I would like to salute all present from this important rostrum. I hope that this session will represent a further decisive step in the search for peace and international security and towards a fairer and more balanced relationship among all nations.
Ongoing political and military conflicts, including pervasive economic inequalities, pose a permanent threat to all humankind — a fact that compels us to unite in a common effort to solve the real problems that constitute our priorities, such as by protecting the environment and definitively eradicating hunger and
poverty, endemic diseases, human trafficking, drug trafficking, illegal immigration, terrorism and other threats against peace, in order to create an environment conducive to social progress and development. In order to meet those noble goals, it is imperative that we focus all our efforts on the peaceful resolution of conflicts that have created a permanent climate of tension and imminent war in some countries.
We stand for multilateralism in international relations, as it alone contributes effectively to the world’s peace and security. For that reason, it is never too much to insist on the need for a deep reform of the United Nations, so that the Organization can better fulfil its great responsibility for conflict management and resolution and the prevention of war. We reiterate the need to increase the number of permanent members of the Security Council, in particular to include members from Africa and South America, as the current composition, which at the time of the Council’s formation mainly comprised the winning Powers of the Second World War, no longer reflects the need for a fairer global geostrategic balance.
The prevailing tension on the Korean peninsula, which constitutes a danger to world peace, should remain one of the major concerns of the international community. We therefore encourage and commend the diplomatic efforts being made by the major world Powers — the United States of America, Russia and China — to make that part of our planet a zone of peace and security.
We are also concerned about the perpetual Middle East conflict. It is crucial that the many relevant Security Council resolutions be upheld, in particular those calling for the establishment of an independent Palestinian State that can live in peace with the State of Israel and for those two countries to develop normal neighbourly relations and economic cooperation.
With regard to the growing tension in the Persian Gulf, where extensive reserves of crude oil are threatened by latent conflict that imminently endangers global energy security, we call on all parties to exercise moderation. The best solutions are found at the negotiating table.
Africa, our continent, has been ravaged by terrorism, especially that of a religious fundamentalist nature, which affects countries such as Mali, the Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Central African Republic and Somalia, to name just a few. The international community — and the African Union in particular — should pay special attention to the need to normalize the political situation in Libya, as its territories, which are controlled by different militias, constitute the logistical source of the arms and ammunition of the fundamentalist groups operating in Africa.
Angola has made a modest contribution to conflict prevention and resolution as often as it can, in particular in the Southern African Development Community and the Great Lakes and Central African regions, the most recent case being the Rwanda-Uganda memorandum of understanding signed in Luanda, which seems to represent an important step towards preventing a simmering conflict that was about to break out.
I would like to take this opportunity to call from this rostrum for an end to the decades-old economic embargo imposed on Cuba, especially given the recent window of opportunity for rapprochement and normalcy of relations. Allow me to also call for an end to the current trade war between two economic Powers, the United States and China, considering the negative consequences that are already being felt in the global economy.
The world is helplessly witnessing the effects of climate change and global warming, which have been worsening as confirmed by the latest scientific studies, as well as the rapid rise of natural hazards and their devastating consequences, such as the typhoons, cyclones, tsunamis, floods and even severe droughts that are proliferating around the world.
Stark examples of such hazards are multiplying all over the world, which leads us to associate ourselves with those who point out the responsibility of those who persist in ignoring those signs and feel entitled to continue supporting polluting industries. We welcome the initiative taken by the recent protests in many countries around the world, which have become a true symbol of advocacy to preserve the environment and defend our planet — our common home.
Let us work together to preserve the remaining rainforests in South America, Africa and Asia, such as the forests of the Amazon and Congo river basins, which have not yet been completely devastated by humankind. Those are the planet’s last reserves for oxygen renewal and also absorb carbon dioxide and other pollutants that deplete the ozone layer.
Although noble and fair, the Sustainable Development Goals, which were intended to give continuity to the Millennium Development Goals, are not themselves a guarantee of better results in the future. In order for us to achieve the desired levels of sustainable development, it is important to make the expected outcomes of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development the object of positive brainstorming on alternative projects that are appropriate to the political situations and concrete realities of the countries most affected.
Conflict, hunger, misery and disease cannot be eliminated by political and bureaucratic solutions alone, but also — and more importantly — by good governance, combating corruption and other social evils, protecting the environment and strengthening values such as human dignity, responsible and inclusive citizenship, social justice and equal opportunities.
It is important in that context to highlight the role of young people, the only force capable of overcoming all those challenges. It is imperative to enhance the quality of their education, both technically and culturally, so that their specific training takes into account the contribution of the different cultures and civilizations which, for centuries, have helped us to better understand and love the world of our fellow human beings. It is with firm hope in the commitment of young people that I remain optimistic and continue to believe that we can bequeath a better world to our descendants.
Speaking of Angola in particular, I would like to highlight the major ongoing reforms that aim to build a truly democratic State that respects the rule of law, fights corruption and impunity, and promotes a culture of accountability among civil servants. Such reforms will create a business environment that is more attractive to domestic and foreign private investment, thereby increasing the domestic production of goods and services, reducing the import of foreign goods and increasing the range and quantity of exportable domestic goods as well as the supply of jobs.
The Government is addressing all those challenges very seriously and transparently. Among other measures, approximately 150 State-owned companies and assets from different sectors of the economy, including the oil and gas sector, are being privatized. We have also launched an ambitious plan for the construction and rehabilitation of water and energy production and distribution infrastructures, as well as the construction of hospitals, educational establishments and secondary and tertiary roads and other repairs across the country’s 164 municipalities, the budget for which has already been secured.
Finally, I take this opportunity to declare that Angola is now open to the world and to foreign investment in all areas of its economy.


At the outset, I would like to congratulate the President of the Assembly at its seventy-fourth session and to thank Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces for her distinguished stewardship of the previous session, which demonstrated what women can achieve when they assume leadership positions. I am pleased as well to be able to pay tribute to Mr. Hazza Al Mansouri, the first Emirati astronaut to embark on a mission to the International Space Station. I want to express our appreciation and pride in the fact that what he is doing is a major step, demonstrating that the United Arab Emirates is entering a new era in which it will contribute alongside other countries to investing in space science and building a new generation in a world based on science, technology and enlightenment.
This year in Abu Dhabi, in conjunction with our declaration of 2019 as a Year of Tolerance in my country, His Holiness Pope Francis and the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar, Ahmed Al-Tayeb, signed a document on human brotherhood that constitutes a historic message of peace aimed at promoting tolerance and coexistence.
Building safe communities requires the will to take concrete initiatives and make concerted efforts to address the tensions caused by extremism. The United Arab Emirates has participated in regional and international efforts aimed at easing tensions and reaching political solutions to the crises in the Middle East, including in Libya, Yemen, the Sudan, Syria and Palestine. We believe that strengthening multilateralism is the most effective approach to de-escalating those crises and addressing transnational challenges, including extremism and terrorism, in order to achieve international peace and security. However, multilateralism has succeeded neither in resolving existing crises nor in preventing new ones. In order to achieve the goals for which the United Nations was established, we must therefore examine the problems that are obstructing international efforts and explore ways of enhancing their effectiveness.
