Costa Rica congratulates the President on his election and welcomes the priorities that he has established for his tenure. I would like to reiterate my country’s commitment to working with him and all Member States to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, to help swiftly honour the pledges made in Paris and Marrakesh to mitigate climate change, to implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to strengthen global governance and multilateralism as areas of supreme importance for the maintenance of international peace and stability.
I also wish to convey a message of solidarity and sympathy to the people and the Government of Mexico for the human and material losses resulting from the earthquake that struck its capital and surrounding areas today.
Every word, statement and action adopted in this Hall keeps alive Kant’s hope and inspiring confidence in humankind. To build a world based on the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the 20-year review of the implementation of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the treaties on the non-proliferation of weapons and the treaties on nuclear disarmament and prohibition is an acknowledgement of the multiple challenges that human communities face. They also evoke our sincere conviction in reaching globally agreed responses to the most urgent threats to humankind.
Those milestones are recent pieces in the renowned understanding of those who, before us and in pressing circumstances, fought for dignified coexistence, for freedom as a life-long mandate and for keeping hope alive as a daily imperative. Our duty as leaders consists in leading our nations towards sustainable human development. Therein lies the ethical power of our actions, both in domestic affairs and in the Assembly — the importance of which calls for an active commitment to ensure the well-being of our nations and to fight against inequality, injustice and violence. It means inconveniencing those who are opposed to the world being a radiant, open and unbiased hearth for us all, rather than a free aspiration of resistance and misunderstanding.
In the face of that wall of short-sightedness or malice, Costa Rica has always chosen honest work — the tireless ability to provide for one another with generosity, despite our small size. My country has chosen compassion, solidarity and peacebuilding as the main values in fully respecting human rights. In that framework, it has made international law, active multilateralism and the rejection of environmental destruction as the ideal mechanisms for resolving conflicts domestically and among States. That, in short, will always be our commitment to humankind.
In September 2016, Costa Rica became the first country to enter into a national pact to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the concrete step of involving representatives at the highest levels in the country, local representatives and representatives from the business sector, churches, social organizations and academia — all of which have actively committed to seeking the implementation of those comprehensive goals. Through that initiative, we have aligned our 2015-2018 national development plan with the Sustainable Development Goals and the sectoral goals of national and local programmes and projects. Additionally, we established a functional strategy for the planning, implementation and monitoring of those goals — which operates on the basis of consultation, dialogue and accountability.
Two years ago, I stated in this very Hall (see A/70/PV.19) that Costa Rica would commit to the design and implementation of the adequate instruments to wage a real and sustainable campaign against poverty. Given its multidimensional character, we adopted a multidimensional poverty index along with a multi-actor functional governance structure, which was one of the most important factors in the poverty reduction achieved for the first time in seven years in Costa Rica — through a coordinated and structured ownership in decision-making, initiative design and strategy implementation at a national level.
In the same vein, Costa Rica and 42 other countries gathered here presented a voluntary national report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development of the United Nations. Moreover, Costa Rica and the other States members of the Central American Integration System sponsored the harmonization of the regional Central America agenda with the same objectives.
Costa Rica has understood and taken on the integrated universal and multidimensional nature of the SDGs. We therefore believe that its implementation requires policy and public management innovation. Leaving no one behind is a State and Government responsibility, but those entities cannot act alone. That is why the 2030 Agenda must be based on consensus, the creation of synergies and the creative participation and commitment of various actors and productive sectors — above all, in the commitment and call to action of the Assembly. Leaving no one behind is more than just a slogan, it is a forceful call to action for all the segments that make up our societies. That is why I commend the contents and the quality of the Secretary-General’s report for the repositioning of the United Nations development system so as to honour the ambitious goals of the 2030 Agenda.
I believe that is the appropriate path to coordinate and carry out comprehensive actions that respond to the current and future needs of sustainable development. In that regard, we must consider the needs of middle-income countries. I believe it is advisable to continue the efforts carried out thus far and to continue to promote the interests of middle-income countries, with a view to the United Nations offering them more efficient, targeted and better coordinated support.
Costa Rica wishes to stress the importnace of countries and the United Nations system reconsidering the concept of per capita income as the gauge for determining a country’s progress. Only a multidimensional view of development, especially a multidimensional view of poverty, will allow us to understand the needs of the people and families and the individuals that make it up, as it relates to access to health care, the elimination of inequality, promoting gender equality and attention to social, economic and environmental weakness, among other challenges of developing nations.
With due respect but also with urgency, I call on the Secretary-General to promote open spaces to establish work strategies that would strengthen the capacities of such countries and allow them to cooperate more effectively with other middle-income countries and with less-developed countries. For those countries, reaching the Sustainable Development Goals will be impossible unless economic, social and environmental problems are incorporated into a path of comprehensive action.
As a universal forum, the United Nations has a privileged position for consolidating the consultation process of middle-income countries. Amartya Sen has said with incontrovertible authority that to speak of the development of a particular society, we must analyse the lives of those who live within it, and that there can be no economic success without considering the quality of life of communities, which is one and the same with that of each of its members. That thesis gives special attention to minority groups that have been historically excluded from fully exercising their rights and denied the understanding of the societies in which they live — especially if their nature requires the adoption of targeted processes in order to achieve the 2030 Agenda.
That complexity requires taking a closer look at productive sectors, such as family agriculture — the primary source of income for 70 per cent of the global rural population, that is, 40 per cent of the global population. Close to 500 million small farms provide 80 per cent of the food consumed by the developing world. In many cases, they are the historical basis for the productive development of entire nations, as is the case in my country. Family agriculture has a crucial role to play in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, as it integrates the goals and is the basis for the sustainable production of food, for the environmental management of rural and marine territory and for biodiversity — as a source of significant cultural expressions of each people. It is, without a doubt, a fundamental pillar of the integrated development of nations. In that regard, alongside a group of countries from different parts of the world, Costa Rica will be honoured to present a draft resolution at the current session to declare the decade of family agriculture 2019- 2028 — inspired by the success of the International Year of Family Agriculture, adopted by the Assembly in 2014 as resolution 66/222.
Gender equality continues to be a goal of quintessential importance in all nations. Every day, more women strive to be fully recognized and to exercise their rights. Their struggle is inherent in the building of truly democratic societies and of peaceful coexistence in all countries. Moreover, without equal rights for women, it will be impossible to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by the target date set by the Organization.
The literature is vast and the political declarations are forceful in highlighting the noticeable democratic gaps and the resulting detriment to development due to the persistence of patriarchal and chauvinist structures forged in another time but revived today absent education regarding human rights and respect for democratic coexistence. Gender inequality is not a topic that is foreign to us, nor a phenomenon that unfolds covertly in the internal relations of countries beyond our purview, but rather it is occurring in front of our very eyes. Let us take a moment to look around us. It is imperative to take joint action to ensure that equality in this important organ. My country has understood that commitment and welcomes work proposals from International Gender Champions that seek to revert the trend of gender inequality within the United Nations and to take concrete actions for the seventy-second session by calling on the Gender Champions to promote equilibrium within each delegation that attends the general debate during the Assembly’s week of high- level debate.
Women’s effective participation in the economic sectors of their societies has a deep and significant impact on other areas of independence, as an economically empowered woman is a person with the tools and capabilities necessary to make a positive impact on her community and her family. While it is true that many women work, are entrepreneurs, are employed in the public and private sectors and are scientists and artists, millions of others work in the informal sector or do domestic work and unpaid care. It is estimated that women’s unpaid work is equivalent to $10 billion per year, or 13 per cent of the global gross domestic product. However, if I were to choose a single insulting and absurd example of this discrimination, the one that angers me the most is that the average woman’s salary is 25 per cent lower the average man’s salary for the same job.
I had the honour to co-chair the High-level Panel on Women’s Economic Empowerment, along with Ms. Simona Scarpaleggia, Chief Executive Officer of IKEA Switzerland, at the request of former Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon and UN-Women. The final report of the Panel, in which women from the entire world participated, concluded,
“that it is essential to expand social protection coverage and access to justice with due process; that care is also an economic activity whose contribution should be reflected in countries’ productivity; that men should share responsibility for fulfilling this work and private companies and public institutions are called on to encourage it; that women have the challenge of accessing digital and financial services, as well as of being deed owners in land redistribution; that companies must recognize women’s leadership; that it is urgent that States’ macroeconomic policies empower women and promote decent jobs for them; that laws that discriminate must be amended and others that encourage equality must be enacted; that affirmative policies on hiring women must be extended to public institutions and private companies and women-owned businesses must be promoted; and that it is necessary to reinforce support to informal women workers and women agricultural workers”.
