First of all, allow me to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande of Nigeria on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I assure him of Vanuatu’s support during his mandate. I firmly believe that his presidency will be successful and effective.
I would also like to express my deep gratitude to Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, outgoing President, for her leadership and the exemplary manner in which she steered the work of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session.
Let me express Vanuatu’s solidarity with the Government and the people of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas, who are affected by the destruction caused by Hurricane Dorian.
At the start of the month, the Pacific region lost one of its leaders — the Prime Minister of Tonga. I would like to convey to the people and the Government of Tonga our deepest condolences and sympathy. I would also like to convey my sincere condolences to the Government and the people of France following the death of Mr. Jacques Chirac, a friend of Vanuatu and a well-known figure in the fight against global warming.
The theme of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly — “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion” — is relevant, given the challenges currently faced by the international community, and fully in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
We meet as the world faces complex challenges: conflicts with humanitarian crises are on the rise, there is an increased risk of an arms race, terrorism remains a threat, human rights violations are widespread, the environment is undergoing rapid change due to the impacts of climate change, the technological revolution is redefining the future of work and the global economy is increasingly uncertain. Such complex global challenges come at a time when the multilateral environment is under enormous pressure owing to the increase in populism and xenophobia, which calls for more multilateral. These developments reflect the erosion of trust in multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, to provide lasting solutions for peace, security and development.
We all know that the world is increasingly interconnected and that global challenges cannot be solved by any one country alone. Multilateral institutions — first and foremost, the United Nations — are becoming increasingly necessary to address those challenges. Continued unilateralism will lead to an unsafe world. We witnessed it in Europe during the twentieth century, with its two world wars. We are also in a world where, while some fear the effects of climate change, many are dying of hunger, the atrocities of wars, natural disasters and non-communicable diseases. To address these challenges effectively and to build confidence in the current multilateral order, it is essential that multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations, continue to undergo reform in order to become more inclusive.
In its 39 years of existence, Vanuatu has been a small open island economy and, in recent years, we have experienced sustained economic growth, underpinned by good macroeconomic stability and a responsible and effective Government. Our growth projections remain promising. While we are satisfied with such achievements, Vanuatu still has a long way to go to achieve its stated objectives. And that is complicated by the fact that we are extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and external shocks in the global economy. The United Nations has described Vanuatu as the most vulnerable country in the world and, given this harsh and complex reality, achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be difficult.
The recent report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change highlighted that the world is moving towards a rise in temperature of 3°C and that small island developing States, such as Vanuatu, will continue to face natural disasters, sea-level rise, droughts and ocean acidification. For small island developing States, climate change remains the greatest threat to achieving the goals we have set. The challenges we face were presented to the Secretary-General during his recent visit to the Pacific Islands, including to my country, Vanuatu. I would like to sincerely thank the Secretary-General for his visit and I hope that our concerns will be integrated into the agenda of the United Nations and that the appropriate measures will be taken to resolve our challenges.
Our extreme vulnerability means that we will be increasingly dependent on the multilateral system. Even though we are not a major contributor of greenhouse gases, we are committed to working with the international community to redouble our efforts to reduce the rise in global temperatures, so that, by 2030, 100 per cent of our electricity will be generated by renewable and sustainable energy. This effort is part of our nationally determined contributions.
The health of our oceans is threatened by irresponsible human activities and climate change, which is particularly worrisome for Vanuatu, a part of whose economy depends on marine resources. Vanuatu therefore developed an ocean policy in 2017. We put in place a planning process for the marine space to help balance the need for the protection and sustainable use of our marine resources. We have also banned the use of single-use plastics and will intensify our efforts in that area. Vanuatu will submit a report at the second United Nations Ocean Conference, to be held in Portugal in 2020. In addition, there are some maritime conventions that Vanuatu will ratify before the end of the year.
In view of the complex sustainable development challenges that small island States must face, I would like to highlight five main areas, which I believe require that substantive partnerships be forged among the United Nations and other multilateral forums. First, we must ensure that vulnerable countries, such as Vanuatu, continue to have access to subsidized funding. Secondly, we must increase funding for addressing climate change, provide for the rapid replenishment of such financial facilities as the Green Climate Fund, and simplify access to those funds. Thirdly, we must establish innovative instruments for financing the risks of natural disasters. Fourthly, we must find solutions to better manage the risk-reduction measures adopted by major international banks, which prevent correspondent banking relationships with our national banks. These measures limit our trade with the world and slow our efforts to achieve the SDGs. Fifthly, we must propose innovative solutions to the challenges faced by the markets in small island States, which, in particular, prevent other key players from participating in our economies and contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.
In August, the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum met in Tuvalu and adopted the Kainaki II Declaration on the need to act quickly to combat climate change. Vanuatu supports regional commitments endorsed by the Blue Pacific and made 10 global appeals for urgent action on climate change. We seek the support of our development partners in order to achieve these objectives, in partnership with multilateral bodies.
The role of the multilateral system in managing our challenges through the United Nations remains, above all, broad and crucial. It is therefore essential to provide unstinting support to the Secretary-General in his efforts to reform the Organization, strengthen its role and provide it with the means to enable it to carry out its mandate appropriately. Similarly, we support the establishment of a United Nations office in the North Pacific, which will enable the Organization to strengthen its presence and extend its services to Pacific island countries.
Vanuatu is a young country, with 60 per cent of the population under the age of 15. Given the young population, we are fortunate to be able to harness the genius and potential of this young generation so that it can make a significant contribution to the development of our country. My Government’s current priority is to ensure that our young workforce is well equipped and productively integrated into the labour market. We are realizing that by investing very heavily in technical and higher education. The Government’s policy of universal access to education through public subsidies covers preschool, primary and secondary education and will help us achieve the SDGs and be well prepared to meet future economic requirements.
Since our country is an archipelago, it is very expensive and difficult to provide affordable universal health-care services to our population. Vanuatu is facing an increase in non-communicable diseases that is weighing heavily on our meagre financial resources, competing with resources that should have been invested in primary health care. We have an important task ahead of us to train our health professionals and improve our medical infrastructure to meet the growing demand for health care. Even with a promising economy, we must ensure that our growth is sustained and inclusive. Inclusiveness remains my Government’s priority, particularly to ensure that women and persons with disabilities participate fully in the economic and political development of our society.
Many countries in the world are now free from colonial rule; however, in my region, New Caledonia, French Polynesia and West Papua are still struggling for self-determination. Vanuatu calls on the administering Powers to respect the processes established by the United Nations that allow peoples to express their views on the self-determination of their country, such as in the recent referendum in New Caledonia. The same process should be followed in the case of French Polynesia.
Human rights violations are taking place in the world today. Vanuatu strongly condemns the human rights violations committed against the indigenous people of West Papua. We call for the United Nations system to be used to find solutions to these human rights abuses. Accordingly, the resolution of the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum calls on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to visit the province of West Papua to conduct an assessment, supported by concrete evidence, of the human rights situation. Vanuatu supports this resolution, and calls on Indonesia, as a neighbouring and partner country in the region, to do the right thing and to act responsibly and authorize such a mission. I would like to recall the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirm our faith in fundamental human rights, the dignity and worth of a human person and the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.
I firmly believe that we have an obligation to work together towards lifting the economic, trade and financial embargo imposed on Cuba. Lifting the embargo will, inter alia, allow the Cuban people to have access to and enjoy fundamental human rights.
In recent years, the world has undergone rapid and profound changes that present complex challenges, including climate change. These challenges urge us to collaborate and create innovative and sincere partnerships in order to achieve our SDGs. We must raise our ambitions and renew our commitment through concrete actions if we are to win the fight against poverty and climate change and to ensure inclusive economic growth that takes into account our people’s aspirations to well-being.
The development concerns of small island States, whether in regard to climate change, the ocean or poverty, are real, and we will resolve them only at the global level. These challenges make us extremely vulnerable. As small countries, we do not have an army or nuclear weapons. The world community may mock us, look down on us and not consider us as strategic partners, but one thing is certain: our development concerns are also those of humankind. Shying away from the challenges hindering our development also means ignoring humankind’s hope.
