I feel honoured to represent my country at today’s forum of world leaders, where we have a chance to discuss the problems that the world is facing. I want to talk about many problems, but I will focus on just four today. I came to this forum despite the difficulties in my country and the challenges facing it. Indeed, I would not have come at all, but I feel that there are some very urgent problems that the world must address.
I will first talk about climate change. So many leaders have already discussed it, but I feel that there is a lack of seriousness. Perhaps some world leaders who could do a lot do not realize the urgency of the situation. We have many ideas, but, as someone has said, ideas without funding are mere hallucinations.
I will start with my own country, Pakistan. Our country is among the 10 nations of the world most affected by climate change. As we are primarily an agricultural country, we depend on our rivers, and 80 per cent of the water in our rivers comes from glaciers — glaciers that are in India as well as in Pakistan. Eighty per cent of the water in the Ganges and other Indian rivers comes from the Himalayan, Karakoram and Hindu Kush glaciers, which are melting at quite a rapid pace. We have already detected 5,000 glacial lakes in our mountains. If that continues and nothing is done, we fear that humans will face a huge catastrophe. In my country, when my party came to power, we planted 1 billion trees over five years in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. We have now set ourselves a target of reaching 10 billion trees in Pakistan, with the goal of helping to counter the effects of global warming.
However, one country cannot do everything. This has to be a combined global effort. My optimism comes from the fact that the Almighty has endowed humans with great powers. We can do anything, provided that our survival instinct is stirred up. I really hope that the United Nations can take the lead and put more emphasis on this issue. Richer countries, the countries that are mainly responsible for greenhouse-gas emissions, must be pushed to do more, because our country contributes a minuscule amount to greenhouse gas emissions. The United Nations must lead on this issue.
The second issue I wish to mention is even more critical. Every year, billions of dollars leave poor countries for rich countries. Billions of dollars are siphoned off by the developing world’s ruling elite and find their way into Western bank accounts, offshore accounts, tax havens and expensive properties hidden behind companies bought in Western capitals. That is devastating the developing world and causing further poverty and death. It is impoverishing the developing world. The divide between rich and poor countries is growing because of it. Money-laundering that results from money leaving poor countries for rich countries is not treated the same way that drug money and terror financing are, for instance. Terror financing and drug money are taken more seriously than the fact that poor countries are being plundered by their elites.
I took charge of our Government one year ago. In the 10 years preceding that, my country’s total debt quadrupled. The debt we had accumulated in 60 years quadrupled in just 10 years. As a result, half of the total revenue that we collected in one year went into debt servicing. How are we going to spend money on our 220 million citizens when half of our money is going into debt servicing as a result of our country being plundered by a ruling elite who could easily withdraw that money? Moreover, when we do locate properties in Western capitals that have been bought with money made through corruption and money-laundering by corrupt leaders, those finances are nearly impossible to retrieve. If we retrieved that money it could be spent on our citizens, but it is very difficult.
Laws protect those criminals. We do not have millions of dollars to spend on expensive lawyers. We need help from rich countries, and it is critical that such countries show political will. They cannot allow this to happen. How can poor countries spend money on human development, which the United Nations calls for as part of the Sustainable Development Goals? How will we do that when our countries are so easily drained of finances?
So unless rich countries intend to build walls to stop economic refugees, as we are currently seeing, they must take action now. There must be a deterrent. The corrupt ruling elite should not be able to easily take money from us and park it in foreign bank accounts and properties abroad. I have also never understood how tax havens are allowed to exist. Why should rich people not pay taxes? Why are secret accounts in tax havens legal? The world is changing and its population is growing. Sooner or later there will be a crisis if the poor get poorer and the rich get richer. That is my second point, and I hope that the United Nations takes the lead on that matter by involving the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Those institutions must find a way to stop the plunder of the developing world.
My third point is Islamophobia. There are 1.3 billion Muslims in the world, and millions of Muslims live in European countries and the United States as minorities. Since 9/11, Islamophobia has grown at an alarming pace. Human communities live together and should foster understanding among one another, but Islamophobia is creating a division. Muslim women who wear hijabs are now seen as an issue in some countries, with the hijab being depicted as a weapon.
Women are permitted to take off their clothes in some countries, but are not allowed to put on more. How can that happen? The reason is Islamophobia, which started after 9/11, because certain Western leaders equated terrorism with Islam, talking of Islamic terrorism and radical Islam. What is radical Islam? There is only one Islam, the Islam we follow of the Prophet Muhammad. There is no other Islam.
What message do the terms “radical Islam” and “Islamic terrorism” send to people in the West, and why does Islamophobia exist? How can people in New York, the Midwestern United States and European capitals distinguish between moderate and radical Muslims? Terrorism has nothing to do with any religion. The terms “Islamic terrorism” and “Islamic radicalism”, which are used by leaders, sadly, are the main reasons for Islamophobia and have caused pain among Muslims. We in Muslim countries experience Islamophobia when travelling abroad, and it is getting worse. May I also say that Islamophobia is marginalizing Muslim communities in European countries, and we all know that marginalization leads to radicalization. Some of the people who became militants in Syria and other countries were from marginalized Muslim communities. My point here is that we must address the issue.
I am sad to say that we Muslim leaders have not addressed the issue either. After 9/11, when the war against radical Islam began, leaders did not try to explain to the West that there was no such thing as radical Islam. There are radicals, moderates and liberals in all human communities — whether they are Christian, Jewish or anything else — but Islam itself is not radical. Neither is Judaism nor Christianity nor Hinduism. No religion preaches radicalism. The bases of all religions are compassion and justice, which differentiate us from the animal kingdom. However, unfortunately, the Muslim leadership was so scared of being called radical Muslims that leaders all labelled themselves as moderates. Pakistan was in the eye of the storm, and our Government coined the phrase “enlightened moderation”. No one knew what it meant, but everyone started wearing Western suits, calling themselves moderates and speaking English, even if they were barely proficient. No one had a clue what it meant, because we in the Muslim world did not explain to the West that there is no such thing as radical Islam.
One of the reasons that Islam was supposed to be equated with terrorism following 9/11 was suicide attacks. All sorts of theories appeared, because the 9/11 bombers were suicide attackers. One such theory was that Muslims carried out such attacks because they would be greeted by virgins in heaven. What about female suicide attackers? It was bizarre, and no one explained the truth. As a result, suicide attacks became associated with Islam. No one pointed out that before 9/11, the majority of suicide attacks in the world were perpetrated by the Tamil Tigers, who were Hindus. No one blamed Hinduism, and quite rightly. What has Hinduism got to do with what desperate people were doing in Sri Lanka? We have all seen films about the Japanese kamikaze pilots who carried out suicide attacks towards the end of the Second World War, and we did not blame their religion. Nevertheless, here we were trying to prove that we were moderates instead of explaining the truth to the West.
The most important thing I want to say here today with regard to Islamophobia is this. I know how the misunderstanding about Islam came about, because I have spent a lot of time in England playing sport professionally. I therefore know how the Western mind works and how the West views religion. One of the reasons for Islamophobia was a book published in 1989 that maligned, insulted and ridiculed our Prophet Muhammad, and there was a reaction in the Muslim world. The West could not understand what the problem was, because, in the West — and I know this, because I have spent so much time there — religion is perceived completely differently. Westerners do not view religion as we do. Islam was labelled as an intolerant religion that was against freedom of expression, and it took a real beating. That happened 30 years ago, and I still remember it as a watershed. Every two or three years, someone would malign our Prophet — may peace be upon him — and Muslims would react, which led to Islam being labelled an intolerant religion.