Of course, we must adopt a multidimensional and intersectoral strategy to address the barriers to women’s economic empowerment. In that regard, Costa Rica has in place a public policy that guarantees women’s employability on an equal basis. The main objective of this policy is to eliminate women’s lack of access to, and permanence in, the workplace. The private sector is the key actor in that, as it is the main source of employment and national development. This practice is part of the new trend in international markets and the global economy, where companies seek to increase their productivity through innovation, the improvement of the work environment, the attraction of talent and the adoption of values and practices based on human rights.
Nevertheless, we recognize that multiple challenges remain to making progress towards substantive equality for women. We are determined to incorporate women in paid work, with measures that eradicate gender-based division in the workplace and facilitate economic independence and quality of life as necessary conditions for the full enjoyment of human rights.
With the Assembly’s permission, for just a moment, I would like to convey this message in English to all the women who, with their work, raise up their families and local and national communities.
Today I extend my recognition to all women on Earth. They are capable enough to move ahead despite the rigid and rude patriarchal heritage that tends to not acknowledge their abilities and accomplishments and that fills with doubts and dangers their road towards full autonomy. They are an example for others: their internal strength leads them to break the chains of oppression, rise above the misery of migration and forced displacement and free entire communities from various forms of slavery. And in the grim march of their lives, they devote themselves with great passion to their people; they are sensitive and protective even when their love and generosity are not understood or repaid.
22/27 17-29275 They are masters of resilience, since they have learned how to deal with bad people and painful moments. They know how to fulfil their roles of mother, partner, friend or leader, and they dedicate themselves to them even if they need to sacrifice themselves because of a superior responsibility, a greater good that they accomplish with sincere devotion, aware of the risks and bearing in mind that they are an example to other women that follow in their steps.
Definitely, it is not easy being a Khaleesi. Whether in fiction or in real life, the goal of equality is much greater than what our circumstances relegate us to. Today is a good day to look at ourselves in the mirror, start to create truly equal relations and bring this long night to an end.
My generation’s grandparents could not have foreseen the consequences that industrialization and business models would have on the climate. We, the grandparents of future generations, can. That is why we cannot be indifferent. It is true that for decades humankind has had the resources and scientific knowledge to precisely measure the behaviour of endless variables related to the environment and that it can project future scenarios for weather conditions in different parts of the world and the impact they would have on humans and their social, productive and cultural activities. These capabilities commit us at levels seldom encountered throughout the history of humankind. They saddle us with an ethical and moral responsibility about the future of life on Earth and the terms of the interactions among human groups and between humans and their environment.
There is enough evidence to support the idea that a transformative solution to climate change is within human capabilities. That is why we welcome the French initiative of a global pact for the environment, which would complement the legal framework of the international agreements adopted by the United Nations in 1966. We are also pleased to be a member of the group of friends, which under the leadership of Slovenia, Switzerland, Morocco and Maldives, promotes the draft resolution on human rights and the environment that is being coordinated in the Human Rights Council. Also, along with countries of the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean, we have exercised a positive leadership position in the negotiations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, building bridges between negotiating groups and making proposals.
Our countries must adopt increasingly ambitious positions on environmental conservation and in the fight against climate change and understand the right to live in a healthy and ecologically balanced environment as an essential right of every human being and of future generations. The international community can count on the unconditional and unrestricted support of the Costa Rican people and Government in promoting this vital agenda. It is my pleasure to inform the plenary that, with the shared leadership of Chile and Costa Rica, Latin America is moving towards establishing a regional instrument on the rights of access to information, participation and justice on environmental matters. The initiative aims to produce more effective agreements in the context of socio-environmental conflicts through an environmental governance programme in which the State acts as a facilitator in agreement and decision-making spaces with the participation of all interested and affected stakeholders. It includes the principles of precaution, reparation and non-regression.
We reaffirm our intention to guide our economy towards carbon neutrality, as part of the pre-2020 voluntary actions, and we are expanding our long-term commitments towards the in-depth decarbonization of the economy. Our electrical grid continues to be an example of planning and renewable energy use for the world, thanks to long periods of energy generation based solely on renewable sources — in water, wind, geothermal sources, biomass and sunlight. In addition to the offsetting process of our forests, we are reducing emissions in critical sectors, such as transport, livestock and waste. We have set an absolute emission limit for 2030 that is equivalent to a 25 per cent decrease in emissions as compared with 2012. That places us in a privileged position to become a green centre for management, innovation and knowledge transfer. We invite our strategic partners to join this effort.
It is clear that we cannot not improve the health of our oceans if we do not change our land production and consumption. In that regard, our recently issued national wastewater sanitation policy and our national strategy for plastics replacement seek to stop pollution resulting from land-based activities and reverse their cumulative effects. To that end, straws, coffee stirrers and plastic containers are to be replaced. In addition, we are working to end destructive fishing practices and to coordinate efforts so that coastal populations can
develop from the use and sustainable management of marine-coastal resources.
Along the same conservation lines, we presented our national wetlands policy, which seeks to ecologically rehabilitate the Costa Rican wetland ecosystems and to promote actions for their sustainable and participatory use, as well as the establishment of a framework planned over the long term in order to restore the national wetland systems and ensure its responsible use in order to contribute to improving the quality of life of the communities that use it.
We believe that all those efforts not only encourage a focus on and the mitigation of climate change, but they also have an impact on human rights and public policies that promote gender equality, non-discrimination and the enjoyment of the rights of indigenous peoples. That is why we also welcome the process to prepare the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration and the global compact on refugees.
In that regard, I would like to recall the principle of the progressivity of human rights — an essential principle that implies expanding the range of rights granted, from which we cannot go back. But above all, it entails the idea that we are called on to provide our inhabitants with increasingly more and better guarantees that allow the free and full exercise of each of those rights.
The twentieth century witnessed some of the greatest and most atrocious conflicts that humankind has experienced. The end of the Second World War marked an even greater threat, one with the potential to destroy our species. The nuclear arms race was, for much of the second half of the last century, a constant concern that threatened the continuance of the human family.
Costa Rica views with great concern the events developing on the Korean peninsula. The increase in the warmongering rhetoric on that part of the Asian continent implies a serious and real threat to the peace and stability not only of the region, but of the world. Costa Rica is amazed by how, almost three decades after the end of the Cold War, ghosts that we thought had been banished forever reappeared in a world where there is need for more medicine, not rifles, more schools, not barracks, and more projects to provide drinkable water than facilities to produce weapons of mass destruction.
That is why we strongly and vehemently condemn the nuclearization of the Korean peninsula. We will always support dialogue, active diplomacy and multilateralism. We call on the parties involved and on the Security Council to take an active role in avoiding escalations of tension that could lead to dire consequences and from which there is a risk of no return. We cannot remain silent or stand idly by. Therefore, together with the Secretary-General, we demand that the Security Council act immediately, as is its responsibility, to contain this situation.
We view with hope, joy and pride the fact that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was finally approved in July of this year. I congratulate Costa Rican Ambassador Elayne Whyte on that process. As President of the United Nations conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination, she led the process with courage and great skill. That effort, together with that of the participating delegations, made a dream come true after more than seven decades.
The Treaty is a strong message that most States Members of the United Nations do not support, do not accept and do not consider nuclear weapons as legitimate, and that the international community clearly states that nuclear weapons are not only immoral, ethically repugnant, but are, henceforth, illegal. A new norm of international law that absolutely prohibits nuclear weapons in all circumstances is therefore established and provides a solid and legally binding framework for the destruction and total elimination of nuclear weapons in a transparent, irreversible and verifiable manner within specified time frames.
As an unarmed democracy that bases its defence entirely on international law, we are satisfied that, in addition to prohibiting the development, production, manufacture, transfer, possession, storage, location, installation and deployment of nuclear weapons, the Treaty explicitly prohibits the threat of its use, thereby also banning so-called nuclear deterrence security doctrines.
Many will say that this entire effort is meaningless, since none of the nuclear Powers wanted to be part of it. With respect, I tell them they are wrong. The desire of the 122 countries that approved the text of the Treaty is the legitimate voice of peoples who love peace and defend humankind. Any effort to support disarmament will never be pointless. Supporting peace will never be a mistake. Costa Rica applauds those 122 countries and all those that will sign the Treaty tomorrow, and urgently calls on others to join in signing it, so that we can ensure a future for us and for those who will come after us so that we can continue to build the world we are dreaming of.
