Allow me to reiterate to the Secretary-General Cuba’s support for his work at the helm of the United Nations and as a guarantor and advocate of international peace.
I would like to express my deep condolences to the relatives of the deceased and the victims of hurricanes Irma and Maria, as well as our readiness to increase our cooperation, to the extent of our modest possibilities, with the brother peoples and the Governments of Dominica and Antigua and Barbuda, which are small Caribbean islands that suffered terrible devastation, along with the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, the Virgin Islands and Anguilla. I call upon the international community to give the highest priority to the situation and to mobilize resources to assist the small Caribbean island States and territories that have suffered such devastation.
We would like to convey Cuba’s warmest feelings of solidarity to the people and the Government of Mexico, particularly the victims and their relatives who were affected by earthquakes, and we reiterate our readiness to assist their people and support their recovery efforts with our modest efforts.
We also want to express our sorrow to the people of the United States, as well as our heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the deceased and to all victims of Hurricane Irma.
I speak on behalf of the people of Cuba, who are currently carrying out a colossal effort to recover from the severe damage caused to housing, agriculture, the power system and other services by Hurricane Irma. Despite the all-encompassing preventive measures — including the evacuation of more than 1.7 million people — and the full cooperation of all citizens, we suffered the loss of 10 people.
The grave damage to services, the loss of social and personal goods, and the hardships endured by families that spent many hours without electricity and/or water only strengthened the unity and solidarity of our noble and heroic people. The moving scenes of rescuers saving a girl and returning her to her mother, a little boy picking up a bust of José Martí from the rubble, students helping families they had never met before, soldiers from the Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior doing the toughest jobs, and local leaders heading the most difficult tasks have become all too familiar.
During a visit to the area that suffered the most severe devastation, President Raúl Castro issued an appeal that read:
“These have been difficult days for our people, who, in just a few hours, have seen how what was built with great effort could be destroyed by a devastating hurricane. The images received during the past few hours are powerful, as is the spirit of resilience and victory of our people, who come back fighting in the face of every adversity.”
On behalf of the Government and the people of Cuba, l sincerely appreciate the genuine expressions of solidarity and affection expressed by numerous Governments, parliaments, international organizations and representatives of civil society. I would like to convey my profound gratitude for the numerous offers of assistance that we have received.
I still have vivid and emotional memories of the imposing presence of Fidel Castro Ruz, Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution, and the great validity of the ideas he expressed to the General Assembly. On behalf of our people and Government, I would like to express our gratitude for the expressions of respect, affection and admiration that we have received from so many.
Last Tuesday, President Donald Trump came here to convince us that he proposes to promote the prosperity of nations and persons. But in the real world the wealth possessed by eight men together is equivalent to the wealth shared by the 3.6 billion human beings who make up the poorest half of humanity. In terms of turnover, 69 of the 100 biggest entities in the world are transnational companies, not States. The turnover of the world’s 10 biggest corporations is higher than the public revenues earned by 180 countries combined. Seven hundred million people live in extreme poverty, and 21 million are victims of forced labour. In 2015, 5.9 million children died of preventable or curable diseases before reaching the age of 5. A total of 758 million adults are still illiterate.
Eight hundred and fifteen million people suffer from chronic hunger — tens of millions more than in 2015. Two billion are undernourished. Even if the precarious decreasing growth rate of recent years rebounds, 653 million persons will continue to face hunger by the year 2030. Given current trends, we will not be able to eradicate hunger by the year 2050.
There are 22.5 million refugees. Humanitarian tragedies associated with migrant flows are worsening and increasing amid the clearly unjust current international economic and political order. The construction of walls and barriers, as well as the laws and measures adopted to prevent the waves of refugees and migrants, have proved to be cruel and ineffective. There is a proliferation of exclusive and xenophobic policies that violate the human rights of millions of people and fail to solve the problems of underdevelopment, poverty and armed conflicts — the main causes of migration and refugee claims.
Military expenditures have increased to $1.7 trillion. That reality contradicts those who claim that there are not enough resources to eradicate poverty. Despite all the rhetoric, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development lacks the means for its implementation, owing to the egoism and lack of political will of the United States and other industrialized countries.
What is the miraculous solution that President Donald Trump recommends to us in the absence of the financial flows of the Marshall Plan? Who will contribute the resources for that? How can that be reconciled with the “America First” idea advanced by President Reagan decades ago and by Trump today? The President of the United States ignores and distorts history and believes that a chimera is a goal to be pursued. The production and consumption patterns of capitalism are unsustainable and irrational and will inexorably lead to the destruction of the environment and the end of the human species.
Can anyone forget about the consequences of colonialism, slavery, neocolonialism and imperialism? Could the several decades of bloody military dictatorships in Latin America be referred to as an example of successful capitalism? Does anyone know of any form of neoliberal capitalism that has benefited
17-29716 5/28 us all, as opposed to that which destroyed the Latin American economies in the 1980s?
It is urgent and essential for the United Nations to work to establish a new participatory, democratic, equitable and inclusive international economic order, as well as a new financial architecture. They must take into account the needs and particularities of developing countries and the asymmetries that exist in world trade and finance as a result of centuries of exploitation and plundering. Industrialized countries have the moral obligation, the historical responsibility and sufficient financial and technological means to do that.
However, not even the rich will be able to enjoy the forecast prosperity if climate change is not stopped. Cuba regrets the decision taken by the Government of the United States, which has historically been the principal greenhouse-gas-emitting country on the planet, to withdraw that country from the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In 2016, and for the third consecutive year, the records for the average global temperature increase have been broken, which confirms that climate change is a threat to the survival of humankind and the sustainable development of our peoples. We reiterate our solidarity with the small island developing States, especially those in the Caribbean and the Pacific, which are the most affected by climate change and for whom we request just, special and differentiated treatment. We also support the priority attention accorded to the needs of sub-Saharan Africa.
The United States Government has come here to tell us that, in addition to prosperity, the other two “beautiful pillars” of the international order are sovereignty and security. We all share the common responsibility of preserving the existence of human beings in the face of nuclear weapons. An important contribution to the achievement of that goal was the historic adoption and signing, under the auspices of the Assembly, of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which bans the existence, use and threat of use of such weapons, which have the capacity to annihilate the human species.
The United States has strongly opposed that treaty. It announced that it will invest $700 billion in military expenditures, and it is developing an extremely aggressive nuclear and military doctrine, based on the threat of the use of force and the use of force. NATO member States have violated international peace and security and international law by promoting military interventions and unconventional wars against sovereign States. As the Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro Ruz, pointed out:
“When this philosophy of despoilment disappears, the philosophy of war will have disappeared” (A/PV.872, para. 188).
The unlawful imposition of unilateral coercive measures and the use of financial, judicial, cultural and communication tools to destabilize Governments and deny peoples their right to self-determination have become commonplace. I believe that the militarization and the covert use of information and communication technologies to attack other States have increased, while several developed countries strongly oppose the adoption of international treaties that would regulate cooperation aimed at securing a safe cyberspace.
The President of the United States manipulates the concepts of sovereignty and security to his exclusive benefit and to the detriment of all others, including his allies. The attempt to resort to military threat and force in order to stop the irreversible global trend towards multipolarization and polycentrism will seriously jeopardize international peace and security, which should be defended and preserved through international efforts. The principles of sovereign equality, respect for the territorial integrity of States and non-interference in their internal affairs should be respected. The Charter of the United Nations and international law do not allow for reinterpretation.