Our collective efforts have achieved remarkable successes in tackling the challenges of the twenty- first century, particularly in the area of sustainable development. Unfortunately, however, our efforts to bring about regional and global stability have stalled, especially in our region. Today we are witnessing violations of States’ sovereignty and interference in their internal affairs. As conflicts continue and new crises emerge, we are seeing a growing presence of extremist and terrorist groups, which have developed their capabilities with the support of rogue States that aim to destabilize and dominate the region. Terrorist groups such as Da’esh, the Muslim Brotherhood, Hizbullah, Al-Qaida and the Houthis have been able to access the weapons and funding they need to implement their agendas, thereby exacerbating existing crises. The terrorist attacks on our sister nation of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the ongoing strikes targeting its civilian and vital infrastructure, the most recent being a heinous attack on ARAMCO’s facilities, have been condemned. Such attacks not only threaten the security of both Saudi Arabia and the region but also affect the stability of the global economy. In that context, we emphasize the importance of restoring a reasoned approach and securing maritime navigation and energy supplies while working to find sustainable solutions based on respect for the sovereignty of States and non-interference in their internal affairs.
Despite the efforts of the international community, we have to admit that multilateralism has not responded to the challenges that have emerged in the past few decades, mainly owing to weak enforcement of international law and Security Council resolutions and disregard for the role of regional organizations and States in supporting political solutions. While international mechanisms for the maintenance of peace and security do exist, an inability to take a firm stand against some States’ aggressive policies has hindered international efforts.
Even when there has been international consensus on the importance of taking collective measures to maintain peace and security — such as curbing Iran’s nuclear ambitions by signing a nuclear agreement with that country — the agreement involved failed to achieve expectations in correcting Iran’s behaviour and compelling it to abide by international law and the principle of good-neighbourliness. The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action should have taken into consideration the views of the countries of our vital region that fully understand its history and should also have addressed every aspect of Iran’s behaviour, such as its interference in the internal affairs of States, its development of a ballistic-missile programme and its provision of arms to terrorist groups. This is a country that is seeking to export its revolution.
We have an opportunity to achieve sustainable solutions that serve the interests of the region through a political initiative supported by the international community that focuses on the following four areas. The first is promoting the implementation of international law and the Charter of the United Nations as core pillars in preventing the collapse of the international order and preserving relations among States. To that end, we should support States’ capacity to implement their legal obligations, and hold accountable States that violate those obligations. My country will continue to make it a priority to urge States to respect their legal obligations and abide by the principle of good- neighbourliness. In 48 years the United Arab Emirates has never renounced its claim to sovereignty and legitimate rights over the three islands of Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, which are occupied by Iran in a flagrant violation of international law and the Charter. The historical records assert that the United Arab Emirates owns the islands and that they have been under Arab rule since ancient times. We therefore want to emphasize once again from this rostrum the firm position of the United Arab Emirates regarding its legitimate right to sovereignty over its three islands. We will never abandon the demand that Iran restore our rights to us. My country has called on Iran to peacefully resolve the issue through direct negotiations or through the International Court of Justice, but those calls have gone unanswered.
Secondly, regional organizations should be permitted to play a greater role in addressing regional tensions and achieving security and stability. We should emphasize that it is they that are best positioned to develop effective solutions to the issues of their member States. This year our sister nation of Saudi Arabia hosted Gulf, Arab and Islamic summits, in a successful example of coordinating regional and international positions to address the critical security situation in the region. We also look forward to the assistance of the United Nations in promoting consultations and cooperation with those organizations when discussing regional issues. The part played by the African Union in supporting peacekeeping operations, especially its recent role in the Sudan, is a successful model that we welcome and encourage others to follow.
Thirdly, we should enhance political action and make it more effective in easing tensions and resolving crises in order to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of our peoples. That requires building trust among States and strengthening mediation efforts, including those of United Nations envoys. For that to succeed, the relevant parties must work within a comprehensive, transparent and cooperative framework. Accordingly, the United Arab Emirates considers political efforts vital as the primary option for de-escalating and addressing crises. When my country joined the coalition to support legitimacy in Yemen we focused on restoring the role of the legitimate Yemeni Government, rejecting the fait accompli that those who carried out the coup tried to impose and supporting a political process that could lead to stability and peace. Despite the violations by the Houthis, my country will continue its efforts to achieve peace. Similarly, we believe that a political path is the best option for addressing regional issues and we appreciate the efforts of the United Nations, the international community and friendly States in that regard. We welcome the role of the Secretary-General in supporting the political track with regard to the issue of the Moroccan Sahara and commend the efforts of our brothers in the Kingdom of Morocco to find a political solution to the issue.
The chaos that has engulfed the Arab world during the past decade made us even more committed to finding political solutions and more appreciative of the importance of the stability of States and the security of their peoples. The Palestinian question will remain the central issue of the Arab world. Stability cannot be established in our region without a just, comprehensive and lasting solution that enables the Palestinian people to establish an independent State with Jerusalem as its capital. Violations committed by the occupying Power against the Palestinians, including the creation of new facts on the ground in Jerusalem, will enable extremist groups to exploit the suffering of the brotherly Palestinian people.
Lastly, with regard to focusing on development and investment for fostering our peoples’ prosperity, the starting point should be rebuilding post-conflict countries, supporting their national institutions and strengthening their rule of law. More broadly, we need to fight extremism and spread the values of tolerance and pluralism while ensuring that women and young people contribute to such efforts, which will lead to a brighter future for all.
We must not forget the suffering of millions all over the world that results from war and natural disasters, whose severe impact requires intensified humanitarian efforts. In that context, my country continues to spread a message of peace by assisting those affected, regardless of their race or religion. In particular, we have also stepped up our humanitarian and development assistance in response to the crisis in Yemen, which has worsened as a result of the fact that the Houthis have been obstructing people’s access to assistance and even stealing aid supplies and equipment to finance their criminal acts.
Stability has been lacking in our region for a long time, but it can be achieved through hard work and united international efforts. We believe that the next few years will begin a new era for our region, which will become a global economic and cultural centre where new technology, science, renewable energy and artificial intelligence will thrive. To that end, we are hosting Expo 2020 and seeking to launch outer-space projects and create a new environment for young people in which they can aspire to a brighter future with open minds. As individuals, Governments and peoples, we have a choice to either start a new decade in which we safeguard the future of our region and the world, or to abandon our world to terrorist groups and destructive extremist ideologies. We will continue to fight the latter with all our might.


I am greatly honoured to address the General Assembly for the first time. I would like to congratulate the President on his assumption of the presidency of the Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I assure him that Latvia will provide active and constructive support to our joint efforts during this session.
Thirty years ago, as a young politician and lawyer, I had the opportunity to fight for the restoration of my country’s independence. Latvia, like Estonia and Lithuania, was occupied by the Soviet Union at the beginning of the Second World War. Unlike in western Europe, where the war ended in 1945, the Baltic States regained their independence only in 1991. We will be forever grateful to the States that never recognized the occupation of our countries as legitimate. Our independence was regained through strong mass movements whose demands were rooted in international law, and was the result of a non-violent freedom fight, a rare occurrence in history. At the same time, it was a triumph for international law. It proves that even seemingly hopeless situations can be overcome by belief in the law and strong civil societies. Sooner or later, justice will always prevail.
In the 25 years that followed, I had the privilege of serving as a judge in two international or supranational courts — first the European Court of Human Rights, then the Court of Justice of the European Union. That explains why justice and the rule of law at the national and international levels is so important for the Latvian State, the Latvian nation and for me personally. I was therefore pleased earlier today to deposit Latvia’s declaration joining the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice as yet another sign of our strong commitment to the rule of law and a rules-based international order.
A strong multilateral, inclusive and rules-based international order is essential to the maintenance of global peace and security. It must be our joint responsibility to defend and strengthen it. The United Nations is and must remain the central forum for multilateralism and a rules-based global order. Experience shows that our goals are best achieved through cooperation in multilateral forums. With that aim, Latvia is actively seeking opportunities to contribute to a more peaceful and just world. For example, over the past year we are proud to have presided over the fifth Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty.
