accelerating the Fight against HIV and to End the AIDS Epidemic by 2030, which we, the world’s leaders, adopted in New York in June 2016.
Concerning migration issues, Mali fully supports the ongoing process in the Organization aimed at the adoption in 2018 of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration. Together we must seek suitable solutions to the human tragedy taking place in the Mediterranean and the desert, which leaves no human conscience indifferent and leads to thousands of deaths, including those of women and children. That maritime cemetery represents a scandal for the twenty-first century, and it must stop.
Mali is at one and the same time a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants. We therefore have established a national migration policy with a view to better overseeing the phenomenon. Mali has also established national mechanisms for better managing migration issues.
I take this opportunity to commend the substantial contribution of the Malian diaspora to the economic, scientific, cultural and social development of Mali. The diaspora constitutes both our pride and our wealth.
The Government and the people of Mali continue to pay close attention to the situation in Africa and the rest of the world. We are therefore concerned about the situation in Libya, which continues to have a negative impact on the Sahel region. We call on all Libyan stakeholders to encourage the search for peaceful solutions with a view to achieving a lasting settlement of the crisis.
Mali pays equal attention to the ongoing situation in the Middle East, in particular as concerns the impasse in negotiations surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Mali reaffirms its support for the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to regain their inalienable rights and calls for the resumption of negotiations aimed at a two-State solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security in a calm Middle East.
Similarly, we are concerned about the unprecedented increase in terrorism, violent extremism and religious intolerance in the world. To contain those global threats, which spare no country, we need to strengthen international and regional cooperation, foster a fruitful, ongoing dialogue and combat the vulnerabilities that expose our communities to extremist ideology. Mali welcomes the successes around the world in the fight against terrorist organizations and urgently calls for more cooperation and coordination in the fight against terrorism in the Sahel.
The realities and demands of today’s world require that we adapt global governance to current challenges. The revitalization of the General Assembly and the long-awaited reform of the Security Council are becoming increasingly necessary if we are to have a United Nations capable of responding effectively to the legitimate expectations of all nations. That has been said here today.
Mali reaffirms its commitment to the African Common Position on the reform of the Security Council. Moreover, we express our concern about the current tendency to reduce the budget of peacekeeping operations at the very time when such operations have become crucial and substantial in terms of volume.
I wish to reiterate the Government of Mali’s call for the necessary adaptation of peacekeeping operations to the dizzying developments surrounding them: global threats. We believe that the call we just launched for support for our common regional organization, the G-5 Sahel, must be promoted so that we may receive energetic support for the G-5 Sahel and establish the effective business and financing that we lack. Unfortunately, very often such promises remain mere pronouncements, at the very time such operations are indispensable and urgent for the well-being of the populations under permanent threat from diverse groups infesting the region.
Let me also say that today that our region is concerned about the trend in United Nations budgetary cutbacks. Each of us has been somewhat reassured today by strong statements made.
We have a collective responsibility to bring about peace and to ensure security worldwide. We have the collective responsibility to leave no one behind and to create the conditions for inclusive development for our populations. We have the collective responsibility to save and to preserve our environment and our common planet. Through my voice, Mali fully commits to play its role in this collective endeavour to build a better world for all.


I am privileged to address the General Assembly, and I know to whom I owe this privilege. I owe it to all those who, just over 70 years ago, rose up against a barbaric regime that had seized my country, France. I owe it to the nations that heard the cry of those who resisted and that from the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia sent their sons and daughters to France to help. Not all of them were familiar with France, but they knew that France’s defeat would also mean the defeat of the ideals they shared. They were proud of those ideals and were prepared to die to uphold them. They knew that their freedom and values were dependent upon the freedom of other men and other women living thousands of kilometres from them.
I owe the privilege to those who, once the war had ended, dared to attempt reconciliation and built a new international order. I owe it to people who, like René Cassin, understood that human rights were at the very core of international legitimacy. I owe it to people who brought the guilty to justice, tended to the victims and rectified mistakes. I owe it to those who believed that the values that the war had trampled must be restored to their rightful place.