After all, the global community as a whole stands together if it collaborates for the well-being of the vulnerable and the most disadvantaged. Such efforts will ensure peace, security and prosperity in the world. The United Nations Charter is our moral compass — a compass that, among other things, reminds us that we must save future generations from the scourge of war, reaffirm our faith in fundamental human rights, and promote social progress and better standards of life in a freer world. Let us all work together to realize the hope embodied in the United Nations Charter.


It is a privilege to address the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. Every year at this time, Heads of State and Government from all over the world make the annual journey to the United Nations to deliberate on the current state of our world, highlight concerns that keep us awake at night and seek consensus on how best to create a world that is peaceful, prosperous, inclusive and integrated.
We all come ready to speak out and represent, but the fundamental question is whether we have also come to listen. Even as we forcefully articulate our views, this global gathering will be useful only if we listen with equal intensity to the concerns and proposals of others. It was Ralph J. Bunche, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who stated: “The United Nations exists not merely to preserve the peace but also to make change — even radical change — possible without violent upheaval. The United Nations has no vested interest in the status quo. It seeks a more secure world, a better world, a world of progress for all peoples.”
The people of Saint Kitts and Nevis agree. For us, the United Nations is a force for good, a shining light in a sometimes dark and difficult world. It is through multilateralism at the United Nations that smaller States can have their voices heard. However, we are concerned about the weakening of the multilateral system. Small nations are committed to meeting their Sustainable Development Goals, but developing countries are often not supported by sufficient resources.
We need a more coherent, system-wide approach to sustainable development at the United Nations, both in terms of policies and through operational practices in processes and country programmes. Developing countries often lack the capacity or capability to capitalize on the latest global trends in public-sector innovation, Government reform and technology in addressing development challenges. The United Nations role must be to help and stimulate the developing world and provide support in critical areas such as education, training and human-resource development.
One of the issues that is a clear and present danger to small and developing nations is climate change. As we all seek to attain the Sustainable Development Goals, our Governments cannot focus on achieving such goals when the very existence of our countries and peoples is constantly threatened. Let us be absolutely clear. Climate change is a product of developed nations’ push for economic growth and industrialization.
For far too long and with far-reaching consequences, rich countries have been allowed to emit greenhouse gases unimpeded. Yet the brunt of climate change is borne by developing nations. Small States such as Saint Kitts and Nevis find themselves on the front line of a war they did not start and that they do not want. This is unfair and unjust. People in developing countries will feel the impact first and worst because of vulnerable geography and their lesser ability to cope with damage from severe weather and rising sea levels. We therefore need and are owed support, solidarity and greater assistance.
With increasing vociferousness, the leaders of the Caribbean, and indeed of small island developing States (SIDS) from every corner of our globe, have raised the issue of climate change and the grave and present danger that it poses to all of us. We speak out, and we speak loudly, because of the existential vulnerabilities that we suffer in the face of this growing threat.
Two years ago my colleague the Prime Minister of Dominica, Mr. Roosevelt Skerrit, was at this rostrum (see A/72/PV.19), dispirited but dignified. He had come straight from the front line of the devastation that had been wrought by Hurricane Maria. Yesterday it was Dominica; today it is the Bahamas. Each hit is more devastating than the one that preceded it. Hurricane Maria passed over Dominica with extreme ferocity, killed 65 people and wiped out 200 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Hurricane Dorian sat over part of the Bahamas chain and unleashed Armageddon, with the number of dead still unknown, leaving incalculable destruction in its wake. The people of Saint Kitts and Nevis extend their deepest sympathy to their brothers and sisters in the Bahamas. My country has responded by providing security personnel and financial support to help the Bahamas in its recovery efforts. We appeal to other nations to provide tangible expressions of solidarity and support to the people of the Bahamas.
With every disaster comes a crisis of conscience in the international community that results in pledges and promises, few of which are fulfilled. Today I join my voice with that of the Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Mr. Allen Chastanet, to support the effort to establish a SIDS foundation for climate adaptation and mitigation.
We are tired of those who posture as champions of our cause but are essentially promoters of their own conceit. We are tired of the agencies whose brokerage of climate funds is more centred on implementation fees than on adaptation impact. Rebuilding has to start as soon as the disasters have passed, and we require a quicker process that is sensitive to recovery. We are tired of empty promises.
Now is the time for us to take hold of our own destiny. We are almost out of time, and we are short of options and lost for patience. The scientific community has further reinforced our call to limit the increase in temperatures to 1.5 C° if we are to stabilize the global climate. Exceeding 1.5 C° will mean ever-increasing climate risks such as extreme weather, sea-level rise, increased poverty and a threat to hundreds of millions of lives. Limiting global warming to 1.5 C° for SIDS is not optional. It is a matter of our collective survival.
The unfair practice of categorizing countries based on their per capita GDP and denying them access to concessionary funding continues to pose a major challenge to our quest to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and our economic development. We continue to demand that consideration be given to our vulnerability to internal and external shocks. I call for similar concern and protection for our threatened seas. In the face of global warming, we need a blue strategy to preserve and protect what is so important to our food security, the livelihoods of our fisher folk and our economic growth and development. There is huge untapped economic potential in our seas, and it must be protected and nurtured. To put it simply, we need to protect the ocean. I call on the developed countries of the United Nations to offer their support to smaller countries so that together we can protect and nurture our planet.
The health of our citizens is becoming critically important to us as we continue to grapple with the high prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Just one year shy of our commitment to preventing and controlling NCDs, our Government is happy to approve new commitments to building a healthier world through universal health coverage. Saint Kitts and Nevis believes that universal health coverage is key to reducing social inequities and a critical component of sustainable development. It will provide greater access to health-care services that will ensure a healthier population and financial risk protection to ensure that people are not pushed further into poverty.
International support is crucial to helping to build the economies of smaller countries. The European Union’s unfair practice of blacklisting is a burden from which SIDS must be freed. De-risking by correspondent banks is an equally harmful practice. It has now become an existential threat to the economies of small island States. Expanding diplomatic relations in order to pursue strategic alliances is beneficial to trade, development and global security.
Saint Kitts and Nevis has nurtured relations with the Republic of China on Taiwan, and that has been of immense benefit to us, given Taiwan’s experience and expertise in such areas as technology, renewables and health care. I call on the United Nations to utilize Taiwan’s experience, resources and expertise and to enable other developing nations to benefit from it as well. Our experience over the past 36 years is that the Republic of China on Taiwan offers true friendship and solidarity to its allies and is prepared to assist the rest of the global community.
The Republic of Cuba has been a long-standing friend of Saint Kitts and Nevis. We will continue to support the call for removing the economic and financial embargo on it, which has caused untold suffering for Cuba’s citizens.
Saint Kitts and Nevis continues to monitor the situations in Venezuela and Nicaragua. We adhere to the Inter-American Democratic Charter and urge all States members of the Organization of American States to comply with it. The ongoing crisis in Venezuela in particular occupied virtually all of my time as the previous Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Saint Kitts and Nevis continues to support the CARICOM position, enunciated at Basseterre in Saint Kitts, that the Venezuelan people must find a peaceful resolution to their crisis through dialogue and restore peace, safety and security in their country. Saint Kitts and Nevis welcomes the recent dialogue facilitated by Norway between the contending parties in Venezuela and we urge all parties to resume those talks without delay. Saint Kitts and Nevis notes with deep concern the content of the report on the situation in Venezuela (A/HRC/41/18), dated 5 July 2019, by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Saint Kitts and Nevis reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the maintenance of human rights and human dignity. We can resolve many issues domestically, but regional and international solidarity and cooperation are critical. I salute the United Nations and the international community for the contribution that they have made to peace, understanding and welfare for more than 74 years. We must all resolve to strengthen our efforts and endeavour to ensure that we are ready to deal with the challenges and opportunities facing us in the twenty-first century. In moving forward, we must help the vulnerable members of our societies, particularly the poor, to improve their lives, give hope to young people and help all countries reach their potential. That was the vision of the United Nations that invited all nations, small and large, to become involved. Let us therefore commit to delivering on the vision of peace and prosperity for all peoples and nations. May God bless us all.