The multilateral order also demands that territorial integrity and sovereignty, as enshrined in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, be respected by all States Members of the United Nations. In that regard I should point to Russia’s open disrespect for the principles of international law, as its violations of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia continue. Such brazen disregard for international law must not be accepted as a new normal. Latvia’s experience shows that the rule of law, like democracy and respect for human rights, is an important catalyst for a State’s successful development. We will therefore strongly support the consolidation of those principles in international law.
Nowadays, violations of international law are committed not only with direct military force but increasingly through disinformation, cyberattacks, economic influence, energy pressures and interference in electoral processes. Given that such hybrid threats do not recognize national borders, no country is immune. The United Nations can and must be a significant global player in promoting peace, security and stability in cyberspace. Latvia is ready to participate actively in relevant discussions and share its experience in promoting responsible behaviour in cyberspace and boosting institutional and individual resilience to malicious intent. While there can be no doubt that digital technologies have brought humanity progress, we must be careful to prevent them from being used maliciously. There can be no excuse for unintended or unexpected consequences that undermine our societies. Technologies must be developed with greater responsibility and accountability.
We must be aware of the impact of technological advances on human communication and connectivity. Vast amounts of personal data are being collected every second of every day by both State and non-State actors. Our private communications, our health, location and movements can be constantly monitored. In recent times the use of facial recognition has been increasing, and we are coming under constant surveillance. Yet the rules governing the ownership, authorization and protection of that data are opaque to say the least. Our data can easily become a threat to our freedom and privacy. When we feel that we are being observed, we often adjust our behaviour and speech. The potential risks to the independence of our thoughts and actions will only grow in the coming years, given the rapid development of artificial intelligence. We must not allow artificial intelligence rather than humans to take legally binding decisions. Humans must retain control.
The United Nations must therefore actively promote the discussion of personal data protection in cyberspace, especially the ethical and legal standards for the collection and use of personal data. We need an intensive public discussion of risk reduction at the national, regional and global levels. The international level is essential, since cyberspace is global. We believe that the report of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation, The Age of Digital Interdependence, and the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Disarmament, which addresses key technology security concerns, are a useful stimulus for a more intensive exchange of ideas in this area.
The climate, too, is global. Climate change must be tackled at the international, State and individual levels. We must collaborate across borders to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. The empowerment of young people can play an important role in climate action, as we recently witnessed at the Youth Climate Summit. Technologies also have a leading role to play in healing our planet. Innovations, combined with computing power and connectivity, enable us to become more effective. I am proud that Latvian information technology companies are willing to take up the challenge and have joined the green pledge launched by our neighbour Estonia.
Latvia is committed to the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In Latvia, we have reduced our greenhouse-gas emissions by almost 60 per cent compared to our 1990 levels, but we understand that it is not enough, and we therefore support climate neutrality as a goal for the future. We are currently working on an ambitious low-carbon development strategy that will enable Latvia to reach climate neutrality by 2050. Earlier this year, my Government approved a national climate change adaptation plan for 2030. It sets out concrete actions on adaptation to be implemented in the near future. A major solution for mitigating climate change that aligns closely with Latvia’s own experience is sustainable forest management, which provides continuous carbon sinks and sustainable forest products that can replace fossil-based materials, thereby reducing emissions. Forest coverage in Latvia has almost doubled since the first half of last century, and we are committed to sustainable forest management for our current and future generations. Meanwhile, our civil society is also making efforts. On World Cleanup Day, 21 September, individuals young and old planted trees all over Latvia as a contribution to our sustainable future, building on a long-standing volunteer tradition in my country to promote a clean environment.
Latvia remains a strong advocate of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with a view to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals both nationally and globally. The Sustainable Development Goals have changed the way we plan our own long-term national development strategy. At the national level, we are focused on two main directions — promoting an innovative and eco-efficient economy and reducing inequalities. I believe that ensuring gender equality and women’s empowerment is not only the right thing but also the smart thing to do from an economic perspective. Latvia is showing leadership in this area. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2018, Latvia is one of the few countries in the world that has closed the gap in terms of both health and survival and in educational attainment, and it is above the 80 per cent milestone for economic participation and opportunity. Through bilateral development cooperation programmes, Latvia is contributing to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly in the European Union’s eastern areas and Central Asia. We share the lessons we learned through our own transition to a democratic State, based on the rule of law.
Thirty years ago, 2 million people joined hands to make a 600-kilometre-long human chain through Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania called the Baltic Way, to demonstrate our wish for freedom. The Baltic Way and the fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of the Cold War. Latvia was finally able to join the United Nations. We have actively used the opportunities provided by multilateralism through this unique global body, and my country and people have experienced impressive change over the past 30 years. I believe that the United Nations, too, can adapt to resolve the global challenges of today. Let us use the run-up to its seventy-fifth anniversary to make the United Nations more purposeful and valued by working with renewed determination on its own reforms, notably that of the Security Council. The United Nations must evolve if it is to stay effective. All the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations are as relevant today as they were 74 years ago, when it was adopted. I am gratified that Latvia now has the freedom to enjoy those principles within its borders and the responsibility to uphold those principles across the globe.


At the outset, I am pleased to be able to congratulate the President on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, and I wish him every success in his work. I would also like to thank Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces for her excellent leadership of the work of the Assembly at its previous session.
On 16 September, the General Assembly voted to adopt resolution 73/344, on the establishment of the Academy for Human Encounters and Dialogue in Lebanon (see A/73/PV.107). In that context, on behalf of my country I would like to thank all the Member States that sponsored the resolution and voted in favour of it, encouraging us to move forward with this initiative, which I launched before the Assembly two years ago (see A/72/PV.11).
I will follow up the creation of the Academy with keen attention, because I believe that true peace is established not on paper but between human beings, and because I also have faith in Lebanon’s role and vocation as a land of convergence and dialogue, and in the experiences and expertise of its people and its pluralistic society, which have enabled them to reject intellectual and religious extremism and live in tolerance and acceptance of others. The Academy is all the more important because it embodies an international project for fostering the convergence of various cultures, religions and ethnicities, while promoting a spirit of coexistence and spreading a culture of knowing and accepting the other, in line with the principles of the United Nations and with what this Organization aims for through its noble programmes, which strive to bridge the gaps between peoples and to advance the preventive diplomacy that can ultimately help to eradicate the causes of conflicts.
Two days ago, the Secretary-General convened the Climate Action Summit here at the United Nations. In that context, Lebanon, as one the first signatories of the Paris Agreement, joined the group of countries supporting the initiative of President Van der Bellen of Austria for a more ambitious approach to climate action.
Lebanon has also taken numerous steps this year to promote the role of women. In fact, the Lebanese Government has adopted a comprehensive national plan to put into effect Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security, and has begun implementing it. We have also completed all the steps related to the work of our National Commission for Human Rights and Torture Prevention Committee.
While the fierce war that raged across many countries in the Middle East in the past decade has subsided somewhat, its effects and consequences for our countries and societies are becoming more widespread and entrenched, especially at the economic and social levels. The theme of the General Assembly’s debates this year is “Galvanizing the multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”. I would like to once again remind the Assembly of the enormously adverse impact of the Syrian displacement crisis and its repercussions for Lebanon in the security, political, social, economic and environmental arenas, as well as on our infrastructure and growth and unemployment rates. It is a serious threat to Lebanon’s ability to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and has aggravated our economic crisis.