Costa Rica is constantly shocked by the terrorist attacks that unfortunately happen everywhere in the world almost every week of the year. Once again, we want to express our absolute and unequivocal condemnation of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, no matter who commits it, wherever it is committed or whatever its purpose, and we stress the need to bring its perpetrators to justice. The fight against terrorism must be framed in strict observance of international law, including human rights law, international humanitarian law and international refugee law.
I wish to emphasize the crucial role of international law as a legitimate mechanism for settling disputes among States, which we must resolve. In that regard, considering that unilateral economic sanctions are not efficient ways to punish Governments but can seriously harm the rights of peoples to well-being and development, I once again would like to express the opposition of my country to the embargo that the United States has imposed against Cuba for 55 years, with high human, economic and social costs for its population.
Sixty-nine years ago Costa Rica decided to exchange weapons and soldiers for notebooks and teachers. Sixty-nine years ago Costa Rica decided to establish, strengthen and promote international law as the civilized way to resolve its differences with others. Today, 69 years later, Costa Rica continues to believe that.
The original goal of the creation of the United Nations was to save future generations from the scourge of war. The world has changed in a dizzying way since 1945. The threats and challenges to peace, stability and global security are increasingly diverse and complex. However, there is something that has not changed one iota: the intrinsic and natural impulse to strive untiringly towards the most dignified and highest universal values based on law and towards the prevalence of institutions over brute force, of multilateralism over smaller, narrower and pettier national interests. That is the essence of this institution: to achieve the well-being of all nations as a whole by sustaining peace in each of them. It is not the opposite. It is not to achieve the well-being of each nation in order to achieve global well- being, but rather it is in the world’s interest to uphold the interests and well-being of our individual nations.
The Andalusian poet Federico García Lorca said that theatre is the poetry that rises from the page and becomes human, and becoming human, speaks and yells, cries and despairs. It is our duty now to take action based on our rhetoric and to go out into the world and make it all possible. We must restore hope to the hearts of the world’s citizens and ensure that that hope leads to a life of dignity that enables them to fully enjoy their rights and freedoms. The fight to uphold human rights is historic and long-standing endeavour. Never before have the levels of education and peace been so high and the number of conflicts so low. That does not mean that we should reduce our mobilization efforts and become complacent. It means that, in spite of it all and although war and structural violence still plague many regions of the world, human society remains on the right path, in no small measure due to the Organization’s efforts.
We own our future. In spite of the pain caused by injustice and perpetual and pervasive irrational behaviour, there are more people who believe that happiness, solidarity, freedom, justice, peace, forgiveness and reconciliation are possible — many more than those who promote death, pain, torture and militarization and spread fear, which all thwart our beautiful creative capacity.
This will be the last time that I address the Assembly as President of Costa Rica. Next year, as my country fulfils a decades-old civic duty yet again, my people will send a new representative to address an Organization of which we are so proud. That will happen repeatedly in future because a democracy’s presidential mandate calls for the perpetual renewal of its leadership. I have been pondering this moment for several months. On behalf of all representatives and their children, I would like to dedicate these closing words to my sons and daughters.
Future generations also deserve to be acknowledged in this universal forum because, in many ways, they are the beneficiaries of the solutions their parents brought to the table, both metaphorically and in the deepest human sense. I would like Mónica, Cristina, Beatriz, Diego, Ignacio and little Inés to know that each time a father or mother steps up to this rostrum to promote peace and justice, reconciliation and solidarity, it is with them and their present and future in mind. I would like them to know that each time a father or mother takes the floor to promote human rights, gender equality and the importance of protecting the environment from the irrational forces of human greed or consumerism, they do it out of deep concern for their well-being and that of future generations. I would like them to also know that their father, and before him other Costa Rican mothers and fathers who stood before the Assembly, did so proud to represent a people who are full of dignity, hard working and courageous. They clamour for peace and seek to build it day by day. They will always uphold human rights as our universal family’s highest good. That should make them proud and happy. They should be proud to be part of an ongoing story that, like the waves of the ocean will happen time and again, just as the world continues to have hopes and dreams for human progress. They should be happy because they know that our efforts to promote justice and peace have not been and will not be in vain.
I hope that the United Nations will continue to be the preferred forum for fostering understanding among the peoples of the world. It will not be a conflict-free environment because, unfortunately, that is not our species’ default state, but it could be a meeting point where people can reach agreement, based on the higher aspirations of human progress that makes survival possible. I also hope that this session can shed light on demilitarization and denuclearization, which are the only ways to ensure our survival, beyond all efforts to guarantee it.
I also sincerely hope, with all my heart and soul, that all nations represented here today are happy, at peace and able to adhere to the wise biblical admonition to beat swords into ploughshares. It is simply another way of saying love your neighbour as you love yourself.


As I speak from this rostrum today, I can affirm that much progress has been made to achieve inclusion and accessibility; however, as a society we still have much that remains to be done for the world’s 1 billion people living with disabilities. I am an optimist. We are entirely capable of finding solutions; it is a matter of political will. That is why I am grateful for the accommodations that have been made to enable me to address the General Assembly today.
I congratulate the President, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, for proposing the topic for the general debate,
namely,”Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”. Those are truly today’s imperatives. Without a doubt, a responsible Government must take care of its citizens so that all of them may have a decent life on a sustainable planet where every day we work towards achieving peace.
Our Government philosophy agrees that we must care for our citizens throughout their lives, from the moment of conception to when God decides to close our eyes. We must ensure a good life and a good death. That is why we have organized the Government’s work around a plan that we have called “A Whole Life”. A responsible country and Government must care for, inspire, encourage, support and be good to its citizens throughout their entire lives under the principle of co-responsibility.
Taking care of citizens begins with prenatal services. After birth, we need to provide medical care for the child, appropriate nutrition, vaccinations, neonatal screening and early intervention. Then comes the stage when we must inspire the new human being and foster their love for science, knowledge, art and sports to shape their will and mind, thereby awakening their consciousness and planting the seeds of the values within them that will serve as the basis for their adult life. In the next stage of life, it is crucial for us to propel our young people forward with an education — a high quality higher education — facilitating in that way the fulfilment of their endeavours, projects and dreams. Beyond that stage, we must provide support to individuals with a view to ensuring the well-being of their families — the right to social security, housing, employment, recreation and a safe and healthy environment. At the end comes the stage of gratitude when we give back to the people who have served their societies and families — the care and services that we provide to our senior citizens.
Within that vision of ensuring the rights of each individual throughout their entire life, there persists an urgent need to eradicate all forms of violence. Today all of humankind has a moral and ethical duty — we must prohibit the abuse and killing of thousands of women and girls. There can be no more femicides, not even one. Our “A Whole Life” plan is, in sum, how we in Ecuador have interpreted our commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals. We unquestionably inherited the notion from our indigenous peoples that the world must be focused on the human being and their relationship to nature, in which the beginning and the end is to meet the needs of all and make possible a life with dignity. My indigenous brothers and sisters taught me that we were born to be happy, and it is upon that premise that we must govern, live, manage and act.
However, we must also recognize that we are experiencing a difficult and painful time as human beings. We are facing many crises. We see a potential nuclear conflict, greater levels of inequality and poverty and a planet that must fight the devastating effects of climate change. If we continue along such a path, there is no doubt that we are moving towards destruction. Clearly that is evidence of the fact that we, the human race, are failing. We must commit to achieving peace. Consistent with that need, today Ecuador is acceding to the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. We call on all countries to accede to that historic international instrument.
We know that the military industry is a big business, which is why arms traffickers, and not arms producers, are prosecuted and convicted. What ethics are at play here? How is it possible that resources that could be devoted to financing the fulfilment of the Sustainable Development Goals are wasted on the absurdity of war?
We firmly believe that peace and development are achieved through dialogue; but if we continue with wars and blockades against countries and peoples, such as the blockade against our brother country Cuba, we will never be able to achieve true liberty and democracy. We therefore insist that the sovereignty of States and non-intervention must be respected. We call for dialogue as a mechanism to resolve differences around the globe, with full respect for international law.
Military intervention is not the answer, as it only brings with it suffering, pain and death. We therefore resolutely support the peace talks that the Government of Colombia is holding in our country with the National Liberation Army. We welcome the agreement reached in Quito, which was announced a few days ago, for a bilateral temporary ceasefire in Columbia. Step-by- step we are nearing the goal of having the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States become a region of peace.
As I mentioned at the beginning of my statement, we have before us another major challenge — the alarming inequality in the world. It is unacceptable for eight people in the world to possess the same wealth as one half of humankind’s poorest. Such injustice goes against the rights to development and human dignity. A way to immediately confront inequality would be to institute fair tax measures. We must fight tax evasion and avoidance: those hidden resources are vital for the development of our countries.