United Nations reform should pursue the principal goal of responding to the pressing needs of people and the great disadvantaged majority. Multilateralism should be protected and reinforced so as to resist the imperial interests of domination and hegemony. The democratization of the Security Council, both in terms of its composition and its working methods, is a most urgent task. It is also essential to strengthen the General Assembly and recover the functions that have been usurped.
Patriotism, which was invoked in the statement of the United States, is a perversion of humanism and of love and loyalty to the homeland and the enrichment and defence of national and universal culture. It embodies an exceptionalist and supremacist vision of ignorant intolerance in the face of diverse political, economic, social and cultural models.
In developed countries, the loss of the legitimacy of political systems and parties has worsened, and voter abstention is on the rise. Legal and illegal corruption is spreading. There is the extreme case of the so-called special interests, or corporate payments, in exchange for benefits, in the country that spends the highest amount of money in electoral campaigns and where, paradoxically, a candidate with the lowest number of popular votes can be elected or be entitled to govern with the negligible support of voters.
There has been an increasing and unheard-of use of science and technology to exercise hegemony, mutilate national cultures and manipulate human behaviour, as in the case of so-called big data, or psychometry, used for political and advertising purposes. Seven Western consortiums keep strict control over what is being read, seen or heard on the planet. Technologies are being monopolized. The governance of digital networks is dictatorial and discriminatory, and despite appearances the digital divide between rich and poor countries is increasing. Opportunities and the rights of youth, migrants and workers are being curtailed, and their human rights are being openly and systematically violated.
The day before yesterday, the United States Vice-President, Michael Pence, ridiculously ignorant of the functions of the Security Council and attempting to establish new prerogatives, said that the Security Council should modify the composition and methods of the Human Rights Council, which “does not deserve its name” because “a clear majority of the Human Rights Council’s members fail to meet even the most basic human rights standards”.
I assume that Mr. Pence is not including his own country in that category, which in fact deserves to be included because of its pattern of the systematic violations of human rights, such as the use of torture, arbitrary detentions and imprisonment, as occurs in the Guantanamo naval base, the assassination of African Americans by law-enforcement agents, the killing of innocent civilians by its troops, xenophobia and repression against immigrants, including minors, and its limited compliance with international instruments.
We reaffirm our strongest condemnation of all forms and manifestations of terrorism, and we reject the application of double standards in combating them.
The urgent quest for a just and lasting solution to the conflict in the Middle East is based on the exercise of the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the existence of a free and independent State within the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The situation in the Western Sahara requires an effort, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, to ensure the Saharan people’s ability to exercise self- determination and to ensure respect for their legitimate right to live in peace in their own territory.
Cuba reaffirms its support for the quest for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the war in Syria, without any foreign interference and with full respect for its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Threats to international peace and security stemming from the expansion of NATO’s presence along the borders of Russia are on the rise. We continue to reject the unilateral and unjust sanctions imposed against that country.
We demand respect for the so-called nuclear agreement signed with the Islamic Republic of Iran.
We reject the threat to totally destroy the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, home to 25 million human beings. War is not an option on the Korean peninsula; it would threaten the existence of hundreds of millions of people in that area and in neighbouring countries, and it would lead to a nuclear conflagration of unpredictable consequences. Only through dialogue and negotiations will it be possible to achieve a lasting political solution, which should take into account the legitimate concerns of all parties involved. We support the total denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, without foreign interference, with full respect for the sovereign equality and territorial integrity of the States concerned and strict adherence to the principle of the non-use or threat of use of force.
Today, new threats are looming over peace and stability in Latin America and the Caribbean, in open disrespect for the Proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a Zone of Peace, signed in Havana by the Heads of State and Government of our region in January 2014 at the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States.
We reiterate the statement made on 14 July by President Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz concerning the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela:
“The aggression and putschist violence against Venezuela harms all of ‘Our America’ and only serves the interests of those set on dividing us in order to exercise their control over our peoples, unconcerned about causing conflicts of incalculable consequence in our region, such as those we are seeing in various parts of the world.
“Today, we have warned that those attempting to overthrow the Bolivarian and Chavista revolution through unconstitutional, violent and putschist methods will shoulder a serious responsibility in the eyes of history.”
We strongly reject the military threats against Venezuela, including the United States executive order that designates Venezuela a threat to the national security of the United States, and the unilateral, unjust and arbitrary sanctions applied against it.
We reiterate our unwavering solidarity with the Bolivarian and Chavista people and Government, and with its civic-military union led by Constitutional President Nicolás Maduro Moros. We denounce and condemn the Nicaraguan Investment Conditionality Act initiative promoted in the United States Congress as part of an interventionist approach intended to impose an economic embargo against the people and the Government of Nicaragua, to whom we reiterate our support.
We express our solidarity with former President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, victim of political persecution intended to prevent him, by means of judicial disqualification, from running for direct elections. Lula, President Dilma Rousseff, the Workers’ Party and the Brazilian people will always find Cuba on their side.
We reaffirm our historic commitment to the free determination and independence of the people of Puerto Rico.
We support the legitimate claim of Argentina for sovereignty over the Malvinas and the South Sandwich and South Georgia Islands.
Cuba will continue to contribute to the extent possible, and at the request of the parties involved, to efforts to achieve a stable and lasting peace in Colombia.
We will uphold our commitment to share our modest achievements with the peoples of the South, including the efforts of the 40,000 aid workers deployed in 64 countries, who are fighting today for the life and health of human beings.
On 16 June, the President of the United States, Mr. Donald Trump, announced the new Cuba policy of his Administration, which represents a setback in bilateral relations and undermines the basis established two years ago for a move towards a new type of relationship between our two countries that was characterized by respect and equality. The United States Government has decided to tighten the economic, commercial and financial embargo by imposing new obstacles to the already limited possibilities that the United States business community has to trade with and invest in Cuba as well as additional restrictions on United States citizens wishing to travel to our country.
Those decisions have ignored the support on the part of broad sectors in the United States, including the majority of Cuban émigrés, for the lifting of the blockade and the normalization of relations. They only serve the interests of a group of individuals of Cuban origin based in south Florida, which is an increasingly isolated minority group that insists on harming Cuba and its people for having decided to defend, at all costs, its right to be free, independent and sovereign. Today, we reiterate our condemnation of the measures aimed at tightening the blockade and reaffirm that any strategy intended to destroy the Cuban Revolution will fail. Likewise, we reject the manipulation of the human rights issue against Cuba, which has much to be proud of and has no need for lessons from the United States or from anyone else.
We wish to express our strongest condemnation of the disrespectful, offensive and interventionist statement against Cuba and the Cuban Government made three days ago from this rostrum by President Donald Trump. We remind him that the United States, where flagrant human rights violations raising deep concerns in the international community are being committed, does not have the slightest moral authority to judge my country. We reaffirm that Cuba will never accept any preconditions or impositions, nor will it ever renounce any of its principles.
With regard to the alleged incidents that have allegedly affected United States diplomatic officials in Havana, we categorically affirm that the Cuban Government rigorously and seriously abides by its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations to ensure the protection and integrity of all diplomats without exception, including those of the United States, and that Cuba has never perpetrated nor will it ever perpetrate actions of that sort, nor has it allowed nor will it ever allow its territory to be used by third parties for such purposes.
Based on the preliminary results of the investigation, carried out with priority and with a high technical component, following instructions issued from the highest level of our Government, the Cuban authorities, having taken into account data provided by United States authorities, have not found any evidence whatsoever that could confirm the cause or the origin of the health disorders referred by United States diplomats and their families. The investigation seeking to clarify that issue is ongoing, and in order to be able to reach a conclusion, it will be crucial to able to count on the cooperation of the United States authorities. It would be unfortunate if a matter of that nature were to become politicized.