As Lebanon strives to tackle this difficult economic situation, it is also relying on a set of drastic structural measures and reforms to its economic and financial system, in cooperation with the relevant international institutions. However, I also want to call on all world leaders to work for the safe return of Syria’s displaced persons, especially considering that it is certainly not Lebanon’s sole responsibility to address this crisis but rather a shared international duty that makes it imperative that we all work together urgently to find solutions to it. The international community cannot content itself with merely providing minimal assistance to the displaced and refugees in the regions where they are displaced, while ignoring programmes for their safe and dignified return. The conditions for that return are in place. In fact, as international reports have shown, the security situation in most of Syria is now stable, while military confrontations are limited to the Idlib area, and the Syrian Government has officially declared over and over again that it will welcome the return of the displaced. To date, around 370,000 of them have left Lebanon, of whom more than 250,000 have returned to Syria with no reports that they have been persecuted or mistreated.
On the other hand, we have many question marks about the positions of certain influential States and relevant international organizations that have been obstructing this return, and about the allegations that the security situation in Syria is dangerous. They sow fear among the displaced, in a clear indication of the political perspectives under which the displacement crisis is being tackled, as if the displaced have become hostages in an international game, to be swapped when settlements and solutions are imposed. That is very likely to drive Lebanon to promote the return process that has begun, in agreement with the Syrian Government, in order to resolve this dilemma, which is threatening our very existence. The fact is that the experience of displaced peoples anywhere in the world as they wait for political solutions is not at all reassuring.
We have seen two discouraging experiences in this respect in our history, one in 1974, after war broke out in Cyprus and a large number of Cypriots took refuge in Lebanon. They quickly returned to their country as soon as a ceasefire was declared, without waiting for a political settlement, which has not been achieved to this day. The other began in 1948, when waves of Palestinians were displaced to the countries of diaspora and particularly to Lebanon, where they are still living in camps, nurturing the dream of return, and where they have now been awaiting a political settlement and the implementation of resolution 194 (III) for 71 years.
In a related context, I want to warn against the danger of reducing the services provided to Palestinian refugees by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which have added to the social and fiscal strains weighing on them and on us and threaten to turn Palestinian school students into young people seeking revenge. In that regard, I want to note Lebanon’s categorical rejection of any attempt to undermine or modify UNRWA’s mandate. I call on the countries that contribute to its budget to double their contributions in order to enable it to restore its vital role.
The crisis in the Middle East, which has lingered for decades, is becoming more complicated, because all approaches to reaching a settlement and all of Israel’s practices run counter to the founding principles of the United Nations. The Judaization of Al-Quds, the policy of systematic colonization, the laws that contravene human rights, the recognition of the annexation of lands occupied by force, as in the case of the Golan Heights, the election promises to annex new lands, with all the leaks about the so-called deal of the century, changing the borders of some States and undermining their territorial unity, while eliminating the Palestinian cause and keeping the Palestinians where they are, as well as the damage that Lebanon is likely to suffer as a result because it hosts a large number of refugees — all of these undermine any chance for peace in the Middle East and unquestionably point to a dark, unknown future. And yet people continue to have rights however long it takes.
Israel’s violations of Security Council resolution 1701 (2006) have not ceased, and neither have the continued acts of aggression against Lebanon’s sovereignty by land, sea and air. Last month’s blatantly hostile attack on a residential area in the heart of Beirut is a serious infringement of the resolution, while the fires that lasted for days in the occupied Shebaa farms as a result of incendiary Israeli shells represent an international environmental crime that demands that those who caused them be condemned. From this rostrum, I want to reiterate that Lebanon is a peace-loving country and that we are committed to resolution 1701 (2006) and always strive to respect it, but that commitment does not obviate our natural inalienable right to legitimately defend ourselves, our land and our people by all available means. I also reiterate that Lebanon retains its sovereign rights over the occupied areas of Shebaa Farms, Kfar Shouba Hills and northern Ghajar. We will spare no effort to affirm our internationally recognized land borders, which are firmly documented at the United Nations, and to demarcate our maritime borders under United Nations supervision, while welcoming help from any country in this respect, at a time when exploratory oil and gas drilling operations will start in our territorial waters by the end of the year, in accordance with international laws and norms.
As Lebanon embarks on preparations to celebrate the centenary of Greater Lebanon, the United Nations, founded on 24 October 1945, will be celebrating its seventy-fifth anniversary. Since then the world has known many wars and conflicts, especially in the Middle East, the constant flashpoint where the temperature rises or falls but never cools down. It is our peoples who continue to pay a high price with their security, stability, peace, economy and even demographic diversity. The core of the problem is the same — a contradiction between the interests of the strong and the rights of the weak. Thus, principles, logic and justice are lost and solutions disintegrate.
The political aberration prevailing today has cost the world its stability, now that all the guiding milestones have been undermined and there are no more criteria to confine and control differences and thereby solve them according to the applicable rules. This has made many peoples incapable of taking political decisions beyond their borders and prevented them from coming together and cooperating. Many opportunities for conflict resolution have been lost and the door has been opened wide for chaos.
The United Nations has undertaken many initiatives to make the voice of peace and development heard. Some have succeeded while many have not attained the desired outcome. We hope that the United Nations today will promote the general principles, international law and charters that serve as the only references for safeguarding our rights. No justice shall rise, no right shall be granted and no peace shall be established as long as the principle prevailing in our world is “might makes right”.


At the outset, allow me to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session and to wish you every success in fulfilling this important task. I would also like to express my gratitude to Her Excellency Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces for her successful and effective leadership of the previous session of the General Assembly.
This session’s theme of the general debate of the General Assembly “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion” is particularly relevant. In recent years, the people of the Kyrgyz Republic, having set a course for building a new political system in 2010, have achieved significant results in developing parliamentary democracy, a multi-party system and the legal transfer of power, as well as in strengthening the civil sector and its institutions. One indicator of the success of the path that we chose was the presidential election in 2017, which resulted in a peaceful democratic transfer of power.
The functioning of parliamentary democracy clearly requires ongoing diligent work and seeking compromises, while at the same time opening up new opportunities. A strong civil society, with a balanced Government, and diverse viewpoints allow for reforms and corruption to be rooted out.
To date, the Kyrgyz Republic has been uncompromising in the fight against corruption. There are of course elements that do not want such changes. At the beginning of August, there was an attempt to undermine our national unity, stability and security. However, the wisdom, unity and firm belief of our people in the irreversibility of the ongoing reforms meant that the situation in our country did not deteriorate.
The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has set a course to improve the work of the State bodies. Profound changes are taking place. Reforms of the law enforcement, fiscal and educational systems, aimed at ensuring greater accountability and transparency, are making progress. At the beginning of the year new laws entered into force that focus on modernizing criminal legislation and promoting the reforms under way. We have launched the electronic single register of crimes and misdemeanours and single register of offences, which strengthen the capacity of law enforcement agencies and the legal system as a whole.
In the context of implementing the Sustainable Development Goals, the Kyrgyz Republic continues to address socioeconomic issues, including reducing unemployment, raising the standard of living of the population by implementing national programmes in the areas of education and health care, youth policies and infrastructure projects, as well as by attracting investment and creating the most favourable conditions to that end.
The national development strategy for 2018-2040 has an entire section on priority areas of development of the Kyrgyz Republic for the period to 2023. That includes areas such as reforming State governance, establishing a fair judiciary, developing the energy sector and introducing information technologies. As part of the Year of Regional Development and Digitalization of the Country and in implementation of the digital transformation concept “Digital Kyrgyzstan for 2019-2023”, significant measures are being taken to build the capacity of the regions. Digitalization is being actively implemented in the country at all levels, from kindergartens, schools and universities to Government agencies and the business community, including digital technologies in public services.
Currently, the number of innovative schools is increasing. Ninety-six per cent of schools in the country are connected to the Internet network and electronic health projects are being introduced. Sixty State bodies are connected to an electronic interoperability system called Tunduk and 24 State bodies have started electronic document processing.