Furthermore, the use of tax shelters has served to hide corruption within both the public and the private sectors. If we truly want to fight corruption, we must encourage a culture of transparency. In our country, by popular agreement, the people of Ecuador decided that no public servant can have resources or goods in tax havens. As Chair of the Group of 77 and China, Ecuador has promoted a global agenda for fair tax actions. We reiterate the need to create an intergovernmental body on tax cooperation at the United Nations. Another mechanism for promoting transparency would be a binding instrument on transnational corporations and human rights. We appreciate the support of all countries that share our views on such an initiative.
Looking at the devastation caused by climatic phenomena in recent weeks, I would be remiss if I did not express my solidarity with the peoples affected and turn to address one of the greatest challenges that humankind faces, that is, the responsibility to combat climate change. We must take care of our common home and ensure the survival of the planet. The unlimited exploitation of the environment has led us to live with the consequences of climate change. We, the developing countries, are those that pay the highest costs. Countries have common but differentiated responsibilities. Those who pollute the most must take greater responsibility.
As the Assembly knows, Ecuador is one of the eight Amazonian countries. Having been born and raised in the Ecuadorian Amazon, I have a duty to promote the protection of the largest hydrographic basin in the world. In the dialogue convened by the Secretary-General, I presented the Amazon initiative to stop deforestation and combat climate change. We advocate compliance with all international agreements for the protection of nature, including the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans. We encourage bioknowledge and the bioeconomy. We must protect and make the most of the knowledge of the guardians of nature, in particular indigenous peoples, communities and nations.
I would like to refer to another issue of enormous importance for today’s world, namely, the migration crisis. Ecuador supports the principle of universal citizenship and free mobility, because we are increasingly interconnected, and the right to free mobility cannot be applied only to capital and goods. Human mobility enriches peoples and contributes to combating all forms of discrimination and xenophobia. We strongly support the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, which is being discussed here in the Assembly. Closing borders is not the solution. It has never been the solution in the history of humankind.
When I formed my Government, I called for major national dialogue, without excluding anyone, in order to reach agreements that would allow us to build a more humane, just and democratic society. Dialogue is the only tool for building societies of peace. That means societies with jobs, high-quality education, access to health care as a right, decent housing and access to basic services. Through dialogue, democracy is built, which is both a means of moving forward and our final goal.
Democracy is strengthened by generating and promoting spaces for young people to participate in politics. We have an obligation to generate new leadership so that they can take our place when the time comes. We must maintain the defence of fundamental liberties, including those of expression and worship. We must promote a new international order based on peace, respect for differences, equality and solidarity.
We do not want merely compassionate societies, but rather societies that feature solidarity. That is why we need fundamental love for others, honesty and a sense of community. Faced with the failure of a development model based on accumulation, inequality and war, we can, and must, foster a new society based on the construction of the common good. All countries can achieve development with equity, if we have a fair international system and if we commit ourselves to the eradication of poverty and inequality.
Our challenges are great, but I am convinced that we are capable of overcoming them. My deep optimism lies in the confidence that dialogue, political decision-making and collective action will enable us to build a more humane and more just world in which we can live with dignity.


I would like to begin by expressing my sincere condolences to the Government and the people of Mexico following the devastating earthquake. I also want to reiterate my sympathies to those affected by the recent hurricanes in the Caribbean. Our thoughts are with them all at this time.
As we meet at the General Assembly, we face challenges that go right to the heart of who we are as nations — challenges that test our values, our vision and our resolve to defend the rules and standards that underpin the security and prosperity of our fellow citizens. As I argued in my speech here last year, many of those challenges do not recognize or respect geographical boundaries.
I think, of course, of the terrorism that has struck so many of our countries — including my own, five times this year —and, fuelling that terrorist threat, of the increasing numbers being drawn to extremist ideologies, not only in places riven by conflict and instability but many online in their homes, thousands of miles away from those conflicts. I think of climate change, which is depleting and degrading the planet we leave to our children. And I think of the vast challenges that come from the mass displacement of people. Many are refugees fleeing conflict and persecution. Others are economic migrants prepared to risk everything on perilous sea crossings in the desperate search for a better life for themselves and their children.
Through that migration we also see the challenges of economic inequality, between countries and within them. That inequality, together with weaknesses in the global trading system, threatens to undermine support for the forces of liberalism and free trade that have done so much to propel global growth, and it is pushing some countries towards protectionism in the belief that that best defends the interests of their own people.
As the global system struggles to adapt, we are confronted by States deliberately flouting, for their own gain, the rules and standards that have secured our collective prosperity and security — the unforgivable use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime against its own people and, perhaps foremost in our minds today, the outrageous proliferation of nuclear weapons by North Korea and a threat to use them.
I believe that the only way for us to respond to that vast array of challenges is to come together and defend the international order that we have worked so hard to create and the values by which we stand. For it is the fundamental values that we share, values of fairness, justice and human rights, that have created the common cause among nations to act together in our shared interests and form the multilateral system. It is that rules-based system that we have developed — including the institutions, the international frameworks of free and fair trade, agreements such as the Paris Climate Agreement, and laws and conventions like the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — that enables a global cooperation through which we can protect those values.
Indeed, the defining purposes set out in the Charter of the United Nations are to maintain international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among nations, to achieve international cooperation in solving the problems of an economic, social, cultural and humanitarian character, and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of those common ends. I do not see those as vaunted ideals to be held to their own sake. Those values and the rules they imbue are central to our national interest, to our security and prosperity. The international system, with the United Nations at its heart, is the amplifying force that enables countries to cooperate and live up to those standards in word, spirit and deed, to our collective and individual benefit.
If the system we have created is found no longer to be capable of meeting the challenges of our time, then there will be a crisis of faith in multilateralism and global cooperation that will damage the interests of all our peoples. Those of us who hold true to our shared values, who hold true to that desire to defend the rules and high standards that have shaped and protected the world we live in, need to strive harder than ever to show that institutions like the United Nations can work for the countries that formed them and for the people who we represent.
That means reforming the United Nations and the wider international system so it can prove its worth in helping us to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. It also means ensuring that those who flout the rules and spirit of our international system are held to account, that nations honour their responsibilities and play their part in upholding and renewing a rules- based international order that can deliver prosperity and security for us all.
First, we must insure that our multilateral institutions can deliver the aspirations on which they were founded. Think of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees looking after those who have been driven out of their homes; the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons striving for a world free of chemical weapons; the United Nations Children’s Fund helping children in danger. Those are all vital missions where the United Nations surely has a unique role to play. That is why the United Kingdom has over 70 years been such a pioneering supporter of those organizations, and more.
But we should also acknowledge that throughout its history the United Nations has suffered from a seemingly unbridgeable gap between the nobility of its purposes and the effectiveness of its delivery. When the need for multilateral action has never been greater, the shortcomings of the United Nations and its institutions risk undermining the confidence of States as Members and donors. Even more important, they risk the confidence and faith of those who rely on the Blue Helmets, who rely on that sign I stand in front of today to come to their aid in the darkest of hours.
We must begin by supporting the ambitious reform agenda that Secretary-General Guterres is now leading to create a more agile, transparent and joined-up Organization. Much of the work will be practical and unglamorous. It will require the United Nations to deliver better cooperation on the ground between agencies, remove competition for funding and improve gender equality. But it will also require real leadership to confront damaging issues that have beset the United Nations. I therefore welcome the Secretary- General’s new circle of leadership on preventing sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations operations, and I am pleased to be part of that initiative.
We, the nations of the United Nations, need to give the Secretary-General our backing for those reforms. As an outward-looking, global Britain and the second-biggest funder of the United Nations, the United Kingdom will remain committed to spending 0.7 per cent of gross national income on development and humanitarian support. We will use our military to support peacekeeping, and our diplomats will continue to work to tackle conflict and to support peacebuilding. In turn, the United Nations and its agencies must win our trust by proving to us and the people we represent that they can deliver. That is why we will remain generous in our funding but will set aside 30 per cent to be paid only to those parts of the United Nations that achieve sufficient results.
But this is about more than technical reforms, important as they are. It is also about reforms that enable the United Nations to truly respond to the global challenges of the twenty-first century. At last year’s General Assembly we undertook to do far more to resolve the challenges of refugee and migration flows. We agreed to develop global compacts to address the causes and the consequences of the mass movements of people we see today. That was an important step to elevate significantly our global response and enable us collectively to tackle this challenge of our times.