In more recent years, I again blame a certain group of people in the West who deliberately provoked the current phenomenon, while being aware of the impact it would have. However, the majority of Westerners did not understand. Again, that is where the Muslim leadership let Muslims down. We should have explained to them what our Prophet means to us, which I will now try to explain in the space of one minute.
Our Prophet was the witness to the divine book, the holy Qur’an. The holy Qur’an is the book of guidance for Muslims and the Prophet’s life was the perfect example of the Qur’an’s guidance. He therefore represents the ideal that we all wish to attain. The Prophet created the first Islamic State in Medina, which was the basis for the Muslim civilization that would become the predominant civilization for the next 700 years.
What was that State? I hear such strange things about Islam — for example, that it is against women and minorities. The first State of Islam, in Medina, was the first welfare State. It took responsibility for the weak, widows, orphans, the poor and the handicapped. It taxed the rich and spent the money on the poor. The State announced that all human beings were children of Adam and hence equal, whatever the colour of their skin. The whole system depended on slavery, as Western societies did for many years, and the Prophet announced that one of the greatest deeds was to free a slave. However, because society was so dependent on slavery, he declared that they must at least be treated as equal members of the family. As a result, something occurred in the Muslim world that has yet to occur in any other civilization: slave dynasties appeared and slaves became kings. Mamluk slaves ruled Egypt and there were slave dynasties in India.
The Assembly has heard that Islam is supposedly against minorities, so let me just make this issue clear. The Prophet announced that all were free to practice their religion. It was a sacred duty to protect the places of worship of all religions. He declared that every person was equal in the eyes of the law, regardless of their religion or colour. I always quote the incredible case of the fourth Caliph, the Head of State of Medina, who lost a court case to a Jewish citizen, which demonstrates that first, no one was above the law, and secondly, that a Jewish citizen was regarded as an equal citizen. When a Muslim society is unjust to its minorities it is therefore going against the religion of Islam and our Prophet.
It is important to understand that the Prophet lives in our hearts. When he is ridiculed or insulted, we feel that pain. As human beings, we understand one thing, which is that the pain of the heart is far more hurtful than physical pain. That is why Muslims react to such allegations. I have always thought that, if I ever stood at this rostrum, I would try to explain that concept to the international community, in particular the Western community. Having lived in the Western community, I saw that Westerners were not aware of that fact. When I first went to England as a teenager, I learned of a comedy film about Jesus Christ. Such a thing would be unthinkable in a Muslim society. Human communities must therefore be sensitive towards the causes of each other’s pain. In the West, the Holocaust is quite rightly treated with sensitivity, because it causes the Jewish community pain. All we ask is that freedom of speech not be used to insult the holy Prophet and cause us pain.
My fourth point is the most critical and the reason why I came here. It is about what is happening in Kashmir. Before I continue, I wish to make one thing clear. When we came to power, my first priority was to make Pakistan a country that would do its best to foster peace. We joined the United States’ war on terror after 2001, and Pakistan experienced one of its worst periods, in which 70,000 Pakistanis died and our economy shrank by more than $150 billion. I opposed the war, because Pakistan had joined Western countries in the 1980s in Afghanistan’s struggle for freedom against the Soviets. The mujahidin groups involved in guerrilla warfare were trained by the Pakistani army and funded by Western countries, particularly the United States. Those groups waged a struggle for freedom in Afghanistan. The Soviets called them terrorists, but we called them freedom fighters. In 1989, the Soviets retreated, the Americans packed up and left, and those groups remained in Pakistan.
Come 9/11, Pakistan joined the United States in the war on terror. I opposed joining the war because we had repeatedly told the West that “jihad” meant fighting for freedom against foreign occupation. Having joined forces with the United States, which had occupied Afghanistan, we were then supposed to declare that jihad did not signify a struggle for freedom but that it should instead be equated with terrorism. I therefore tried to tell the Government of the time to remain neutral, in order to enable it to keep the upper hand and remain in control. I told the Government that if it joined the United States, it would become an accomplice and be attacked, which is what happened. They turned against us. We lived through a nightmare. Seventy thousand people were killed in a war that we had nothing to do with. No Pakistani was involved in 9/11. The Taliban and Al-Qaida were in Afghanistan. We had nothing to do with it, but we lost 70,000 Pakistanis.
When we came to power, we therefore decided to disband what was left of those groups, a decision taken not just by us but by all Pakistani political parties. Unfortunately, the decision was not implemented until we came to power and dismantled whatever was left of those groups. I know that India continues to make accusations that such groups remain active. I would like the United Nations to send observers to see for themselves what we have done. No Pakistani Government would have dared to do that because it would have created strife. But we decided that there would be no militant organizations in Pakistan. All of that background is necessary for what I will go on to explain.
My Government also started to mend fences. I invited the Afghan President to our country and we have developed a relationship with Afghanistan. We had problems with Iran; we mended fences there. That brings me to India. Allow me to give some background about my relationship with India. Cricket is a passion of our subcontinent and, thanks to the sport, I had a great following in India, I have friends in India and I love going to India.
Therefore, when my party came to power, the first thing we did was to immediately reach out to India. I spoke to Prime Minister Modi and told him that our countries had similar problems — climate change and poverty. I told him that we should get together, resolve our differences through trade and build a relationship based on trust. Mr. Modi told me that Pakistan had perpetrated terrorist attacks in India. I replied that we too had problems with terrorist attacks instigated by India in Balochistan, having caught a spy, Kulbhushan Jadhav, who admitted to the sabotage going on in Karachi and Balochistan. We asked India to leave that behind us and let us move forward, saying that our main priority should be our people, given that the highest number of poor people in the world live on the Indian subcontinent.
Unfortunately, we made no headway. Our Foreign Ministers were supposed to meet to discuss the issue at last year’s session of the General Assembly, but India cancelled the meeting. We understood that their election was coming up and so believed that the ultranationalist party did not wish to cosy up to Pakistan. We therefore decided to wait until the elections were over. Meanwhile, a 20-year-old Kashmiri man — who, according to his father, was radicalized by the security forces in Kashmir — blew himself up on an Indian convoy. India immediately blamed us. I spoke to the Indian public on television and said that if the country gave us any proof, we would immediately take action, as we had clamped down on such groups. Rather than send us proof, they sent jets to bomb us. We retaliated; two of their planes were shot down and one pilot bailed out in Pakistan. We immediately returned the pilot, saying that we did not want any escalation.
Rather than take that as a peace gesture, Mr. Modi’s election campaign focused almost entirely on how he had taught Pakistan a lesson by killing 350 of its terrorists, which is a complete lie. All that India killed was approximately 10 of our trees, which was indeed quite painful, given our reforestation efforts. In his election campaign, Mr. Modi used phrases such as “This is just a trailer; the movie is about to start”, and “I went to Pakistan and taught them a lesson”. That was his election campaign.
We acknowledged the fact that we politicians make such statements to win elections and we would be able to resume normal relations after the elections. The moment the elections ended, we approached India and received no response. However, we then discovered that it was trying to put us on the Financial Action Task Force blacklist as a way of bankrupting us. That is when we realized that India had an agenda, which became clear on 5 August when it breached 11 Security Council resolutions stating that Kashmir is a disputed territory and that the people of Kashmir have a right to self-determination. It also breached a similar accord on resolving differences bilaterally and revoked article 370 of the Indian Constitution, giving Kashmir special status. It also deployed a further 180,000 troops in the region, with the total number of security forces in Kashmir now at 900,000. Moreover, it imposed a curfew on the 8 million people of Kashmir.