Tolerance, freedom and humanity are the values on which the United Nations was built. And it was not because those values were beautiful but rather because they were just and made it possible to avoid the worst.
I do not speak of all this merely to talk about history, but because today I hear several of our colleagues talking about the future of our world, and forgetting somewhat where we have come from. What might seem exotic and far removed from our immediate interests is perhaps what determines and will determine most what lies ahead for us.
My country might have a unique place in the international order, but that means that it is also indebted to all those whose voices have gone unheard. I know that the duty of France is to speak for those whose voices are not heard. If we speak for them, we also speak for ourselves — now and for the future. Today I would like to speak for those forgotten voices.
I have heard Bana, who lives in Aleppo and whose voice I want to bring here. She has lived under the horror of bombings, of police and militia. She has lived in refugee camps. The Syrian people have suffered enough for the international community to acknowledge its collective failure and to question its methods.
To achieve just and lasting peace, we must focus urgently on a political settlement to the crisis by way of a transition, as the Security Council has called for through its unanimous adoption of resolution 2254 (2015). France and its partners have taken the initiative to support the efforts of the United Nations and to design, finally, an inclusive political road map for Syria. That is why I hope that we can establish a contact group made up of all of the five permanent members of the Security Council and relevant stakeholders.
The so-called Astana process can be useful, but it is not enough, and the past few days have revealed many problems. We have to give ourselves the resources we really need to begin negotiations, because the solution will ultimately be a political rather than a military one. It is in the interests of all of us and, of course, in Syrians’ interests above all.
In that context, I have already stated what our two red lines are. First, France will not waver where the use of chemical weapons is concerned. The perpetrators of the attack of 4 April must be brought to international justice, and that must never happen again. Secondly, it is absolutely crucial to ensure access to health care for all men and women and enable medical facilities to protect civilians. France will make this one of the priorities of its presidency of the Security Council next month.
When we act to achieve peace in Syria we are acting for the Syrian people, but we are also doing it to protect all of us against Islamist terrorism, because what we are primarily fighting in Syria and in Iraq is terrorism. We are acting for all who perished in attacks in recent months, because jihadi terrorism has struck our fellow citizens across all continents, regardless of religion. We must therefore protect ourselves by joining forces, and security must become our first priority. That is the focus of the initiatives that France has launched for combating terrorists’ use of the Internet and all their financing sources. That is why I hope we can organize a conference in 2018 on this effort, which I urge everyone here to become involved in. It is also the focus of the military action that France has undertaken as part of the coalition in Syria and Iraq, in accordance with international law. We are fighting terrorism not only on the military and diplomatic fronts but on the educational, cultural and moral fronts, too. It is part of our efforts in Asia as well as in the Middle East and Africa. And it must bring all of us together.
I have listened to Ousman, a schoolboy in Gao, and I would like to bring his voice in here today. Ousman is growing up in Mali under constant threat from indiscriminate attacks, and yet his only dream is to be able to go to school without risking his life. We are now all engaged in the Sahel — the United Nations, the countries of the region that are participating in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali and the Force conjointe du G5 Sahel, and the European Union and its member States. And I would like to pay tribute to all stakeholders by acknowledging that it is an extremely difficult challenge with a high cost in human lives. Our challenge there is, again, eliminating terrorism and, in order to do that, building national capacities so that States can take charge of their security themselves. Regardless of the resources we put there, our collective effort will not succeed if the countries that are most affected are unable to take on their own responsibilities in that regard.
That is why I have supported the deployment of the Force conjointe du G5 Sahel since my first day in office, and I urge everyone here to mobilize collectively to that end, too. This is also why I want to invest in strengthening our support to African peacekeeping missions, because that is the future. We must all give new thought to the links between peacekeeping, regional organizations and host countries. Our capacity to respond to our peoples’ aspirations for peace depends on it. Certainly, a military response can never be the only response. Here I would like to emphasize the importance of a political response, and in that regard I have in mind the implementation of the Algiers Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali and our development policy.