On behalf of the President of the Republic of Cote d’Ivoire, His Excellency Mr. Alassane Ouattara, I would like to extend our warm congratulations to the President on his election to lead the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session and to wish him every success in the conduct of his mandate. His election is a true source of pride for his country, Nigeria, for the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and beyond, indeed, for the entire African continent. We also congratulate his predecessor, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, for her outstanding leadership during the seventy-third session of the General Assembly, which was a great success. Finally, allow me to pay a special tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his leadership and commitment to peace and development worldwide.
The theme of this year’s general debate, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, underlines the importance that every Member State should attach to multilateralism as a key tool for collectively addressing the major contemporary challenges. However, the multilateralism enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations is today under strong pressure, which jeopardizes the many achievements of dialogue and international cooperation. That is why, given the scale of the current challenges, including the persistence of antagonisms and the temptation of unilateralism, we must renew our unwavering commitment to multilateralism, which, since the creation of the United Nations, has proven its effectiveness in the quest for peace and stability in the world.
Cote d’Ivoire therefore welcomes the adoption in the General Assembly by a large majority, on 12 December 2018, of resolution 73/127, establishing 24 April as the “International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace”, beginning in 2019. The resolution invites us to reclaim the three pillars of United Nations action — peace and security, development and human rights. Cote d’Ivoire’s accession to the various initiatives for building a better world, in particular the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union Agenda 2063, on sustainable and inclusive development, is a testament to its commitment to strengthening regional and international partnerships.
Four years after the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the challenges and issues remain the same — the persistence of hunger, malnutrition and poverty in the world; the increasingly worrisome impact of climate change; migration crises, with their socioeconomic effects on migrants’ countries of origin and destination; and exclusion of all kinds. Those challenges require us to act in synergy with greater speed and determination.
As part of its strategy for implementing the 2030 Agenda, Cote d’Ivoire has included the Sustainable Development Goals in its national development plan, as well as in its sectoral and local policies, and allocates a significant part of its budget to them. Indeed, President Ouattara has made improving people’s living and working conditions a priority. Accordingly, through budgetary leverage, Cote d’Ivoire increased the level of spending on the poor from $1.7 billion in 2011 to $5 billion in 2019. In other words, it has tripled in eight years.
In the same vein, Cote d’Ivoire declared the year 2019 to a year to strengthen social momentum through the roll-out of a major social programme over the 2019 to 2020 period, with a cost of $1.45 billion, subsequently raised to $2 billion. In addition, universal health coverage, introduced in 2014, will be extended next year, and a programme of productive social safety nets will be implemented in collaboration with the World Bank, at a cost of $150 million, which will enable 125,000 households to receive regular income over the 2015 to 2024 period. All of those actions, which are in support of the various sectoral plans for electricity, health, nutrition, education, training, drinking water, housing, sanitation and social protection, have made it possible to make significant progress on those main social issues, leading to a significant reduction in the poverty rate. However, all those poverty-reduction strategies can produce the desired results only if they are supported by adequate funding from stakeholders, in particular the United Nations system.
Cote d’Ivoire welcomes the celebration, on 24 January 2019, of the very first International Day of Education, established by the General Assembly in 2018. Education, Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals, is indeed one of the responses to major contemporary problems and to the challenges of transforming our societies. In that context, priority must be given to investment in human capital, through education, training, literacy programmes, capacity-building and regular skills acquisition. To that end, the Ivorian Government has introduced free public primary education and education kits and made schooling compulsory across the country for children aged between 6 and 16. Doing so required massive recruitment of teaching staff and an expansion of school and university infrastructure. In addition, our strategic literacy plan, covering the period 2019 to 2024, is aimed at significantly reducing the illiteracy rate to less than 10 per cent by 2024.
It should be stressed that African countries can reduce social inequalities, especially gender inequalities, and make up lost ground only if they have well-trained and well-nourished men and women. Our people will also need to be in good health and have easy access to innovation and information and communication technologies as a strategic tool for accelerating their development. In that context, UNESCO should play a more prominent role in improving our education systems, because only by offering our people, and our young people in particular, opportunities to forge a future can we contribute to tackling such scourges as illegal immigration, drugs, organized crime, youth radicalization, terrorism, obscurantism, unemployment, marginalization on the basis of social inequality and, particularly, gender inequality.
The effects of climate change are increasingly being felt in all regions of the world on a general scale, and in developing countries such as Cote d’Ivoire in particular. The main consequences of the shifts brought about by climate change are drought, deforestation, coastal erosion, natural disasters, declining agricultural yields, the displacement of populations and the consequent abandonment of livelihoods. Climate change threatens entire ecosystems that support food and nutritional systems for hundreds of millions of people, degrading the soil and thereby reducing the nutritional value of the food we grow. It also has a disruptive impact on water and sanitation systems. All of those consequences pose a major threat to both the health of our populations and the food and nutritional security of our societies. That is one of the greatest challenges facing present and future generations.
We must also promote a green economy that centres around protecting ecosystems, promoting clean technologies and improving the productivity of our resources. In that context, it is more crucial than ever to ensure the effective and prompt implementation of the international commitments made at the meetings of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and to adopt a global pact for the environment in the near future.
For its part, Cote d’Ivoire will resolutely respect its climate commitments within the framework of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which was adopted in 2015. To that end, our country has pledged to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 28 per cent by 2030, relying on the energy, transport, agriculture and waste-management sectors to do so. Particular emphasis has therefore been placed on the transition to renewable energies, the development of a circular economy and sustainable forest management, with a view to achieving 20 per cent national forest coverage between 2030 and 2035. In that context, the Government adopted its 2015 to 2020 national strategy to combat climate change — in order to include this particular theme in its sectoral policies. Accordingly, both developed and emerging countries should be invited, within the limits of their responsibilities, to contribute further to mobilizing financial resources pursuant to the recommendations of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
The persistence of many conflicts around the world, the resurgence of terrorism and mass crimes, and the ongoing threat posed by weapons of mass destruction unfortunately jeopardize the achievement of our ambitious development programmes. It is well known that there can be no development without security and peace — both are prerequisites for sustainable development. Sadly, many hotbeds of tension persist across Africa, particularly in North and West Africa. A number of terrorist groups continue to cause significant loss of human life, not to mention destruction of infrastructure, thereby contributing to the weakening of peace and stability in several countries.
No sustainable solution to the challenges I have mentioned can be envisaged without a global approach taken within a multilateral framework and with the collaboration of all. That is the meaning of the undertaking made at the Extraordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS on Terrorism, held on 14 September in Ouagadougou, where the leaders of ECOWAS, Mauritania and Chad committed to a $1 billion four- year plan of action to contribute to defeating terrorism in both West Africa and the Lake Chad basin.
As Cote d’Ivoire prepares for the end of its term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, my country reiterates its commitment to peace, security and development within the other organs of the United Nations, with a view to harnessing the experience gained and the core values that underpin its diplomatic efforts.
In conclusion, I applaud our shared determination to work in full synergy to address the many challenges of today and tomorrow, in order to ensure a world of peace and shared prosperity for all peoples.


I wish to extend to all participants a special greeting from a beautiful land called Honduras.
I will begin by telling the story of my country. The last few decades have seen a major tragedy in relation to the history of our republic. Corruption prevails with impunity, creating a vicious circle in which criminal gangs has managed to infiltrate all sectors. We are tackling and will continue to tackle this impunity until the last day of our Government. At one point, we were the most dangerous country in the world; that is no longer the case. We had one of the highest homicide rates; today, we have more than halved it. We purged the police, set up investigation mechanisms, dismantled organized crime networks and built maximum security prisons, with the result that we now have much stronger institutions.