I want to briefly help the Assembly understand how anyone can do something like that. To do that, however, I must explain Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Mr. Narendra Modi is a lifetime member of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, an organization inspired by Adolf Hitler and Mussolini that was founded in 1925 based on a belief in racial purity and racial superiority. Like the Nazis, its members believed they were an Aryan race. All of that can be verified. We live in an information revolution, so anyone can google what I am saying. It is very important for me, however, to explain this to Assembly members so that they know what is happening in India. Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh believed in the ethnic cleansing of Muslims in India. At one point, it believed that the Hindu race was racially superior. It also harboured hatred for Muslims and Christians because it believed that the golden age of the Hindu civilization had come to an end as a result of Muslim rule centuries back, and subsequently of British rule in India. It therefore harboured feelings of racial superiority and a hatred of Muslims and Christians.
That was all openly stated. All one needs to do is google the founding fathers of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Golwalkar and Savarkar, and they will find out the truth. That ideology of hatred is what murdered the great Mahatma Gandhi in 1948. It was that ideology of hatred that inspired Narendra Modi to film a programme in 2002 against Muslims in Gujarat, where he was Chief Minister. He allowed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh goons — who are inspired by Hitler’s Brown Shirts and actually wear brown shirts — to carry out a three-day assault. The Congress Home Minister declared in a statement that terrorists were being trained in Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh camps. Those terrorists butchered 2,000 Muslims and rendered 150,000 homeless. For that reason, Narendra Modi was not allowed to travel to the United States.
It is essential that the Assembly understand that background before I explain what sort of mind would lay siege to 8 million people with 900,000 troops. Women, children and sick people are locked up like animals. In fact, from what I know about England, if 8 million animals were locked up, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals would have made a lot of noise about it. However, those individuals are human beings.
What comes with the illusion of a superior Aryan race and racial superiority is arrogance. The two go together. It is arrogance that leads people to make mistakes and do stupid things — cruel things like those perpetrated by Narendra Modi. That is sheer arrogance. It is arrogance that has blinded him to what will happen when the curfew is lifted. Has he thought about that? It has not been thought through. What is he going to do when he lifts the curfew? Does he think that the people of Kashmir will quietly accept the status quo because India has changed the Constitution and stripped them of their special status? Will they accept that?
In the past 30 years 100,000 Kashmiris have died because they were denied the right to self-determination bestowed on them by the United Nations. One hundred thousand have died and 11,000 women have been raped. There are two United Nations human rights reports on this. The world has done nothing, because India is a huge market of 1.2 billion people. Sadly, the material world prevails over human life. But that has serious consequences. I again repeat, that is why I am here. What is going to happen when the curfew is lifted will be a bloodbath. People will come out onto the street and be greeted by 900,000 troops, who are not there, as Narendra Modi says, for the prosperity and development of Kashmir. What will those 900,000 troops do when people come out of their homes? There will be a bloodbath. Has he thought through what he will do then?
Has anyone thought about what to do when a bloodbath occurs? What kind of impact will that have on the people of Kashmir? What will they think after being boxed away in their houses and treated worse than animals? They have no rights. All of their political leaders have been arrested and taken out of Kashmir; even pro-India Kashmiri leaders have been removed. Thirteen thousand boys have been picked up and taken to unspecified locations. What will the people of Kashmir do when the curfew is lifted? They will pour out onto the streets. And what will the soldiers do? They will shoot them. They have already used pellet guns to blind young boys during the past five years of oppression in Kashmir. Kashmiris will therefore become further radicalized.
There will be another Pulwama. When it happens — guess what? — India will blame us. It is already blaming us. It is saying that everything is happening because of Pakistan. Its Army Chief of Staff said that there were 500 terrorists lined up on the border ready to cross. Why would Pakistan send 500 terrorists when there are 900,000 troops there? What impact are they going to make? What would they do? Do we not know that the moment a terrorist attack occurs, all that will happen is further cruelty and oppression for the people of Kashmir? The 900,000 troops would simply have a reason to further crush the people of Kashmir. The Indian Government would have an excuse to say that Pakistan is a terrorist State and to invoke the mantra of “Islamic terrorism”.
The moment the catchphrase “Islamic terrorism” is used, the whole world turns away, no one talks about human rights and people are given licence to do whatever they want. That is what is happening in Kashmir because the phrase “Islamic terrorism” keeps being used. That is what is happening right now. What benefit do we gain from further increasing the cruelty inflicted on the people of Kashmir? Why would we want that? Yet there is no other narrative left for India because, no matter what happens when the curfew is lifted, Pakistan will be blamed. There is always the danger of another Pulwama. They might come and bomb us again, and then another cycle will start.
What does Narendra Modi think? What are the 180 million Muslims in India thinking right now? Are they not watching the Kashmiris, stuck inside for 55 days now? Are they not watching? What do my fellow members of the General Assembly think? Do members not think that Muslims will be radicalized in India? I am talking about 180 million people. When they get radicalized, somewhere down the line there will be an incident in India and we will be blamed again. I am warning everybody present right now that, again, we will be blamed.
What about the 1.3 billion Muslims who are watching? They know that what is happening in Kashmir is only happening because there are Kashmiri Muslims. It is not happening to Kashmiri Hindus. Muslims know that what is happening is because of their religion. So what do my fellow leaders think they are thinking? What would the Jewish community think if 8,000 Jews — let alone 8 million — were stuck in the same way? What would Europeans think? What do we think? What do we think any human community, whose members are stuck in the way Kashmiris are, would think? Are we children of a lesser God? Does such a situation not cause us pain? This is what will happen next — someone among the 1.3 billion Muslims will pick up arms.
I know we have been brought up watching western films — seeing the classic narrative of the good, decent guy who does not get justice, and so decides to pick up a gun and start seeking justice himself. For example, there is one particularly famous film set in New York called Death Wish. The main character gets mugged and his wife is killed. He cannot get justice, so he picks up a gun and goes around shooting muggers, and the whole cinema cheers him on. With that in mind, what do members of the Assembly think Muslims are thinking right now? If there is a bloodbath, Muslims will become radicalized — not because of Islam, but because they will see that there is no justice when it comes to Muslims. In Myanmar, almost a million Rohingya Muslims were wiped out as a result of ethnic cleansing. What was the response of the world community? So what do members of the Assembly think would be the response of the 1.3 billion Muslims?
I picture myself in Kashmir. I have been in lockdown for 55 days. I have heard about the rapes and about the Indian army soldiers going into homes. Would I want to live through such humiliation? Would I want to live like that? I would pick up a gun. The situation is forcing people into radicalization. When people lose the will to live, what is there to live for? That is the crux of the issue. If the international community can let that happen to human beings, it is actually radicalizing people.
I therefore repeat that now is one of the most critical times. There will be a reaction. Pakistan will be blamed. Two nuclear-armed countries will come face to face, as they did in February. Yet the United Nations has a responsibility to stop us from heading in that direction. That is precisely why the United Nations came into being in 1945. It is supposed to stop such things from happening. I feel as if we are back in the Munich of 1939 and Czechoslovakia has just been taken — annexed. What is the world community going to do? Is it going to appease a market of 1.35 billion? Or is it going to stand up for justice and humanity? If things go wrong, the world will hope for the best, but it should be prepared for the worst. If a conventional war breaks out between the two countries, anything could happen.
But let us suppose a country seven times smaller than its neighbour is faced with the choice of either surrendering or fighting to the death for its freedom — what will we do? I ask myself that question, and my belief is that there is no God but God. We will fight. And when a nuclear-armed country fights to the end, there will be consequences that reach far beyond its borders. There will be consequences for the world, which is why I repeat that I am here to send out a warning. It is not a threat. It is a reasonable concern about where we are headed.