As has been expressed by Cuban President Raúl Castro Ruz, Cuba is willing to continue negotiating all pending bilateral issues with the United States, on the basis of equality and absolute respect for the sovereignty and independence of our country. We will maintain a respectful dialogue and cooperation in areas of common interest with the United States Government. Cuba and the United States can cooperate and coexist, respecting our differences and promoting everything that benefits both countries and peoples, but no one should expect Cuba to make concessions that affect its sovereignty and independence.
The Cuban people will not cease their demand for the lifting and total elimination of the economic, commercial and financial blockade and will continue to denounce the strengthening of that policy. On November 1, Cuba will once again present to the General Assembly the annual draft resolution entitled “Necessity of ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States of America against Cuba”.
While inequality — the opulence of a few and the marginalization of many — is growing in today’s world, the Cuban people will keep up its struggle to achieve the most just society possible. We will continue to steadily advance down the path of revolutionary transformation that has been sovereignly chosen by all Cubans to further improve our socialism.


I wish to express my sincere condolences to the Government and the citizens of Dominica and the Caribbean region, who are suffering from the destruction caused by the hurricanes. Switzerland will support the region.
Since the year 2000, humankind has made remarkable progress in the fight against these major scourges: hunger, extreme poverty and difficulties in accessing education. But famine still affects 800 million people in the world, and every 10 seconds a child dies from malnutrition. Other challenges include climate change, global inequality, conflict and humanitarian disasters, as well as forced displacement and migration. No country, no actor on the world stage is in a position to find, alone, the answers to the challenges of today. They are too large. They are too complex. They transcend borders, and they concern the entire international community.
We therefore need a forum where we can meet. We need a forum where we can develop solutions and monitor their implementation. We need an actor with the necessary legitimacy to contribute to the implementation of these solutions on the ground.
I would like to recall Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations. The purpose of the United Nations is to maintain international peace and security and, to that end, to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace. Collective, not individual. Because I am a patriot and because I defend, as the President of Switzerland, the interests of my country, we need a strong multilateral system. We need a strong United Nations.
In other words, we need the United Nations, and we need a strong United Nations. The fact that we must be reminded of that is a sign that should put us on alert. In order to preserve and strengthen the capacity of the United Nations, we must invest ceaselessly. Switzerland is actively involved in that regard. Investment in substantive issues is a top priority. It is important that we place at the heart of the activities of the United Nations the issues that will be of fundamental importance, tomorrow as today.
In that regard, the States Members of the United Nations have made important strides in recent years. I am thinking, of course, of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and of the desire to transfer resources from post-conflict management to prevention, in order to intensify peacebuilding activities. In those areas, it is necessary to make progress towards the objectives set. In that respect, the 2030 Agenda offers a good example. Its success will be measured by the yardstick of its implementation.
Important steps have also been taken within the United Nations. Switzerland welcomes in particular the reforms of the United Nations system that Secretary- General Guterres is working to achieve in the three areas of peace and security, development and management.
With regard to peace and security, Switzerland supports the priority that the Secretary-General gives to prevention for a very simple reason. When a conflict arises, the price to pay — humanitarian, economic and financial — is much higher than the cost of prevention activities. In order to strengthen conflict prevention, it is essential to promote human rights. Switzerland calls on all States to support the appeal of 13 June, which calls for human rights to be at the core of conflict prevention. Increasing mediation capabilities is another important means of preventing conflicts. In addition, the Global High-level Panel on Water and Peace, launched at the initiative of Switzerland, proposed yesterday, here in New York, measures to better prevent water- related conflicts. The United Nations and regional organizations can play a major role in that regard.
Switzerland is actively committed to the non-proliferation and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, the use of which would have catastrophic humanitarian consequences. It is convinced that only negotiations and a diplomatic process will lead to a solution to the security situation posed by the nuclear crisis on the Korean peninsula.
Trust is another important aspect. If an actor is to be able to take effective preventive measures, that actor needs to be trusted. For the United Nations, this means that the quality of the partnership established with the host State concerned and its population is of paramount importance. Sexual exploitation and sexual abuse break this relationship of trust. That is why Switzerland supports the Secretary-General’s action against all forms of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation committed by United Nations staff in the field. As part of its commitment to that issue, Switzerland will contribute to the Trust Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
With regard to the United Nations development system, we welcome the proposal to further encourage joint initiatives by the various entities of the Organization.
Allow me to mention two examples of areas where we face major challenges: migration and digital technology.
By the end of 2016, the number of displaced persons across the world had reached a level not seen since the Second World War. The majority of them have been displaced in their own country. In Europe, for example, we must succeed in finding a solution based on solidarity between countries, and we must stabilize the political situation in Libya. Switzerland is working to ensure that the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration addresses not only the challenges caused by international migration, but also its opportunities. The road ahead remains long. It is necessary that all States participate in that work. We are pleased to be able to contribute concretely to its success thanks to the involvement our Permanent Representative in New York’s as a co-facilitator of the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.
Another topical challenge is the advent of digital technology, which is dramatically transforming the world. It represents a great opportunity, but also a cross-border challenge. Topics such as access to the Internet for all and the impact of digitization on sustainable development, as well as cybersecurity, should be addressed together. The twelfth Internet Governance Forum, which Switzerland will host in Geneva in December, will provide an opportunity to discuss those issues.
So as to maintain the capacity of the United Nations, we must also invest in the relevant processes — because the United Nations stands out as much by its areas of work as by its methods of work. Effective and modern management is needed to ensure the robustness of the United Nations system. Reforms in management are therefore essential.
In our interconnected world, dialogue is essential. Dialogue requires the time and involvement of all parties. It has to be conducted on a broad basis and involve all the relevant actors. For example, it appears that political dialogue among States is insufficient with regard to combating climate change. Extreme weather events, such as hurricanes, clearly show that the Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change must be implemented quickly. Scientists believe that if nothing is done, such phenomena will become a new reality with which we will have to deal. The private sector, whose role in innovation, progress and development is essential, is involved, for example, in developing solutions, in consultation with the scientific community and the political sphere. Scientific diplomacy and exchanges with scientists allow us to make the right decisions. As policymakers, we must base our decisions on established facts.
Switzerland is firmly convinced of the importance of investing in a well-functioning multilateral system, particularly in an efficient United Nations. Confronted by current challenges, and in the interconnected world that is ours, the notion of “every man for himself” is not a feasible option.


I bring greetings from the Government and the people of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. I wish at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session and to assure you of my delegation’s full support as you carry out your duties.
Permit me also to extend congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Peter Thomson, President of the General Assembly at its seventy-first session. President Thomson ably steered the deliberations on many pressing matters during this past year. As a representative of Fiji, he proved once again that small island nations continue to make significant contributions to matters of global relevance.
I also extend a warm welcome to Secretary-General Guterres as he assumes leadership of the Organization. His Excellency has come to the helm at a critical time in our collective history, and we are confident that his competence, coupled with his political and diplomatic experience, will enable him to chart the course of the Organization towards a sustainable and peaceful future for all. I assure His Excellency of my Government’s fullest support and commitment.
My delegation also expresses appreciation to former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his sterling service and wishes him well in his future endeavours.
The world has gathered here in New York at the seventy-second session of the General Assembly under the theme “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”. The theme is comprehensive, yet simple; concise, yet inclusive; and it encompasses pivotal and pertinent areas for international reflection at this critical juncture in our history.