Gangs have been the armed branch of drug traffickers. They have committed extortion and terrible assassinations and massacres. They have managed to infiltrate demonstrations, turning them violent and engaging in looting, arson and attacks on society. They have attacked the media and the security force. These criminal groups are the allies and friends of some politicians who have admitted to being their friends and close collaborators. This enemy’s goal is to supplant the rule of law. It is a legacy of mourning and pain, with the loss of more than 67,000 lives in the last decade and a half, more than those killed in the Viet Nam war on the United States side. The violence displayed by these illegal groups affect the economy, security and national sovereignty. We must consider such transnational groups, including the Salvatrucha and 18th Street gangs, as non-State entities that violate fundamental rights.
Is what I have just described not a true abuse of fundamental rights? And I ask myself — and I leave the Assembly to ponder the question — why it is that, today, we still cannot find grounds under international law to hold gangs, organized crime and drug traffickers accountable?
We have set up a new system of institutions. We have also restructured some of our institutions to make them robust and prepared to confront organized crime. In this Hall, I would like to thank justice officials in my country, be they public prosecutors, the judiciary, the police, the military, intelligence agents and all those Hondurans who have undertaken the fight with us. They are brave, highly effective men and women who have given up everything, including, for some, their lives. We have taken up the fight on land and on sea in order to counter drug trafficking. We have created an extradition process, extradited the biggest drug lords and adopted laws against money-laundering, among other important measures. We have reformed the prison system and today have special anti-extortion and highly effective anti-gangs task forces.
It has not been an easy fight. Today, I decry the fact that, owing to the fight we have begun and continue to lead against organized crime, I am the subject of attacks and a smear campaign led by drug traffickers, gang members, corrupt police officers who have been terminated, confessed killers, certain business people who abet the criminals by funding their activities, even politicians. It is truly an international political structure that does not shy away from working with the criminal world, promotes hatred and instils fear in social communicators, leading them to self-censorship out of fear. Others serve to undermine our society through, inter alia, social networks and fake news.
Today, I want to highlight what some scholars and friendly countries call “fourth-generation warfare”. We must be on our guard, as it is a destabilizing force, causes chaos and intimidation, undermines the economy and institutions and generates transculturation and a misinformation war. We are the victims of these political attacks with obscure interests aimed at destabilizing the country. The attacks are also coming from Venezuela, led by the regime of Nicolas Maduro, with his partner in Honduras named Mel Zelaya. This story is not new, nor am I the only one who has experienced it. It is a subject with global dimensions.
Drug trafficking, gangs and organized crime generate violence. Violence slows down development and violates human dignity, which, in turn, generates forced and irregular migration. Criminal organizations, human traffickers, unscrupulous non-governmental organizations and politicians seeking to destabilize the Government organized migrant caravans in which thousands of children, fathers, mothers, including pregnant women, have risked their lives on a path of cruelty, exploitation and false promises. I ask: Is this not a crime? Of course it is, because the freedom and lives of human beings are at risk.
At the beginning of my presidency, in 2014, I said that irregular migration should be addressed by attacking the root causes, by taking shared but differentiated responsibility, strengthening institutions and increasing security and prosperity. To that end, States must promote opportunities to support the excluded and vulnerable. Honduras is doing its part, with responsible macroeconomic policies designed to make the economy more certain, thereby generating stability that allows us to promote investments, create jobs and access to edit at concessional rates from multilateral organizations so as to develop productive and social infrastructure.
In that regard, as an aside, I also want to express my gratitude to the Government and the people of Mexico for the support pledged to us to create opportunities for entrepreneurs and massively promote reforestation through the Sowing Lives programme. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Guterres for committing, at our bilateral meeting yesterday, to the fight to mobilize green funds and convene a pledging conference to finance the Comprehensive Development Plan for Central America.
We in Honduras have set up a scheme to encourage the creation of small businesses and their access to soft credit, in order to support those that generate 70 per cent of jobs in our economy but only account for 3 per cent, if that, of the loans granted by the financial system and have been historically excluded from the financial system. In a short amount of time, over 3,000 small businesses have been created under a programme entitled “My business online”.
We have also built the “Better life” platform for social protection, which seeks to ensure minimum wage, food security, decent housing, job creation and competition. In the past five years, we have reached 4 million beneficiaries — almost half of our population — with at least one intervention for each of those beneficiaries. We are on the path to reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
We are continuing to support our young people in order to guarantee a future for the building of our Honduras. We have an innovative programme of more than 15,000 students on national scholarships attending national universities, and hundreds are now obtaining graduate degrees in various specialties at the best universities all over the world.
I would like to touch upon a very important theme that we discussed this morning. One of the causes of migration is the coffee crisis, which is driven by low prices and the effects of climate change. Honduras is the fifth largest coffee producer, and coffee production makes up 5 per cent of its gross domestic product. Our coffee-bean harvest decreased by 15 per cent, and we have lost revenue amounting to more than $400 million over the past two years. But the impact is also social because 90 per cent of those who produce coffee are small-scale coffee farmers.
I would like to ask a question to all coffee consumers worldwide — would any of them dare to ask the sellers from whom they buy their cup of coffee whether they, the sellers, are paying a fair price to the coffee producers? We should think about it because I am sure that if the seller can answer in the affirmative, that would be a very powerful thing. It would be so powerful that it could change the lives of the more than 120 million families of coffee growers worldwide.
I now want to bring up a topic that everyone talks about but does not yield any concrete results. Let us not fool ourselves — there are no concrete results. Will we continue to wait for floods and droughts to devastate us and for thousands of people to be displaced without a future and even lose their lives? This is the reality. Whoever needs proof, whoever wishes to experience those phenomena need only come to Central America, to Honduras. There are destructive rainfalls, protracted droughts, diseases and plagues like never before. They call this climate change and climate crisis.
The Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index indicates that Honduras, Puerto Rico and Myanmar are the three places in the world most affected by extreme climate events. Nevertheless, neither Honduras, Puerto Rico nor Myanmar are among the greatest contributors to environmental degradation. This is not fair. We have to pay for the irresponsibility of other countries, which, I believe, is one of the greatest injustices of the twenty-first century. In some fraternal countries, being able to obtain a glass of water can mean the difference between life and death — survival itself. I wonder if we have to wait for that to be the case in Honduras and in the rest of the world? I leave it to the Assembly’s conscience.
We in Honduras cannot wait. We in Honduras have decided to not wait. In my country, there are places where water is so scarce that it provokes violence. The Assembly should take note of it. Wars have been fought over oil. In the future, wars will be fought over water. Must we wait for that to happen?
Honduras has begun its fight against climate change. We have allocated national resources to combat it because we could not wait. One decade ago, the Green Climate Fund was established with great fanfare, but poor management and bureaucracy makes access almost impossible. In my country, I am asked if this an ugly joke. I also leave that to the Assembly’s conscience.
In Honduras, we are promoting systems of agricultural production that are adapted to climate change, with our own resources. We are implementing new technologies and establishing centres for agricultural research and innovation. We are also building such protected agricultural structures as greenhouses, intelligent irrigation systems and water reservoirs. In addition, we are leading reforestation initiatives, creating jobs and encouraging our young people and children to preserve our forests. We fund all these efforts ourselves.
It is now or never. Let us move from words to deeds. We must hold accountable those who are truly responsible for climate change. We must put an end to organized crime, youth gangs and other gangs, and drug traffickers that undermine the fundamental rights of people. We must form a common front in order to generate prosperity and promote sustainable development. We must take action to combat climate change if we wish to live, if we wish to survive.


Let me start by congratulating His Excellency Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande of Nigeria on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. We have full confidence in his leadership, and he can count on our support in the delivery of his mandate.
Since the adoption of our founding Charter of the United Nations, the world in general has become a better place. However, new conflicts have emerged; some persist today while others have raged for decades. My country has the sad record of being one of the most bombed nations in the history of humankind, while being at war with no one. Among its great merits, the United Nations is here to help to prevent such conflicts — modestly called regional conflicts — from degenerating into a full-scale global confrontation, and that was especially true during the Cold War.