I have come here to tell the United Nations that it must act. This is a test for the United Nations. It was the United Nations that guaranteed the people of Kashmir the right to self-determination. They are suffering because of that right and now is the time to do something. Unlike 1939, it is not the time to appease. It is the time to take action. The number one action must be for India to lift the inhumane curfew that has lasted for 55 days. It must free all political prisoners, especially those 13,000 boys who have been detained. Their parents do not know where they have been disappeared to. Then, the world community must give the people of Kashmir the right to self-determination.


At the outset, as I take the floor before the General Assembly, it is my duty to convey the fraternal and cordial greetings of the people of Mali, from Kayes to Kidal, from Taoudenni to Sikasso. I also extend my most heartfelt congratulations and wish every success to Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande, of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, who has been elected as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, and to assure him of Mali’s full cooperation. I would also like to commend Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces of Ecuador for having led the General Assembly at its seventy-third session with remarkable aplomb. Finally, I would be remiss if I forgot to mention my dear friend Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whose commitment to the ideals of peace, security, development and respect for human rights continues to shine brightly.
Among other highlights, our current session will be marked by the celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. No commemoration could represent a better opportunity for Mali to reaffirm its commitment to the values and the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and our conviction that only collective and concerted action will enable us to meet the many challenges of our times, achieve our ideal of peace and meet our shared goals of security and development for all. This is particularly true with regard to the theme of the seventy-fourth session of the Assembly, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”. Nothing is more urgent than stepping up our work in all these areas if we are to address the root causes of instability in some of our countries.
There is no nation in history whose trajectory has not been affected by trying times. Mali is undergoing that painful experience today, given that since January 2012 it has been facing a daily terrorist threat that aims at nothing less than shaking its deepest foundations. We must believe in the saying that bad times show us who our true friends are, as Mali is in no way lacking in that area. The multifaceted political, diplomatic and military support of the international community for Mali attests to the truth of that adage more than anything else. Whether with regard to containing the terrorist groups, combating their barbarism or rebuilding our sundered unity, there has been no shortage of support, and I welcome it. To a large extent, it is owing to that support that we achieved the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali, emanating from the Algiers process, to which I remain particularly committed.
One of the major achievements brought about by the Agreement is the absence of clashes between the Malian defence and security forces and the signatory groups, as well as the gradual restoration of trust among the Malian parties. In addition, we have already reintegrated more than 2,000 former combatants, 1,000 of whom have been trained, into our reconfigured forces in anticipation of the establishment of the new Malian national army.
Within the framework of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process we have made progress with its activation, which was established through our own deliberations and is now referred to as the “accelerated DDR”. We welcome that, since it is clearly a prerequisite for the restoration of State authority over the entire national territory, but we cannot ignore the fact that there is still a long way to go to achieve lasting peace and reconciliation in our country.
To that end, we must implement the political and institutional reforms provided for in the Agreement on Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. In this regard, I am pleased to underscore that after two unsuccessful attempts, in 2017 and 2018, Mali is actively preparing for the timely holding of an inclusive national dialogue leading to national reconciliation and the entrenchment of democracy in our country. At the same time, in order to ensure the normal functioning and stability of institutions, for which I hold primary responsibility, we considered it appropriate to extend the terms of office of the deputies in the National Assembly until 2 May 2020 so as to enable them to adopt a set of political and institutional reforms to be recommended during the national inclusive dialogue.
On 24 July, with a view to a achieving peace and national reconciliation, I promulgated the Loi d’entente nationale. While it exempts those who committed or were complicit in crimes during the painful events in Mali dating back to January 2012 from criminal prosecution, the law does not apply to war crimes, crimes against humanity, rape and crimes not subject to a statute of limitations. Moreover, it stipulates measures providing for the acknowledgement of and reparation for victims who were directly or indirectly affected by the painful experience that our people underwent, building on the remarkable work accomplished by Mali’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, which has enabled the voices of more than 14,000 people in our country to be heard.
It is with the same level of concern for achieving national reconciliation and therefore reducing inequality, which undermines national cohesion, that the National Assembly adopted legislation this year establishing a northern development zone in Mali, as provided for by the Algiers Agreement, and that subsequently the Government created a sustainable development fund, endowed with $72 million, as the financial instrument for implementing the regional development strategy in northern Mali. To date, $20 million has already been disbursed to finance urgent priorities in the regions of Kidal, Menaka, Timbuktu and Gao.
While such diverse progress has been made possible through the common will of all the Malian parties to the Agreement, it has also been possible thanks to the support and guidance of partners from the international community. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the vital work of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), which operates in an environment that I know is particularly complex and difficult. The Mission has paid a very high price in Mali, and I would like to pay tribute to the courage and sacrifice of the men and women of MINUSMA, as well as of the other international forces deployed in Mali, to whom, on behalf of the people of Mali, I want to say that we owe a particularly heartfelt tribute for their contribution to the maintenance of peace and international security in our region, and not just in Mali.
Nevertheless, within the Group of Five for the Sahel (G-5 Sahel), we are fully aware that security alone cannot bring about the lasting peace that we seek. Many challenges remain, including, unfortunately, the implementation process of the Agreement. These challenges include the extremely volatile security environment, marked by a resurgence of attacks by terrorist groups, violent extremists and drug traffickers on our civilian populations, the Malian defence and security forces and those of our international partners. But they also include the persistent challenges linked to our development. That is why, in parallel with the security component, we are working together to implement the Priority Investment Programme, which includes 40 projects in the areas of defence, security, governance, infrastructure and human development, in order to appropriately address the root causes of instability, while creating economic, social and development opportunities for our people, in particular our young people.
Another equally important challenge involves the availability of adequate financial resources for the implementation of the Agreement. That is why, while I am grateful to our partners for the efforts already made, I must still urge them to honour their pledges made at the international conference for the economic recovery and development of Mali, held in Paris, in October 2015, under the auspices of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and at the G-5 Sahel partners and donors coordination conference for the financing of the G-5 Sahel Priority Investment Programme, held in Nouakchott on 6 December 2018.
I also take this opportunity to welcome the Alliance for the Sahel, which aims to federate and coordinate the commitment of our partners in six priority areas of action — youth employment, rural development and food security, energy and climate, governance and decentralization, access to basic social services, and security — which will cost €6 billion over the period from 2018 to 2022.
Notwithstanding the efforts made to stabilize and develop the regions of northern Mali, I cannot ignore the worrying situation in the centre of our country. Quite the contrary, in fact, and I want to point out that the two major challenges facing Mali today are inextricably linked. After having succeeded in destabilizing our northern regions, terrorists and other criminal groups have tried to extend their areas of influence and illicit activities to the centre, by exploiting disputes between human groups that had hitherto been able to manage them in a non-violent manner, in accordance with our civilizational values.
It is also worth stressing that the motives of those terrorist groups have little to do with religion and even less with development. I note that Mali has been Islamized since the eleventh century. Their goal is to create spaces to expand their criminal activities, including trafficking in drugs, arms, human beings and illicit goods, taking advantage of the State’s weak presence, particularly the defence and security services, in the regions concerned. The clashes, too hastily dubbed “intercommunal tensions”, that have, alas, afflicted the regions of Segou and Mopti, have affected the entire Malian nation, beyond these areas. I have therefore instructed the Government to take a series of political, security, regulatory and judicial measures to restore order and security in the affected areas.
As part of those efforts, security measures in the field have been strengthened and new security outposts set up in strategic areas, and several hundred local youth have joined a special programme to reduce intercommunal violence. The efforts also include the recovery of many weapons, the ongoing disarmament of militias, development actions and the provision of basic social services to the populations. All these operations are designed to better meet our governance and security challenges. With a view to coordinating all the efforts and to involving all national stakeholders, including political, traditional and religious leaders and regional managers, in their implementation, in June I appointed Dioncounda Traore, the former Acting President of Mali during the transition, as my High Representative for Central Mali.