I have also listened to Kouamé, and I want to bring his voice in here today. Left on the roadside, he crossed Africa before putting his fate in the hands of smugglers in Libya. He crossed the Mediterranean and came safely to port when so many others perished at sea. The refugee, the displaced person and the person to whom we give the sad name of migrant has truly become the symbol of our age, of a world where we will never be able to halt the march of despair if we cannot turn the roads of necessity into roads of liberty. Such migrations are the result of politics, climate change or ethnic conflict. They are always the roads taken by necessity. Today necessity is a flight from the persecution of which the Rohingya — more than 400,000 refugees, most of them children — are victims. The military operations there must cease, access to humanitarian aid must be provided and the rule of law must be re-established because, as we know, what is going on is ethnic cleansing. France will take the initiative on this issue in the Security Council.
Necessity means leaving to save one’s family when war is raging and when international humanitarian law is no longer respected but becomes a tool to be exploited in the warring parties’ strategy of violence, as it is in Syria. It means exile when the defenders of freedom are the first to be targeted by the powers that be. Protecting refugees is a moral and political duty and one in which France is resolved to play its part, by supporting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees wherever he has to intervene; by opening legal paths to resettlement in areas closest to the conflict zones in Lebanon, Jordan and Turkey as well as in the Niger and Chad; and by defending the right to asylum and unequivocal respect for the Geneva Conventions.
In Paris on 28 August, we brought together the African and European countries that have been most directly affected by the migration flows along the central Mediterranean route. We adopted a road map whose priority is combating the smugglers who traffic in despair. We must put an end to these intolerable violations of fundamental human rights by working with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration to establish a humanitarian infrastructure and by helping countries of origin and transit to better control migration flows.
But while short-term responses are a necessity for managing crises when we are dealing with terrorism and migration, what is at stake today is our ability to muster the political will to address the underlying causes of these sources of instability. Migration and terrorism represent the biggest political challenges that all of us may ever face. If we are to overcome such moral and civilizational challenges, it will be by pursuing a true policy of development, which is why I have decided that France should play its part by devoting 0.55 per cent of national revenue to public development aid for the next five years.
I am grateful for the applause, but I have to temper it somewhat — first, because I know that some people were expecting more, that such aid is never enough, and that France’s response is still not enough, but mainly because it is not money that is the real issue; it is how effectively that money is used. It is what we spend the money on. It is about how we can be better at evaluating and taking responsibility for the money that we all contribute. Of course, I want France to do its part with development aid, but what I really want is for us to bring more innovation and intelligence to our aid, using different methods and taking on greater responsibility on the ground. That is what I want. The challenge we have today is in ensuring that development aid actually reaches the areas where it is needed, simply and efficiently, calculated correctly and for the purpose it was designed for. That was what we wanted to do with the Alliance for the Sahel, for example, which we launched with the European Union, the World Bank and the United Nations Development Programme.
We also have to set clear priorities. The first is investing in education, because it is education that will help us win the fight against the obscurantism that is bringing down entire countries and regions today, both in Africa and the Middle East. I urge the international community to step up in February 2018 in Dakar when we re-establish the World Partnership for Education, which France will co-chair with Senegal. This is a key struggle for us all. We must give girls and boys the opportunity to escape obscurantism and to choose their own future, not the future imposed upon them or the one that we in this Hall would choose for them.
Our second priority is to invest in health and combat major pandemics and malnutrition, because without education or health there can be no hope. In this fight for development, we must also support the role of women, culture and freedom of expression. Wherever the role of women is undermined, there, too, development is undermined, as is a society’s ability to assume its rightful place in the world. These are not trivial issues; this is a deep-seated civilizational struggle. It is our struggle and these are our values, which are not relative but universal on all continents and at all latitudes. Wherever culture is undermined, there, too, our collective ability to rise to challenges is undermined.
That is why UNESCO is today such an important organization and has such a key role to play with respect to ensuring a human face for the world at a time when widespread obscurantism seeks to eradicate its unbelievable diversity. We are fighting so that all cultures and languages can be preserved and so that progress can continue to be made.
Freedom of expression, too, is a most urgent issue. The United Nations must protect the freedom of those who think, reflect and express themselves, in particular the freedom of the press. For that reason, I call for the appointment of a Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the protection of journalists throughout the world; neither the fight against terrorism nor the more demanding world we are living in can justify any inroads upon that freedom.