In the year ahead, as well as agreeing the principles of those compacts, we must ensure they can be applied in practice. We must do more to identify, protect and support refugees and those hosting them near conflicts. On migration, our starting point must be that it can benefit both countries and migrants themselves, but only when it is safe, orderly, well managed and legal. If we do not manage that effectively, we will fail both our own citizens and those taking those dangerous journeys, and we will push more people into the curse of modern slavery at the hands of the human traffickers and organized criminal groups that drive that inhuman industry.
But the steps we are agreeing through these compacts alone will not be enough. For if people cannot find jobs, opportunity and hope for themselves and their families where they live, they will continue to look elsewhere. As the United Nations and as Members, we must work harder to combine the efforts of our development programmes with the private sector and the international financial institutions to support the creation of jobs and livelihoods that will address not just the consequences but the causes of this great challenge of our time. The truth is that, despite our best efforts, we are not succeeding. We must do more.
The same is true with terrorism, where again, the challenges we face today are vastly different from those of previous eras. When terrorists struck London and Manchester this year the world saw our cities come together in defiance. Our Parliament carries on. Ariana Grande came back to Manchester and sang again. London Bridge is bustling with people. Our communities came together at the Finsbury Park mosque in North London, and Londoners got back on the Tube. The terrorists did not win, for we will never let anyone destroy our way of life.
But defiance alone is not enough. As leaders, we have all visited too many hospitals and seen too many innocent people murdered in our countries. In the past decade, hundreds of thousands have been killed by terrorists across the world. That is a truly global tragedy that is increasingly touching the lives of us all. This year is the tenth anniversary of the death of the woman who introduced me to my husband and who was known well to many of us in the United Nations. Benazir Bhutto was brutally murdered by people who actively rejected the values that all of us here in the United Nations stand for, in a country that has suffered more than most at the hands of terrorists. She was murdered for standing up for democracy, murdered for espousing tolerance and murdered for being a woman.
When I think of the hundreds of thousands of victims of terrorism in countries across the world, I think of their friends, their families, their communities, devastated by that evil, and I say, enough is enough. Of course, we must continue to take the fight to these terrorist groups on the battlefield. The United Kingdom will remain at the forefront of that effort, while also helping to build the capabilities of our alliances and our partners to better take on this challenge.
24/29 17-29395 We must also step up our efforts as never before to tackle the terrorist use of the Internet, for as the threat from terrorists evolves, so must our cooperation. That is why today, for the first time in the United Nations, Governments and industry through the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism will be coming together to do just that. Tech companies have made significant progress on that issue, but we need to go further and faster to reduce the time it takes to remove terrorist content online and to increase significantly their efforts to stop it being uploaded in the first place. That is a major step in reclaiming the Internet from those who would use it to do us harm.
But ultimately it is not just the terrorists themselves who we need to defeat, it is the extremist ideologies that fuel them. It is the ideologies that preach hatred, sow division and undermine our common humanity. We must be far more robust in identifying those ideologies and defeating them across all parts of our societies. As I said in the aftermath of the attack on London Bridge this summer, we have to face the fact that this will require some difficult conversations. We all need to come together, to take on that extremism that lives among us and to nurture the common values that must ultimately win out. They are the values of the United Nations.
And yet, despite our best efforts, we as nations and as a United Nations have not found the ways or the means to truly take on that threat. That is why today, as I talk about United Nations reform, I ask the Secretary-General to make the fight against terrorists and the ideologies that drive them a core part of his agenda, at the heart of our development, peacebuilding and conflict-prevention work. To give that effort the prominence it surely requires, I am calling on the Secretary-General to make that a theme of next year’s General Assembly and use it to harness the efforts of Governments, the private sector and civil society so that we can truly strike the generational blow against that vile evil in our world.
As we do so, we must clearly strike the balance between protecting our people and protecting their freedoms. We must always guard against those who would use the fight against terrorism as a cover for oppression and the violation of human rights. As we look at the situation in northern Burma, I call on the Burmese authorities to put an end to the violence, allow humanitarian access and fully implement the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State.
By reforming our multinational institutions, we can strengthen their ability to deliver for the people we serve, protect the vulnerable and fight injustice. We can enable multilateralism to multiply the effect of our individual commitments through its convening power and spending power, through the economies of scale it can bring, the standards it can set, the moral leadership it can harness and the legitimacy it can confer. But multilateralism can only reflect the values that individual States project and can only multiply the commitments that they are prepared to make. It is strong nations that form strong institutions and that provide the basis of the international partnerships and cooperation that brings stability to our world.
It falls to us all to decide whether we will honour the responsibilities that we have to one another. I have talked about the role of the United Nations in stepping up on counter-terrorism. But that is an area that we as States have critical responsibilities that the United Nations cannot itself address alone, for it is inescapable that the terrorism, conflict and instability that we see across the world are in many cases driven by the actions of States acting through proxies.
When countries back groups like Hizbullah to increase instability and conflict across the Middle East, support so-called separatists in Ukraine to create instability on Europe’s eastern borders, or give tacit support to criminal groups launching cyberattacks against our countries and institutions, they call into question the very rules and the international system that protect us. That is why, both globally but also in our own continent of Europe, the United Kingdom will remain steadfast in our commitment and responsibility to ensure the security and stability of our friends and allies as we have done for generations.
Just as it the responsibility of nations not to seek to advance their interests through terrorist or proxy groups, so it is also the responsibility of each of us to act together in the face of the most egregious violations of our common rules and standards. Clearly, responsibility for the chaos and tragedy that we see in Syria lies firmly at the door of Al-Assad. He and his backers have continually frustrated the efforts of the United Nations to act as the broker of peace through the Geneva process. As responsible States, we must not abandon our support for the United Nations attempts to secure peace and stability in Syria. Indeed, we must continue to call on all those with influence on the regime to bring them to the table.
But in recent weeks, the United Nations has also confirmed what we all knew, namely, that the Syrian regime has used chemical weapons on its own people. In the face of that fact, we have a responsibility to stand up, to hold the Syrian regime to account. That responsibility sits with us all, but a particular, special responsibility lies on the shoulders of the permanent members of the Security Council. As one of those five members, the United Kingdom takes our special responsibility seriously.
I am proud that we have used the full weight of our diplomacy to ensure that we have not had to exercise our veto in a generation. We seek to foster international cooperation, not frustrate it. But others have not done so. One country in particular has used its veto as many times in the past five years as in the whole of the second half of the Cold War. In doing so they have prevented action against a despicable regime that has murdered its own people with chemical weapons. As a result, in Syria, the United Nations has been blocked. That has undermined the values that we hold dear and the international rules-based system that is the basis of security and prosperity around the world.
Now we face an even more immediate, global danger in the activities of Kim Jong Un and his regime in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Time after time, he has shown contempt for the international community of law-abiding States, contempt for his neighbours and contempt for the institutions and rules that have preserved peace and security. On that challenge, the United Nations in recent weeks has shown it can step up to the task, with last Monday’s Security Council resolution creating the biggest sanctions package of the twenty-first century. We have seen regional and global Powers coming together and, as in the founding Charter, putting aside limited self- interests to show leadership on behalf of the wider world.
But despite those efforts, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to defy and provoke the international community and threaten its neighbours. Unless all Security Council members continue to live up to the special responsibilities that are placed upon us and, in seeking to resolve that crisis, to be prepared to take on necessary measures to tackle that threat, we will not be able to bring stability to the Korean peninsula.
As the world looks on, I am calling for further steps and for nations with that special responsibility to work together and exert the pressure we know is necessary to force Kim Jong Un to change his ways. Let us not fail this time. Let our message to North Korea be clear: our determination to uphold those rules is stronger by far than their determination to undermine them.
Throughout the history of the United Nations, countries have shown time and time again that by being true to our values, rules and standards, it is possible to come together and to deliver in ways that have the most extraordinary impact on the lives of the people we serve. I believe we can do so again. We must do so again, and we will do so again.


I would first like to offer my most sincere condolences to the people and Government of Mexico for yesterday’s devastating earthquake.
It is an honour for me to address this forum. I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Miroslav Lajčák on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-second session and wish him every success in his important mission.
This session is a special one for my country, since while it is still going on Bulgaria will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union. This year the general debate puts a special emphasis on our common effort to strive for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet, thereby highlighting the importance of prevention, mediation, sustainable development, preservation of the environment and respect for human rights through a people-centred approach. The United Nations upholds our shared goals of peace and security, and development and human rights.
Conflicts in many parts of the world continue to undermine international peace and security and the fundamental values of humankind. Outbreaks of violence devastate local economies, trigger large movements of refugees and migrants, and spread diseases, famine and immense human suffering on a massive scale. Children are usually the most adversely affected in any crisis situation. The root causes of armed conflicts should be addressed in a more systematic way by ensuring respect for human rights and the rule of law, improving the economic situation and promoting social inclusion.