Permit me to begin where the theme ends — a sustainable planet. I choose to do so because of the experience that I and members of our Caribbean civilization had immediately prior to leaving our countries to attend this session of the General Assembly. In the space of two weeks, we braced ourselves for the three hurricanes Irma, Jose and Maria. Two of these, Irma and Maria, descended on our region as category 5 hurricanes and, in the case of Irma, as the most powerful storm in recorded history in the Atlantic. I pause to reflect on the fact that the hurricane season of 2017 is not yet over and that the Caribbean will face similar threats each and every year.
In the aftermath, we were faced with the tragic destruction of life, property and infrastructure in Antigua and Barbuda, Anguilla, Saint Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Sint Maarten, the British Virgin Islands, the United States Virgin Islands, Cuba, the Turks and Caicos islands, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic, Guadeloupe and Dominica. Irma then made landfall in Florida in the United States, where, like Hurricane Harvey before it in Texas and Louisiana, millions of people were subject to damage and destruction.
I have highlighted the various countries and territories that suffered the most devastation, but my own beloved country of Saint Kitts and Nevis was not without injury. We, too, saw damage to our power grid, our roads, our agriculture and fisheries sector and to the homes of our people. Indeed, on 19 September, the day we should have been celebrating the thirty-fourth anniversary of our independence as a nation, Saint Kitts and Nevis was locked down under assault from Hurricane Maria.
The carnage in a wide swath of the Caribbean is unimaginable. Lives have been lost, homes and infrastructure destroyed, economies reduced to tatters, and years of development wiped out; in the case of Barbuda, an entire island was evacuated and rendered uninhabited and uninhabitable for the first time in 300 years. It is worthy of note that the carnage caused by Hurricanes Irma and Maria took but a few days. In just a few days and in many countries a mere few hours, the world had front-row seats to the most horrific destruction ever seen in our beloved Caribbean region.
We have in this Hall heard the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda speak solemnly of the utter destruction of Barbuda (see A/72/PV.14). It was only today that we stood in anguished silence as the Prime Minister of Dominica recounted the near total destruction of his beautiful country and the tragic loss of life (see A/72/PV.19). Their first-hand accounts would move even the coldest hearts to tears.
We today extend our deep condolences to our brothers and sisters and continue to keep them in our prayers. But even as we do so, we also remember the victims of the three horrific earthquakes in Mexico and those in Japan and New Zealand. Our thoughts and prayers are also with the Governments and the peoples of those countries.
The time has now come for the world to treat these phenomena not as natural disasters but as the man-made disasters that they are. The science is irrefutable. Our oceans continue to get warmer due to our continued abuse of our planet Earth. Warmer oceans feed and create horrific storms such as Irma and Maria. Now more than ever, we bear witness to the compelling need to support the call for a reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions and all other actions and behaviours that aggravate the effects of climate change.
Climate change for us in the Caribbean is not a matter for academic rumination. The humanitarian crisis unfolding in the Caribbean in the wake of Hurricanes Irma and Maria is stark testimony to the fact that climate change is not only real but poses an existential threat to our peoples, our countries and our civilization. The world has deliberated and negotiated. We have made commitments and signed multiple agreements, most recently the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, but the time for more urgent, concrete, tangible and collective action is now.
It is the most cruel irony of our times that we in the Caribbean, who are least responsible for climate change, are the ones most disastrously affected by it. We are not major polluters, but we bear the brunt of the effects of pollution. In every sense, small vulnerable States like Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and my own Saint Kitts and Nevis continue to be asked by the world to cash a cheque we did not write. In order to attain a sustainable planet, those most responsible for climate change through their greenhouse gas emissions and other environmentally harmful practices must shoulder the responsibility of arresting and ameliorating the consequences. We cannot continue to abuse our planet and expect to remain unscathed.
The people of Saint Kitts and Nevis call upon the global community to pledge itself to pursue renewable energy with greater alacrity. We must invest in better and stronger homes and buildings. We must grow our economies to allow us greater financial resilience and flexibility. The people of Saint Kitts and Nevis and of our Caribbean deserve and demand the same fundamental right to life and security of our way of life as others anywhere else. I ask the global community to lend its collective voice so that together we can create a glorious symphony for change — change that will ensure a sustainable planet for all. In this regard, I call on the community of nations to mobilize the resources necessary to ensure the speedy reconstruction of those countries devastated by Hurricanes Irma and Maria.
My delegation unreservedly condemns the sterile analysis of gross domestic product per capita, which has been used by international agencies to tell our small island developing States that we are now middle- and high-income countries and therefore locked out of accessing development assistance or affordable financing. It is a travesty and a tragedy for the world community to witness such destruction caused by forces entirely outside the control of Caribbean nations and then refuse to allow those very nations access to the resources necessary to rebuild. There has to be a more sensible and just model that takes into account the special vulnerability of small island States.
Saint Kitts and Nevis therefore joins others in demanding that a vulnerability index be developed as part of the matrix for accessing development assistance. We of the Caribbean, already caught in the debt trap, cannot be forced to borrow commercially at high interest rates to rebuild destroyed lives after each disaster. This is and must be a moral imperative for us all in the wake of the destruction seen in the Caribbean.
And rebuild we must. Countries such as Dominica have no safe zones or other geographic areas to which populations can be relocated. A hurricane of the scale of Irma and Maria devastates entire countries. We of the Caribbean are a proud and resilient people. The world must not stand by and allow the evils of climate change to force Caribbean people to become climate refugees. We must rebuild, and we require the community of nations to partner with us in this rebuilding effort.
In the fight against the disastrous effects of climate change, allow me to commend the work of many international agencies and organizations, as well as non-governmental actors. My country is especially heartened by the work being undertaken by the Commonwealth and its leadership. It follows that if we are to achieve a sustainable planet, it requires an all- hands-on-deck approach. From the onset, there must be buy-in from all stakeholders. No one should be left out, and therefore this calls for inclusiveness, unity and appreciation of the input and contributions that all can make to achieving the world we want.
This brings me to the first part of our theme — focusing on people. There can be no debate that our people are our primary resource. It is no marvel, therefore, that Governments allocate a large percentage of their budgets to developing their human capital and expend great effort to ensure that they meet the basic needs of their populace. Governments that fail to provide for their people and that ill-treat, abuse and oppress their people must be rightly ostracized by the international community.
Our world comprises all kinds of people, but I wish to highlight the youth — a sector of all our populations on which the global community must increase its focus. I commend the United Nations on its unflinching efforts to draw attention to our youth. Indeed, it was more than two decades ago that the General Assembly adopted the World Programme of Action for Youth to the Year 2000 and Beyond.
Young people constitute 18 per cent of the global population. Young people and children together account for nearly 40 per cent of the world’s population. Young people are not just our future; they are our present. Globally, Governments must do all they can to provide institutions and opportunities for learning and development, create employment and prepare young people for and steer them towards entrepreneurial endeavours. But Governments cannot do it alone. We therefore use this forum to call upon the business community, as well as non-governmental agencies and actors, to provide our young people with viable options and opportunities for gainful employment and social and economic advancement. We cannot speak of attaining the Sustainable Development Goals without a focus on our youth.
A vital element of a sustainable planet is peace. It behoves us all, nations great and small, to work towards the achievement of that essential universal value. Regrettably, while in some countries citizens are forced to engage in a daily struggle for survival, braving the scorching sun and bitter cold to labour for less than $1 per day, other countries are expending billions of dollars on developing weapons of war and mass destruction. While some Governments are allocating large sums to secure a future for their women and young people, others are investing in tools of war. While the budgets alone of some Governments will be inadequate to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, others are using multiple times those budgets in developing nuclear warheads. In order to attain a sustainable planet, our priorities must be synchronized, harmonized and synergized. Our goal must be the preservation and conservation not only of our natural resources, but also of our human resources.