Finally, I wish to speak on behalf of my fellow Frenchman Jules, who lives on the island of St. Martin. I am thinking of his house, which lies in ruins, and of his fear that this may happen again because of climate change, which is leading to an increasing number of disasters. The future of the world is that of our planet, which is now taking revenge for the folly of humankind. Nature is calling us to task to shoulder our responsibility of humanity and solidarity. It will not negotiate with us, and humankind must defend itself by protecting it. Extreme weather events are exploding the traditional differences between the North and the South. The most fragile are always the principal victims, swept up in a whirlwind of injustice. We are all affected by climatic changes, from China to the Caribbean, in Russia and in the Horn of Africa.
My country promised, before the Assembly, that we would achieve a universal agreement in Paris. That we did and signed it in this very Hall. That agreement is not up for renegotiation. It binds us and rallies us together. To take it apart would mean unraveling a pact not just between States but also between generations. It can be improved; we can have new contributions and fresh input, but we will not backtrack.
I fully respect the decision of the United States. The door will always be open to it. However, we will continue our work, along with all Governments, local governments, cities, businesses, non-governmental organizations and citizens of the world. We have the strength of pioneers, endurance and the certainty and energy of those who wish to build a better world. That better world will lead to innovation and job creation, despite the beliefs of those who see the future only in terms of the past.
We will build such a world right now by making our national contributions, as France has done by adopting its climate plan, which places us on the road to carbon neutrality. On 12 December, we will be meeting in Paris with those who wish to move forward with real solutions by mobilizing public and private funding. Here I confirm that France will play its full role in this respect by allocating €5 billion per year to climate action between now and 2020.
Our unfolding ambition is reflected in the fact that this very afternoon we will be introducing a global pact for the environment aimed at shaping international law for the coming century, with the support of the United Nations agencies.
At a time when some would wish us to stop, we must continue to advance, because climate change and extreme weather events will not stop. Our duty of solidarity and humanity will continue.
Behind every one of our decisions are the voices and lives of the invisible masses whom we must defend, because we in turn were defended in the past. Why do we not heed those voices? Why are we not focusing on what 70 years ago gave humankind the strength to believe in itself: planetary responsibility, the desire for mutual assistance and faith in progress?
When I speak of Bana, Ousman, Kouamé and Jules, I speak about all my compatriots and everyone else’s compatriots, because our security is their security. We are inextricably linked in a community of fate, today and tomorrow. Global balances have changed radically in recent years and the world has become multipolar once again, so we must learn anew the complexity of dialogue as well as the riches it can bring to us.
Our collective action is coming up against obstacles stemming from State instability. In Libya, six years after the military intervention there, I acknowledge, before the Assembly, France’s particular responsibility to ensure that the country regains its stability. The meeting held in La Celle-Saint-Cloud on 25 July enabled us to make progress on the reconciliation necessary for the success of the political process under the auspices of the United Nations. Together with the Secretary-General and his Special Representative, we must succeed in 2018 in organizing elections that will mark the restoration of effective State authority. I will do my utmost to achieve that.
Concerning Venezuela, collective action must enable the upholding of democracy and respect for all political movements. We must give no ground to the dictatorial trends that we see today. In Ukraine, too, we must tirelessly work to ensure the upholding of the commitments undertaken, bring about an effective ceasefire and work together with our partners, particularly Germany, to ensure that the parties to the conflict respect international law and end the conflict.
Multilateralism is facing the challenge of nuclear proliferation, unable to ward off threats that we believed to be past but that have re-emerged today. Pyongyang has crossed a major threshold in terms of military escalation. This is an urgent, collective existential threat. North Korea has not to date given any sign of wishing to negotiate. Its authorities are determined to raise the stakes. Our responsibility, together with all of our partners, including China and Russia, is, through resolve, to bring North Korea to the negotiating table for a political settlement to this conflict. France rejects escalation and will not close any door to dialogue, provided that the conditions are met for such a dialogue to promote peace.