There is a programme for the construction and restoration of sections of international transport corridors for the period up to 2025. For the first time in the Kyrgyz Republic, the office of Business Ombudsman and a new model of cooperation between the State and business have been established in order to create favourable conditions and protect business interests. A moratorium on the audit of businesses has been brought in for two years, until 1 January 2021. Entrepreneurs building new enterprises in the regions are exempt from four kinds of taxes for five years, with the right to extension. The Kyrgyz Republic was ranked seventieth out of 190 economies in the World Bank’s Doing Business 2019: Training for Reform. A liberal investment and tax regime has been created, which speaks favourably of our country. The Kyrgyz Republic is among a group of countries with a developed public-private partnership sector.
Under the new foreign policy framework of the Kyrgyz Republic, as approved by its President in March, we pay particular attention to cooperation with the United Nations and its institutions. In the area of strategic development, the Kyrgyz Republic prioritizes achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Goals have been successfully implemented as part of the national development strategy for the period from 2018 to 2040, which seeks to further promote economic development and will help us to effectively implement the SDGs.
As further proof of our commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Kyrgyz Republic has requested to submit in 2020 its voluntary national review on SDG implementation as part of the high-level political forum on sustainable development of the Economic and Social Council.
At the international level, the Kyrgyz Republic is also contributing to the implementation of the SDGs. We hosted the World Nomad Games, aimed at preserving the diversity of cultures and traditions, which has been recognized and supported by the General Assembly and UNESCO.
We are grateful to the United Nations for including the Kyrgyz Republic in the financing for development project. As a mountainous country, the Kyrgyz Republic is severely affected by the negative impacts of climate change. According to the assessments of experts, the Central Asian region has experienced the accelerated melting of glaciers, which for centuries have been a source of life and clean drinking water. That will have an impact on vast areas, changing the landscape, and may affect traditional ways of life and lead to mass displacements.
Such consequences of climate change cannot but concern the Kyrgyz Republic as a landlocked mountainous country. With the support of Member States, the Kyrgyz Republic therefore established the Group of Friends of Mountainous Countries and calls on all to engage in broad and fruitful cooperation within that framework. In time, the Kyrgyz Republic drew the attention of the international community to the issue of the sustainable development of mountainous countries and initiated the declaration of 2002 as the International Year of Mountains. During this seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly the Kyrgyz Republic intends to again co-sponsor the updated draft resolution on sustainable mountain development.
In September 2018, the Kyrgyz Republic was the leading country in the number of volunteers who participated in the global action on World Cleanup Day. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic has now submitted the Paris Agreement on Climate Change for ratification by the country’s Parliament.
No less important is addressing another problem related to uranium tailings facilities in the Central Asian region. In 2015, the multilateral Environmental Remediation Account for Central Asia was established. Last year, the Kyrgyz Republic initiated the adoption of the new resolution 73/238, entitled “The role of the international community in the prevention of the radiation threat in Central Asia”. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the countries that supported and sponsored the resolution. During this session of the General Assembly, on 27 September here in New York, the Kyrgyz Republic held a high-level event that focused on preventing the dangers associated with the former uranium mining activities in Central Asia.
The Kyrgyz Republic attaches particular importance to cooperation in the Central Asian region, which is developing dynamically. In that regard, I wish to draw attention to resolution 72/283, entitled “Strengthening regional and international cooperation to ensure peace, stability and sustainable development in the Central Asian Region”, adopted in 2018.
At the same time, in Central Asia there are still problems, whose successful resolution requires the collective efforts of the countries of the region. It is necessary to address, as a matter of priority, the demarcation of State borders, which will make it possible to ease social tensions in such areas and prevent border incidents. Guided by principles of good-neighbourliness, the Kyrgyz Republic takes a responsible approach towards such matters. We have already achieved concrete results in that regard.
Today, Central Asian countries must remove obstacles towards economic cooperation and increasing the region’s transit potential. Separately, we are addressing the integrated use of water and energy resources in the region. Forming the main freshwater reserves, as part of existing relations, the Kyrgyz Republic seeks to receive appropriate economic compensation for the storage and conservation of water resources. Those resources are important not only to the region but for the preservation of the entire global balance. Kyrgyzstan therefore supports establishing an integrated administration for water-resource management and proposes developing economic mechanisms in Central Asia for establishing mutually beneficial cooperation in the hydro-energy sector.
We are also focusing on producing green electric power. The implementation of hydroelectric projects will ensure that we meet the needs of Central Asian countries in terms of hydropower, thereby creating conditions conducive to sustainable development across the entire region. In the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we believe equal attention should be paid to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 7, ensuring access to affordable and clean energy. In that regard, the Kyrgyz Republic is working to implement the Central Asia-South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project. From a regional perspective, Kyrgyzstan considers cooperation and comprehensive dialogue to be the only possible way to resolve existing issues in this area.
Ensuring access to safe and affordable drinking water is an urgent issue for our country. According to statistics from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Kyrgyzstan, while an area of Central Asia that is a significant source of water supplies, has the lowest per capita access to drinking water in the region. In rural areas, about 40 per cent of the population is not adequately provided with clean drinking water. In order to deal with that, my Government is currently implementing its Taza Suu project — meaning “clean water” — designed to provide villages with clean drinking water. In that connection, we urge international organizations, financial institutions and donor countries to support my country’s efforts in promoting such projects.
Current events in the world today show that no State can effectively confront its challenges and threats solely through its own efforts. The widespread expansion of international terrorism and extremism in their various manifestations, along with illegal drug and arms trafficking, human trafficking, cross-border crime and the threat of the emergence or escalation of conflicts, requires collective efforts for implementing preventive measures. In that regard, I want to emphasize that throughout its chairmanship of various regional structures this year, including the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), Kyrgyzstan has highlighted the need for greater attention to the importance of constructive engagement and the adoption of comprehensive measures to tackle these challenges and threats, an approach that is fully in line with the purposes and principles of the United Nations and Chapter VIII of its Charter. In that regard, we would like to thank to all States Members of the United Nations for their support in the Assembly’s adoption of resolution 73/334, on cooperation between the United Nations and the SCO, and resolution 73/331, on cooperation between the United Nations and the CSTO.
We reaffirm our commitment to effectively implementing the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We also call on the international community to adopt coordinated measures, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), to prevent people who have previously participated in armed conflict on the side of international terrorist organizations from returning to their countries of origin in Central Asia or from redeploying to our region. We believe that given the existing and emerging centres of instability around the world, the role of the United Nations should be strengthened as much as possible. In that regard, we support the peaceful resolution of the ongoing conflicts and crises around the world by promoting dialogue between all political and military forces under the auspices of the United Nations.
In the light of everything I have mentioned, I want to once again draw the Assembly’s attention to the fact that on 9 June 2017, Kyrgyzstan, in its efforts to make a substantial contribution to the common cause of the United Nations — ensuring peace, global security, sustainable development and social progress all over the world — as well as to focus the attention of the international community and the United Nations on the problems of small States, put forward its candidacy for non-permanent membership of the Security Council for the period from 2027 to 2028. In the years since it became independent, the Kyrgyz Republic has gained significant international experience as a Member State. We have been selected a number of times to become members of various elective United Nations bodies and specialized agencies, including the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme, the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations and the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. Kyrgyzstan has twice been elected to the Human Rights Council, in May 2009 and October 2015. The Kyrgyz Republic is also a member and depositary of the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, and we strongly support international cooperation in the reclamation and destruction of radioactive waste and the restoration of contaminated land.