My delegation condemns unreservedly the actions that have led to heightened tensions on the Korean peninsula and calls on all countries to respect and honour their solemn commitments under international law. We condemn all actions that encourage violence and disrupt peace. There can be no place in today’s world for war and violence. We therefore join the international community in demanding diplomacy and dialogue instead of sabre-rattling and warmongering.
Saint Kitts and Nevis stands proudly with our Caribbean and Latin American neighbours as a zone of peace and exhorts all members of the community of nations to expend every effort to create and promote peace.
The theme of the current session makes a clarion call not only to strive for peace, but also to strive for a decent life for all. No boy, no girl, no man, no woman, no person should be left behind. We must work together to reduce poverty and hunger, promote justice and equality, and ensure that our people have access to health care and economic opportunity. In that global effort, we must be inclusive and each and every country must be allowed to play its part. No one nation can do it alone. Human suffering anywhere is human suffering everywhere. We must build partnerships and ensure the contribution of all the populations of our planet Earth. All must be allowed to sit at the table of brotherhood and contribute to finding lasting solutions to the problems that we face.
In that regard, we call on the international community yet again to look at our dear friend, Taiwan — a modern country of 23 million people that has had tremendous successes in technology, agriculture, health, and renewable energy; a country that is a model of peace and security. Saint Kitts and Nevis has experienced first-hand the benefits of partnership with Taiwan. There is much that it can offer, and we lose collectively when we seek to isolate and prevent our fellow nations from having a seat at the international table. Saint Kitts and Nevis continues its unwavering support for the Government and the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan to be included in the United Nations and other international agencies. There is much that we can learn from Taiwan, and we can no longer afford to ignore the voices of its 23 million people.
In equal measure, we call yet again for the lifting of the more than 50-year embargo against our Caribbean sister Cuba. The Cuban people are a noble people who have demonstrated their resilience despite insurmountable odds. Their leadership in health and humanitarian assistance to Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America is well known. The Cuban people ask only to be given a fair chance to live their lives in dignity and peace.
In closing, I acknowledge that the task ahead of navigating the many complex issues of the international community will not be easy. However, we remain firm believers in collective strength and collective effort. The journey to a sustainable planet and a future for all is attainable. Throughout history, we have achieved more together than we have ever achieved alone. Whether we are small islands; land-locked, mountainous, desert or ice-capped States; whether we are super- Powers or powerless, we are all better and the United Nations becomes a better Organization when we work together. Alone we can do little, but together we can achieve much.
The challenges that we face globally — from climate change to refugees to war and violence — require urgent action now. The world does not have the luxury of time. We have talked. We have debated. We have postulated and hypothesized. We have studied and analysed. We must now act. In that regard, I can find no more elegant prose than that of American civil-rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr., who said:
“We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and positive action.”


We are in the midst of a great revolution — a revolution in Israel’s standing among the nations. It is happening because so many countries around the world have finally woken up to what Israel can do for them. Those countries now recognize what brilliant investors like Warren Buffett and great companies like Google and Intel have recognized and known for years, that is, that Israel is the innovation nation, the place for cutting-edge technology in agriculture, in water, in cybersecurity, in medicine, in autonomous vehicles. You name it, we have got it.
Those countries now also recognize Israel’s exceptional capabilities in fighting terrorism. In recent years, Israel has provided intelligence that has prevented dozens of major terrorist attacks around the world. We have saved countless lives. Members may not know it, but their Governments do. And they are working closely together with Israel to keep their countries and its citizens safe.
I stood here last year, at this rostrum, and I spoke about that profound change in Israel’s standing around the world (see A/71/PV.14). Just look at what has happened since. In one year, hundreds of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and other leaders have visited Israel — many for the first time. Of those many visits, two were truly historic. In May, President Trump became the first American President to include Israel in his first visit abroad. President Trump stood at the Western Wall, at the foot of the Temple Mount, where the Jewish people’s temples stood for nearly 1,000 years. When the President touched those ancient stones, he touched our hearts forever.
In July, Prime Minister Modi became the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. Some here may have seen the pictures. We were on a beach in Hadera. We rode together in a Jeep outfitted with a portable desalination device that some thriving Israeli entrepreneur invented. We took off our shoes, waded into the Mediterranean and drank seawater that had been purified only a few minutes earlier. We imagined the endless possibilities for Israel, for India and for all of humankind.
In the past year, Israel has hosted many world leaders. I had the honour of representing my country on six different continents in one year. I went to Africa, where I saw Israeli innovators increasing crop yields, turning air into water, fighting AIDS. I went to Asia, where we deepened our relations with China and Singapore, and expanded our cooperation with our Muslim friends in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. I went to Europe, where, in London and Paris, Thessaloniki and Budapest we enhanced our security and economic ties. I went to Australia, becoming the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit our great allies down under. And just last week, I went to South America, visiting Argentina and Colombia, and then I went on to Mexico — becoming, if members can believe it, the first Israeli Prime Minister to visit Latin America. After 70 years, the world is embracing Israel, and Israel is embracing the world.
In one year, I visited six continents. It is true that I have not yet visited Antarctica, but I want to go there too, because I have heard that penguins are also enthusiastic supporters of Israel. Members laugh. But penguins have no difficulty recognizing that some things are black or white, are right or wrong. Unfortunately, when it comes to United Nations decisions about Israel, that simple recognition is too often absent. It was absent last December, when the Security Council adopted anti-Israel resolution 2334 (2016), which set back the cause of peace.
It was absent last May, when the World Health Organization — one has to listen to this — adopted a Syrian-sponsored draft resolution that criticized Israel for health conditions on the Golan Heights. As the great John McEnroe would say, “You cannot be serious!” That is preposterous. Syria has barrel-bombed, starved, gassed and murdered hundreds of thousands of its own citizens, and wounded millions more, while Israel has provided life-saving medical care to thousands of Syrian victims of that very same carnage. Yet who does the World Health Organization criticize? Israel.
Is there no limit to United Nations absurdities when it comes to Israel? Apparently not, because in July, UNESCO declared the Tomb of the Patriarchs in Hebron a Palestinian World Heritage Site. That is worse than fake news; that is fake history. While it is true that Abraham, the father of both Ishmael and Isaac, is buried there, so are Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca and Leah — who just happen to be patriarchs and matriarchs of the Jewish people. Members will not read about that in the latest UNESCO report. But if members want to read about it, they can in a somewhat weightier publication. It is called the Bible. I highly recommend it. I hear it got four and a half out of five stars on Amazon, and it is a great read. I read it every week.
Let me now be serious. Despite the absurdities, despite the repetition of those farcical events, there is change. Slowly, but surely, there are signs of positive change — even at the United Nations. I very much appreciate the statement of the Secretary-General, indicating that denying Israel’s right to exist is anti-Semitism — pure and simple. That is important, because for too long the epicentre of global anti-semitism has been right here at the United Nations. And while it
may take many years, I am absolutely confident that the revolution of Israel’s ties with individual nations will ultimately be reflected here in this Hall of nations. I say that because there is also a marked change in the position of some of our key friends. Thanks to President Trump’s unequivocal support for Israel in this organ, that positive change is gathering force. I thank President Trump for supporting Israel at the United Nations, and I thank Ambassador Nikki Haley for her support. I thank them for speaking the truth about Israel.
