Allow me first of all to congratulate Mr. Muhammad-Bande on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. I would also like to use the opportunity to thank Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of the General Assembly at its previous session.
I would like to emphasize the importance of the current moment. Amid quite complex political and geopolitical circumstances, next year we will celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The Organization has faced numerous challenges in the past. I believe that the General Assembly sessions have always been an opportunity to bring together leaders of different countries in order for them to share their opinions and views on the world situation and, in particular, to find optimal solutions to contemporary global challenges and problems.
In that respect, the United Nations has also faced the escalation of conflicts in different areas in 2019, including a major migrant and refugee crisis, followed by terrorism and violent extremism, as well as other forms of violence perpetrated by various extremist groups. There is also the issue of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which will also be discussed during this session.
The United Nations established the high-level political forum on sustainable development as a platform where political leaders agree on recommendations regarding sustainable development matters. This year’s session of the forum was held in July, where my country, Bosnia and Herzegovina, for the first time presented its voluntary national review as part of monitoring the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the country, thereby sharing our experiences in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
By adopting the 2030 Agenda, Bosnia and Herzegovina has committed itself to initiating a systematic monitoring and supervision process for the implementation of that global agenda that integrates the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. Bosnia and Herzegovina takes the view that the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda requires an agreement on foreseeable, coherent and sufficient funding to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
For those reasons, we believe that the achievement of the SDGs should strongly and qualitatively contribute to the eradication of poverty, the reduction of world hunger, the protection of the environment and dealing with the evident climate change. Bosnia and Herzegovina sees the United Nations 2030 Agenda and its transformative nature as an opportunity and a mechanism of change seeking to comprehensively promote the social, economic and environmental aspects of the life of the population. We therefore hope that the review of implementation activities for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in Bosnia and Herzegovina will be finalized by the end of 2019 and submitted to the high-level political forum to be held in the coming years.
Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that the present time offers a special opportunity to change the course of development by creating a self-sustaining environment that will benefit everyone. It is a great honour for Bosnia and Herzegovina to be a part of that transformational agenda as a sovereign country and provide our contribution within the global family of nations. Successful cooperation with the United Nations encourages our implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which presents an opportunity for Bosnia and Herzegovina to share its own experience and lessons learned, as well as challenges and practices, on important life issues with the other United Nations Member States and contribute towards the strengthening of the international cooperation.
Activities related to the Euro-Atlantic integration process in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the alignment of the Bosnia and Herzegovina sociopolitical system with the European Union acquis, are at the centre of political developments in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as the country is committed to continuing its activities to stabilize the situation and accelerate the reform processes initiated. The European Commission’s Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union is a very accurate record of all the reforms required.
Some reforms require the voiding and annulment of the existing systemic discrimination against the citizens of my country, which is unfortunately set out in certain provisions of the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as those of various legislative acts. Bosnia and Herzegovina will have to undergo a process of development in order to reach such a political level that those necessary reforms can be implemented without major sociopolitical tensions.
Furthermore, Bosnia and Herzegovina actively contributes to regional security efforts in our region. In that regard, I would like to affirm that Bosnia and Herzegovina is a reliable, serious and determined partner of the United Nations, the European Union and NATO. We are particularly determined to strengthen the European security area. We are committed to fighting organized crime, combating terrorism and violent extremism, as well as illegal migration, and to protecting the security of national borders in terms of migration management. With regard to the international challenges of the modern times, Bosnia and Herzegovina particularly emphasizes its commitment to the global efforts to combat terrorism and violent extremism.
In addition to internal reforms, Bosnia and Herzegovina also focuses on strengthening regional cooperation, particularly with regard to infrastructure projects in the communications, transport and energy sectors. At the international level, Bosnia and Herzegovina is active within the United Nations and organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe, the Central European Free Trade Agreement and other various regional initiatives. We would like to emphasize that over the previous period Bosnia and Herzegovina had a prominent and active chairmanship of the South- East European Cooperation Process regional initiative and the Migration, Asylum, Refugees Regional Initiative, where it invested additional efforts and provided an active impetus to the regional approach to facing current challenges.
Bilateral relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring countries are at the top of our foreign policy priorities. That should be the foundation for the continuous improvement of cooperation based on mutual interest and the principles of equality, respect for one another and respect for State sovereignty and territorial integrity. The aforementioned may lead to the conclusion that the relations between Bosnia and Herzegovina and the neighbouring countries are good and strong. However, due to particular policies of our neighbours, we occasionally see their activities seeking to realize their own political interests within Bosnia and Herzegovina. That causes unrest and produces a degree of destabilization in my country, which is neither good nor does it contribute to the development of the desired good-neighbourly relations.
The United Nations has the primary responsibility for world peace and security. One should not lose sight of the interactive interdependence and complexity of the relationship between peace and security, development and cooperation and especially the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. With the increasing number of conflicts becoming progressively more complex, we are aware that the United Nations faces a number of challenges, particularly on the African continent and in the Middle East. In order to find an adequate solution to the numerous crises, Bosnia and Herzegovina supports the United Nations efforts to strengthen the preventive diplomacy sector within the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. It is of particular importance that all disputes be resolved peacefully, as stated in Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations, which expressly requires that disputes be resolved peacefully and with the goodwill to resolve them. General Assembly and Security Council resolutions represent one form of support for such peaceful settlement of various disputes between countries.
Bosnia and Herzegovina continuously monitors such phenomena and, to the best of its ability, strengthens its capacities in the fight against terrorism, international crime and narcotics production and trafficking, as well as trafficking in human beings occurring within the framework of migration movements. Bosnia and Herzegovina strongly condemns violent extremism and terrorism in all its forms and finds all acts of extremism and terrorism, regardless of their form, motivation and perpetrators, to be criminal and unjustifiable. Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to the full implementation of all Security Council resolutions aimed at bringing persons involved in the financing, planning, preparation or commission of terrorist acts to justice.
Bearing in mind the direct correlation between security and sustainable development and the central role of the United Nations in the process of peacebuilding and the creation of basic conditions for the development of post-conflict societies, I would like to emphasize that Bosnia and Herzegovina supports the United Nations direct activities in stabilizing post-conflict societies by building and strengthening institutions, especially those in the field of the rule of law, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, security and reintegration and reconciliation processes.
Bosnia and Herzegovina expresses its concern about the ongoing escalation of violence in the world, particularly in the Middle East. I take this opportunity to call for an end of combat activities and for the finding of peaceful solutions. Bosnia and Herzegovina is of the principled view that the protection of civilians, respect for human rights and humanitarian law are necessary priorities in international relations.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s foreign policy is focused on maintaining and promoting lasting peace and security in all parts of the world. The activities of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of international relations are based on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the Helsinki Final Act and other Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe documents, as well as generally accepted principles of international law. Bosnia and Herzegovina has either ratified or successively adopted the most significant international documents in this field and is ready for full cooperation with other countries, both within relevant multilateral organizations and initiatives, as well as bilaterally, in order to effectively combat the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of deployment.