The Kyrgyz Republic pays great attention to preventive diplomacy, peacebuilding and peacemaking. We have positive experience of participating in the settlement of international and local conflicts, in United Nations peacekeeping operations and within the framework of the Peacebuilding Fund, and we are also contributing to the process of restoring Afghanistan. We believe it is essential that the international community focus greater attention on the prevention of conflicts and the fight against terrorist and extremist activity. With regard to the issue of Security Council reform, and in order to strengthen the consolidating role of the United Nations and adapt its activities to current realities, Kyrgyzstan supports the adoption of the reforms needed to improve it, based on the principles of universality, effectiveness and broad geographical representation.
With the essential support of the United Nations, our country is making efforts to implement multifaceted and diverse reforms, which are confirmed by the assessments of Kyrgyzstan put forward by the international non-governmental structures that are carrying out research and establishing ratings on important issues pertaining to our progress in sustainable development. According to the April 2019 World Press Freedom Index, the Kyrgyz Republic ranked eighty-third out of 180 countries, improving its ranking by 15 places. We have also ratified eight of the nine international human rights treaties. On 7 May, Kyrgyzstan ratified the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. In 2018, we successfully completed our term on the Human Rights Council. According to data from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this year Kyrgyzstan became the first country in the world to resolve its stateless problem, having reduced the number of stateless persons from 13,000 to zero over the past five years.
We are still facing many challenges in the area of the protection and promotion of human rights. We are keen to harness the potential and experience of the United Nations and other international partners with regard to the specifics of our national development and the historical and cultural traits peculiar to the Kyrgyz Republic. Our active and productive cooperation with the United Nations system is evident in the growing presence of its institutions in our country. We intend to continue our joint work, and we are very interested in the possibility of attracting additional structures and expanding the United Nations presence in our country.
The United Nations is a key global centre for solving the problems of maintaining peace and security, developing friendly relations between nations, cooperating to address development issues, reducing poverty, promoting human rights, protecting the environment, fighting disease and tackling many of the other challenges and problems facing humankind. We are an open country, ready for mutually beneficial dialogue and trustworthy and cooperative partnerships with States. We believe that together we can solve the challenges we face in striving to maintain peace and security and ensure the sustainable development of all States, including by improving the standard of living and well-being of all peoples.


I wish	 to 	congratulate Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande on his assumption of the responsibility to steer the work of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I assure him of Sierra Leone’s full support during his tenure. I also applaud Her Excellency Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces of Ecuador for the effective manner in which she conducted the previous session. I also commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his overall dedication and commitment to the work of the Organization, including his efforts to advance the urgent need to address climate change.
We commit to our prayers memories of the late President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe. He was a dedicated pan-Africanist whose pursuit of African integration, cooperation and solidarity shall forever remain in our minds and hearts.
The theme of the current session, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, builds on the commitments we have made over the years. Those issues are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We therefore commend the timely choice of a theme that resonates with the aspirations of the people whom we all represent.
Sierra Leone supports the principle of collective engagement in both the prevention and settlement of conflicts and disputes, as well as the Secretary-General’s reform agenda in sustaining peace in all its facets, including efforts to reform peacekeeping. As a troop- and police-contributing country, Sierra Leone’s active participation in peacekeeping operations demonstrates our firm commitment to the promotion and maintenance of international peace and security. Let me reiterate our firm commitment to continuing to contribute our fair share in maintaining world peace.
The need for Security Council reform is urgent and imperative. Our historic pledge to the early reform of the Security Council as an essential element of our overall effort to reform the United Nations must be upheld and implemented without further delay. The legitimacy and effectiveness of the Security Council’s decisions and the relevance of the United Nations as a whole will continue to be questioned if urgent action is not taken to make the Council more broadly representative. Africa remains the only region without representation in the permanent category of the Security Council, and is also underrepresented in the non-permanent category.
In that context, Africa’s demand for two permanent seats with all the rights and prerogatives of current members, including the right of the veto, as well as two additional non-permanent seats, is a matter of common justice. Africa should have the right to an equal say in decision-making on issues pertaining to international peace and security. The long-standing injustice and imbalance perpetrated by the current configuration of the Security Council should be of grave concern to us all and ought to be addressed now.
As the Coordinator of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government, which seeks the reform of the Security Council, we are convinced that such reform should address the long-standing injustice and imbalance of the current configuration of the Security Council. We believe that the prevailing geopolitical realities make a compelling case for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council in order to bring about equitable geographic representation. Africa’s patience is being tested. We therefore urge the Assembly to collectively support our urgent call for Africa’s representation on the Security Council, as espoused in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration.
We pursue peace as a public common good, and we have played an important role in securing peace as a stand-alone goal of the 2030 Agenda. There is a strong case to be made for the voices of billions of people living in conflict-affected countries to be heard in the highest global decision-making forum, in particular with regard to the Group of Seven Plus countries. Sierra Leone has always pursued country-led peace and resilience through national dialogue and reconciliation. We recently concluded a broad-based national consultative conference, Bintumani-III, during which a nationally representative body resolved to establish a permanent and independent national commission for peace and cohesion. We did so mindful that peaceful coexistence and inclusive governance are prerequisites for our development.
Development and poverty eradication must be well planned, inclusive and sustainable and must transition our nation out of fragility. To that end, Sierra Leone has partnered with United Nations agencies and development partners to better understand the dynamics and severity of poverty and map out possible approaches to eradicating poverty, in line with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1. That culminated with the production of a national multidimensional poverty index, a report on multidimensional child poverty and Sierra Leone’s population policy, all with a view to ensuring effective measuring and monitoring capabilities.
The aspirations of Sierra Leoneans are reflected in a detailed and costed five-year medium-term national development plan, entitled Education for Development. The plan, which was aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, is based on an inclusive national consultative process. It ensures that people are at the centre of, and own, our national development trajectory.
Eradicating poverty can be achieved only when we develop and improve our own greatest national resource — the people. Skilled, healthy and productive human beings represent the pathway to global success and prosperity. As a nation, we see human capital as a critical enabler for achieving the SDGs. My Government has therefore allocated 21 per cent of the national budget to education. Consequently, pre-primary to secondary school education is free, irrespective of gender, ability or ethnicity, and we now have 2 million children enrolled in school.
We have expanded opportunities in education for girls by creating safe spaces in schools, while campaigning vigorously against early marriage and sexual and gender-based violence. Girls admitted to study science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines in college are guaranteed scholarships. Technical and vocational education centres are now accessible to more Sierra Leonean girls and young people. We are also investing in more school infrastructure, transportation, sanitation and health, and nutrition and retention programmes.
We are restructuring and redesigning our education system to deliver quality education that meets the needs of inclusive and sustainable national and private-sector development. Our aim is to achieve fundamental, age-appropriate learning outcomes in literacy, computational skills and critical thinking. We invite the world to work with us. Through the directorate of science, technology and innovation, we have developed a human capital development incubator with extensive real-time data on education in Sierra Leone and other components of our human capital development flagship programme. Policy interventions and investments in education, health care and food security are increasingly informed and driven by that real-time data.
Sierra Leone continues to use the power of data to plan, make policy decisions, allocate resources, guide governance and create new possibilities for private entrepreneurship and drive human capital development. We are open to partnerships, collaboration and ideas about how to continue improving the quality of education, because we believe that our success in a global digital economy in the fourth industrial revolution is predicated on our investment in the future of our children.
Through partnerships and innovation, we have made great progress in establishing legal identity and birth registration by strengthening our national civil registration and vital statistics systems. We have also rolled out Africa’s first blockchain national digital identity platform, which will help citizens obtain access to approved institutions by digitally verifying their identities. That initiative to establish legal identity using a singular, securitized and serially numbered instrument is guided by governance, development planning, financial inclusion and human rights imperatives, among others. The same instrument can also be used to strengthen health care planning, health information systems, disease surveillance and the monitoring of public health interventions and outcomes.