The end of the division of the world into two rival blocs gave rise to a new world order, followed shortly by the emergence of new economic Powers. Those dramatic changes paved the way for the new reality of a multipolar world. That new world should enable the peaceful co-existence of countries with different political systems, religious and cultural references and concepts of the economic role of the State, but in which they can all agree to subject themselves to a number of common rules set out in treaties that no State should reject unilaterally. While that multipolarity is undeniable, it continues to face resistance and rebuke. Based on the pretext of the universality of certain values, some Powers are attempting to impose their model of society and governance, thereby fomenting a new form of division in the world that reminds us of the worst moments of the Cold War. Today countries are labelled as enemies simply because they are viewed as competitors or because they refuse to take sides, irrespective of their context and history. Others are pressured to line up behind an ideology, creating a world of us against them. Important treaties are being unilaterally rejected.
Despite the clear provisions against it enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, interference in others’ affairs is commonplace and proliferating. Under international law, interference in the affairs of a sovereign State is authorized only for humanitarian reasons, and in a deceptive and deceitful practice, humanitarian reasons have now been used as a pretext to interfere in some countries’ domestic affairs and even provoke regime change by undemocratic means. Governments have fabricated claims and accusations, based on false information relayed by the mainstream — or should we say gaslighting — media, to justify interference of all kinds, creating instability, tensions and often chaos and suffering. As a result, the world is full of uncertainties. The international community is facing damaging challenges in the form of geopolitical rivalry and armed conflicts, to which are added growing terrorism, extremism, radicalism and other unconventional security threats.
The arms race is being revived by the reckless use of threats and by breaking international commitments, to the detriment of the world’s efforts to reduce poverty, combat climate change and promote prosperity and a better quality of life. Free and fair trade is being threatened by new forms of protectionism. Natural disasters related to climate change are becoming more intense, dramatic and frequent, with worsening humanitarian consequences.
We have been asked to reflect on how to galvanize multilateral efforts to meet those global challenges. I believe that the answer requires that we address two fundamental issues. The first is how to ensure the peace, security and stability of the world, and the second is how to get multilateralism back on track and make it effective once again. The increasingly serious threats to global security and the future of our planet are a direct consequence of the weakening of multilateralism. It is imperative to reverse that trend.
Development, when truly sustainable, should be a positive factor in tackling most of the problems facing the world. For nearly a century the globalization of the world economy, driven by effective multilateralism, has greatly facilitated trade, investment, the flow of people and technological advances. Yet everything has a flip side. While globalization supports economic growth, it also widens disparities and raises the issues of equity and inclusiveness. Industrialization has created a level of material wealth we have never seen before, but it has also strained the environment and will cause irreparable damage if allowed to continue uncontrolled. Protectionism and self-isolation will lead us nowhere. We firmly believe that openness can offer us new opportunities and counter the zero-sum-game mentality. Promoting inclusive and shared development therefore requires that we favour dialogue and partnership over confrontation and aggression.
Other grave threats, such as new environmental pressures, pose serious challenges to sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For far too long we have taken our natural resources, such as fresh air, blue skies, clean water and healthy soil, for granted. We have been unkind to them, and now they are being unkind to us. The global environmental issues cannot be tackled by the efforts of a few countries alone. Nations both large and small must join hands in a concerted effort to engineer innovative funding to help the countries affected finance green growth and build resilience. That is how we can sustain the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, which is a milestone in the history of climate governance. As one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Cambodia will continue to take steps to tackle the issue and fully honour its obligations. A few days ago, we convened the Climate Action Summit here in New York. We hope that international solidarity will now be more forthcoming.
I would now like to briefly share with the Assembly the major developments in my country. We have reason to be pleased but also to be seriously concerned. Cambodia’s commitment to a liberalized economy and multilateralism has led to unprecedented growth in personal wealth and living standards over the past two decades. With an average annual growth rate of more than 7 per cent for more than 20 years, Cambodia is ranked by the World Bank as the sixth fastest-growing country in the world. We achieved most of the Millennium Development Goals ahead of schedule. Our ranking on the human development index has risen considerably over the past several decades, putting us in the medium human development category and positioning us as the eighth most successful country in the world in this area for the same period. Between 1990 and 2017, life expectancy at birth increased by almost 16 years, from 53.6 to 69.3 years. Cambodia has seen sharp drops in infant and maternal mortality and deaths from HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. Access to primary education is now almost universal and primary school enrolment rates are close to 100 per cent for both boys and girls. We are translating our commitments — which can be summed up as being focused on leaving no one behind — into policies and actions. The adoption of a national strategic framework for social protection for the period from 2016 to 2025 was a turning point that emphasized how important my Government considers social protection.
As a country that once benefited from United Nations peacekeeping operations, Cambodia is now one of the most active contributors to those missions, having deployed more than 6,300 Blue Helmets to eight countries in Africa and the Middle East since 2006. As of this year, Cambodia ranks twenty-ninth of the 122 countries contributing troops to peacekeeping operations and third among the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. My Government has two primary objectives. The first is maintaining peace and political stability and consolidating a pluralist democracy, and the second is making a priority of assuring our people’s basic rights, including the right to food, health, education, housing, work and mobility. During our most recent general election, 77 per cent of voters expressed support for those policies.
I also want to share our serious concerns with the Assembly. The 1991 Agreement on a Comprehensive Political Settlement of the Cambodia Conflict enshrined the establishment of a democratic system based on the Western model in Cambodia, a country that had never had such a system before. As we all know, democracy cannot be decreed but is rather learned gradually. Considering our recent and tragic past, we have made enormous strides in that regard. Our Constitution, legislation and institutions are largely based on Western models. We have held National Assembly elections every five years since 1993, and the voter turnout in this year’s elections was 83 per cent, a number that many Western countries can only dream of.
However, we are being confronted with practices that have little to do with democracy because they fail to respect the law, institutions and individuals. We are dealing with a branch of the opposition that has gained popularity by taking the path of demagogy, racism and xenophobia. Its adherents use universally condemned tactics — defamation, the publication of false documents, the dissemination of false information and incitement to racial hatred, violence and sedition. A critical point was reached when the leader of this opposition told his supporters that he was getting funding and technical assistance from a foreign Power to overthrow the Government using the same methods that we have seen in the so-called colour revolutions elsewhere in the world. We responded by enforcing existing legislation, which, I want to emphasize, is no different from the rule that the West applies when a political party goes outside the law. That is what we are being reproached for today and what some people think justifies the imposition of sanctions.
We are facing interference from Governments and institutions that are going so far as to tell us how to draft and enforce our laws; that are directly or indirectly financing and supporting a political faction; that are attempting to impose people on our political life who have made themselves outcasts in society by repeatedly violating its laws; that are trying to influence the direction of our foreign policy; and that will not hesitate to inflict sanctions on us in the name of values and principles that they invoke when the circumstances suit them and completely forget when they do not.
Like other peoples, we Cambodians simply want the freedom to be ourselves and make our own choices, and to peacefully defend our essential national interests and sovereignty in accordance with our own values, aspirations and characteristics. The relevance of international law lies not only in equity and justice, but also in the way it is implemented. That is why we expect all countries and international institutions to ensure that international law is uniformly applied and to reject any selective practices of it. Cambodia welcomes genuine cooperation with all countries of the world, with only one condition, which is that its sovereignty be respected. We will not accept interference under any circumstances, and we will not compromise our sovereignty in exchange for any kind of cooperation or preferential treatment.
I would like to conclude by sharing our belief that in a multipolar world, multilateralism can succeed only if it rejects all forms of interference. From the principles of equality and sovereignty that were established more than 360 years ago in the Treaty of Westphalia to the Charter of the United Nations, the world is equipped with the principles it needs to guide its international relations. The sovereignty of all countries — rich or poor, large or small, strong or weak — must be respected. Their domestic affairs do not permit any outside interference. Their social systems and the paths they choose for their development reflect sovereign choices. It is through respect for the right of peoples to self-determination, solemnly enshrined in the Charter, that we can make multilateralism thrive and find paths to peace, stability, solidarity and progress.


There is much that is wrong in this world. The post-war multilateral order, which this institution helped usher in, shows signs of strain. Trade wars threaten to plunge us into another worldwide recession. Populism, political extremism and nativism have found currency among the disaffected within our societies. The promise of democracy, enshrined in the principle of self-determination on which the Organization was founded, is in retreat. Emboldened by populist rhetoric, racism and xenophobia in various guises threaten to rip our societies apart.