Bosnia and Herzegovina also advocates all general positions in terms of promoting and supporting all realistic and effective ideas that will lead to the ultimate goal, which is a world without nuclear weapons. In accordance with the obligations arising from the provisions of the Security Council resolution 1540 (2004), regarding preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of transport, Bosnia and Herzegovina focuses on fulfilling its commitments, with an emphasis on strengthening dialogue and non-proliferation cooperation on mass destruction, as well as various forms of regional cooperation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina explicitly opposes providing any support to non-State actors and entities seeking to develop, procure, produce, possess, transport, transfer or use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and their means of transfer. Furthermore, we actively and directly contribute to United Nations peacekeeping missions, one of the most visible components of the United Nations. As a sovereign country that attaches particular importance to peacekeeping missions, Bosnia and Herzegovina best demonstrates its participation and commitment to peacekeeping through its involvement in United Nations and NATO peacekeeping missions. Bosnia and Herzegovina welcomes the commitment of the United Nations to supporting the participation of women in peacekeeping missions. I would like to point out with particular pleasure that we are one of the few countries that has been fulfilling its stated goals for a long time, that is, more than 20 per cent of women participating in peacekeeping missions.
I would particularly like to point out that the Agreement on the Suppression of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse was signed on 10 January between the United Nations and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Agreement obliges my country to hold everyone responsible, civilian or uniformed, for all forms of sexual exploitation and abuse in United Nations peacekeeping or other humanitarian operations, including support for a zero-tolerance policy towards such type of deviant behaviour.
The international legal framework is the starting point to exercise the rights of a child, and the international Convention on the Rights of the Child is the fundamental instrument to determine the legal framework and policies of the countries that are parties to the Convention, which focus on addressing the issues of the rights of a child. The country programme 2015- 2019 between UNICEF and Bosnia and Herzegovina is particularly important, as it further contributes to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, as well as the development agenda beyond 2015.
Racial discrimination, as well as other forms of discrimination, is insufficiently regulated by the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, such deviant phenomena are referenced through several features of criminal offences within the criminal legislation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as lower levels of Government. That clearly demonstrates the commitment of the authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina to respect the human rights of all citizens who live there, as well as permanently resident aliens or aliens granted temporary residence on the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with respect to all principles of mutual tolerance.
However, as I said earlier, certain provisions providing for systemic discrimination remain in the Constitution of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as established in the four judgments of the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, in the Sejdic-Finci, Zornic, Pilav and Slaku cases, as well as the European Commission’s Opinion on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s application for membership of the European Union.
Bosnia and Herzegovina must provide for constitutional reforms as well as reforms of various laws in order to meet the European standard, which is the equality of all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in all aspects of life. Such action will require the agreement of domestic political actors to remove obstacles to the continuation of the process of integration into the European Union.
In the area of trafficking in human beings, a comprehensive and multidisciplinary action plan to combat trafficking in human beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina for the period 2016-2019 aims to improve the support system for combating trafficking in human beings in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We will further modernize the plan and prepare a new one for the coming period.
The rule of law and international law are firmly established in the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, which is the very foundation of the Organization. Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to promoting the rule of law at all levels, national, regional and international, and firmly committed to contributing towards the building, strengthening and full respect of international law, including human rights and international humanitarian law. I would therefore like to affirm that Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to respecting its international obligations. That is very important for our contribution to the comprehensive development, preservation and maintenance of peace and the promotion of human rights, fundamental freedoms and sustainable development.
Bosnia and Herzegovina fully cooperates with the International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals, which has taken over functions from the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, including judicial functions, the enforcement of sanctions, the relocation of released individuals and the protection of victims and witnesses. The authorities of Bosnia and Herzegovina remain committed to ensuring that all persons suspected of war crimes on the territory of the former Yugoslavia be brought to justice.
Bosnia and Herzegovina hereby reaffirms its commitment to continuing negotiations on United Nations reform in accordance with the final document of the 2005 New York World Summit of Heads of State and Government (resolution 60/1). Reform of the United Nations system is necessary but such reform must be carried out with extreme care and the broadest consensus of Member States. Bosnia and Herzegovina shares the view that developing countries are underrepresented in the Security Council, which is an appropriate point to hear and discuss the specific issues and problems of developing countries.
Given the sensitivity of the issue, Bosnia and Herzegovina is committed to reaching a compromise solution. Given that the number of Eastern European countries has more than doubled, we expect the reformed Security Council to be expanded, with additional seats for non-permanent members of the Group of Eastern European States. Bosnia and Herzegovina also supports the greater representation of African countries, as well as small and medium-sized developing countries, including the small island developing countries.


At the outset, it is my pleasure to sincerely congratulate the President and his friendly country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on his election to lead the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, and to assure him of our full support in facilitating his work. I also want to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for his predecessor’s outstanding efforts during her presidency of the previous session and to pay tribute to the enormous efforts of the Secretary-General in leading our deep-rooted Organization.
Anyone who has studied the work of the United Nations over the past seven decades and more has arrived at an essential conclusion, which is that the United Nations has been able to address many of the serious challenges and chronic crises that the world has faced. It is the safe haven that works to put an end to differences and ensure a logic of peace based on diplomacy in order to save succeeding generations from the scourge of conflicts and wars.
Since its inception, the State of Kuwait has maintained a foreign policy based on the foundations of peace. As Kuwait’s recent non-permanent membership of the Security Council drew to an end, we concluded that through our direct involvement and interaction with the overall issues, both chronic and urgent, we became more aware of the importance of reinforcing dialogue and pluralism in order to address global challenges. The United Nations is the ideal place for addressing such issues. In that regard we reiterate Kuwait’s position, which supports the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations with a view to ensuring the continuity of the work of the Organization and the effectiveness of its output and, in turn, guaranteeing the implementation of its ambitious mandate for the maintenance of international peace and security.
This year the Arab Gulf region has been hit with a series of acts of terrorism and subversion that have threatened freedom of navigation in that vital region of the world and undermined the flow of energy supplies. They include the recent attacks on 14 September on the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and particularly those that targeted its vital installations. We once again strongly condemn those terrorist attacks and reaffirm Kuwait’s full support for all the measures that Saudi Arabia is taking to preserve its security and stability. We also once again urge the international community to assume its responsibilities for ensuring and protecting freedom of navigation in this important part of the world and committing to compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. That in turn would help to maintain international peace and security.
The Palestinian question occupies a central and pivotal place in the Arab and Islamic worlds. If it continues to go unresolved, it will increase the tensions and instability in the region. It is therefore vital that we continue making every possible effort to relaunch serious negotiations within a specific time frame aimed at achieving a just and comprehensive peace that is based on the principle of a two-State solution, the terms of reference of the peace process, the resolutions of international legitimacy and the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative.