The crises in the northern and central regions of Mali have caused massive movements of thousands of our compatriots. Whether they are refugees in neighbouring countries or internally displaced persons, their return in safety and dignity to their places of origin is a major concern of my Government, which has undertaken the implementation of major programmes aimed at the long-term improvement of the living conditions of Mali’s entire population. Health care, through supplementary health insurance schemes, is one such programme. The International Organization for Migration, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs are helping us in our efforts through regional emergency-response plans for the Timbuktu, Gao, Kidal and Mopti regions. The same can be said of our membership in the African Risk Capacity Insurance Company Limited, whose treaty Mali ratified in 2016, and which has enabled us, for the past four seasons of insurance contracts, to deal with the consequences of climate hazards.
In addition to these specific measures, which are born of emergency, I am tempted to say, other, more structural measures are being taken, first among them regarding youth employment. Because I believe in the young people of Mali, I have decided to devote my second term to promoting youth, as our hope for today and certainly the architects of our future. Similarly, I believe deeply in the women of Mali and their invaluable contributions to our country’s stabilization and development processes. I will continue to appoint them in large numbers to senior decision-making posts, in keeping with the 2015 law on the promotion of gender in decision-making bodies in Mali.
In the light of the importance of inclusive and sustainable development in the theme of the current session, I should not overlook the allocation in 2018 of funds to build approximately 3,000 social housing units for middle- and low-income people. The Malian diaspora is also always on my mind. Furthermore, I want to highlight the positive efforts of the African Development Bank (AfDB), to whose Desert to Power initiative we recently subscribed in Ouagadougou, and which will ensure greater energy availability to meet our industrial-building needs. When we consider that a country such as Mali, which grows a large quantity of cotton, produces only 2 percent of its own energy, the importance of energy generation is clear, especially for our textile industry. This AfDB initiative is therefore very welcome.
Despite the national and regional challenges I have just mentioned, the people and the Government of Mali remain very attentive to the situation in Africa and the rest of the world. We continue to be deeply concerned about the situation in Libya, which is still having a negative impact on the entire Sahel region. I call on all Libyan stakeholders to prioritize dialogue and peaceful solutions with a view to finding a lasting and rapid resolution to the crisis. Similarly, Mali is following with concern the situation in the Middle East, particularly in the occupied Palestinian territories. The Malian people reaffirm their full support for to our brother Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle for self-determination. The Government of Mali calls for a resumption of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in order to achieve a solution where two States live side by side, as many have urged today, in accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions and within secure, internationally recognized borders. Furthermore, Mali calls for an end to the deadly violence that unfortunately continues to afflict the brother peoples of Syria and Yemen and to cause humanitarian disasters.
On international migration issues, Mali, as a country of origin, transit and destination for migrants, reiterates its commitment to multilateral cooperation and international solidarity. In this regard, I would like to make a strong call for respect for the rights of migrants, in accordance with the relevant provisions of international conventions, in particular the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular migration (resolution 73/195), adopted in December 2018 in Marrakech, and the global compact on refugees.
Mali reiterates its call for reforming the Security Council to make it more representative and inclusive, which is a matter of simple justice. Through me, Mali reaffirms its commitment to the common African position on the reform, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus.
As a country of the Sahel mainly engaged in agriculture, livestock and fisheries, Mali remains deeply concerned about climate change, one of the major challenges to the survival and development of humankind. My country is suffering the full brunt of the effects of climate change, characterized by the spread of desertification and its impact on fauna and flora, the drying up of our rivers and streams, hotter weather and repeated floods. That is why I would like to reaffirm Mali’s commitment to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. To that end, and in the context of the Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, we will submit to him and the co-leaders of his Climate Finance coalition, France, Jamaica and Qatar, a concrete proposal to trigger and accelerate a wave of low-carbon investment by redirecting global savings towards infrastructure and industrial and agricultural production processes in line with the objectives of the Paris Agreement. Additionally, Mali will work within the African Union to systematically integrate climate change into the cooperation between the continent and each of its strategic partners.
Mali welcomes the processes under way in the Sudan, in particular the formation of a Government of national unity resulting from the agreement between the military and opposition leaders, which has also led to the establishment of a Sovereign Council to lead the transition in that sister country.
In conclusion, I want to emphasize strongly that 75 years after its creation, the United Nations continues to demonstrate its relevance to our common quest to save future generations from the scourge of war and its collective efforts aimed at achieving that end. In so doing, I would like to remind the Assembly that peace is priceless. We must therefore cherish it, because without it there can be no humanity or coexistence. These are the values and attitudes that should give meaning to our existence and enable individuals and human communities to see the light in our future, as President Emmanuel Macron of France put it yesterday (see A/74/PV.3).
We must therefore make the quest for peace not a religion but a culture, with all of the connotations that possesses in terms of respect for diversity, recognition of the other, empathy, solidarity and, in a word, brotherhood — brotherhood, which we need more than ever in order to give meaning to our human condition.


It is a matter of great pride for Africa to see Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande presiding over the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. We wish him a very successful tenure and assure him of the full support of Mauritius as he steers the work of the Assembly. We also extend our congratulations to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and the outgoing President of the General Assembly, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, on their leadership, hard work and dedication during the past year.
We commend the judicious choice of the theme “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion” for this year’s session. This is indeed a critical year for sustainable development and climate action. Climate change continues to disrupt national economies and affect lives; economic growth is slow and uneven; income inequality is on the rise; achieving quality education is still beyond our reach; and official development assistance and humanitarian aid to those most in need, especially in the least developed countries and small island developing States (SIDS), are on the decline. No substantial progress has been achieved in building peace, justice and strong institutions.
To compound an already troubling situation, emerging issues — such as new conflicts, rising tensions among major global Powers, the rise of extremism, the migration and refugee crisis and the flip side of technology — are further undermining our ability to live up to our pledge and make significant progress in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. The devastating effects of Cyclone Idai in Southern Africa and Hurricane Dorian in the Bahamas, the desolation left in the wake of wildfires in California, the sweltering heat of the hottest months that we have recently recorded on all continents and the latest ice cap melts in Greenland all point to an alarmingly dangerous and desolate future for our planet.
While the poor and vulnerable are the hardest hit, no single country is immune from the devastation and havoc that rising temperatures and global warming are creating in the lives and livelihoods of communities. Millions of people are already at risk of being pushed into poverty by 2030 as a direct consequence of climate change. In its latest report, Global Warming of 1.5°C, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives us an apocalyptic picture that compels us to act now. Last week’s worldwide demonstrations by young people calling for action now cannot fall on deaf ears. We must renew and strengthen our commitment to limiting global warming to 1.5°C. To that end, we need to considerably increase the financial resources we allocate to it and live up to the Paris pledges.
In Mauritius, the Government has embarked on the development of low-carbon-emission transport and will soon be launching a light rail transit system, in addition to implementing a massive greening programme to enhance our carbon-sinking capacity. We also intend to double our use of renewable energy by 2030.
Small island developing States are particularly threatened by the dangerously intensifying impacts of climate change. The mid-term review of the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway has clearly demonstrated that its implementation faces similar hurdles to those confronting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the most important of which are funding and means of implementation.
More responsive and targeted partnerships are essential to addressing the specific problems that SIDS face in achieving tangible and measurable outcomes. SIDS like Mauritius that through their own efforts have reached middle-income-country status now face new challenges in accessing concessionary financing and grants. To make that situation worse, our efforts to diversify our economy and develop our international competitiveness in areas such as financial services are often frustrated by an uneven playing field in which we have to deal with arbitrary classifications, despite our strict adherence to international rules and norms. Unsurprisingly, unless we address those issues upfront, countries like Mauritius will fall victim to the middle-income-country trap.