It is that same goal that impels me to defend the nuclear agreement with Iran. Our commitment to nuclear non-proliferation enabled us to reach a solid, robust and verifiable agreement on 14 July 2015 and to ensure that Iran will not be able to acquire nuclear weapons. To denounce that now without proposing anything in its place would be a serious mistake, and failing to uphold it would be irresponsible, because it is a helpful agreement that is vital to keeping the peace at a time when the risk of a collapse into a death spiral is genuine. That is what I told the United States and Iran yesterday. For my part, I hope that we will be able to fulfil the agreement, by working to contain Iran’s ballistic activity and manage the situation after 2020, which the 2015 agreement does not cover. Let us by all means be more demanding, but certainly not by unwinding the results that previous agreements have already achieved. Look at the mess we are in today. Has the lack of dialogue done anything to contain the situation in North Korea for even a moment? What I want for all of us is a world where dialogue, controls and multilateralism provide us with effective, useful weapons.
I do not know whether, 70 years from now, a future successor of mine will have the privilege of addressing the Assembly. Will multilateralism survive the time of doubt and change that we are going through? The fact is that we should be remembering the state that the world was in 70 years ago, shattered by war and stunned by genocides. Right now we need to rediscover the optimism, ambition and courage with which we met those reasons to doubt and the faith in what unites us. We must restore our trust in the universal founding principles of the United Nations, which protect all of us and guarantee our dignity, all over the world.
But why have we ended up where we are? Because we have allowed the idea to take root that multilateralism is a kind of convenient game for diplomats around a table, a tool of the weak. That has gone on for years, because we let ourselves believe that our efforts were stronger and more convincing when we acted unilaterally. But it is not true. Because, sometimes out of cynicism, we let ourselves believe that multilateralism could not fix everything, and so we let deregulation of the world take over. We have been slow to address climate change and the new inequalities that unregulated capitalism creates. We have let the voices of discord shout the loudest. And in that game, the loudest voices win. Time and fading memory have made us forget the history that moulded us and allowed the belief to take root that we are stronger without multilateralism. The challenge that our generation faces today is to be able to get our faith back and to show that in today’s world, nothing is more effective than multilateralism. And why? Because every one of our challenges is global — terrorism, immigration, climate change, the regulation of the digital world. They all have to be addressed multilaterally and on a global scale.
Every time we turn away from multilateralism, the loudest voice wins. But it is only through multilateralism that we can achieve our vision of the world, because it is universal, not regional. Every time we give up on an idea — for example, that the situation of women concerns some people in parts of the world but not others, or that equality is an issue for one civilization but not others — we are abandoning the universality of the values that have brought us together in this Organization. In some countries we have already ceded the race to the strong. And that is because, every time, the great Powers, seated around the Security Council table, have ceded the race to the strong and to unilateralism, and have failed to live up to agreements they signed themselves. They have failed to uphold the glue that keeps multilateralism together — the rule of law. That is what has got us this far and can build sustainable peace.
Today we need multilateralism more than ever, not because it is a comforting notion, and not because it is somewhere for thinking people to take shelter, but because it is about the rule of law, about interaction between peoples and about equality for us all. It is what will enable us to achieve peace and overcome our challenges. And the United Nations is indeed the Organization that can act in full legitimacy to preserve global equilibrium. That is why I want a more responsible, effective and agile United Nations, and why I fully support the Secretary-General’s plans for the Organization and his ambition and commitment to making it equal to the challenges facing our world. We need to get out of our offices and away from meetings with States and Governments and to seek new resources, so that we can see the world as it really is and reconsider some of the dogmas to which we have sometimes clung. We need a Security Council that can make effective decisions, without walling itself off through its right to the veto when mass atrocities are being committed. We need better representation for everyone here and for every continent. We need to coordinate crisis management better with the European Union, the African Union and the key subregional organizations. That is why France will stand beside the United Nations as it implements reform.
In conclusion, I would like to say that it is only in a stronghold such as this that the forgotten voices that I wanted to bring here today can be heard, a stronghold where there is a place for everyone and where everyone can be heard even by those who do not wish to hear. To them I say that a refusal to listen to the oppressed, to victims, allows their miseries to grow and prosper until the day when they overwhelm all the rest of us as well. A refusal to listen means forgetting that at one time or another in our history, we were the oppressed, and others heard our voices. It means forgetting that our safety and security is theirs too, that their lives are connected to ours, and we cannot remain unscathed in a world that is going up in flames. A refusal to listen to those who call for help means believing that walls and borders will protect us.