It is also crucial to end the Israeli occupation and establish an independent Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, within the pre-1967 borders. Furthermore, all of Israel’s practices violating the sanctity of religious sites, and all of its settlement activities on occupied Palestinian territories, must come to an end. At the same time, we emphasize that any settlement, deal or unilateral solution outside the framework of those terms of reference will only prolong the Palestinian question and exacerbate its consequences.
The developments in the Syrian crisis, which has entered its ninth year with all its human suffering, are a true testament to the lack of an international consensus on the issue and the absence of a dialogue between the parties. That has been the main reason for the protraction of this bloody conflict. From this rostrum, we reiterate our firm position that there can be no military solution to the crisis and stress the importance of working on a political settlement in line with the relevant Security Council decisions, particularly resolution 2254 (2015), and the Geneva communique (S/2012/522, annex), in order to meet the aspirations and ambitions of our brother people of Syria.
The continuing crisis in Yemen represents a remarkable indication of the reality of how to deal with the relevant resolutions and outcomes of the Security Council. However, despite the resumption of the negotiations among the parties to the crisis and the conclusion of the Stockholm Agreement at the end of last year, the stalemate and the non-implementation of the Agreement still prevail. We want to emphasize that there can be no military solution to this crisis, either. We support the efforts of the United Nations to facilitate the political process and reiterate our readiness to host our Yemeni brothers for another round of consultations in Kuwait under the Organization’s auspices, with a view to reaching a comprehensive and definitive political agreement, which should be based on the three agreed terms of reference — the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the outcomes of the National Dialogue Conference, and the relevant Security Council resolutions, specifically resolution 2216 (2015) — in order to end the crisis and preserve the security, stability and territorial integrity of Yemen.
Based on the principle of consolidating good-neighbourly relations as promoted in the Charter of the United Nations, we once again call on the Islamic Republic of Iran to undertake serious confidence-building measures aimed at starting a dialogue built on respect for the sovereignty of States and non-interference in their internal affairs in order to reduce tensions in the Gulf region and maintain the safety of maritime navigation. That could help to establish relations based on cooperation and mutual respect, reflecting the aspirations of all the States of the region to live in security and stability and ensure their peoples’ welfare and development.
There can be no doubt that the growing problem of terrorism and violent extremism is one of the most formidable and dangerous challenges facing the international system. The Middle East in particular has suffered from the subversive acts of terrorist groups, foremost of which is Da’esh, which has used Islam as a cover for its destructive intentions. That has been a direct reason for the appeals to the international community to intensify its efforts to combat that very real threat in all its forms and manifestations, to cut off its resources, eliminate its funding and implement international and regional conventions on combating terrorism. In the light of that imminent danger’s potential for worsening in several countries of our region, particularly Yemen, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Afghanistan, we should consider the experience of our brother country of Iraq, which suffered the most from Da’esh’s atrocities, and where such efforts had a concrete impact on eliminating the terrorist group from Iraqi territory. The international community played a major role in that regard, in cooperation with the Iraqi Government.
Four years ago, we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, one of the most remarkable and important achievements of the United Nations and a complement to the Millennium Development Goals. It is people-centred and aimed at enabling countries to achieve the desired outcomes. In taking on its international responsibilities in that regard, the State of Kuwait submitted its first voluntary national review for 2019 regarding the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals during the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. It is a demonstration of the political will of the leaders of our country, as specifically instructed by His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, to strengthen our commitment to international partnership and solidarity as part of our Government’s policies in the short-, medium- and long-term. The aim is to achieve the highest possible levels of sustainable development and to objectively link them to Kuwait’s Vision 2035 and the 2030 Agenda.
We in the State of Kuwait strive to create an environment conducive to attracting high-quality investments from all over the world. We are extremely pleased with the remarkable progress that has been achieved over the past years. That progress is the result of intensive effort and the enactment of a number of laws and measures undertaken by Kuwait. They have yielded the desired positive effects. We look forward to promoting the State of Kuwait’s position through international indicators, including the ease-of-doing-business index issued annually by the World Bank Group.


We are gathered here as leaders of the global community, as we have done for the past 74 years, since the signing of the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco. The United Nations has been a beacon of hope for those who yearn for freedom, independence, peace, decent livelihoods and dignified lives. It has been a daunting task to deliver on the hopes of all the world’s people. Although there have been shortcomings, we have avoided a return to the darkness that necessitated the birth of this Organization. Through multilateralism, we have consistently steered the world away from the precipice of calamity by placing a premium on peace.
Peace is a deep-rooted commitment to the principles of liberty, justice, equality and solidarity among all human beings. It is also a harmonious partnership of humankind with the environment. Those statements emanate from the International Congress on Peace in the Minds of Men, held more than 30 years ago at the initiative of UNESCO, when the people of the world anticipated a twenty-first century in which the ethos of international solidarity and harmony would reach a crowning moment.
Today, as we debate our theme, “Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion”, we see a need for introspection. Considering the realities of the world today, we must ask ourselves if we can eradicate poverty, act consequentially on climate change or achieve socioeconomic inclusion without peace. We must ponder those burning questions as we look ahead to celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of our Organization next year.
Mr. President, you hail from a sister country of ours whose principled and generous contribution to Africa’s decolonization process is unquestionable. I want to congratulate you and your country, the Federal Republic of Nigeria, on your unanimous election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session, and to assure you of Namibia’s support and cooperation during your tenure. I also want to express Namibia’s appreciation to your predecessor, Ms. Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, for her sterling stewardship of our Organization during her term of office.
I would like to commend the Secretary-General for his excellent stewardship of our Organization, which, under his able leadership, continues to be at the forefront of safeguarding the welfare and security of the people and nations of the world. The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2019, his detailed discussion of progress towards the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, indicates that poverty is still on the rise worldwide, compounded by multiple factors, including natural disasters. That threatens the economies of our nations and jeopardizes the aspirations of developing nations, exacerbating inequalities and plunging our people into further poverty and despair.
Despite those realities, Namibia is making inroads into eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities in income and wealth. Our Government allocates a high percentage of resources to the social sectors, including universal access to education and a highly subsidized health-care system, with the aim of reversing the effects of a skewed economy. Those investments have attained a measure of success. Within a period of 22 years, poverty in Namibia declined from a 70 per cent baseline to 18 per cent in 2016, with 400,000 of our citizens lifted out of poverty since our independence. According to the June 2017 World Bank report Does fiscal policy benefit the poor and reduce inequality in Namibia?, Namibia’s gradual decline in poverty is attributable to a targeted policy framework that includes “a well-developed programme of cash transfers to vulnerable segments of the population”. The administration of social safety nets has been a cornerstone of our multi-pronged fight against poverty.
Namibia remains one of the most unequal societies in the world, which attests to the deeply embedded structural nature of the problems we inherited from apartheid oppression. The status quo is not sustainable, and Namibia is taking steps to build a more inclusive society. At this juncture, I want to draw attention to the difficult situation that so-called higher-middle-income countries are encountering. That classification is based on a country’s gross domestic product, which in Namibia’s case, when divided by our small population, results in a high per capita income and our labelling as a rich country, ignoring the fact that a majority of our people, however, are still suffering from the hangover of apartheid. It is therefore a flawed formula that requires urgent reconsideration.