Terrorism continues to plague and affect all our societies. Meanwhile, the climate crisis looms ever larger, heightened by our collective inability to address it — which is why the world needs the United Nations now more than ever. We need to remind ourselves of the horrors that led to the formation of this institution. Let me jog our collective memory. The United Nations was formed out of the ashes of two devastating world wars, in which more than 100 million people were killed.
It was born out of a belief in the sanctity of human freedom and self-determination, which means that even small nations may have a voice on the global stage. The Charter of the United Nations privileged peace and international cooperation so that we might avoid wars and enjoy the dividends of our peaceful coexistence. We need the United Nations because the problems of our times are extraordinary — none of us can resolve them alone. We need our collective strength to fix the challenges of our times.
In these difficult times, when the great wave of democracy that swept the world during the last century seems to have ebbed, the Maldives represents a remarkable story. It is a story of second chances, people power and how we as a nation managed to reverse a downward spiral towards autocratic rule. Exactly one year ago, in the early hours of 24 September 2018, the results of the Maldivian presidential elections were announced. The elections were significant because they represented our one shot at rekindling democracy in our country.
As many here know, our democratic journey, which began in November 2008, was cut short within a few years. Lurking behind the high idealism of our democratic moment were remnants of the old autocracy. The judiciary was hijacked, Parliament was brought to a standstill, the institutions of State were co-opted and the press was gagged. Political opponents were constantly threatened and opposition leaders were either jailed or exiled.
Many in the international community spoke out against that reversal. As is the wont of autocrats, the regime turned its back on the world. We left the Commonwealth of Nations, insisting that its calls for democracy in the Maldives were an affront to our sovereignty. Isolationism became our default foreign policy.
The fact that we won the election last year in the face of such adversity, against odds that seemed insurmountable, is to the immense credit of the Maldivian people. I do not take lightly the responsibility they have entrusted in me. There is much that needs to be done — from embedding good governance to delivering justice; from educating our young people to uplifting our most marginalized; from creating opportunities for businesses to leverage the benefits of new technology; from protecting our fragile ecosystem and coral reefs to building a vibrant Islamic society that is just and modern in its outlook.
Development without justice does not work, which is why we have a transitional justice programme where we seek to redress human rights abuses, investigate murders and enforced disappearances and bring to book the endemic corruption undermining all levels of Government. We are engaged in a comprehensive police reform programme and working closely with other institutions of State to reform and modernize our judicial system.
Meaningful democracy is about more than just holding elections. It is about involving citizens in the decision-making process. That is why we are working on legislation to decentralize our governance structures and devolve power to our local communities.
As I said at the start, these are challenging times, which require strong action from us all. This is why, on the international front, we have reaffirmed long- neglected old friendships and commenced new ones. We have begun the process of rejoining the Commonwealth of Nations. It is our intention to be a good international partner and to be part of a shared solution to the pressing issues of our time, from climate change to fighting the scourge of terrorism.
Terrorism and violent extremism have become one of the biggest threats of the twenty-first century. Their roots are found not only in the disaffection and disenchantment brought on by a rapidly changing world, but also in the active efforts of opportunists who twist religion and poison young minds to do their bidding. As we have come to know, terrorism and terrorists do not recognize national boundaries.
On Easter Sunday, we woke up to the shocking news of terror attacks in Sri Lanka, our closest neighbour. The danger of those networks spilling over our borders is all too real. What is required is concerted global action. That involves everything from sharing intelligence and best practices, counter-terrorism training and reforming our financial system to starve terrorist networks of funding. Unilateral attempts to deal with this menace are largely futile without corresponding global coordination, which is why the United Nations remains so relevant in today’s world.
Despite the best attempts of the United Nations and its Member States spanning a number of decades, the question of Palestine remains unresolved on the Assembly’s agenda. Never before have the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people been so acutely and blatantly dismissed by Israel, and never have the Palestinian people been so marginalized and discriminated against, in complete disregard of international law and the resolutions of both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
We are strongly of the view that lasting peace in the Middle East can come to fruition only through a two-State solution driven by genuine and meaningful dialogue between the Arab countries and Israel. We call on the United Nations and its Member States to make every effort to work towards a settlement that would achieve that result. The Maldives will never waver in its support for the Palestinians and their endeavour to achieve an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
For more than 30 years, we have been struggling to meaningfully address the climate emergency. For 30 years, we Maldivians have been saying that this is the fight of our lifetime because it threatens our very existence as a nation. While the scientific evidence is irrefutable, there has been an alarming lack of global action.
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, if the mean temperatures continue to rise above the two-degree threshold, we will have reached the point of no return. While the Paris Agreement was a breakthrough for what we can collectively achieve, so much more needs to be done. Although this problem is not of our making, the Maldives is determined to drive the solution. We cannot and will not wait for the prescribed timelines of the Paris Agreement. We are revising and upscaling our nationally determined contributions now. We shall work in concert with other island nations, including the small island developing States and fellow members of the Alliance of Small Island States.
Just yesterday, at the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, the Maldives presented a plan, entitled “Climate Smart Resilient Islands”, that seeks to utilize natural solutions, promote innovation and leverage new technologies to build resilience in our communities. As part of the plan, we are seeking to phase out our usage of single-use plastic by 2023. That will be one of the most far-reaching and ambitious plastics phase-out plans of any nation on Earth.
Furthermore, you cannot protect the oceans without solving climate change and you cannot solve climate change without protecting the oceans. For us, this is personal. A visit to the Maldives necessitates crossing over miles upon miles of our territory before ever spotting land. A stunning 99 per cent of the Maldives is ocean, with just 1 per cent dry land — making us a very large ocean State. We can conceive of no climate and resilience plan without a sustainable ocean plan.
This week, the Maldives will enter into a partnership with the Blue Prosperity Coalition on an ambitious blue economy plan, including marine protected areas to conserve the ocean resources that sustain our livelihoods and measures to protect them for future generations. We are confident that we will receive the support of the international community to help us achieve those goals.
Our dependence on our oceans is only one aspect of what it means to be a large ocean State. Our home, the Indian Ocean, has over the past two decades come to the forefront of global geopolitics and rapidly taken its place at the heart of international maritime trade. The peace and security of the Indian Ocean is inextricably linked to the peace and security of the world. Its importance to the global economy cannot be overstated.
Sadly, I note that the Indian Ocean remains, especially in its South Asian core, one of the least integrated regions in the world, lacking regional governance and unable to reap the potential economic benefits of an effective multilateral order. The Maldives intends to promote regional integration through greater cooperation with our neighbours to make the Indian Ocean region peaceful and prosperous.
This great Organization has helped foster peace and avert conflict for over half a century. The world order that it helped build represents the pinnacle of what concerted diplomacy can achieve and continues to embody the hopes of all who believe in peaceful dialogue to solve global problems. While all of us present here represent the interests of our individual nations, we also represent something far larger than that. We represent the world community. We represent humanity.
For its part, the Maldives shall continue to partner with our many international friends with a renewed spirit of openness and engagement so that together we can overcome obstacles and effectively resolve our common challenges.


At the outset, allow me on behalf of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. We are certain that your leadership, Sir, will steer the session in a positive direction. I wish also to convey our gratitude and congratulations to your predecessor, Her Excellency Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, for the manner in which she led the seventy-third session of the General Assembly, as well as the strides made in the commitments undertaken.
Our delegation appreciates and welcomes your choice, Mr. President, for the theme of this session. Both the theme and the priorities established for the session reflect the major global challenges that we face, namely, the eradication of poverty, respect for human rights, inclusion, conflict prevention and climate change.
We are deeply grateful to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for convening the Climate Action Summit and bringing the world’s attention to the grave crisis facing humankind. Like all other small island developing States (SIDS), Timor-Leste feels the effects of climate change on our coastal zones, crop yields due to the increasingly prolonged dry seasons, and the destruction caused by the intensity of natural disasters.