Leaving no one behind and reaching the farthest behind first are not simply political declarations meant to invigorate the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. If we are to transform our world by lifting it out of poverty, we must fully implement the Sustainable Development Goals by promoting equality, inclusion and participation.
Protracted conflicts require a holistic United Nations response, encompassing preventive diplomacy, mediation, peacebuilding and effective special political missions. That response is critical to restoring governance and stabilizing political, economic and social conditions in crisis and post-conflict countries.
Over the past several years the United Nations peace and security architecture has benefited from three peace and security reviews that, together with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, have provided a solid foundation for achieving peace and prosperity. In that regard, Bulgaria supports the surge in diplomacy for peace, which places prevention as an overarching priority of the United Nations work and sets the stage for the necessary reforms to sustain peace.
Prevention and mediation are essential means for reducing human suffering, including in addressing the root causes of forced displacements by bringing humanitarian, development and peacebuilding efforts together. The situation in the Middle East and North Africa remains of deep concern and should be addressed in a comprehensive manner, but the international community should not be distracted from the urgent need to revive the Middle East peace process. Bulgaria reaffirms its position that a two-State solution formula is the realistic, just and lasting way to settle the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is our belief that a solution that can fulfil the aspirations of both sides can be achieved only through direct negotiations, with no conditions and in conformity with the relevant international obligations.
Finding a political solution to the ongoing conflict in Syria and implementing a credible political transition in the country will be essential to preserving the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Syrian State. We support all actions aimed at achieving a cessation of hostilities as soon as possible and conducting effective and constructive inter-Syrian negotiations in Geneva in order to achieve a lasting political solution to the crisis. We consider a political dialogue under the auspices of the United Nations to be the only way that can gradually improve the security situation in Syria and sustainably resolve the humanitarian crisis.
Another source of deep concern to my country is the situation in eastern Ukraine, which, regrettably, remains highly volatile despite periodic ceasefire agreements. We reiterate our call for the swift and full implementation of the Minsk agreements, to which there is no viable alternative. We consistently support the activity of multilateral formats such as the Normandy Four and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Trilateral Contact Group, considering their role in advancing the political and diplomatic efforts for a peaceful settlement of the conflict to be key.
Bulgaria is fully committed to the peace and stabilization process in Afghanistan and considers reconciliation a major prerequisite for stability and sustainable development in Afghanistan and beyond. We encourage the National Unity Government to continue with needed reforms in key areas, such as good governance, the rule of law, a credible electoral process, combating corruption and narcotics, and tackling gender and social issues.
Disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control are among the main pillars of international security and therefore represent tangible aspects of the effort to achieve peace and a decent life. Bulgaria reiterates its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the cornerstone of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, as well as to the objective of attaining a world free of nuclear weapons. That goal is achievable only through the participation of all States, and the nuclear-weapon States in particular. We should aim at feasible but universal measures that will gradually and irreversibly lead to the final objective of a world without nuclear weapons. The next two steps in that direction could be the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the start of negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear programme, concluded in July 2015, continues to be historically significant. Its full implementation is extremely important to regional and global stability, and my country reiterates its full support for it.
Bulgaria categorically condemns the repeated nuclear tests and missile launches by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which have led to a further escalation of tensions in the region and are undermining world peace and security. We call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to end its nuclear and ballistic programmes once and for all in a complete, irreversible and verifiable manner, and to engage in constructive dialogue with the international community. We reiterate our commitment to a peaceful, diplomatic and political solution to the situation.
The recent terrorist attacks are tragic reminders of the scale of the challenge ahead. Bulgaria shares the view that the newly established Office of Counter-Terrorism marks a milestone in the efforts to improve United Nations efficiency in fighting terrorism by supporting the balanced implementation of the 2006 Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, strengthening coordination among the relevant United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as promoting preventive measures that address the drivers of extremism.
Bulgaria is deeply concerned about the unprecedented scale of organized looting of cultural property in Iraq, Syria, Libya and other countries in conflict or post-conflict situations. We condemn the illicit trafficking and illegal trade in cultural objects as a tactic of war and a source of profits for financing terrorism. It is a threat that requires a global response. A number of legal instruments and resolutions have been adopted by UNESCO, the United Nations, the European Parliament and others. We have laid the legal foundations and it is our common duty to ensure their full implementation. The Antiquities Coalition, UNESCO’s #Unite4Heritage social-media campaign and other activities epitomize a very positive global trend for action aimed at the preservation and protection of the world’s cultural heritage.
International migration is a global phenomenon, and only through joint efforts such as the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration can we ensure a balanced approach that includes respect for international humanitarian and human rights law, as well as effective border management and re-admission. States have the right and responsibility to manage and control their borders as a central element of their national security. Strict border controls are vitally important, particularly in the context of preventing irregular migration and eradicating human trafficking. For Bulgaria, the top priority is the effective management and control of the European Union’s external border, enabling free movement within the European Union to function smoothly.
Climate change continues to represent one of the biggest challenges of our time. Not only is it a threat to our countries’ well-being, it also poses a security risk to many of them. Bulgaria stands by its obligations under the Paris Climate Change Agreement, and believes that only a universal approach to its implementation can achieve the goals of the United Nations climate-change agenda.
Bulgaria is strongly committed to promoting human rights and is actively involved in a number of intergovernmental processes dedicated to global advancement of the human rights agenda. As co-Chair of the Group of Friends for Children and the Sustainable Development Goals at the United Nations, Bulgaria strongly advocates for integrating children’s rights into all major intergovernmental processes, since children are the real agents of positive social change. As President of the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the period 2017-2018, Bulgaria actively promotes the full inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities on an equal basis with others.
Bulgaria is determined to further contribute to promoting human rights internationally as a member of the Human Rights Council for the period 2019-2021, and is relying on its partners’ valuable support for its candidacy. In the past few decades, the United Nations has taken crucial steps to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment. Those efforts should be further strengthened in order to achieve tangible results for women and girls by eliminating all forms of gender- based violence and discrimination. Ensuring equal rights for women and men should be an integral part of everyday policies in all spheres of life. Promoting equality, countering discrimination and ensuring respect for human rights are key to achieving lasting peace and sustainable development, and we believe that the protection of human rights should be at the centre of all actions undertaken by the United Nations.
The world is currently facing enormous challenges, perhaps the greatest that humankind has ever encountered, and we, the Member States of the United Nations, must provide solutions to them. It is time to take action.


I am honoured to stand at this rostrum and speak to the international community gathered here in the full expression of our universality.
Allow me to convey greetings from the people of Guinea-Bissau to all Heads of State and Government, representatives of the States Members of the United Nations, who have come to add pomp and substance to this session of the General Assembly.
I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-second session. To your predecessor, Ambassador Peter Thomson, I would like to express our recognition of his performance and wish him continued success in his remarkable diplomatic career.
As we all know, the world today is full of complex and grave challenges, such as hotspots of political instability and geopolitical tension around the world, the seriousness of which cannot be overlooked by the statesmen and citizens of the world; the scourge of terrorism, which unfortunately does not seem to be abating, as a phenomenon that deserves our unanimous condemnation; the human tragedy of migration waves, particularly those crossing the Mediterranean, and the saga of refugees; glaring social inequality, the expanding geography of poverty, and the intensity of human suffering, which we see in vast areas of the planet; and the sorrow of racial, gender and religious discrimination and the threat of climate breakdown on a planetary scale, with prospects of frightening, and not unlikely, consequences. In short, it is not difficult to imagine how many ills of the world are addressed by the United Nations on a daily basis, and require the attention and constructive engagement of the international community represented here.
The United Nations has a long history of solidarity with and commitment to Guinea-Bissau. It began with our struggle for national liberation and has not been broken since. Our goal is to further strengthen our institutional engagement with the United Nations. In so doing, we are merely reaffirming our firm belief in international law, peace and security among nations and the social and moral progress of humankind, which are the values on which the United Nations was created.
We continue to be going through a period of institutional challenges in Guinea-Bissau, for which the Conakry Accord laid out a solution in October 2016.
There are challenges related to the functioning of some of our core political institutions, namely the Parliament and the Government, but it is with profound solemnity that I inform the General Assembly that civilian peace reigns in my country. There are no reports of universal human rights violations that merit complaints or that are worthy of concern.