This year has brought the reality of climate change to the shores of every continent. We have witnessed numerous weather events around the world that have caused immense destruction and human suffering. We want to express our solidarity with all the people whose lives have been upended by these adverse events. Namibia is currently in a state of emergency owing to a severe, widespread and prolonged period of drought that has had a damaging effect on the livelihoods of our people. I declared the emergency, and I would like to thank all the countries that have responded and come to our assistance. With that in mind, Namibia hereby reiterates its commitment to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities should guide our commitment to tackling global environmental challenges.
In the quest for global peace, the African Union (AU) and the United Nations are solid partners in conflict resolution. That cooperation has helped to silence the guns in many parts of Africa. Those efforts are informed by our understanding that without peace our ability to realize the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the recently launched African Continental Free Trade Area will be undermined.
We cannot talk about leaving no one behind when we live in a world in which the people of the Western Sahara and Palestine have indeed been left behind. Informed by the anti-colonial struggle in our region and the international solidarity extended to us during our struggle, the Southern African Development Community convened a solidarity conference in March in South Africa for the Polisario Front and the people of Western Sahara, at which we reiterated our unwavering commitment to the people of Western Sahara’s right to self-determination and freedom. Similarly, the people of Palestine have a fundamental right to self-determination and independence. We must achieve a just, lasting and comprehensive peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians, with the establishment of two States that coexist in an atmosphere of peace and security.
With regard to Cuba, we are disappointed that we have regressed from the thawing of relations that we witnessed a few years ago. We renew our call for the lifting of the outdated economic and financial embargo on Cuba and further call for lifting the sanctions on Zimbabwe, in support of its pursuit for economic development, unity and prosperity. We also want to express our solidarity with the Government and the people of Venezuela and to commend the Kingdom of Norway’s mediation efforts in that regard.
The seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations next year will present an opportunity for concluding the reform of the Security Council. In order to reposition the Council to effectively address the new and emerging challenges of international peace and security, we must conclude the intergovernmental negotiation process. In that regard, Namibia reiterates the African common position on Security Council reform, as articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, and extends its appreciation to the Member States that have embraced it.
I have a deeply held conviction that inclusivity spells harmony, while exclusivity spells conflict. If we exclude one group or one race, there will be conflict, and if we are inclusive in governance and other areas, there will be harmony. We therefore cannot afford to leave out the majority of the world’s population in our pursuit of prosperity. Without the full involvement of women and young people, we are missing an opportunity to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. It is that understanding that guides Namibia’s commitment to reaching gender parity at the highest levels of governance and leadership. I want to state from this rostrum that following our upcoming elections on 27 November, we hope that our Parliament, which is currently 47 per cent women, will reach a 50/50 gender balance. Moreover, as I hope to be re-elected and form a new Government, I also want to say from this rostrum that my Cabinet will also have to achieve a 50/50 percentage. We are approaching the twentieth anniversary of resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, which was originally adopted under Namibia’s presidency of the Security Council (see S/PV.4208). As we prepare to assess the implementation of the women and peace and security agenda, we welcome the increased participation of women in United Nations and AU peacekeeping operations.
A few days ago, young people converged here to demand consequential climate action that can safeguard the planet. They presented innovative ideas and expressed their desire and commitment to spearheading the process of finding lasting solutions to this existential threat. Their actions reflect their concern for the future of this planet. The process of finding solutions must be inclusive in order to leverage the participation of young people. We heed the call of those young people. The future is in their hands. Next year we will gather here to commemorate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the establishment of this global parliament of the people. It is my hope that the outcomes of those deliberations will galvanize concrete efforts to arrest and reverse the existential threat of climate change. Namibia is a country that can attest to the effects of climate change, as it is indeed a reality in our country. Let us draw inspiration from the poignant words of Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “If we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must ... transcend our race, tribe, class and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective.”
We have a responsibility to establish a world that transcends racism, tribalism and nationalism. We must bequeath to our children a world that is more peaceful, inclusive and prosperous, a world in which they can access opportunities to employ their gifts and talents, each according to his or her ability. The future hinges on their participation, and we must ensure that they are no longer on the fringes of decision-making, but instead at the forefront in galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion.
In conclusion, as I have said, the future is in the hands of our young people. They should not attack us, because we are working together, as we are doing now. We are taking care of this world in order to leave it in their good hands.


It is my honour and privilege to address the General Assembly at its seventy-fourth session. The breadth and depth of the deliberations held over the past week has reminded us of the unique importance of the General Assembly. No other platform affords the full expression of such a diversity of voices and views. No other venue brings the world together like this.
The challenges we face today are systemic and global. They know no national boundaries. No single State, no matter how big or how strong, can succeed by acting in isolation or even bilaterally. Moreover, it is also now clear to most people that Governments acting alone cannot deliver the benefits of multilateralism themselves. Public policies and public resources, although absolutely essential, are insufficient to tackle challenges like climate change and inequality or to fully achieve sustainable development.
In order to deliver results to people everywhere, multilateralism must be more inclusive and innovative than ever. We must break out of our silos. Strengthening multilateralism means involving all stakeholders. Governments should indeed lead, but the ideas and participation of youth, women, indigenous peoples, entrepreneurs and other members of civil society are critical in fostering the kind of innovation we need to succeed as a global community. This is not simply because our challenges are common, but rather because the potential solutions and gains are all collective. To realize them, we need to work together.
What took place at the United Nations last week brings hope. It was all about diversifying the voices around the United Nations and about fostering innovative partnerships. This high-level week began with youth from all over the world sounding the alarm over climate change and demanding urgent action, leadership and accountability. We heard young people from Tuvalu, Kiribati, Marshall Islands and places across the Pacific describe living in constant fear, not knowing whether their homelands will still be capable of supporting human life by 2030. These young men and women travelled thousands of kilometres with a simple message: “Save the Pacific, save the world”. I want them to know that Canada has heard their message. The message echoed loudly in Montreal and throughout Canada on Friday when hundreds of thousands of young people went on strike and marched in the streets during the largest protest of its kind ever held in our country.
At the Climate Action Summit, we heard that the power to change course lies in our hands. Readily available solutions exist here and now, which, if pursued, could eliminate 70 per cent of global emissions.
During the High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, we heard loud and clear that all our efforts must be channelled towards fulfilling our shared objectives of people, planet and prosperity for a world that leaves no one behind. At the Small island developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway mid-term review, we were reminded of the special vulnerabilities of small island developing States and how they are at great risk. At the high- level meeting on universal health coverage, we heard about the powerful impact that health care can have on prosperity, not just for individuals but for entire nations. A lack of coverage keeps people in poverty and away from achieving their economic potential.