We need to save our planet from the effects of climate change and global warming. Unfortunately, to date, we have not changed our behaviour enough to prevent climate change on our planet. However, if we work together, we believe that in the few years that remain we can ensure that the Earth will undergo an average temperature increase of no more than 1.5°C. And although our emissions are below 0.003 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, Timor-Leste is committed to contributing to global mitigation efforts by promoting such renewable energies as those derived from hydro, solar or biomass sources.
My country’s Government is currently working on policies, laws and regulations related to climate change, including disaster-risk-management policies and a law on renewable energy. Furthermore, in other sectors related to mitigation, we are working on forest
conservation and promoting organic farming. In the area of adaptation, Timor-Leste has developed a national adaptation action plan, and its priorities are already being implemented at the local and community levels. We call on all nations, especially major emitters, to also adopt the necessary measures to stop global warming.
Four years ago, we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We have a little over 10 years to attain the necessary transformation through the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Unfortunately, we are failing in our progress to meet some of the targets contained in the SDGs. Inequalities persist, as does poverty. We fully join the decade of action for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its fundamental priorities, namely, the eradication of poverty and the promotion of equality and peaceful, inclusive and just societies.
Poverty eradication is our main goal, which is why it is part and parcel of our national strategic development plan to establish short-, medium- and long-term programmes to implement and strengthen social, economic and infrastructure development and transform institutional frameworks. We will therefore continue to improve our conditions to create investment opportunities and diversify our socioeconomic development, specifically in the areas of education, health care, mortality reduction, child nutrition and job creation for youth. Through this national strategy, we aim to eradicate poverty and unemployment and thereby liberate our people.
With respect to the preservation of the environment, including marine conservation, Timor-Leste has adopted a zero-plastic policy, which is just one of our national campaigns against pollution. We are also in the process of establishing a plastic-recycling plant that will enable our country to become plastic-neutral. We have two marine-protected areas that cover more than 586 square kilometres of our seas. We are blessed with extensive marine biodiversity and a cetacean-migration corridor, the protection of which is an integral part of our tourism and blue-economy policy. The second United Nations Ocean Conference, to be held in Lisbon next year, together with the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 2021- 2030, will provide us with the opportunity to evaluate the progress made on SDG 14 and our continued efforts to protect the oceans.
My country fully acknowledges and supports the current bilateral negotiations on the biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. We hope that they will result in collective consensus and that a legally binding international instrument is adopted to ensure the distribution of the benefits from the shared heritage of humankind.
We are also gathered at the United Nations in New York for the sake of peace, stability and international security. The delegation of Timor-Leste recognizes that the international community continues to be committed to finding solutions to the issues of Palestine, Western Sahara, Syria, Yemen, the Korean peninsula, and hopefully other conflicts as well.
With regard to the Korean peninsula, we commend North Korea and the United States for engaging in political dialogue to achieve peace. We hope that this dialogue will continue and contribute to ensuring peace, security and regional stability, and reduce nuclear tensions in the region.
Timor-Leste further reaffirms its support for a two-State solution to the issue of Palestine and calls on the international community to redouble its efforts aimed at finding a just, peaceful and lasting solution that enables Palestine to become a full-fledged State.
The third International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, designated by the General Assembly, will end in 2020. Since Timor-Leste’s independence in 2002, no solution has been found to decolonize any of the other 17 listed non-self-governing territories. We acknowledge the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Western Sahara, Mr Horst Kohler. We hope that, upon the nomination of a new Personal Envoy, discussions will resume, and that a political and legal solution will be found to enable the people of Western Sahara to exercise their inalienable right to self-determination.
Timor-Leste continues to be concerned about the economic, commercial and financial blockade that has been imposed on Cuba for more than six decades and has had a major impact on the country’s people and development. Timor-Leste therefore firmly supports the lifting of the economic, trade and financial embargo and opposes all extraterritorial measures.
With respect to Syria, we hope that the agreement reached between the Government and the representatives of the opposition to establish a constitutional committee will produce results and bring an end to a war that has caused terrible suffering for the civilian population, particularly children and women.
I take this opportunity to briefly update the Assembly on the general situation in my country. Our young democracy continues on the path towards consolidation. Timor-Leste is a determined small nation under ongoing construction. We have held several elections, which confirm our evolution. As a democratic and peaceful country, Timor-Leste remains committed to building a State based on the rule of law and good governance, strengthening State institutions, promoting human rights and gender equality, and combating poverty.
Recently in Dili, our Prime Minister, Mr. Taur Matan Ruak, and the Prime Minister of Australia, Mr. Scott Morrison, concluded the process of delimiting our maritime boundaries through the exchange of notes relevant to the ratification of the maritime-boundary treaty.
Gender equality and parity are fundamental goals of Timor-Leste. We have made significant progress in terms of women’s political participation, with 38 per cent of our parliamentarians being women. We have adopted an action plan to combat gender-based violence, including an integrated victim-support programme, the promotion of economic-empowerment programmes and awareness-raising campaigns. We also adopted a plan of action in line with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security. The celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action will provide us with an opportunity to both jointly assess the progress made and identify the obstacles and challenges facing its implementation.
Timor-Leste continues to maintain strong and special cooperative ties with our closest neighbours, Indonesia and Australia. We have deepened our relations not only with those countries, but also with all members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and we are patiently waiting for a decision on our request to join the Association. We also maintain special friendly relations of cooperation with the countries of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, of which we are proud members. We are certain that the Portuguese language, spoken by approximately 268 million people throughout the world, will be the next official language of the United Nations.
Timor-Leste continues to promote peacebuilding and State-building through sharing its experience in the areas of reconciliation, justice, solidarity and technical assistance related to elections with the States members of the Group of Seven Plus (g7+). The g7+ is an intergovernmental platform comprising countries emerging from or in conflict. We hope that, during this session of the General Assembly, the g7+ will obtain observer status in the General Assembly, and we call all Member States to accede to this request. Timor-Leste is also committed and stands ready to contribute police and military contingents to peace operations.
On the 30 August, we celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the 1999 referendum organized by the United Nations. Last week, on 27 September, we celebrated the seventeenth anniversary of our admission as a full State Member of the United Nations. We enjoy a historic relationship with the United Nations, which has a permanent and very special place in our hearts and in the collective memory of the people of Timor- Leste.
In conclusion, I emphasize that Timor-Leste continues to be an example of what the United Nations does best — resolving conflicts and maintaining peace and the international rules-based order — when its Member States pool their efforts. Five high-level summits — the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the high level-meeting on universal health coverage, the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, the High-level Review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway and the Climate Action Summit — have alerted us to the huge challenges facing us today, which require collective action, cooperation, joint efforts, renewed political will and solidarity so that we can effectively ensure that all our citizens, including women, children and the elderly, can benefit from the promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and live in dignity and peace.


Here in New York over the past few days, we have all heard a great many speeches — at the Climate Action Summit, the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, the countless side events, and of course here at the speech-making marathon known as the general debate.
If we were to analyse all the speeches, we would probably find that one term, “sustainability”, crops up more often than any other. Some think the term is nothing but hype, a marketing trend or a bit of greenwashing for the post-material elite. And as long we do nothing more than talk about sustainability, none of that will change. While we here in New York are talking about sustainability, we risk losing the race against climate change. The Earth is ablaze. While we are talking about sustainability, men, women, and children are suffering from starvation and epidemics. While we are talking about sustainability, people are dying as a result of wars and conflicts that we have been trying to resolve for years without success. Syria, Mali, Ukraine, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Yemen, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea — the list is far too long. It is time to do more than just talk about sustainability. It is time to act sustainably, including in foreign and security policy.
A sustainable foreign policy is one that seeks lasting solutions to conflict and involves all stakeholders in order to ensure both acceptance and stability. It focuses on prevention rather than merely reacting to events. It relies on viable agreements, not speedy deals at others’ expense. All who love their countries will be committed to cooperation, because only if we work together will we all have a future. A sustainable foreign policy is a multilateral foreign policy. The United Nations is founded on that very principle, which is also the guiding principle for German and European foreign policy. I would like to provide four examples that make that clear.