Beyond goodwill and expressions of support, we need focused action to achieve the targets set in the 2030 Agenda for ensuring inclusion and opportunities for all so that no one is left behind. Despite our limitations, Mauritius is very much on track to achieve most of the targets of the 2030 Agenda, particularly in the areas of poverty eradication, gender equality and quality education.
Exclusion in all its forms hinders development and often sets countries on unsustainable paths of development, plagued by social and economic instability. Global economic growth is uneven and often fails to reach the regions that need it most, which conceals the stark reality that inequality within and among States is widening. We need to urgently address those challenges and overcome perceptions that economic benefits are unfairly distributed. We must provide a level playing field across borders. Developed and developing countries alike must address the deep-rooted causes of inequalities among States, such as the dynamic of financial flows among them, their uneven exposure to climate change and the very unequal way that they stand to benefit from technology.
The health of our oceans continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate. Progress towards the conservation of the world’s oceans has been too slow. Ocean acidification and unsustainable fishing pose major threats to our oceans and marine resources. Mauritius is committed to making its contribution by enforcing a ban on plastics, instituting sustainable fishery policies and other related measures. We are also deeply committed to the process towards the development of an international legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction.
Piracy, drug smuggling, human trafficking, marine pollution and the pillaging of marine resources remain issues of serious concern in our part of the Indian Ocean. Those threats have reached alarming proportions and, if left unattended, pose serious security risks to the stability of the region and beyond. As Chair of the Indian Ocean Commission, Mauritius has convened ministerial-level meetings over the past two years to reflect on ways and means to collectively address the growing maritime threats in the region. This year we also hosted the meeting of the Contact Group on Piracy off the Coast of Somalia, which is at the forefront of combating piracy in the Indian Ocean. Maritime security in the western Indian Ocean is not only a regional challenge, it also has far wider ramifications that require national and regional commitment, together with the support of the international community. Mauritius continues to be engaged with the countries of the region and the international community in that regard.
Fighting radicalism, violent extremism and terrorism by developing effective counter-narratives requires cooperation and proper coordination among all Member States. That can be achieved only through multilateralism. The interdependence of the work of countering terrorism and promoting sustainable development is increasingly recognized. Terrorism and extremism feed on grievances and exploit development challenges such as inequality, poverty and marginalization. By building resilient and inclusive societies, we can withstand terrorist ideologies and those who espouse them. The Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force has an extremely important role to play in providing technical assistance and capacity-building to Member States in order to strengthen their ability to prevent and counter terrorism.
Global security has not been as fragile as it is now since the end of the Cold War. The potential for violent conflict is palpable amid rising tensions in many regions, particularly in the Middle East. The escalation of tensions on economic and trade issues, withdrawal from international treaties, the increased weaponization of outer space and cyberspace and the proliferation of arms have further accentuated the risks to global security. This new normal threatens the world’s ability to find global solutions to problems at a time when the world most needs unity and collective action.
Our continent, Africa, has made considerable strides in the areas of governance, peace and security, which are prerequisites for sustainable development. A peaceful and secure Africa is fundamental to a peaceful and secure world. The launch of the African Continental Free Trade Area in July represented a major step towards the realization of a vision for an integrated, prosperous and people-centred Africa. The success of that project can be guaranteed only by addressing the causes of conflict in the region. We therefore appeal to the international community to step up its efforts in that regard.
The Israeli-Palestinian peace process is agonizingly stalled. The prospects for realizing the legitimate Palestinian aspirations for sovereignty and statehood are becoming more distant. The suffering of the Palestinian people is further exacerbated by the expansion of settlements, the demolition of their houses, the closure of key crossings and a decrease in humanitarian aid. Yet giving up hope for a resolution to that protracted conflict should never be an option. A peaceful future in the Middle East rests on the possibility of a two-State solution. We appeal to the United Nations and other major players to step up their efforts in supporting a negotiated, just, comprehensive and long-lasting two-State solution.
We welcome the progress achieved in intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform, which have laid the foundations for fulfilling their mandate. We call for redoubled efforts in intergovernmental negotiations to advance reform of the Security Council and make it more representative and reflective of the realities of our time.
The General Assembly has always played a central role in addressing decolonization. It is to its credit that a large number of colonies gained their independence as a result of its continued action. Regrettably, however, that work is not complete. Some remnants of colonization that need to end still persist.
One such example is Mauritius, which suffered an unlawful excision of its territory before its independence in 1968. In an advisory opinion on Legal consequences of the separation of the Chagos archipelago from Mauritius in 1965 (A/73/773) rendered pursuant to the request of the General Assembly in resolution 71/292, the International Court of Justice found that the Chagos archipelago was an integral part of Mauritius at the time of its detachment and that in view of its unlawful excision, the decolonization process of Mauritius was not lawfully completed upon its accession to independence. The Court also concluded that the United Kingdom’s administration of the Chagos archipelago is an unlawful act of a continuing character and should be brought to an end as rapidly as possible.
The General Assembly promptly adopted resolution 73/295 on 22 May by an overwhelming majority. It gives practical effect to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and demands that the United Kingdom withdraw its colonial administration from the Chagos archipelago unconditionally within a period of no more than six months. The resolution also recognizes the right of return of the former inhabitants of the Chagos archipelago, who were forcibly removed by the United Kingdom, a point to which Mauritius is strongly committed.
We therefore expect that given its commitment to the rule of law and respect for the International Court of Justice and the United Nations, the United Kingdom will give effect to the findings of the advisory opinion and withdraw its administration from the Chagos archipelago unconditionally by 22 November, as requested by the General Assembly. We also look forward to the report of the Secretary-General on the overall implementation of resolution 73/295.
Mauritius is deeply grateful to all Member States for the overwhelming support they gave to the resolution. It is testimony to the great importance that Member States attach to the need to complete the decolonization of Mauritius and their respect for international institutions, including the International Court of Justice, and for the rule of law in international relations. We look forward to Member States’ continued support and cooperation with the United Nations so that our decolonization can be rapidly completed and a programme for the resettlement in the Chagos archipelago of Mauritian nationals, in particular those of Chagossian origin, can be implemented by Mauritius.
With regard to the island of Tromelin, which also forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius, we call for a speedy resolution of the dispute over the island, in the spirit of friendship that has always characterized the relationship between Mauritius and France.
We are living in an increasingly complex environment. The challenges confronting humankind require greater collaboration, coordination and commitment. A principled and effective multilateral system offers a unique platform for tackling global and local challenges that seem to be growing in scale and complexity. The celebration of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations next year should be an opportunity for us to reaffirm our strong commitment to the United Nations ideals and the entrenched principles of the Charter of the United Nations of sovereign equality, respect for the territorial integrity of States and non-interference in the internal affairs of Member States.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that we all have a role to play. Young people, women, the private sector, civil society and developed and developing countries alike must come together to address our common concerns.


At the outset, I have the pleasure of congratulating Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande and our brother country of Nigeria on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I want to assure him of the full support and cooperation of the delegation of the Sultanate of Oman in working for the success of this session. And I would like to express our appreciation to his predecessor, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, for the manner in which she steered the work of the seventy-third session and the achievements during her presidency. We also express our appreciation for the efforts of Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to strengthen the role of the United Nations and developing its mechanisms.
The United Nations is mandated with various tasks, including maintaining international peace and security, addressing international challenges and conflicts, working diligently to settle disputes through preventive diplomacy, deploying efforts to achieve peace and stability in the world by promoting confidence-building measures and resolving differences through diplomacy, as laid down in the Charter of the United Nations. My country believes that dialogue and negotiations are the most appropriate means for resolving differences. We have always affirmed that Oman and other countries will make joint efforts and use their good offices to support regional and international initiatives that will help achieve peace and promote a culture of security and stability in the region. In the Sultanate of Oman we believe that peace is a central building block for stability and sustainable development. Accordingly, we hope that international relations can be restarted on a new footing and based on the principles of good-neighbourliness, respect for national sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States, with a view to building a world of justice, fairness, coexistence and tolerance for all in which everyone can enjoy prosperity, security and stability.