Canada was proud to co-facilitate the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, together with our close partner, Ghana. Through this process, we learned how the poorest and most vulnerable countries are confronting unsustainable levels of debt, and we learned how the decline in correspondent banking relationships poses an existential threat to the nations of the Caribbean and the Pacific. We learned how the scourge of illicit financial flows continues to rob developing countries of the financial resources they need to invest in their peoples’ future. But we also learned that the world has more than enough financial resources to make the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) a reality. The problems are coordination and connection. We need urgently to address the discrepancy between where the financial resources are and where they are needed most.
Solving this mismatch must be a collective priority, here at the United Nations and at home. Doing so is the key to achieving all of what we have set out to accomplish this week — from climate action and universal health care to the vision of the inclusive, people-centred sustainable prosperity that the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development seeks to establish. Together with Jamaica, Canada founded the Group of Friends of SDG Financing because we are committed to finding ways to mobilize the necessary resources from the public, private and philanthropic sectors in order to achieve the SDGs by 2030.
That is why Canada and Jamaica teamed up with Denmark, the United Nations Development Programme and the University of Maryland to launch the Closing the Investment Gap Initiative, which is focusing on helping developing countries to build sustainable infrastructure faster. It is working: nine developing- country investment teams have brought forward 13 high-priority, sustainable infrastructure projects representing an aggregate capital investment of approximately $4.3 billion.
Indeed, Canada has been working vigorously with partners to generate momentum for financing sustainable development, and we are starting to see the result. New actors are entering the space, including banks and impact investors that are increasingly willing to work with public financing and philanthropists.
As the general debate at this session draws to a close, Canada continues to reflect on all that we have heard over the course of the past week. We want our fellow Member States and the global citizens who journeyed here to know that we listened and that we heard them. We listened to President Macky Sail of Senegal say that Africa does not need tutoring; Africa needs partnerships (see A/74/PV.4). We hear him, and we agree.
We listened to President Taneti Maamau of Kiribati say that the real measure of the United Nations is not the number of resolutions, but how many disadvantaged people are better off as a result (see A/74/PV.6). That is the reason we gather here. We hear him, and we agree.
We listened to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat of Malta say that women’s roles in society have been underestimated, underacknowledged and at times even unrecognized (see A/74/PV.8). We hear him, and we agree.
We listened to you, Mr. President, when you said that evidence abounds that we can do great things if we are courageous, steadfast and show empathy (see A/74/ PV.3). We hear you, and we agree.
We listened when our Secretary-General reminded us that we are here to serve. We heard him call on each of us to restore trust, rebuild hope and move ahead together (ibid.). We hear him, and we agree. We are all here to serve our citizens and the planet and to move ahead, together — united as nations and as partners. A strong United Nations is to everyone’s advantage, as is an effective Security Council capable of adapting and responding to twenty-first century challenges. Canada wants to do its part in support of this goal.
Nowhere is the need more urgent than in those places where fragility and violence directly affect millions of people. The General Assembly knows very well where political solutions are desperately needed to stop mass atrocities and to bring durable solutions to protracted crises so generations of people can return, in safety and dignity, to their homes, so they can have hope and prosper and thrive.
People in Syria, Yemen, Venezuela and countless other places rightly look to the blue-and-white flag of the United Nations with hope, but, too often, also with frustration and even anger. We have a responsibility to serve them. We need to do more to help. All hope, however, is not lost. We should acknowledge with admiration and respect that the United Nations can act, and is acting, as a force for peace in many parts of the world.
The high-level events convened last week by the Governments of Burkina Faso, Mali, Somalia and the Sudan demonstrate a genuine desire for partnership in support of peace. It is in the interest of the Organization and its Member States to respond to their legitimate expectations. We should accompany them in their pursuit of sustainable peace and prosperity for their peoples.
Canada is prepared to do its part. We want to help develop forward-looking approaches to the world’s toughest problems. We want to bring our uniquely diverse experience to bear in support of truly global solutions while fully respecting local leadership. We hope to contribute to a new multilateralism where benefits are distributed more broadly, more evenly and more fairly; where commitments are fulfilled; and where implementation is achieved and the results experienced by the people. We intend to do this by earning a seat on a Security Council that truly serves the interests of all Member States.
Should members choose to elect us, Canada can be counted on to do what it has always done: ask the tough questions, actively listen to the answers, stand up for what matters, be clear and consistent, and unite rather than divide. We are fully committed to bringing innovative ideas to prevent and respond to crises, and we firmly believe in the power of multilateral solutions and partnership to address the most intractable of global challenges.
As a member of the Security Council, we will focus on five priority areas.
The first is to sustain peace, together. We support the Secretary-General’s vision in this regard — full stop. Prevention and peacebuilding are essential components of an effective approach. A Canadian, former Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson, was at the heart of the creation of the first United Nations peacekeeping force, more than 60 years ago. Since then, more than 125,000 Canadians have served abroad in support of United Nations peacekeeping operations.
We are the longstanding chair of the Working Group of the Whole of the United Nations Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations, bringing troop- and police-contributing countries, financial donors and host States together to improve the vital collective endeavour that is twenty-first-century United Nations peacekeeping. We will continue to drive innovation in this space, just as we did with smart pledges and the Vancouver Principles.
We have served as a member of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission and Chair of the Sierra Leone configuration for more than a decade. Our ongoing support in this capacity for Sierra Leone’s nationally led recovery and development has contributed to sustainable peace in that country.
We are proud of our record, but we have also drawn inspiration from the work of many, many others. We are grateful for Jordan’s prescient efforts in 2015 to establish a new, and necessary, agenda on youth, peace and security. We support Equatorial Guinea in drawing the Security Council’s attention to the African Union’s critically important Silencing the Guns initiative. We pay tribute to Kuwait for successfully bringing forward the first-ever Security Council resolution on missing persons in armed conflict, and to Poland for having expanded the Council’s protection-of-civilians agenda — which Canada spearheaded 20 years ago — to also include persons with disabilities in conflict. These action-oriented initiatives demonstrate what can be accomplished by elected members of the Security Council working together.
Canada’s second priority is to address climate change, together.
Climate change is the defining issue of our time, an existential threat like no other. It is an environmental issue, an economic issue and, as it endangers the lives and livelihoods of citizens around the world, one of the greatest security challenges of the twenty-first century.
For that reason, we listened carefully to the views expressed during the open debate organized by the Dominican Republic under its recent presidency of the Security Council on addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security (see S/PV.8451). Like most Member States, we, too, are convinced that climate change is a risk amplifier for security. It is a cause of conflict and unrest, and as it worsens, it will leave millions of people displaced, hungry and vulnerable to disease and weather-induced disaster. The Security Council needs to lead the rest of the world in recognizing the urgency and necessity of acting.
As a country bordering on three oceans, affected by climate change and with a longstanding tradition of contributing to solutions to non-traditional security challenges, Canada brings much to the table. We hope to harness the energy, partnerships and results generated by the Sustainable Blue Economy Conference we co-hosted with Kenya and Japan in support of this goal as well.