Here at the United Nations we must also speak the truth about Iran, as President Trump did so powerfully this morning. I served as Ambassador to the United Nations and I am a long-serving Israeli Prime Minister, so I have listened to countless speeches in this Hall. But I can say this — none were bolder, none were more courageous and forthright, than the one delivered by President Trump today. President Trump rightly called the nuclear deal with Iran “an embarrassment”. I could not agree with that more. Here is why — Iran vows to destroy my country every day. That vow was repeated by its Chief of Staff the other day. Iran is conducting a campaign of conquest across the Middle East. And Iran is developing ballistic missiles to threaten the entire world.
Two years ago, I stood here and explained why the Iranian nuclear deal not only did not block Iran’s path to the bomb, but actually paved it. That is because the restrictions placed on Iran’s nuclear programme have what is called a “sunset clause”. Let me explain what that term means. It means that in a few years those restrictions will be automatically removed, not by a change in Iran’s behaviour, not by a lessening of its terror or its aggression, but merely by a change in the calendar. I warned that when that sunset came, a dark shadow would be cast over the entire Middle East and the world — because Iran would then be free to enrich uranium on an industrial scale, placing it on the threshold of a massive arsenal of nuclear weapons.
That is why I said two years ago that the greater danger was not that Iran would rush to a single bomb by breaking the deal, but that Iran would be able to build many bombs by keeping the deal. In the past few months we have all seen how dangerous even a few nuclear weapons can be in the hands of a small rogue regime. Imagine the danger of hundreds of nuclear weapons in the hands of a vast Iranian Islamist empire, with the missiles to deliver them anywhere on Earth. I know that there are those who still defend the dangerous deal with Iran, arguing that it will block Iran’s path to the bomb. That is exactly what they said about the nuclear deal with North Korea, and we all know how that turned out. Unfortunately, if nothing changes, this deal will turn out exactly the same way.
That is why Israel’s policy regarding the nuclear deal with Iran is very simple — change it or cancel it, fix it or nix it. Nixing the deal means restoring massive pressure on Iran, including crippling sanctions, until Iran fully dismantles its nuclear-weapon capabilities. Fixing the deal requires many things, among them inspecting military sites and any other site that is suspect, and penalizing Iran for every violation. Above all, fixing the deal means getting rid of the sunset clause. Beyond fixing this bad deal, we must also stop Iran’s development of ballistic missiles and roll back its growing aggression in the region.
I remember we have had these debates. As members know, I took a fairly active role in them. Many supporters of the deal naively believed that it would somehow moderate Iran and make it a “responsible” member of the international community. I strongly disagreed. I warned that, when the sanctions on Iran would be removed, Iran would behave like a hungry tiger unleashed — not joining the community of nations, but devouring nations one after the other. That is precisely what Iran is doing today. From the Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, from Tehran to Tartus, an Iranian curtain is descending across the Middle East. Iran spreads that curtain of tyranny and terror over Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and elsewhere. And it pledges to extinguish the light of Israel. Today I have a simple message for Ayatollah Khamenei, the dictator of Iran: the light of Israel will never be extinguished.
Those who threaten us with annihilation put themselves in mortal peril. Israel will defend itself with the full force of our arms and the full power of our convictions. We will act to prevent Iran from establishing permanent military bases in Syria for its air, sea and ground forces. We will act to prevent Iran from producing deadly weapons, in Syria or in Lebanon, for use against us. And we will act to prevent Iran from opening new terror fronts against Israel along our northern border. As long as Iran’s regime seeks the destruction of Israel, Iran will face no fiercer enemy than Israel.
But I also have a message today for the people of Iran, who are not our enemy. They are our friends. One day my Iranian friends will be free from the evil regime that terrorizes them, hangs gays, jails journalists, tortures political prisoners and shoots innocent women like Neda Soltani, leaving her choking on her own blood on the streets of Tehran. I have not forgotten Neda, and I am sure that neither have members. When the day of liberation for the people of Iran finally comes, the friendship between our two ancient peoples will surely flourish once again.
Israel knows that we are not alone in confronting the Iranian regime. We stand shoulder to shoulder with those in the Arab world who share our hopes for a brighter future. We have made peace with Jordan and Egypt, whose courageous President, Mr. Abdel Fattah Al Sisi, I met here last night. I appreciate President Al Sisi’s support for peace, and I hope to work closely with him and other leaders in the region to advance peace. Israel is committed to achieving peace with all of our Arab neighbours, including the Palestinians.
Yesterday President Trump and I discussed all of this at great length. I appreciate President Trump’s leadership, his commitment to stand by Israel’s side, his commitment to advance a peaceful future for all. Together, we can seize the opportunities for peace and together we can confront the great dangers of Iran. The remarkable alliance between the United States and Israel has never been stronger and never been deeper. Israel is deeply grateful for the support of the Trump Administration, the American Congress and the American people.
In this year of historic visits and historic anniversaries, Israel has much to be grateful for. A hundred and twenty years ago, Theodor Herzl convened the first Zionist Congress to transform our tragic past into a brilliant future by establishing the Jewish State. One hundred years ago, the Balfour Declaration advanced Herzl’s vision by recognizing the right of the Jewish people to a national home in our ancestral homeland. Seventy years ago, the United Nations further advanced that vision by adopting resolution 181 (II), supporting the establishment of a Jewish State. Fifty years ago, we reunited our eternal capital — Jerusalem — achieving a miraculous victory against those who sought to destroy our State. Theodor Herzl was our modern Moses, and his dream has come true. We have returned to the promised land, revived our language, ingathered our exiles and built a modern, thriving democracy.
Tomorrow evening Jews around the world will celebrate Rosh Hashanah, the beginning of our new year. It is a time of reflection, and we look back with wonder at the remarkable and miraculous rebirth of our nation. We look ahead with pride to the remarkable contributions Israel will continue to make to all nations. A simple look around will reveal those contributions every day — in the food people eat, the water they drink, the medicines they take, the cars they drive, the cell phones they use and in so many other ways that are transforming our world. It can be seen in the smile of an African mother in a remote village who, thanks to an Israeli innovation, no longer must walk eight hours a day to bring water to her children. It can be seen in the eyes of an Arab child who has flown to Israel to undergo a lifesaving heart operation. And it can be seen in the faces of the people in earthquake-stricken Haiti and Nepal, who are rescued from the rubble and given new life by Israeli doctors.
As the prophet Isaiah said: “I have made you a light unto the nations, to be My salvation to the ends of the Earth.” Today, 2,700 years after Isaiah spoke those prophetic words, Israel is becoming a rising power among the nations. And, at long last, its light is shining across the continents, bringing hope and salvation to the ends of the Earth. Happy new year from Israel.


At the outset, let me express my deepest condolences and sympathy to the victims of the natural disasters that have affected North America over the past several days, including the hurricanes that have devastated Caribbean island nations and parts of the United States and the earthquakes that have impacted Mexico. We convey our solidarity to the Governments and the peoples of those nations during these difficult times. No country, including Georgia, is immune from natural disasters. Solidarity is what strengthens nations when addressing such severe challenges.
My fellow countrymen share with me the honour of addressing the General Assembly today, because the message that I have been entrusted to deliver is one that they understand in their bones, having personally experienced it, lived it and embraced it. That message — their message — is straightforward: by putting Georgian citizens at the centre of our strategy, we aim to further strengthen democratic institutions, ensure peace and accelerate economic growth. Those are the essential multipliers for sustainable development, a project that connects us with the region and the world.