Achieving peace in the Middle East has become an imperative. It is high time to put out the fires in the region. Those raging fires pose a threat to international peace and security and enormous economic, social and security challenges for the peoples of the region. They have created many problems, including violence, extremism, terrorism and a continued and unprecedented wave of displacement and migration to various parts of the world. We believe that the United Nations and the international community must take serious steps to build a regional and international consensus and support peaceful efforts to end instability in the region. From this rostrum, we also call on all disputing parties to look to the future and to rise above their differences, prioritize their ultimate national interests and adopt political and diplomatic approaches that safeguard the unity and cohesion of countries and their peoples’ dignity, security and decent livelihoods. In that regard, we welcome the peaceful political agreements that have been reached in the sisterly Republic of the Sudan and the signing of documents on transitional civilian authority, which should help to achieve peace, security and stability for our brother people of the Sudan. We also highly appreciate the regional mediation efforts that have led the Sudanese parties to this great national achievement.
The Sultanate of Oman is concerned about maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, as we are one of two countries bordering the Strait, which is considered one of the most important in the world. As a matter of fact, some of its shipping lanes are within our territorial waters. Given Oman’s national sovereignty and international responsibilities with regard to ensuring the vital issue of the safety of maritime traffic and ships in the Strait of Hormuz, the Sultanate of Oman calls on all countries to cooperate constructively and respect its navigational separation lines, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, particularly articles 37 and 38, which cover the right to continued transit passage, and article 39, which sets out the duties of ships during transit passage.
We also call on all parties to avoid escalation and resolve differences through diplomatic means, thereby avoiding any repercussions for the region that could endanger freedom of navigation, international trade and the world economy. We believe that the international community and States with an interest in using the Strait of Hormuz should strive to find peaceful compromise solutions as the best way of maintaining the stability and safety of maritime navigation and more secure and effective than any other arrangements.
The ongoing conflict and war in Yemen and the failure of the warring parties to reach a political settlement to end it have resulted in a humanitarian, economic and social situation for Yemenis that is both tragic and unprecedented in the country’s history, and one that must compel us all to redouble our political, diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to help Yemen put an end to the increasingly complex armed conflict. Oman supports every effort aimed at reaching a political solution in Yemen, particularly those of the United Nations and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Yemen, Mr. Martin Griffiths. We call on all the parties to cooperate and engage positively with those efforts. The emphasis for the next phase should be on the political track, with a view to reaching a political settlement that can ensure security and stability in our brother country of Yemen and preserve the security and interests of its neighbours in the region. From this rostrum, we call on all the Yemeni parties to prioritize the country’s best interests and urge Yemen’s political leaders to take the initiative to end the conflict for the sake of Yemen and its good people. We also call on the countries of the region and the international community to support the efforts to restore peace and stability to Yemen in particular and the region in general.
Given our geographic proximity and deep historical, social and cultural ties with Yemen, we emphasize that Oman will continue to provide our brother people of Yemen with facilities and humanitarian assistance. We call on the international community and all parties concerned to undertake serious humanitarian efforts to enable humanitarian access to every region and province of the country, without exception or impediment, and to facilitate the use of all ports, airports and entry and exit points for that noble humanitarian purpose.
The establishment of a sovereign independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem its capital is a compelling strategic requirement for achieving peace, stability and peaceful coexistence. An integrated vision for special relations between the Palestinian and Israeli parties, as well as their neighbours, should therefore be based on the values of peace, coexistence and common interest of all the peoples of the region, with a view to delivering security, peace and economic prosperity for all. We believe that failure to establish a Palestinian State will mean continued violence and terrorism. Cooperation between the international community and the relevant actors in creating the necessary conditions to end the more than 70 years of conflict is crucial to building a stable and prosperous new Middle East. Based on its steadfast position in support of peace and stabilization in the region, the Sultanate of Oman is prepared to make every effort and cooperate with the international parties in order to ensure that negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis are resumed and to support efforts leading to an agreement on a two- State solution, which would contribute to security and stability in the region.
Sustainable development is one of the most important pillars of Oman’s vision for the future and consecutive five-year development plans, which are an extension of the values and principles of sustainability as a means of achieving lasting equality, justice and peace in Omani society, as clearly reflected in our basic law. In that regard, my country was an active partner in all the international and regional forums, deliberations and dialogues that resulted in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Oman has sought to implement its international obligation to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by setting up long-term policies and strategies and mid- and short-term plans and programmes that have become a fundamental component of our ninth five-year plan for the period from 2016 to 2020 and of Oman Vision 2040. Against that backdrop, in July my country submitted its first voluntary national review on the Sustainable Development Goals, commended by all thanks to our positive development indicators.
In conclusion, my country renews its call to all countries of the world to adhere to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law in order to resolve their differences through peaceful and diplomatic means. We also call for a bigger role for the United Nations and regional and international organizations in resolving disputes, consolidating international peace and security and promoting a culture of peace and tolerance, with the aim of sparing humankind the scourges of war and conflict that undermine the aspirations of our peoples to peace, stability, well-being and prosperity.


It is my honour to address the General Assembly again on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, who could not be present today given his busy schedule back at home. Our President is engaged in consolidating and streamlining the peace implementation process, as the pre-transitional period is ending soon and a new Government of National Unity will be formed by 12 November.
I am honoured to be accompanied in my delegation by senior members of the political parties that are signatories to the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan. It is a demonstration of visionary leadership on the part of my President, who directed that they should be included in South Sudan’s delegation to the General Assembly. I believe such an astute decision deserves recognition, as it is through cooperation among the leaders of South Sudan that a peaceful South Sudan can be realized and emerge as a beacon of hope and peace. To this end, I urge the international community and States Members of the United Nations to support the effort to bring the non-signatories to the peace agreement on board.
The Government and the people of the Republic of South Sudan wish to convey to the Government and the people of Zimbabwe, and the African Union, our heartfelt condolences on the loss of the iconic pan-African leader, Mr. Robert Gabriel Mugabe. His revolutionary role and dedicated statesmanship, in the solidarity movement in particular, will live on as a highlight of his exceptional legacy.
I would like to congratulate Mr. Tijjani Muhammad-Bande on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, and the Federal Republic of Nigeria on holding this position for the second time. The Republic of South Sudan affirms its commitment to playing its role in supporting the implementation of the agenda the President has set for this historic session. The theme he has selected for this session — “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion” — strongly resonates not only in my country, but throughout the world at large.
Poverty remains endemic worldwide, and there are direct correlations between poverty, lack of education, unemployment and political instability. We are grateful for the commitments made by our development partners to reduce poverty in the Republic of South Sudan. More support is needed if we are to make an effective contribution towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan has initiated different programmes, policies and development initiatives to address and alleviate poverty.
On climate change, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan has updated its nationally determined contribution and will embark on a clean development trajectory by investing in clean energy, by producing 1,000 megawatts of power from hydro, solar, wind and geothermal energy sources and enhancing the resilience of its people by embarking on a smart-climate approach to agriculture. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is also planning to take part in the Great Green Wall project that is being spearheaded by the African Union to halt the advancement of the Sahara desert southwards. In addition to this, we have taken many steps towards implementing a programme to plant 100 million trees over a period of five years, which translates to approximately 20 million trees every year.