Thirdly, Canada will use its seat on the Security Council to promote economic security, together. Investing in people and in countries to foster prosperity and equal opportunity is essential for maintaining international peace and security. Haiti is a striking example. A few months ago, I led a delegation of States Members on the Economic and Social Council Ad Hoc Advisory Group’s annual visit to Haiti. We heard compelling and irrefutable evidence that exclusion and economic inequalities are the root causes of Haiti’s political instability and deteriorating security situation. There can be no peace and security in Haiti when 25 per cent of the population is hungry. We shared what we learned with the Secretary-General and members of the Security Council and called on them to take the economic dimensions of Haiti’s ongoing transition into greater consideration in the evolving United Nations approach. It was the right thing to do and the new special political mission will be better for it.
The situation in the Sahel is another striking example. Young people have too few opportunities, which in turn makes them more susceptible to extremism and to criminal and terrorist networks. As most conflicts are deeply rooted in the lack of economic opportunities, focusing on the prevention and peacebuilding agenda means looking through an economic-security lens. As a member of the Security Council, Canada will call attention to the vital links between sustainable and inclusive economic growth, job creation, conflict prevention, peacebuilding and security. We will continue to break down the silos between security and development, between Governments and the private sector, between North and South, between traditional and non-traditional partners and between United Nations organs like the Security Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, so that they can work better together, for all people.
Canada’s fourth priority is to promote gender equality together. Despite important gains, gender inequality is still widespread. Impunity, including for sexual and gender-based violence, remains a common and unacceptable feature of conflict. We know that achieving sustainable peace will only be possible through women’s meaningful participation in United Nations peace operations, peace processes and peacebuilding. But progress on this front has been too slow. Canada has decided to take action, along with other donors and UN-Women, to create the Elsie Initiative Fund for Uniformed Women in Peace Operations. This new fund supports partners to substantially increase the representation of women overall and in positions of authority.
As we prepare to mark the twentieth anniversary of the landmark resolution 1325 (2000) on women and peace and security, which my country closely supported while we were last on the Security Council, Canada is aligning all of its peace and security, humanitarian and development policies and programmes to truly turn a corner in relation to gender equality. We are heartened to see so many other countries also trying to make positive changes in this regard.
Canada is proud to have a feminist foreign policy. It means we will always speak up for women’s rights, everywhere in the world, even when speaking up is difficult, and we will back up our words with action. From the Elsie Initiative to working with Group of
Seven partners to secure a $3.8 billion investment for the education of women and girls in fragile or conflict- affected countries to naming Canada’s first ambassador- level position for women, peace and security and introducing a feminist international-assistance policy that brings a gender lens to almost all of Canada’s international development work, we believe that the economic and political empowerment of women and girls is critical to building a safer, more prosperous and inclusive world.
Finally, as a member of the Security Council, Canada will work with its partners to strengthen multilateralism. Over the course of almost 75 years, multilateralism has delivered impressive gains. The system of treaties, laws, norms and cooperative arrangements that have been developed to guide global affairs has prevented wars and improved lives and livelihoods. But we also know that the rules have not been evenly applied, nor have their benefits been evenly distributed. Implementing commitments remains a perennial challenge, as does translating decisions into tangible progress for people on the ground.
More than 70 years after their establishment, our multilateral institutions need to adapt so that they can serve all countries. Our approaches also must reflect the new realities of the world we live in. With a population of 36 million people, Canada needs and understands the importance of the rules-based international system — one in which might is not always right and in which more powerful countries have to treat smaller ones in accordance with standards that are internationally respected, enforced and upheld. That is why we are working to reform them and make them fit for purpose in the twenty-first century.
Canada has always been a responsible global actor and strong humanitarian donor. We see the potential for positive change, at home and abroad, and are committed to working hard with others to attain it. We seek genuine partnerships with other States, the private sector and all parts of civil society, including faith leaders, academics, activists and youth. Several former Canadian Prime Ministers and special envoys from different political parties came to New York last week, together with many Canadian business leaders and investment executives. Our diverse, high-level, joint public and private sector delegation sat down with over 100 Member States and, in so doing, identified new opportunities in relation to trade and financing for development.
Canada’s multilateral engagement will continue to be characterized by a capacity to take advantage of diversity. Canadian identity is based on the fundamental principle that our differences are an asset, not an obstacle. We are home to people from over 200 ethnic origins, including many indigenous peoples with distinct and vibrant cultures. Over 200 languages from every corner of the world are spoken in Canada.
For that reason, we feel very much at home at the United Nations. Our country boasts a similar degree of diversity: nearly 50 per cent of the people living in Toronto, our biggest city and home to my family, were born outside Canada. The same is true of Vancouver. We treat others as friends, with respect. We believe in helping everyone to realize their full potential. But like all States, we remain a work in progress. As noted in Canada’s national statement to the Assembly two years ago (see A/72/PV.12), we have much work to do to advance the rights of indigenous peoples in Canada. The path to reconciliation is hard and will take time, but we are fully committed to it.
Although our record is far from perfect, we acknowledge our faults with humility and will strive to improve, including by listening to every one of us here today and learning from their experiences. We do so because we see our future as intertwined with that of the world as a whole. Canadians value the spirit of community. We bring people together and we understand that opportunities lie in the connections we share with others. We bring this hopeful energy to the United Nations — it is simply who we are.
We can be counted upon to keep listening to the diversity of views around the table. We can be counted upon to always make room at the table for others, irrespective of their size or stature. A voice is a voice is a voice; all should be heard. Canada is here to serve and to move ahead together — united as nations and as partners. That is the kind of Security Council member Canada would be: inclusive, innovative, open, honest and reliable, working together with all Member States for all Member States. We hope to earn the support of the Assembly to apply these principles.


I have the honour to bring the warm greetings of Yokwe on behalf of the people and Government of the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
I congratulate the President on his election and I rest assured that he will continue the strong efforts of his predecessor.
I also want to express my deep condolences to the people of the Bahamas and all the victims of Hurricane Dorian. They should know that, as fellow islanders, the people of the Marshall Islands stand with them.
The United Nations must be the platform for the voices of the most vulnerable peoples and Governments of the world. Yet we are all at a time in global politics when countries are being driven to look inwards, at the very moment when we all need to be doing the opposite. We risk the tragedy of overlooking those most in need.
The Marshallese people know that from our own experience. Our history with the Organization extends to its foundation and Charter of the United Nations. As a former United Nations Trust Territory, we approached the United Nations twice — in 1954 and again in 1956 — to stop the testing of nuclear weapons on our shores, and twice the United Nations disregarded our petitions, in place of resolutions authorizing nuclear detonations. Twice our voices went unheard, and twice larger political concerns overruled the protection of our human rights. As a Human Rights Council special rapporteur affirmed in 2012, this is not just a gravely difficult legacy, but a contemporary reality that continues to impact our human rights.