But it is not walls that protect us, it is our willingness to act and to change the course of history and our refusal to allow history to be written without us even as we imagine we are safe. It is our sovereignty and our sovereign use of force in the service of progress that protects us. A nation’s independence lies in its interdependence. A refusal to listen to those voices would mean believing that their despair is not ours, that we will always enjoy benefits that they can only dream of. But what if those benefits are our whole planet — what if they are peace, justice and freedom? Do we believe that we are the only ones who should enjoy them, tucked away in some corner? If we do not defend those shared benefits, we will all be doomed. We will be watching fires burn that history will blow back on our own children tomorrow.
Today, more than ever, those shared benefits, our common goods, represent our shared interests.
Our security is their security, and there are no sides, no division between those who believe in the rule of law and multilateralism and those who believe in a pragmatic unilateralism. That is a false notion. Our real effectiveness is playing out in this struggle right here. That is why I want to join with everyone here today, united in a belief in a strong, responsible multilateralism. That is our generation’s responsibility, if we do not want to abandon ourselves to fatalism. There is only one kind of courage we need, which is to listen to those voices and not to deviate from the mark we wish to leave on history. We must be constantly aware that we must work to reconcile our interests and our values. Our security is the common good of our planet. Our generation has no choice. It must speak for today and for tomorrow.


Let me at the outset congratulate you, Sir, on assuming your role as President of the General Assembly. I also congratulate your predecessor, Ambassador Peter Thomson of Fiji, for a job well done over the past year. I must also mention the Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres. Since assuming the leadership of the Organization a few months ago, he has already shown himself to be more than equal to the tremendous tasks associated with his high office.
As we gather here today in this great Hall, natural disasters and calamities are striking in many parts of our world. Hurricanes, typhoons and earthquakes have devastated communities and displaced thousands of people in just the past few days. To the victims and their families around the world, I offer our sympathies and condolences on behalf of the Government and the people of the Federated States of Micronesia.
We condemn terrorist attacks, which have taken innocent lives. Micronesia pledges its resolve to stand united against terrorism, in solidarity with affected nations. On behalf of the Micronesian Government and its people, I offer our deepest condolences to all those nations and families that have suffered losses at the hands of terrorists.
As we witness current record-breaking megastorms, we cannot ignore their connection to climate change, especially to ocean warming and sea-level rise. In the wake of those devastating events, we must not only stay committed to our collective fight against climate change, but we must also redouble our efforts. Climate change is one of the most serious threats to global peace and security, endangering the very existence of our islands. It needs to be at the top of the agenda of the General Assembly. As the United Nations undertakes efforts to reorient its work around the priorities of peace and prevention, the United Nations system will have to adapt. We reiterate our call for the appointment of a special representative on climate change and security.
Climate change mitigation is also essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, including the eradication of poverty, ending hunger, building resilient infrastructure and shared prosperity. Without progress in fighting climate change, our sustainable development efforts will be futile. That is particularly true for small island developing States.
The Paris Agreement on Climate Change has provided an avenue to enhance cooperation in our fight against climate change, and the world must seize the moment. Micronesia expresses grave concern that some countries have chosen to break with the international community and neglect the Paris Agreement, against the best scientific advice. As a small island developing nation at the forefront of the battle, Micronesia calls on all States to fully engage in global efforts to implement the Paris Agreement, support the Green Climate Fund and access thereto, and contribute innovative climate solutions.
I would like to share with the Assembly a story of global cooperation at its finest. This is a story of a treaty that was designed to save the ozone layer and succeeded, but it has also made major contributions to climate-change mitigation. The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer is considered the most successful multilateral environmental treaty of all time. That is why the 194 parties to the Protocol met last year in Kigali and agreed to amend the Protocol and expand its scope. Specifically, the Kigali Amendment allows the Protocol to regulate hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are chemicals used in refrigeration and air conditioning that can contribute significantly to global warming. Phasing down the use of HFCs will help prevent 0.5°C of global temperature rise, and complementary energy-efficiency measures in the same sector could help avoid another 0.5°C of warming.