I now wish to draw the attention of the Assembly and the African Union to the continued issue of Lake Chad drying up. An immediate solution is needed to resolve this problem. Getting more water into Lake Chad should be a priority for all of us. I firmly believe that, once there is more water in Lake Chad, the advancement of the Sahara Desert southwards will be significantly stemmed.
We firmly believe that, as Nelson Mandela stated, “education is the most powerful weapon we can use to change the world”. The Republic of South Sudan is using education to transform the lives of our children and youth. We are happy to announce that we are making progress in our national education policy, which addresses the issues of access, equity, gender parity and quality education, and we are intending to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 4 through these strategies. We have developed a new national curriculum, with school-based peace clubs as one of the key initiatives. We have trained 400 teachers as pedagogues in peace education and the prevention of violent extremism.
We wish to express our deep gratitude to our development partners, especially the United Kingdom Department for International Development, the European Union, the United States Agency for International Development, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, the China International Development Cooperation Agency, Norway, the Netherlands, the World Food Programme, UNICEF, UNESCO, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the Global Partnership for Education and the African Development Bank, among others, for their support for education in the Republic of South Sudan. Nevertheless, we still face many challenges and we need the support of the international community to enable us to continue expanding access to education to the millions of children who are still not in school.
On the peace-implementation process, I would like to highlight some of the successes that we have seen on the path to peace and stability. Last year, I stood here representing a country that many sceptics considered to be on the brink of deteriorating into violent conflict, doubting whether the peace agreement would hold or not (see A/73/PV.12). It is my distinct pleasure to inform the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly that the Republic of South Sudan is heading towards lasting peace and stability. This is demonstrated by the ongoing implementation process of the Revitalized Peace Agreement and the willingness of all parties to work in Juba towards a permanent resolution of the conflict in the Republic of South Sudan.
I wish to inform the Assembly of a historic spiritual retreat for all South Sudanese leaders at the Vatican at the invitation of His Holiness Pope Francis. The Archbishop of Canterbury and the former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland were also in attendance. The retreat gave fresh impetus to the quest to restore peace and stability in the Republic of South Sudan.
The prayers did not stop in Rome; the leaders of the South Sudan Council of Churches and the South Sudan Islamic Council are leading the diverse faith groups in the healing and reconciliation process and are providing spiritual guidance as we implement the peace agreement. On 19 September, the Government of the Republic of South Sudan held a national day of prayer in the spirit of supporting this critical process of national healing and reconciliation. I wish to commend the role being played by spiritual leaders, in particular the Archbishop of the Catholic Church in Juba, Paulino Lukudu Loro; the Moderator of the South Sudan Presbyterian Church, the Right Reverend Peter Gai Lual Marrow; and Right Reverend Justin Badi Arama of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan. In addition, I also wish to commend the role of Sheikh Juma Saeed Ali, the Presidential Adviser on Islamic Affairs, as well as the leadership of the South Sudan Islamic Council and all religious and spiritual leaders within the Republic of South Sudan.
The successful face-to-face meeting, held in a friendly atmosphere between President Salva Kiir Mayardit and Mr. Riek Machar in Juba earlier this month, offered an opportunity to deliberate on critical pending issues to pave the way for the formation of the new Government of National Unity by 12 November. The engagement of the different stakeholders is critical to the success of the peace agreement in the Republic of South Sudan. The visit of Mr. Riek Machar and his delegation in Juba last month was a very important milestone and brought much-needed confidence to the leaders of the different political parties and the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan. This is a move in the right direction towards achieving lasting peace.
Since the signing of the Revitalized Peace Agreement, the overall security situation in the Republic of South Sudan is stable. The Government and the parties to the agreement have worked diligently within the various mechanisms set up under the National Pre-transitional Committee to implement the provisions of the Revitalized Peace Agreement. In this context, the Chief of the South Sudan People’s Defence Forces and the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition are, together, leading and carrying out field visits to their respective forces to sensitize them about peace and prepare them for life in cantonments, which are now operational. Training centres have commenced their work as of 17 September, in accordance with the provisions of the Revitalized Peace Agreement.
In addition to the aforementioned peace initiatives, the national dialogue at various levels and grassroots, regional, national and people-to-people peace initiatives have made significant strides towards reconciliation and healing among the diverse communities in the Republic of South Sudan. The outcomes of the consultative dialogues held in the three regions of the Republic of South Sudan will soon be discussed at a national conference. It is our firm belief that the complementary three-track approach of the people-to-people peace initiatives, the national dialogue and the implementation of the peace agreement is the way to consolidate peace on the ground, ensure democracy and accountability and fight impunity in the Republic of South Sudan.
South Sudanese refugees in neighbouring countries and the internally displaced persons living in United Nations protection-of-civilians sites are voluntarily returning in large numbers to their respective States and homes. However, there is an urgent need to provide them with support mechanisms to ensure an easy transition and reintegration into their communities. This support includes transport for the returnees, the delivery of food to their respective areas, health care, clean water and educational services.
On humanitarian access, all indicators show that the humanitarian trend in the country has remarkably improved due to intensified collaboration between the Government, United Nations agencies and development partners. There are no longer delays in the delivery of humanitarian aid, as convoys are cleared instantly at the entry points.
Before I conclude, the Government and the citizens of the Republic of South Sudan would like to congratulate our brothers and sisters in the Republic of the Sudan for showing the patriotism and exemplary leadership needed to amicably resolve the political impasse that many feared would get out of hand. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new Prime Minister of the Republic of the Sudan, His Excellency Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, for winning the confidence of the Transitional Military Council and the Forces for Freedom and Change to lead the interim Government. For the success of the interim Government in the Sudan, we call for the lifting of all sanctions imposed against the Republic of the Sudan and the removal of the Republic from the list of countries supporting terrorism. We also call for the cancellation of all of the Sudan’s debts and the normalization of trade and economic relations.
I wish to take this opportunity to reiterate that we are one people in two independent countries, united through our historical, cultural and social ties. Accordingly, the Republic of South Sudan will always seek to maintain a very strong relationship with the Sudan. This reality led His Excellency Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardit, President of the Republic of South Sudan, to take it upon himself to facilitate peace talks between the Government of the Sudan and the Sudanese armed opposition groups. A road map to realize this effort was signed in Juba on 12 September. Further peace negotiations between the parties are scheduled to commence in Juba on 14 October for a final peace settlement.
We look forward to working with the new Government of the Republic of the Sudan in addressing the pending issues in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed in 2005. Chief among those issues are the demarcation of our common border and the settlement of the final status of Abyei. The Government of the Republic of South Sudan is gravely concerned about the security situation in Abyei. We applaud and appreciate Security Council resolutions 2445 (2018) and 2469 (2019). We have considered most of the Secretary-General’s recommendations for the reconfiguration of the United Nations Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and for charting an exit strategy. We are still looking forward to the implementation of the provisions of the aforementioned resolutions, and especially urge the Secretary-General to accelerate the appointment of a civilian deputy head of mission for UNISFA. In this regard, we repeat our request to the African Union Peace and Security Council and the United Nations Security Council to finally endorse the African Union High-level Implementation Panel proposal of 21 September 2012 on Abyei. In seeking support and backing from the Security Council in this matter, we urge it to expedite its work towards determining the final status of Abyei.
In conclusion, the President of the Republic of South Sudan, His Excellency Mr. Salva Kiir Mayardit, is fully committed to the implementation of the signed Revitalized Peace Agreement. Together with the parties to the Revitalized Peace Agreement, the President is ready to form a new Government of National Unity on 12 November. The Transitional Government of National Unity will continue to consolidate peace, including preparations for the elections scheduled at the end of the transition period. We call upon the Assembly to extend its much-needed support to the new incoming Government.