I am drawing the attention of the Assembly directly to that chapter of the Marshall Islands’ history to illustrate the global importance of human rights, because ours is far from the only moment at the United Nations when we, as Member States, have failed our solemn obligations to our peoples and to take meaningful and effective action to address the core human rights of those most in need, and when larger politics have so clouded our vision that the world has too often acted too little, too late or sometimes not at all.
We know that from our own perspective in the Pacific, but it is also a common cause embodied in the core human rights treaties and commitments that we all share. In the Marshall Islands, we have built up our own protection of human rights, not just by joining treaties but by working steadily to turn words into action. Yet we still have much to do to ensure a resilient future.
When I entered politics years ago, the Marshall Islands was in its youth as a newly independent nation. We were truly nation-building. But now, as an atoll small island developing State, a nation only one metre above sea level, with no higher ground, the climate crisis now forces us to engage in nation-saving. That is not academic — it is real; it is now; and it imperils our future, security and core human rights.
For those reasons, the Marshall Islands will stand in two weeks’ time for election to the Human Rights Council. Our experience has taught us to be not only a bridge-builder and a careful listener, but also a nation unafraid to take a strong stand when it is needed, even if it is unpopular. I truly hope that we will be judged on the strength of our conviction, the merits of all that we have accomplished on our own human rights record and all that we have committed to pursuing, and not be judged on the size of our gross domestic product or the number of chocolates that we have handed out.
As the Marshall Islands, we are presenting to the General Assembly what we do have: ourselves, our stories, our independent voice and our passionate belief that everyone must be held to account.
The Pacific Islands region is a steward of global oceans and sustainable fisheries. My own country is more than 99 per cent ocean, and, as such, for some what is a distant and obscure policy issue is for us our livelihood and identity. We look forward to concluding negotiations next year on a robust new treaty for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction under the Law of the Sea, which provides coherence among sectors. As I reported to the Human Rights Council earlier this year, the members of our regional Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency have also recently issued a declaration to ensure that human rights are protected in our fisheries sector, including aboard foreign vessels that dominate our waters.
Fisheries in the Pacific are often a proxy for security and influence. As my President told the Group of Seven leaders last year, illegal fishing is not only an economic menace but also a threat to our sovereignty. We welcome current assistance and urge a more intensified focus on the part of our partners and the international community on combatting illegal fishing in our region. Not only does it benefit our own regional security, but it also helps to preserve global food security.
We welcome partner efforts to help us achieve a free, open, democratic and secure Indo-Pacific region. Our island nations worked hard to achieve independence, and maintaining our stability, sovereignty and security is a clear priority. Further, we welcome the recent issued made by the United States during the recent Pacific Islands Forum:
“The United States recognizes that addressing environmental degradation and climate change is a priority in the Pacific... due to the threat posed by sea-level rise and the region’s vulnerability to natural disasters.”
I suggest that the significance of that statement is underrecognized and that it could spur a vital and much-needed dialogue on climate change with our region.
Our Pacific Islands Forum stands united in our leaders’ adoption of the Boe Declaration as the defining regional security framework. The recent recorded vote this summer on General Assembly resolution 73/332, entitled “Cooperation between the United Nations and the Pacific Islands Forum”, was a sad moment for both the Pacific region and the United Nations. The Member State that called for that recorded vote seems to have no shame in publicly bullying the smallest and most vulnerable nations in the world. The wider implications of that should be of grave concern to any democratic nation.
Our health is vital. We face communicable diseases such as the ongoing nationwide dengue fever outbreak, which is worsened by climate impacts. We also face non-communicable diseases, including one of the world’s highest incidence rates of diabetes. We welcome the partnership with the World Health Organization and other organizations and call urgently for greater efforts to collaborate on island-tailored strategies. We have the political will at the highest levels, but we lack the capacity and resources needed to protect our population. In that regard, we welcome the ongoing collaboration with UNICEF and the World Bank to help us study, understand and address childhood stunting and the root causes of that problem, which has hindered the physical growth, education and well-being of generations of Marshallese children. Improving childhood development in the first 1,000 days of life will have a dramatic and lasting impact on our future generations.
The Pacific Islands region has made positive strides but still has substantial work ahead to more effectively address gender equality. This is not just a matter of policy tools and capacity but also of political will. Even with recent legal and legislative improvements in my nation, the rates of domestic violence remain unacceptably high. Our island region has the lowest rate of women in Parliament in the world. As the nation with the first woman leader in the independent Pacific, the Marshall Islands believes that it is important for UN-Women to continue to strengthen its focus in our region and collaborate to address the root causes of gender inequality, and to do so while working within our cultural contexts.
There was once a time when small island nations were not recognized within the United Nations. As the meeting yesterday on the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action (SAMOA) Pathway made clear, island nations are now well recognized as global leaders and innovators within our own right. Yet we all still have much to do in turning words into action. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a groundbreaking achievement in their use of indicators to benchmark progress towards clear targets. However, our challenge is that our small island Government is simply overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the nearly 250 SDG statistical indicators at hand. Clearly, that structure was not designed to fit the structure and capacity of small island nations, and as a result, global participation is limited to a one-size-fits-all structure. We have therefore realized in the Marshall Islands that the SDGs are a springboard and a tool to get to island-tailored strategies. We want the United Nations to work for us, and not the other way around. More targeted assistance by the United Nations system, including with regard to the statistical capacity of line ministries, is urgent.
We join our region in thanking the Secretary-General for his initiative in undertaking meaningful and effective United Nations system reform and his drive to succeed where others have fallen short. In particular, we emphasize the importance of the Secretary-General’s advocacy in proposing to establish a new United Nations multi-country office in the North Pacific. Despite strong efforts, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Multi-Country Office in Fiji cannot effectively serve 10 diverse and remote nations from a single Office. Our northern subregion is missing out on existing assistance opportunities within the United Nations system because of those disconnections.
We are still facing challenges from the impacts of nuclear-weapons testing, and our experience should be a global lesson of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear detonation. We have been left with a devastating footprint on our health, well-being and environment and the rights of our population. That is a result of contamination that we did not cause and which we lack the capacity to fully understand, let alone address. Our recent establishment of a national nuclear commission, as well as the progress that it has made towards a work plan, are historic steps forward. But we cannot do it alone, and we call for the assistance of the Secretary-General to define a structured work plan by the United Nations system with a defined focal point within the management team at United Nations Headquarters. Accountability within the United Nations system is needed to help answer the joint call by the leaders of the Pacific Island Forum for unique and targeted assistance in addressing remediation.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands strongly affirms its close relationship with Taiwan. The lasting friendship between our free and democratic nations is truly unstoppable. Indeed, this past month our Parliament strengthened those ties through a unanimous resolution. Further, Taiwan should play a clear role within the United Nations system that includes meaningful participation in the relevant specialized agencies and mechanisms, such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the World Health Assembly and the International Civil Aviation Organization. If we as a world and the United Nations are truly serious about leaving no one behind, we should recognize the participation and assistance of all relevant sources, and thus appropriately recognize Taiwan’s partnership and engagement with my own nation and others.