Public safety indicators related to people and property follow a normal pattern. Regular payments are being made to public servants, and on the foreign debt service and internal arrears. The marketing campaign for our main export crop, cashew nuts, broke all records, which had a positive impact on the social environment in Guinea-Bissau. Recently, our public finance controls were praised by the International Monetary Fund and other multilateral partners. The State and civil society are very far from any political breakdown. Indeed, we are fortunately not counting the dead or injured in Guinea-Bissau, nor are we assessing any damage to public property resulting from a breakdown in the authority of the State.
The most recently held summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which convened in Monrovia, placed its trust in the Bissau- Guinean people’s determination to internally resolve the problems related to the political and institutional impasse that has affected my country for the past two years. In that regard, we are pleased that the African Union, at its most recent summit in Addis Ababa; the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP) Council of Ministers meeting in Brasilia; and the United Nations put the political situation in Guinea-Bissau back on their agendas. With the patience, wisdom and solidarity of our international partners — ECOWAS, the African Union, the CPLP and the Secretary- General, who is retaining his Special Representative in Guinea-Bissau — we will overcome the political and institutional impasse that persists in my country.
We have taken note of the General Assembly’s agenda, which, in fact, is largely consistent with our own hopes and concerns. The subregion of the Economic Community of West African States where Guinea- Bissau is located has significant potential for economic growth, consistent poverty reduction and the sharing of social welfare. There is nothing unattainable in our dream to drive — at the subregional level, together, in peace and security, and with productive work — the inclusive social progress that we all desire.
We have examples of success in our subregion, but we also see distressing signs on the ECOWAS horizon of potential threats to both the internal constitutional order of States and geopolitical stability in the subregion. Terrorist acts are seriously affecting Burkina Faso, Mali, the Niger, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, with clear and grave consequences for peace, social cohesion and stability.
Guinea-Bissau fully supports the pooling of efforts in the context of the Group of Five for the Sahel, advocates the integrity of Mali, and calls for an all- out fight against terrorism in all its manifestations. Indeed, in order to face so many challenges at the same time, namely internal security, the preservation of the territorial integrity of States and peacekeeping within the space of ECOWAS, we need help. We therefore count on the United Nations and all of its specialized agencies, and all our international partners. Only if we work together will we be able to transform our subregion into a bastion of peace and internal security and, by extension, a bastion in the service of international security.
The Sustainable Development Goals are a challenge, but no development strategy is worthy of such a title if, in the case of Guinea-Bissau, it does not begin by placing the issue of food security squarely and sustainably at the core of its concept. To let Guinea- Bissau, a country with a widely recognized agricultural capacity, slip into dependence on large volumes of imported rice every year was certainly one of the worst economic policy mistakes that was made. The challenge we face is very clear. It is the political and economic challenge of food security. It is the moral challenge of overcoming poverty. It is the test of ensuring zero hunger in Guinea-Bissau.
With that as the focus of our approach, we are merely restating the central item on the General Assembly’s agenda in another way — promoting health from cradle to the grave. I will surprise no one when I state that there is no positive health indicator that can stand against the violence of poverty, hunger or malnutrition. There is no way to bring down the morbidity and mortality indicators that assail us as a result of the scourges of AIDS, malaria, diarrhoea and infectious diseases, without sustained poverty reduction, and if we do not successfully take on the moral challenge of zero hunger. At a more specific level, my country has made progress with regard to the health care that we provide to our population, in particular to children and women of reproductive age. However, given that the State alone is unable to guarantee that public service to the entire population, we continue to rely on international cooperation and United Nations support through its specialized institutions. But health and poverty are not the only elements that go hand in hand. In the context of poverty and extreme nutritional deficiency, we do not see how we can aim for good education for our children.
According to recognized scientific criteria, 12 per cent of Guinea-Bissau’s territory is comprised of ecologically protected areas. In that regard, I can say without hesitation that one of our most important educational achievements has been the development of a vigilant, ecological awareness of an increasingly sharp and active sense of environmental responsibility, in particular among the youth of Guinea-Bissau — the foundation of our future. But we are realistic; we have a long road ahead of us and much effort to be made in order to ensure environmental sustainability, as we economically exploit our natural resources. We consider the Paris Agreement to be a fundamental victory in harmonizing States’ environmental policies and in their promotion worldwide.
We must enhance our relations with the People’s Republic of China, a country that has been our friend since the difficult years of our struggle for national liberation. As the One China policy is consistent with peace and security in the region and with China’s yearning for its unity to be restored, we reiterate our full solidarity with the People’s Republic of China.
Security Council reform remains a need that the international community has rightly highlighted. Guinea-Bissau’s position is the same one that we, as an African country, advocated for and adopted within the framework of the African Union.
I express the solidarity of the people and the Government of Guinea-Bissau to the people of the Republic of Sierra Leone, who have suffered greatly from the natural disaster that has assailed their country. We also offer our solidarity to all countries that have been victimized by natural disasters that cause irreparable loss of human lives, the destruction of property and great suffering among the survivors.
I express the unfailing solidarity of Guinea-Bissau to the Republic of Cuba, which has provided support to the Bissau-Guinean people at our most challenging moments. Today, as in the past, we call for the lifting of the economic embargo that has prevented that friendly nation from developing normally for more than 60 years.
We also support the hopes of the Palestinian people for the establishment of their own State, coexisting side by side with the State of Israel, based on trust, peace and security.
I will close my remarks with a reference to the women of Guinea-Bissau. I would like to say that women in Guinea-Bissau are still far from taking the place that they deserve in our society and in our institutions in general. The policy of gender equality — more specifically of equal opportunity for girls and women in Guinea-Bissau — is undoubtedly a test for my country’s democracy. It is a great challenge for our political parties and all Government officials in Guinea-Bissau. I hope that all of the political, economic and social actors in my country will continue to converge on the legitimate advocacy for women’s rights and, in general, for the promotion of human rights in Guinea-Bissau.


On behalf of my delegation, I would like to congratulate the President on his election to lead the General Assembly at its seventy- second session and to assure him that he has the full support and cooperation of the Barbados delegation as he undertakes his important duties. I would also like to take this opportunity to commend his predecessor in the presidency, Mr. Peter Thomson, for his able leadership of the Assembly during the seventy-first session. He has been a worthy exemplar of the valuable contribution that small island developing States (SIDS) can make to international organizations, and we are pleased that he will continue to serve the international community.
The theme of this year’s general debate, “Focusing on people: Striving for peace and a decent life for all on a sustainable planet”, is a reminder of the purposes and principles that the Organization has embraced from its inception and that are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. It brings into sharp focus our responsibility to pursue the best interests of the people who occupy planet Earth. For if we fail to advance the causes of security, sustainable development and human rights together, none of them will succeed.
I stand before this organ for the eighth time. On each occasion that I have addressed the nations gathered here, I have issued a caution about the ramifications of unchecked climate change and highlighted the existential threat facing vulnerable small island developing States such as Barbados. In his first address to the General Assembly, in 2008 (see A/63/PV.12), the then Prime Minister of Barbados, the late David Thompson, described the Caribbean as a region at the epicentre of the global climate crisis. Citing scientific evidence and the devastating effects of climate change that were already evident in the region, he told the Assembly that failure to take urgent, ambitious and decisive action would be nothing short of reckless indifference.
Seven years later, the current Prime Minister of Barbados, Mr. Freundel Stuart, reminded the world that
“none of the nations represented in this Assembly will enjoy sustainable prosperity if we continue to abuse the environment that we hold in sacred trust for future generations. [...] The very existence of small island States like those in the Caribbean and the Pacific could be imperilled if current trends are not halted or reversed.” (A/66/PV.22, p. 45)
Many leaders from small island developing States have also consistently warned of the inherent danger of inaction, or insufficient action, to reduce global emissions. Such failures to act imperil lives, livelihoods and the very existence of sovereign States. Year after year, our leaders have warned of the escalating costs of responding to the effects of climate change and of the fact that decades of development gains could easily be washed away in a few hours by an extreme weather event. We have also endured the persistent and frustrating challenge of gaining access to the resources we need to strengthen our resilience and protect our peoples from the ravages of climate change. That is of course owing to a narrow focus on per capita income on the part of donors and international development banks and agencies.
The clarion call from the Caribbean has been ignored, and today we are witnessing the results of that reckless indifference. I regret the fact that I must today report not merely the potential threat that climate change poses to the globe, but rather its destructive impact. I am referring in particular to the utter devastation that we are seeing in several small island developing States in the Caribbean that have been overwhelmed by an unprecedented wave of hurricanes. On Saturday, 16 September, when I arrived in New York, the people of Antigua and Barbuda and of the Caribbean were working feverishly to restore some semblance of order to the islands shattered by Irma, the ninth named hurricane of the 2017 season. A mere two days later, in the early hours of Monday, I read with horror the pleas of the Prime Minister of Dominica when he reached out to the world to share the trauma he was experiencing as his small island was ravaged by the brutal force of nature from the eleventh hurricane in a season that has not yet ended. By the grace of God, Barbados has so far been spared, but we in the Caribbean are one family. We are brothers and sisters, and when one of us is hurting we all feel the pain.