The threats of inequality, lack of opportunity and exclusion of our young people still persist. Anxiety over the growing population of young people in Africa is complicated by increased poverty indicators, the exclusion of young people, the perils of migration across the Mediterranean, transnational organized crime, terrorism, violent extremism and greater national and regional security threats. Sierra Leone is addressing the youth question through financial and social inclusion programmes, skills training and farming initiatives. We are pleased to be one of the 10 countries selected by the United Nations as pilots in the recently launched United Nations Youth Strategy. We aim to collaborate across the region and with international partners and to share lessons and best practices.
Our development agenda is inclusive and affirms the critical role of women. We have ratified Security Council resolution 1325 (2000), on women and peace and security. We are addressing the inclusion of women in governance and entrepreneurship. Our actions on child marriage, rape and sexual and gender-based violence have been emphatic and uncompromising. We have passed progressive laws on sexual offences and a presidential task force directly advises the President on sexual and gender-based violence. We are also working to eliminate barriers to the inclusion of persons with disabilities.
Quality, affordable and universal health care coverage is foundational to productivity and overall well-being. That is critical for our human capital development agenda. As a nation, we cannot afford the cost of not investing in health care and universal health care coverage. We have maintained a rights-based approach to health care coverage that is aligned with SDG 3. We are focused on, and request cooperation in, reducing maternal and child mortality; preventing epidemics of tropical and communicable diseases through increased disease detection, surveillance and control; providing primary health care in accordance with the Declaration of Astana; providing first-rate, in-country medical diagnostic facilities; and strengthening capacity and resilience in the delivery of health-care services.
Through all those efforts, we are leveraging innovation and technology to support the delivery of health care. We also believe that we cannot achieve universal health coverage without delivering mental health care for all. We are rewriting mental health legislation and are committed to community-based mental health care and treatment. We aim to change attitudes towards mental health and provide affordable and integrated quality care that matches the burden of mental health conditions. We therefore welcome partnerships with a view to achieving that goal.
Our focus as a Government remains the delivery of accountable and transparent State governance through critical debates and engagement with all citizens on their rights, governance and development. We continue to work with civil society and the press as we expand democratic space. My Government has forwarded to Parliament a bill to completely repeal a 54-year-old law that criminalizes libel, which has been used by Governments in the past to imprison journalists and restrict press freedoms.
As co-Chair of the Task Force on Access to Justice, Sierra Leone strongly identifies with, and reiterates, the Secretary-General’s call for accelerated commitments to addressing gaps in the justice delivery system. We have signalled that commitment as a country by establishing a special directorate within the Ministry of Justice to monitor, evaluate and report on progress on access to justice for our most vulnerable groups. We are also using technology and innovation to digitize our court processes and thereby fast-track justice delivery for all.
We have undertaken governance reforms that foster the rule of law and public accountability. And we continue to pursue a determined fight against corruption while minimizing the waste and abuse of State resources. We are also implementing business-friendly reforms that create an ecosystem that is conducive to private capital investment and entrepreneurship in our country.
Allow me to express my country’s sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General for convening the Climate Action Summit in September. Extreme weather events increase the risk of hunger, disease, forced migration, conflict and poverty. The science is indisputable, the effects on lives and livelihoods are real and the threats to our efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals are clear and present.
As a country, we are committed to a multilateral approach to fully implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. Our medium-term national development plan provides for mitigation and adaptation strategies that include reviewing, formulating and strengthening national policy actions on environmental management and governance. We are committed to green and sustainable energy generation. With the right partnerships, the right attitude and an unflinching commitment to climate financing and continuing multilateral efforts, we can save our planet from the destructive impacts of climate change.
Allow me to conclude by encouraging us all to not lose sight of the shared responsibility we all have to ensure a peaceful and secure world for the next generation. Sierra Leone is a small nation, but it is determined to play its own part in the international system. We are committed to promoting peace and security, addressing the underlying causes of fragility and the drivers of conflict, tackling the scourge of climate change and, in turn, building resilience and achieving the 2030 Agenda. Together, we can achieve that in our lifetime.


I would like to congratulate Mr. Muhammad-Bande on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- fourth session. We are confident that, under his able leadership, this session will be productive.
Myanmar considers this year’s theme, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, to be most timely. Those are among the most daunting challenges the world faces today. They can be overcome only through the coordinated efforts of the entire international community.
Eradicating poverty in all its forms is the greatest global challenge. In Myanmar we pursue a careful balance between economic and social development, on the one hand, and environmental protection and sustainability, on the other. The Government is resolute in its commitment to address poverty. To that end, we have developed a range of strategies that go beyond simply stimulating economic growth. Our efforts are bearing fruit — poverty in Myanmar has fallen from 48.2 per cent in 2005 to 24.8 per cent in 2017. Myanmar has also experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, becoming one of the region’s fastest-growing economies, with an annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent for the period 2018 to 2019.
The adverse effects of climate change pose significant obstacles to poverty reduction and threaten hard-won progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Indeed, climate change could be considered the defining issue of our time. In that connection, I welcome the convening of the Climate Action Summit and wish to underscore the urgency of responding to climate change and the importance of implementing both the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The United Nations is at the heart of multilateralism, on which we place our hopes and aspirations. In fact, cooperating with the United Nations is the cornerstone of our foreign policy. Our world is facing the challenges of transition and geopolitical shifts. The United Nations and other multilateral institutions need to recognize the disconnect between the expectations of peoples and nations and the responses of institutions and policies. Such a disconnect creates mistrust in international systems and institutions and causes the growth of unilateralism.
Countries are coming to the realization that, in the new geopolitical order, it is getting harder to find a common thread that ties their members together. The United Nations should take a stern look at how it is evolving. It must avoid the mistake of allowing unwieldy mandates or unilaterally extending its powers with no corresponding due diligence. Multilateral institutions should never be used as a tool to target Member States. They should uphold the sovereignty of nations, working in concert for a greater good, ensure the equality of actions and scrupulously avoid double standards and exceptionalism. Left unchecked, the United Nations, as a beacon of peace and security, may end up with huge deficits of trust. That cannot be allowed to happen, as there are critical issues that can be addressed only through multilateral efforts. No nation should be made to feel that its value in the United Nations is decided by the degree of material wealth and political influence it can muster.
Myanmar is undergoing a process of democratization and, in doing so, has embraced the culture of political dialogue to solve internal conflicts by peaceful means. We regard the rule of law as a fundamental principle of democratic governance. The Government and the legislature are seeking to make our laws more transparent to ensure that each and every person is equal before the law.
To attain progress in those and many other areas, we need a constitution that can truly protect and advance the democratic rights of the people. In that regard, the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, our parliament, has taken a bold initiative towards the amendment of a number of provisions in the Constitution. Our democratic endeavours and associated reforms are continuous and vibrant.
The achievement of national reconciliation and peace is our Government’s topmost priority. We have convened three sessions of the Union Peace Conference and adopted a total of 51 basic principles to be included in the Union Peace Accord. A total of 10 ethnic armed organizations have already signed the nationwide ceasefire agreement. Despite the recent successes in broadening the agreement’s coverage, there is still a long way to go before all remaining non-signatories are on board. Notwithstanding challenges, negotiations continue. We are determined to resolve differences through dialogue, negotiation and peaceful means, thereby building mutual trust and understanding.
Let me now touch upon recent developments in Rakhine state. Our democratic transition is still young and, as yet, incomplete. We must overcome a range of challenges, from an imperfect Constitution to continued conflicts. The situation in Rakhine state — an issue that has deep and historical roots — counts among those challenges. We fully share the concern of the international community over the violence that affects communities in Rakhine. In fact, the Government’s efforts to bring about peace and stability predate the violent attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA) terrorist group in 2016 and 2017, which triggered the current humanitarian crisis.