First, concerning the situation in the Middle East, the attacks on two oil facilities in Saudi Arabia have shown us how fast things can escalate. Iran bears the responsibility for them, as we Europeans have made clear publicly and also at our meetings with the Iranian Foreign Minister. The only way to ease the tension is to hold talks between the United States and Iran, but that will happen only if no unrealistic preconditions are placed on such a dialogue. There is something else that we emphasized today at our meeting with Iran, Russia and China. We want to continue to adhere to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the goal of an Iran with no nuclear weapons, simply because it creates security and a basis for further talks with Iran on other topics that are important in that context. Ultimately, diplomacy means not getting bogged down in a logic of despair. But it also means sticking to mutual agreements. That is why we expect Iran to meet the obligations it entered into with us and the entire international community with regard to the JCPOA and to respond positively to our current European efforts to make progress on a diplomatic solution.
Secondly, with regard to Afghanistan, we very much regret that the terrible attacks by the Taliban sabotaged the talks with the United States in Doha. Germany closely followed and supported the talks from the outset. We are convinced that a sustainable solution to the conflict can come about only through political compromise. That is the only way we can ensure that peace endures in the long term. We owe that to all who have been engaged for a peaceful Afghanistan over the past 18 years, in some cases paying with their lives. For that reason, an agreement with the Taliban can also be only a first step. What we would then need would be intra-Afghan peace talks. Germany is ready to support those talks, not least in order to ensure that everything that the United Nations and the entire international community have worked for over almost two decades is not lost — a constitutional order, a minimum of stability, human rights and the rights of women and girls in particular.
Thirdly, with regard to Ukraine, over the past two years, the Minsk process has more or less come to a standstill. Right there, in Europe, we have seen an aggression that has cost more than 13,000 lives. We will not simply sit back and accept it. The people in Ukraine want peace. President Zelenskyy has said that very clearly and made it one of his priorities, which has provided a new impetus. Take the bridge in Stanytsia Luhanska, for example. For four years it was a ruin. Now it is being rebuilt. Military equipment and soldiers are being withdrawn. At first glance it is a small step, just one piece of the disengagement called for by the Minsk process, but it is a huge step for the people who use the bridge each and every day. We want to seize that momentum. Together with France, we are working hard within the Normandy format to finally find solutions to issues that have been on the table for almost four years. After all, pursuing a sustainable foreign policy also means persistently pursuing goals, step by step. Standing still is not an option.
Lastly, with regard to Syria, now in its ninth year of war, the idea of sustainable peace might almost seem naive, and yet today there are grounds for cautious hope. The creation of the Constitutional Committee is a first important step towards a political process. It will be crucial to ensure that the Committee begins work quickly and implements resolution 2254 (2015). Only when we finally get down to tackling the causes of conflict and address the Syrian people’s desire for social, economic and political participation can there be lasting peace in Syria. And reconstruction will be sustainable only when political progress is visible. Until then, Germany will not take part. Another element that is at least as important is justice. How can thousands of traumatized, tortured and displaced Syrians and victims of poison-gas attacks believe in peace if their tormentors go unpunished? The predominant impression now, and not only in Syria, is that even the worst crimes are not punished. International criminal law is under massive pressure. That is why, before the end of this week, we will establish an alliance against impunity, designed to strengthen international criminal jurisdiction. Without justice there can be no reconciliation or peace.
Those four examples show that sustainable foreign policy demands stamina, resilience and resolve. Above all, it means working together reliably. When we do cooperate, we are making progress, often outside the glare of publicity. In the Sudan, after 30 years, there is at long last hope of a truly new beginning. I was there recently and I assured those in positions of responsibility that we will continue to support the transformation through mediation, in the Security Council, as a troop contributor to the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur and as a donor. And it is not only in the Sudan that we support peace processes. I am therefore pleased to announce that Germany is doubling its contribution to the Peacebuilding Fund this year, from €15 million to €30 million.
In Mali, United Nations Blue Helmets, including almost 1,000 Germans, are working to secure a fragile peace on a daily basis. The prerequisite for lasting stability is that the people regain confidence in the local security forces. That is why together with France we have established a partnership for security and stability in the Sahel, and we call on all Member States to join us.
A solution has yet to be found in the conflict in Libya. We support the United Nations and the tireless efforts of Special Representative Salame. An international process involving the supporters of the parties to the conflict is the only way forward. We want to take on responsibility in that regard, too, and together with the Special Representative, we have launched a process intended to lead to achieving peace.
Germany has now been a non-permanent member of the Security Council for nine months, and the impression I have is that far too often, crises and conflicts are not discussed in the Council until shots have been fired and people are dying. That is the very opposite of sustainable policymaking, because at that point it is already too late. The Security Council must move from being a crisis-response body to a crisis- prevention body. And, finally, it must also examine the causes of conflicts. That is why we put climate and security on the agenda at the very beginning of our term and will ensure that it remains there. Climate change has long ceased to be merely an ecological challenge for humankind. More and more often it is a matter of war and peace. Climate change is no less than a question of humankind’s survival. If people no longer have access to clean drinking water, if entire harvests are ruined by persistent drought and conflicts break out over the few remaining resources, the wars of the future will be climate wars. Climate protection must therefore become an imperative in a sustainable foreign policy.
During our membership of the Council we are also focusing on the role of women. Sexual violence continues to be used as a tactic of war. That is abhorrent and perverse. With the adoption of resolution 2467 (2019) in April, we were able to help ensure better support for survivors of sexual violence, but more is at stake here. Stable peace is 33 per cent more likely to be achieved if women are involved in the process. We are therefore committed to seeing an increase in the number of women peacekeepers. Only eight of every 100 seats at peace talks are currently occupied by women. That is nothing short of negligent. To put it simply, peace efforts will not work if 51 per cent of the world’s population is excluded. We will therefore continue to do whatever we can to fight for an equal world. That is not just a matter of justice but one of human decency and human reason.
We will also continue to fight in the Security Council for disarmament and arms control. It was thanks to us that in April the subject of nuclear-arms control was put back on the Council’s agenda for the first time in seven years — I repeat, seven years — although if one thing is absolutely clear it is that we can build security only if we work with and not against one another. That is why many States are calling strongly and with increasing impatience for a return to concrete, realistic steps towards disarmament, especially in the nuclear field, and that is why those States that have yet to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty must finally do so. Following the launch of the disarmament initiative at an international ministerial meeting held in Stockholm in June, we would like to place nuclear disarmament issues firmly on the international agenda ahead of the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. I am looking forward to welcoming the supporters of the initiative to Berlin next year.
Collaboration, compromise and the defence of our joint rules and institutions are what we understand by sustainability in foreign policy. More than most other countries, Germany has benefited from the rules-based order over the past 70 years. Peace, prosperity, free trade and a world open to the outside, as well as a liberal society within, are inextricably linked to multilateralism. Never going it alone again — that is a lesson from our history. Precisely because it was Germany that 80 years ago unleashed fire and destruction in Europe and the world, we must assume a special responsibility today for an order that secures peace. That is why we set up the Alliance for Multilateralism last year. We do not agree with the idea that if everyone thinks only of themselves, everyone has been thought of, because in the end that means only “everyone against everybody else”. The truth is that not one of the major issues of the future confronting us today can be resolved by one country acting alone. Only if we work together will we find answers to globalization, the digital revolution, migration and human-induced climate change.
Cooperation is not a betrayal of one’s own country. Rather, it creates the prerequisites for our countries’ security and prosperity. In the past 12 months, countries from all parts of the world that share that view have joined together in the Alliance for Multilateralism. Tomorrow, more than 50 of my colleagues will be meeting here in New York to agree on concrete steps to strengthen international law and human rights and to discuss disarmament, crisis prevention, peacebuilding and global issues for the future, such as cybertechnology and climate change. That is multilateralism in practice. That is sustainable foreign policy. Sustainable development is not a principle of lofty discourse or an elite approach that only the wealthy can afford. On the contrary, we can no longer afford not to act sustainably.