For much of the Caribbean, tourism is the major economic sector, and it has been built on the premise of providing the world with a zone of peace and health. The threat of disease must be avoided. One possible consequence of the recent floods and serious infrastructural damage in the region is the outbreak of disease. Our ability to detect and respond to such biological threats must be strengthened. There must be bilateral and multilateral cooperation in order to minimize and eliminate such threats, and a focus on biosecurity must be part of our response. There must be attention paid to a global health security agenda. For Barbados, as an island State, the ocean is a priority. Ocean governance and the promotion and conservation of marine resources therefore represent one of our primary concerns.
The road to recovery and reconstruction for Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica and the other islands affected by this devastating hurricane season will be long and difficult. I take comfort in the spirit, will and determination of the Caribbean people. We are down but not defeated. Our neighbours in the Caribbean affected by the recent hurricanes can be assured of the full and unconditional support and solidarity of the Government and the people of Barbados. However, our friends in the international community must support the Caribbean region on its journey to rebuild the affected islands. We are all morally obligated to do so. In that regard, I call on the President of the World Bank and on the Secretary-General to convene an international pledging conference on the recovery and reconstruction of the Caribbean islands affected by Hurricanes Irma and Maria. I urge all Member States to support the recovery and rebuilding of the Caribbean.
For Barbados and other SIDS, whether in the Caribbean, the Pacific, Asia or Africa, climate change is a matter of life and death. It is not an issue for sterile debates and endless meetings. For our people, it is about the loss of life and livelihood. For our economies, heavily dependent on tourism, it is about a cycle of constant recovery and rebuilding, which is a serious impediment to sustainable development. Barbados remains committed to ambitious action on climate change. We continue to support the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, and we view the Secretary-General’s proposal for a climate summit in 2019 as an important opportunity to take stock and give additional impetus where necessary. Barbados’s support for global action on climate change is one part of its overall policy of promoting and protecting the environment. We have taken concrete steps towards building a resource-efficient green economy that is integrated into our national framework for sustainable development.
Barbados would like to take this opportunity to convey its solidarity with the Government and the people of Mexico, who are suffering the painful effects of two deadly earthquakes in quick succession.
A key element of this year’s theme is striving for peace. Barbados is a democratic, peace-loving nation. Last year my country celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its independence, which was gained through negotiation and mutual agreement. We cherish and nurture our political and social stability, based on our history of more than 375 years of unbroken parliamentary Government. We believe that peace is an indispensable prerequisite for sustainable human, social and economic development. For us, it is an essential pillar that supports the national mission of the Government of Barbados, which is based on achieving sustainable economic and social development for the nation, protecting the environment, maintaining good governance and strengthening our citizens’ security. We are committed to inclusive development as a means of achieving lasting peace and stability at the national and international levels.
We regret that there can be no peace of mind for the people of the Caribbean who must rebuild their lives and livelihoods. But the mission of the United Nations is to secure global peace. We were reminded by the Secretary-General at the very start of our deliberations that “[w]e are a world in pieces. We need to be a world at peace” (see A/72/PV.3). Each and every member of the international community has an obligation to support efforts and take action to create an environment in which peace can flourish. The countries of Latin America and the Caribbean have declared the Caribbean as a zone of peace. I take this opportunity to express Barbados’s unwavering support to the protection and preservation of the territorial integrity of our Caribbean Community sister countries Guyana and Belize.
Barbados joins other States Members of the United Nations in the effort to collectively address the many other diverse challenges to which the international community must find and implement solutions. In the past few years, the countries represented here have made historic international commitments, including the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Climate Change Agreement. As an international community, we must now take action to implement those commitments if the destruction I discussed earlier in my statement is to be addressed.
In recognition of the fact that our citizens are our most precious resource, we have been resolute in taking a path of development that is people-centred. Our national policy framework aligns naturally with the philosophy guiding the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and that has facilitated our implementation efforts. The Prime Minister of Barbados has clearly emphasized the priority that Barbados accords the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including by appointing a permanent secretary in his office with a mandate and special responsibility to lead the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the national level.
Barbados has been a consistent and vocal advocate for the treatment of SIDS as a special case for sustainable development because of their inherent natural vulnerabilities. There is a pressing need for the international community to address the specific needs and interests of SIDS in a holistic manner. They will also need effective multisectoral partnerships to assist them in implementing the SDGs.
Barbados welcomes the ongoing efforts of the United Nations to focus international attention on challenges to our oceans and on encouraging the international community to take meaningful steps to protect the marine environment. I was pleased to head the Barbados delegation to the Ocean Conference in June, and I am committed to ensuring our continued active participation on the issue. Barbados is interested in working with United Nations agencies and other international partners to develop an ocean economy trade strategy, as well as effective systems for managing our fish stocks.
Barbados has built an enviable record on the basis of its promotion of social development. Since our independence, successive Administrations have committed to targeted social policies focused on the people of Barbados. Substantial investment has been made in sectors such as education and health in order to develop a skilled, healthy and productive population. The result of that investment has been a significant improvement in Barbadians’ quality of life over the years, borne out in the United Nations Development Programme’s Human Development Index and other indices that focus on transparency, corruption, gender balance and human rights, among other things.
Promoting and protecting the human rights of all Barbadians are primary concerns for the Government of Barbados. That is in keeping with our commitment to a human rights-based approach to development and our adherence to the principles of good governance and the rule of law, as well as to ensuring that our people have the highest levels of civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. We pay special attention to the rights of the vulnerable, including children, women and persons with disabilities. With regard to the rights of persons with disabilities, my Government, together with civil society, continues to make progress in promoting their full integration into mainstream society. Barbados wishes to participate more fully in the activities of the international community on issues of inclusiveness, and are therefore pleased to present Ms. Kerryann Ifill as a candidate for membership of the Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities for the 2019-2022 term. Senator Ifill is the youngest President of the Senate ever appointed in Barbados, the first female and the first person with a disability ever to hold that office, and her candidature has been endorsed by the Caribbean Community.
The Caribbean Community has been at the forefront of United Nations initiatives to address the problem of non-communicable diseases. During this session, Barbados will work with regional and other partners to bring a greater focus to the growing challenge of childhood obesity, a serious problem that could become the next major development challenge. Barbados looks forward to the convening of the General Assembly’s third high-level meeting on non-communicable diseases, scheduled for next year. I encourage Member States to participate actively in it, as it will be an invaluable opportunity to strengthen our action on this important issue and move closer to our goal of improved health for our peoples.
Barbados would like to take this opportunity to once again express its deep concern about the possibility of its being penalized for any success that it may achieve in its development efforts. Our categorization as a middle-income country, with the concomitant restrictions on our access to international development assistance and concessionary financing, is unfair and does nothing to advance the cause of sustainable development. We reiterate our call to the international community to create an enabling global environment and partnership for development. Countries such as mine require assistance in building economic resilience; we do not need challenges such as those presented by de-risking, blacklisting and indebtedness.
Transnational crime is a major threat to international peace and security. It can take many forms — trafficking in illegal drugs, trafficking in persons, the illegal transfer of small arms and light weapons, and money- laundering. All present significant threats to our security, and Barbados reiterates its commitment to protecting the security of its people. We will remain actively engaged in cooperative mechanisms aimed at confronting and addressing such challenges.
Barbados welcomes the convening of the third Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). We encourage all States parties to take action to implement the Treaty and we further acknowledge the nexus between the ATT and the Sustainable Development Goals, and their contribution to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies.
The long-standing economic embargo on Cuba continues to be a cause for serious concern on Barbados’s part. We join the overwhelming majority of States Members of the United Nations in opposing that unilateral action and encourage constructive engagement between the two sides.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize Barbados’s unwavering commitment to the United Nations and the principle of multilateralism. If we are truly committed to a decent life for all, people everywhere must be heard, including those in small States such as Barbados. We agree that there is need for reform in the United Nations system. However, even as the United Nations is working to reform, and thereby better equip itself to respond to today’s global challenges, due care must be taken to ensure that the process is inclusive and transparent. No Member State, particularly the most vulnerable, should be excluded in the restructuring process. Barbados supports the view that a spirit of cooperation and dialogue should be the foundation for our interaction at the multilateral level. Cooperation and dialogue represent the best means of achieving our international goals and objectives.