We thank the parties to the Montreal Protocol that have already ratified the Kigali Amendment, totalling eight out of the 20 needed for the Agreement to enter into force. We call on other parties to ratify the Agreement as soon as possible, ideally before the next Meeting of the Parties, in Canada in November.
Along with the Paris Agreement, the Kigali Amendment is a major step towards the survival of small island States. As the story of the Kigali Amendment demonstrates, with intelligence, perseverance and cooperation, we can achieve anything. That is the motivation that keeps us all working together for a better future.
In the islands we say the ocean is us, as we are the ocean. As an island nation, Micronesia fully supported and participated actively in the United Nations Ocean Conference in June. The Call for Action from the Conference, entitled “Our Ocean, Our Future,” highlights the actions required to achieve the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 14. Micronesia supports the intention to organize a second United Nations Ocean Conference, in 2020, which will enable us to follow up on the commitments made at the first Conference and to assess our progress towards the full implementation of SDG 14 by 2030. We look forward to the work of the Special Envoy for the Ocean to maintain the momentum.
At the recent Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting in Samoa, our leaders endorsed the Blue Pacific identity as the core driver of collective action in the Pacific region. That was a fitting progression from last year’s Pohnpei Oceans Statement, as elements of the Blue Pacific narrative reinforce the potential for shared stewardship of the Pacific Ocean.
We must now show ambition in tackling the mounting threats to the health of our ocean. The special case of small island developing States must be enshrined in the forthcoming implementing agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. We welcome the successful conclusion of the meetings of the Preparatory Committee, and now we must urgently launch and conclude the intergovernmental conference to draft and adopt a new legally binding agreement.
For Pacific islands, fisheries are a mainstay of our economies, our most important renewable natural resource and an integral part of our sustainable development plans. Effective conservation and management of our tuna resource is important not only for us who depend on it for our livelihoods and sustainable development, but also for addressing global food-security concerns. We must remain steadfast in our efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in all its forms.
I want to take this opportunity to express our concerns about the lack of recognition of, and respect for, the rights of coastal States such as Micronesia to manage fisheries in their own exclusive economic zones (EEZs). In the Western and Central Pacific, some developed-country fishing nations are advocating for flag-based rights in regional fisheries management organizations. Such measures would undermine existing zone-based management measures and erode the ability of small island developing States, as resource owners, to exercise their sovereign rights under international law. That would not be an acceptable outcome. Therefore, we call on those developed-country partners to withdraw all such proposals and to actively support the efforts of small island developing States to increase benefits from the sustainable management of fisheries in their EEZs.
Allow me to briefly thank the Secretary-General for his proposals on the peace and security architecture, management reform and other reform processes for the Organization. We commend his proposals, which will result in a more transparent, efficient and effective regime that is able to respond to the challenges our world is facing today. The United Nations must be fit for purpose. While reforms are vital to any organization, they must not disadvantage small island developing States; they must leave no one behind.
For many years now, my country has also paid priority attention to the efforts by Member States to reform the Security Council, but those efforts have resulted in little progress. We need to break out of this cycle. It is high time to shift to real negotiations.
In the Western Pacific, and especially in our greater Micronesian region, the provocative and aggressive actions by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea pose a threat to regional security and must be condemned in the strongest possible terms. Micronesia supports the actions taken by the Security Council. We call on the Council and on countries with the power and influence to help resolve the crisis to take action immediately to ensure that peace is achieved on the Korean peninsula.
We gather in this great Hall and debate among nations, but we are speaking for our peoples. We are trying to advance their interests. We are seeking to improve their lives. As history has taught us, we will fail our nations and our peoples unless we work together for the common good. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development constitutes a people-centred approach. Consistent with that principle, the theme of this session of the General Assembly is “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”. We must believe in such a future and move towards it together. Multilateralism and the United Nations are more important than ever. Only together can we restore and maintain peace and security. Only together can we overcome the threat of global climate change. Only together can we build a sustainable future for our planet and all of our peoples.