This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Georgia’s membership in the United Nations. During that period, we have managed to transform our country from a recipient of United Nations humanitarian aid to a top reformer that was recently elected as Chair of the Open Government Partnership. Georgia brings to that task the same vision that it espouses for itself: putting its citizens at the centre of its priorities. Georgia’s chairship of the Open Government Partnership will support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially Goal 16, on promoting peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, providing access to justice for all and building effective, accountable and inclusive institutions.
In implementing the SDGs by incorporating them into our national policies, we have seen the need for the institutional reform of the United Nations, and we support the new vision of Secretary-General Guterres as reflected in the Declaration of Support, to which we recently subscribed. When I spoke before the Assembly last year (see A/71/PV.13), Georgia was heading into
This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-0506 (verbatimrecords@un.org). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org).
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general elections. That resulted in our people entrusting us with increased support to lead the country. The people saw two things. First, they saw that we are committed to making democratic rights and security the key drivers of all our policies. Secondly, they saw that we offer a clear path for further reforms.
Our citizens feel the changes that international institutions have been clearly referring to. Georgia has advanced in all international rankings over the past five years. The Fraser Institute ranks the Georgian economy as the fifth freest in the world. We have come to grips with corruption. The Heritage Foundation ranked Georgia thirty-first in terms of freedom from corruption in 2017, an improvement from its ranking of sixty-ninth in 2012. Transparency International echoed that progress in 2016 by ranking Georgia first in the region in that regard. We have prioritized the protection of property rights. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2016-2017 has raised Georgia’s ranking by 77 since 2012. We are committed to an independent judiciary. The World Economic Forum ranks Georgia at sixty-third in that regard, an increase in rankings of 28. In the critical area of law enforcement and physical security, the World Bank ranks Georgia twenty-sixth with respect to combating organized crime, an increase in rankings of 41.
We are not making merely cosmetic changes. We promised our people that we would introduce a parliamentary system and improve our Constitution so as to conform to the best European standards. In addition to addressing numerous contradictions in the current Constitution, the new draft introduces many new progressive initiatives, such as the right to physical integrity, the rights of persons with disabilities, the right to access to the Internet, environmental protections and many more that are in line with the recommendations of the European Commission for Democracy through Law, also know as the Venice Commission. Those commitments reflect Georgians’ aspirations to attain full membership in the European Union and NATO. Georgians understand that to be their destiny, as Georgia has long been an integral part of Europe’s broad cultural and historical tapestry.
In parallel with constitutional reform, we began implementing our four-point economic reform plan aimed at ensuring quick economic growth. We launched an ambitious education reform in order to facilitate links between the educational system and industry and develop demand-based higher and professional
2/42 17-29597 education and enhance the economic skills and capacity of the labour force.
Living in an innovative society is a key to success for our talented young people. We are further investing in our national ecosystem and in integrating it into the global one so as to open doors and build bridges connecting our innovators with world markets.
Prudent macroeconomic policy has been the foundation of our success in the region’s turbulent economic environment. The World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report has advanced Georgia by 97 places in the rankings since 2012. This month, Moody’s upgraded the sovereign credit rating of Georgia to Ba2, acknowledging that Georgia has successfully overcome the regional shock of 2014-2016.
In order to increase incentives to invest in Georgia, we have implemented a bold taxation reform, which includes abolishing the profit tax on undistributed earnings and liberalizing the tax administration system. We anticipate up to 5 per cent economic growth this year, rising to 7 per cent and higher in the coming years.
We are committed to upgrading Georgia’s infrastructure. That is important in order for Georgia to realize its geostrategic aim of serving as a hub for doing business in the region, connecting East and West. Upgrading our infrastructure is essential so as to ensure the rapid delivery of services, achieve efficiency in tourism and logistics, and effectively take goods to market. We see that as a powerful way to create employment that pulls people out of poverty. We have agreed to a multi-year programme with the International Monetary Fund and have secured financing for projects worth several billion dollars from international financial organizations.
Georgia, like Ukraine and Moldova, has signed an Association Agreement with a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area agreement with the European Union (EU) and has secured visa-free travel to the EU. At the same time, Georgia has become the first country in the region to sign a free-trade agreement with China. On the one hand, we are integrating into the EU internal market and, on the other hand, we are bringing Asian markets closer to us. That enables Georgia to use the full potential of its free trade networks as part of one of the most exciting development ventures of our time.
We are contributing to the One Belt, One Road project, which will facilitate trade in high-value
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goods and services between Europe and Asia, cutting significant time from the length of traditional seaborne transport around the peripheries of Eurasia. Asia and Europe will meet in that grand adventure through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, which we are implementing together with our Turkish and Azeri partners, and Georgia’s new state-of-the-art port on the Black Sea at Anaklia. That deep-water port will be capable of handling the largest container ships, which will result in a multifold increase of Georgia’s cargo- transit capacity. Anaklia will be developed by multiple international players and will be operated by a well- known American company.
Georgia is now less than 10 days from East Asia and within five days of any point in Europe. We are creating an efficient multimodal transit infrastructure that will forge links and processes, and will cement relationships among States and people from Europe to Asia. It represents the fundamental connection between building economic stability for Georgian citizens and achieving a more prosperous and peaceful region.
In a world full of challenges — hot and frozen conflicts, State and non-State aggressions — Georgia is no exception. And here, too, we have put our citizens at the centre of our strategy. United Nations Members are well aware that the Russian Federation continues to occupy two historical regions of Georgia’s sovereign territory in violation of its many international obligations, including dozens of Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.
Since the beginning of 2017, the Russian Federation has intensified its policy of occupation and factual annexation of the Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali/South Ossetia. It has implemented so-called integration treaties and signed so-called agreements with de facto authorities to absorb Georgia’s occupied regions into Russia’s military, political, economic and social systems. It has also accelerated its military build-up in both of the occupied regions of Georgia. The Russian Federation has intensified the fortification of the occupation lines by installing razor-wire fences, trenches, so-called border signs and other artificial barriers. Families have even endured having razor- wire fences cut through their dwellings and farmyards. Vulnerable groups, such as people in need of medical care and schoolchildren crossing to get an education in their native language, which is prohibited in the occupied regions, have been blocked by closed crossing points. Meanwhile, Russia continues to install motion
17-29597 3/42 detectors and other technologies in order to assert full control of all crossings along the occupation line.
Georgia is firmly committed to the peaceful resolution of the Russia-Georgia conflict. The Georgian Government complies with the EU-mediated ceasefire agreement. It has many times reaffirmed its adherence to the legally binding non-use of force. Russia has not reciprocated. Georgia’s consistent efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict are reflected in the testimonies of many countries and international organizations. I would like to thank world leaders for addressing the need of accelerating peaceful conflict resolution and for supporting Georgia’s territorial integrity and sovereignty during this general debate.
Every year, the General Assembly adopts a resolution reiterating the right of return of all internally displaced persons and refugees to the occupied regions. Georgians are grateful for the support of the United Nations, but the resolutions have not translated into reality for hundreds of thousands of my compatriots waiting to return to their homes, simply because one State Member of the United Nations refuses to comply with its international obligations.
The Government of Georgia is providing new instruments to rebuild trust with our compatriots living across the occupation line. We are determined to make the benefits of Georgia’s European agenda available to the people on the other side of occupation line. Our substantial package of initiatives for those under occupation include providing opportunities for trans-administrative borderline trade and access to Georgia’s free trade opportunities in the global marketplace. We also offer them health care, education and other social benefits.