Since assuming office in 2016, the elected civilian Government has placed the highest priority on addressing the situation in Rakhine state. To find a lasting solution, we established the Central Committee for the Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development in Rakhine State, chaired by our State Counsellor, and, subsequently, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State, headed by Mr. Kofi Annan. Our aim was to find long-term, durable and practical solutions to the delicate and sensitive issues in Rakhine. Our priority now is to expedite repatriation and create a more conducive environment for verified returnees. To that end, we are cooperating with Bangladesh, the United Nations Development Programme, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, as well as friends and well-wishers.
Myanmar is aware of the many obstacles that need to be addressed, including destructive movements in the camps aimed at preventing repatriation and exploiting the plight of displaced persons. Smooth and successful repatriation requires genuine political will and committed efforts, as well as strict adherence to the signed agreements — and I stress “signed agreements”. The displaced persons now in Cox’s Bazar who had been residents in Rakhine have a different legal status. We are willing to repatriate them in accordance with the bilateral agreement signed between Myanmar and Bangladesh. The agreement calls for the issuance of identity cards to the returnees. Those who qualify for citizenship under our citizenship law will be issued with citizenship cards. The rest will be issued with national verification cards, which are similar to the green cards much sought after by immigrants in the United States.
Myanmar strongly holds the view that issues between neighbours can and must be resolved bilaterally in an amicable and friendly manner. The current issue of displaced persons in Cox’s Bazar can and must be resolved bilaterally, particularly as Myanmar and Bangladesh signed a bilateral agreement to address the issue in November 2017. Despite obstacles, including killings and threats by ARSA, some 300 people from camps in Cox’s Bazar have returned under their own arrangements and of their own volition. They have resumed their lives in conditions of safety and dignity.
There have been persistent calls to put pressure on Myanmar. There have been calls to set up a so-called safe zone inside Myanmar. Such a demand is neither warranted nor workable. We call on Bangladesh to faithfully implement the bilateral agreement, which is the only feasible way to resolve the issue of displaced persons. We also call on Bangladesh to allow the speedy repatriation of those who have long expressed their desire to return, including some 400 people of Hindu faith. Grandstanding, introducing new elements or putting forward new conditionalities will be a futile exercise. The people of Myanmar are pragmatic and resilient. We value friendship with all nations, but we do not respond well to coercion that is removed from fairness and consideration due to a sovereign independent member of the family of nations.
Accordingly, on 15 September, Myanmar’s Parliament, the Hluttaw, celebrated International Day of Democracy, during which politicians from various political parties made statements. I wish to highlight one of the statements made on Rakhine by a member of parliament from an ethnic minority. With regard to the external pressure exerted on Myanmar, he said:
“They are flouting our territorial integrity and national sovereignty. Only peoples of sovereign independent nations can enjoy the true essence of democracy.”
The Government of Myanmar sincerely sympathizes with all those who have been affected by the problems in Rakhine state. Myanmar is not opposed to accountability for any wrongdoing related to the large outflow of displaced persons to Bangladesh. We stand firmly for the principles that are the cornerstones of the international legal order.
On 30 July 2018, President Win Myint initiated a special investigation procedure, pursuant to which the Independent Commission of Enquiry is currently preparing a report with recommendations for further action. Like some other States Members of the United Nations, Myanmar has a military-justice system, which is provided for in our 2008 Constitution. A military investigation into Rakhine is currently being undertaken by the Office of the Judge Advocate General. A recent announcement suggests that there will soon be a court martial. The integrity of these independent investigations should not be compromised by international actors.
On 4 July, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) requested that a Pre-Trial Chamber authorize an investigation into the Rakhine allegations. Independent scholars have already identified the request as problematic in that it excludes allegations of crimes committed by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA), deliberately omits the undisputed fact that ARSA’s actions precipitated the current displacement, relies heavily on human rights reports that contain factual errors with regard to both international and Myanmar law, and mischaracterizes the criminal-justice system of Myanmar. This critique is all the more serious when we consider that Myanmar is not a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The Government’s position remains very clear: the Court does not have jurisdiction over crimes alleged to have been committed in our country. We are both able and willing to do investigate and prosecute the allegations ourselves.
The ICC Prosecutor is focusing on the outflow from Rakhine to Bangladesh, but she is silent on the broader picture of the various reasons, immediate as well as long-standing, that brought about the displacement, as well as the various actors who were involved. Her silence widens the divide between the Court and the people of Myanmar, who have been made to feel that their concerns are of lesser import than the perceptions of influential nations and organizations acquainted but superficially with the true situation on the ground.
Myanmar was a British colony for nearly 100 years. During that period, the colonial Power transferred hundreds of thousands of civilians from British India to then-Burma to propel the rapidly expanding rice production and export sectors. In 1927 alone, there were more than 480,000 such transfers into occupied colonial Burma. The Burmese were reduced to a minority in their own capital city, Rangoon, which is now Yangon. Immigrants from Bengal, mainly from the Chittagong region moved en masse into the western townships of Arakan. As is the case with other colonized territories across the world, our local population had no say whatsoever with regard to the seismic demographic transformation of their lands. Nevertheless, Myanmar now accepts it as part of the chequered legacy for which we assumed responsibility when we regained our independence in 1948. It was only in 1949, with the adoption of the Fourth Geneva Convention, that international law expressly prohibited the transfer of civilians into occupied territories. But there was no recognition of the troublesome consequences of such transfer operations.
If	the	international	community	passes fundamentally different judgments on occurrences of one and the same practice, albeit at different times, perceptions that double standards are being applied will grow. If left unaddressed, such perceptions will undermine respect for international criminal justice and fuel the danger of extreme polarization.
We have objected to the formation of the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar since its inception, because of our serious concern about the mission’s composition and mandate, as well as its capacity for fairness and impartiality. Chair Marzuki Darusman’s reports, without exception, have been biased and flawed, based not on facts but on narratives. Events have therefore proved that our concerns are justified. The latest reports are even worse. We cannot help but conclude that they were prompted more by hostility towards the democratically elected Government and the peace-loving people of Myanmar than by a genuine desire to resolve the challenges of Rakhine. We therefore also reject the establishment of the new Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which was set up to bring Myanmar before such tribunals as the International Criminal Court, to which we strongly object. We are also disappointed by the report by former Guatemalan Foreign Affairs
Minister, Gert Rosenthal. The facts presented are inaccurate, distorted and lack professional objectivity.
We request the States Members of the United Nations to differentiate between the motives that are behind the actions of the General Assembly. Is there a genuine will to protect human rights or is the aim to hijack human rights issues for political purposes?
To address the delicate issue of Rakhine, we need truth, fairness and constructive support. Exertions of discriminatory scrutiny and political pressure with malicious intent will not contribute to our efforts to resolve the problems. In this regard, we, the Government and the people of Myanmar, truly appreciate the support offered by many friends and partners, as well as their constructive cooperation based on genuine goodwill. This support benefits not just the people of Myanmar, but people all over the world who value justice and fair play for all nations, both great and small.
The people of Myanmar have waited decades for the emergence of democracy in our country. Transformation from authoritarianism to a democratic system is a daunting challenge, but it is a challenge that our Government and our people have taken on with faith and determination. Our peace process, based on an inclusive framework for political dialogue with all ethnic armed groups, will continue. We will use the platform of the Union Peace Conference — the 21st Century Panglong to create the democratic federal union to which our people aspire. We will strive to build a society that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms — a society where all citizens can attain peace, prosperity and freedom from fear.
We invite the international community to join hands with us, in a constructive way, to ensure that democracy takes firm root in Myanmar.