Despite the challenges we face, Georgia is a significant contributor to Euro-Atlantic security. Our strategic partnership with the United States has proved to be key for our development and stability, and we are committed to deepening those ties further. The EU Global Strategy has recognized Georgia’s success as a prosperous, peaceful and stable democracy and as a significant contributor in its neighbourhood.
We continue our active participation in international operations, including in Afghanistan and in the European crisis-management operations in the Central African Republic and Mali. In 2014, Georgia became a member of the Global Coalition to Defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and joined three counter-ISIS working groups on counter-financing, on counter-messaging and on foreign terrorist fighters. Georgia is a party to 14 United Nations counter- terrorism conventions and to the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism, and fulfils its commitments in that regard.
Georgia is growing. Georgia is vibrant. Georgia is resilient in the face of challenges. Georgia carries its share of international responsibilities. Georgia is all of those things, because Georgia is its citizens. They are at the centre of our Government’s strategy, and that is where they will remain. As we have reached out to the world, the world has come to us. Our citizens are the beneficiaries of greater connectivity to the world. Their economic success is a prerequisite for sustained well- being and prosperity, both at home and well beyond Georgia’s borders. I speak today as one steward of our nation, with thanks to all who love and support Georgia.


Given that today is the International Day of Peace, it is an honour to present a message of achievements and challenges from the Republic of El Salvador on the global agenda to General Assembly at its seventy- second session. I would like to express our solidarity and condolences to the people and the Government of Mexico, which have faced a devastating earthquake. We extend the same message of sympathy to the Caribbean countries and the United States, which have been affected by hurricanes.
El Salvador identifies with the central theme of this debate and agrees to follow up on such a vision for the fulfilment of Agenda 2030 and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Agenda 2030 constitutes an important instrument for the dialogue and consensus- building processes in El Salvador. We have contributed our experiences to the discussion at the High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, to which we submitted our first national voluntary review on the implementation of Agenda 2030.
El Salvador has a national agenda for sustainable development, which was developed through the creation of an institutional architecture for its implementation. We have allocated more than half of public spending to education, health and social protection in order to reduce extreme poverty and enhance social development. We have also increased the allocation of resources to programmes focused on poverty reduction.
In the area of education, which is a priority for our Government, we have made significant progress in eradicating illiteracy and increasing the availability of an inclusive education, while maintaining a high level of primary-education coverage over the past four years. Also noteworthy are our advances in food and nutritional security, through which we have reduced chronic child malnutrition. We promote family farming by supporting small producers, improving their incomes and ensuring food security through participatory and sustainable processes.
In order to address employment and opportunities we established the National Employment System, which benefits young people through programmes that bolster their capacities for work, and we are firmly committed to generating a favourable climate for foreign investment. Our duty as a society is to continue our efforts to build upon such positive outcomes and continue on the path to achieve Agenda 2030. It is important to point out that we have great challenges before us, especially in the fiscal area, where agreements are urgently needed if we are to achieve greater dynamism and economic development that goes hand in hand with social progress and benefits for the people.
Such sustainable development requires an environment of peace and security, and for that reason we have promoted a process of dialogue at the political and multisectoral levels. It was out of that process that we developed the Plan El Salvador Seguro. It has a comprehensive approach aimed at addressing the phenomenon of violence, emphasizes prevention and firmly respects human rights. Two years after we began to implement it, we have seen good results, such as reducing the homicide rate by 50 per cent and achieving a similar percentage with regard to extortion.
I must stress that without a financing strategy, adapting Agenda 2030 to national planning becomes a complex exercise. That is why I reiterate the pressing need to link Agenda 2030 to the Addis Ababa Agenda for Action, which sets out more than 100 measures and practices aimed at generating investment that will drive sustainable development over the next 15 years.
In our case, we conceived a financing strategy that embraces all sources and calls for shared responsibilities with regard to achieving the SDGs at the national level. Against that backdrop, we recognize that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which seeks to eradicate poverty and inequality, presents a challenge for middle-income countries, such as El Salvador. For nations that are considered to fall in that category, it is imperative to eliminate measurements based solely on average income, or only on economic income, and that conceal economic, social and cultural inequalities. That is why we reaffirm the call to go beyond and move towards the implementation of a multidimensional calculation.
It is equally relevant to refer to sovereign debt, given its negative impacts on development. A restructuring mechanism that promotes a fair and shared distribution between debtors and creditors based on human needs is a priority. On the other hand, a crucial issue for El Salvador is the issue of migration. It is very important to bear in mind that in 2015, when we adopted Agenda 2030, we recognized the positive contribution of migrants on inclusive growth and sustainable development.
That is why my country promoted the inclusion of the migration issue in the SDGs, and we have prioritized it in our national agenda for sustainable development. We believe that achieving a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration presents a true opportunity, but also a challenge. It is an opportunity that will enable us to tackle the issue of migration from a standpoint that ensures human development and human rights, and a challenge that we must commit to addressing in order to eliminate stereotypes that stigmatize migration as a criminal act.
Today, as anti-migration policies and movements gather strength throughout the world, we most energetically condemn xenophobia directed against refugees and migrants. My country therefore believes that it is vital to acknowledge the positive contributions and participation of migrants in their destination societies and their positive effect on sustainable development. One example of that contribution is our temporary protected-status population in the United States, for whom we hope that such status will be extended.
We should facilitate conditions that seek to regulate immigration status and promote the rights of migrants, as well as their integration into the host country culture and labour market, and their health care, education and housing systems, and acknowledge the contribution that they make to the economies of their host societies. In line with that position, we have submitted an initiative to our Legislative Assembly to help regulate the migratory situation of nationals who come from neighbouring countries to El Salvador, mostly for work. In July 2017 we launched our national policy for the protection and development of Salvadoran migrants and their families as a tool aimed at strengthening the protection and promotion of the development of Salvadorans abroad and of their relatives at home, as well as the returning population.
In order to obtain a culture of peace at the global level, it is essential to recognize and give priority to dialogue and peaceful solutions to controversies. As a country that suffered internal armed conflict for over a decade and was able to find lasting solutions only through dialogue and negotiation, we know very well how important peaceful means are for resolving disputes. In that context, we welcome the fresh efforts for dialogue between the opposition and the Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. We congratulate the President of the Dominican Republic, Danilo Medina, on that important initiative.
Furthermore, I call for an end to the economic blockade imposed by the United States on Cuba, so that we may begin a new chapter in our Caribbean history and look firmly ahead to the future. We hope for an advance in relations between those two neighbours and hope that other unilateral measures that hinder progress and the well-being of both peoples will be avoided.
My country firmly supports all initiatives that promote and strengthen the disarmament regime, arms regulation and the fight against organized crime and terrorism, and all efforts to achieve international security and world peace. I reiterate our concern in the face of the threat posed to humankind by the existence of weapons of nuclear destruction. The use or threat of use of such weapons is a clear violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international and humanitarian law.
In another area, we must adopt urgent measures to combat the negative effects of climate change, which continue to compromise economic development, natural resources and the well-being of countries such as El Salvador, which produces few greenhouse gases. It concerns us to see regression in the international consensus to fight the negative effects of climate change at the multilateral level.
I wish to end by highlighting that the peace agreements that we signed in 1992, which have now reached their twenty-fifth birthday, taught us that the best victories are those won through the hard work and will of all parties. In that vein, I express my gratitude to the Secretary-General for the support and solidarity that he has provided us with in the process of national dialogue that we are developing in El Salvador, which is now in its second stage towards reaching an agreement.
In that same spirit of joint work and cooperation, I call on Member States to unite in implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, truly focusing on people, so that no one is left behind and all those living on this planet can do so in dignity and peace.