For those unfamiliar with the geography of atoll small nations like my own, coral atolls are formed by the sinking of extinct volcanoes, leaving us with thin, low-lying and narrow islands. That demands a perfect sea-level balance — one that is now upset by sea-level rise. Warming waters are leading to an increased and near-constant bleaching of coral, the survival of which, globally, is now at risk by mid-century. My nation is literally being eaten away. But we share the sentiment that we are not sinking, we are fighting. We are not helpless victims; rather, we are pushing forward our own policy tools to define the future. But will anyone respond to our dire need for assistance at scale?
When I was a young boy in the Marshall Islands, the unavoidable sound of ocean waves crashing upon our coral reefs was, to me, a natural symphony. But to my grandchildren, that same sound is rapidly becoming, to them, a threat of inundation. Do they not share my same right to live in their ancestral homes? In response, I can only quote our national Constitution, that
“All we have and are today as a people, we have received as a sacred heritage which we pledge ourselves to safeguard and maintain, valuing nothing more than our rightful home on the[se] islands.”


The Kingdom of Morocco serves as a link and a meeting point for cooperation between Africa and the countries of the Islamic world, between Europe and the rest of the globe. This is due in particular to its stability and security in a region in turmoil at the political, social and security levels, and owing to the fact that we have adopted policies of economic openness and democratic values, as well as to our willingness to engage practically in addressing international challenges.
We are aware that the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly is taking place in an international context marked by great challenges resulting from of ruthless competition and heavy-handed strategies that provoke retaliation, instead of creative, forward-looking responses. Nevertheless, despite today’s difficulties and challenges, the current situation presents opportunities for cooperation and coordination.
We are convinced that multilateral action is the most effective means of addressing the challenges facing today’s world, which no one country has the capacity to tackle alone. Combating climate change, achieving sustainable development, coping with migration flows, addressing security challenges, fighting terrorism, countering violent extremism and human trafficking are all challenges that require cooperation through a multilateral approach. We therefore hope for the creation of an innovative system that supports the work of the United Nations and regional organizations through greater harmony and coordination as a springboard for addressing these challenges and promising a better future for humankind.
The multilateral action that we aspire to must also guarantee to Africa the place it deserves on the international stage. His Majesty King Mohammed VI has called time and again from this rostrum for our Organization to make Africa a high priority so that it can realize its ambitions and benefit from available opportunities. Morocco’s return to its institutional family, namely, the African Union, in January 2017, is a logical culmination of this conviction alongside bilateral and regional partnerships that Morocco has established through decades with its African environment in the context of productive, effective and solidary South-South cooperation. Those partnerships include various fields at the economic, development, culture, religion and environment levels as well as combating security challenges.
The Kingdom of Morocco allocates two thirds of its foreign direct investment for Africa itself. We are the second largest African investor in Africa. We encourage the private sector within Morocco to draw up projects in Africa to help with technology transfer and keep up with African economies. As a signatory member of the convention on establishing African free-trade zone, Morocco is convinced that such a convention will open up new promising horizons for the African economy, making the African continent the largest free-trade market in the world.
Multilateral action has the power to adapting to new developments and speeding up addressing challenges through first, combating security threats, including terrorism. We can do this by active and practical cooperation in a number of different ways. The action of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum is important in this regard. My country jointly chairs the Forum together with the Netherlands since 2016. Co-chairing the Forum is a recognition of our efforts in this area.
We have developed a global multidimensional strategy that is in harmony with the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy while also including cultural, religious, social, human rights and security aspects. This national strategy extends across the continent as Morocco, with lofty instructions from His Majesty the Commander of the Faithful, has reached out to our brethren and friendly countries which expressed their desire to benefit from the Moroccan experience to help ensure the training of religious leaders to practice the principles of coexistence, openness and moderation.
Secondly, migration problems should be resolved through the interaction and coordination of various countries because no one country can face the challenges of migration alone. Morocco has been regionally a pioneer by adopting a national migration policy, which is humane, comprehensive, realistic and responsible.
In Marrakech, and for the first time in the history of the United Nations, the Global Compact for Migration was ratified in December 2018 as a founding document for organizing migration. The purpose was not to give lessons or level accusations, but rather to establish a pluralistic system based on joint vision where each party could find its interests represented without racism, stereotypes and narrow interests. A vision with more social governance, more humane and more just guided by a sense of joint responsibility. The Marrakech charter has therefore become an international reference for multilateral action on immigration, and we should all work together to implement this document.
Morocco has also been committed to migration as part of King Mohammed Vi’s vision as an African leader on issues of migration. Accordingly, in Rabat, the capital of the Kingdom of Morocco, an agreement was reached between Morocco and the Commission of the African Union to establish an African institute to follow up on the phenomenon of migration with objective analysis and to look into its future developments through scientific ways.
Thirdly, regarding climate change, Morocco hosted the twenty-second session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 22) in 2016. It is another example of our commitment to facing the impacts of this phenomenon that threatens the future of humankind. It is a commitment to mobilize the efforts of the international community to meet its great aspirations, especially in our African continent. In this regard, the first African Summit convened on the margin of the COP 22, under the royal presidency, led to establish and activate three climate initiatives in order to enable the African countries to coordinate among each other amid best circumstances and address climate challenges as serious and realistic challenges facing the world.
One of those initiatives is the sustainability, security and stability initiative (3S) headed by Morocco in partnership with Senegal, which brought together 14 African States in order to practically respond to three major challenges. That would be done through land reclamation of vast areas of 10 million hectares while providing 2 million work opportunities which ensure stability and good life for the inhabitants of these areas.
Fourthly, concerning human and sustainable development, the multilateral system which takes into consideration variations between countries and parties is in total harmony with the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The United Nations 2030 Agenda is an integrated approach that allows countries to achieve their development objectives thus strengthening effective cooperation among each other. Cognizant of the importance to achieve national objectives, His Majesty King Mohammed VI launched a new dynamic development model in Morocco with the aim to achieve social justice that leads to further reduce differences between various categories and regions while building more developed economy which ensures that Morocco joins the club of emerging States. Morocco has also made an appeal at the continental level to build capacity for sustainable development within Africa. We are stressing the effectiveness of South-South cooperation in favour of achieving joint development on our African continent.
The multilateral system that we aspire to is also represented by strengthening the maintenance of international peace and security which is the main task of the United Nations and which symbolizes the commitment of the international community to collective security. Maintaining peace and stability is an established part of our Kingdom’s vision embodied in supporting practical measures. Since Morocco became independent, it has been committed to support United Nations efforts for peacekeeping through participating in 15 peacekeeping operations around the world on four continents in difficult circumstances. In the last two decades, that participation was strengthened by contributing many units of the Royal armed forces to peacekeeping operations, especially in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Central African Republic. With the same zeal, Morocco supports the long-awaited transition from reaction to preventive action which requires more efforts to build the Organization’s capacities in the areas of risk assessment and conflict prevention. This approach needs a comprehensive structural reform of the strategy and structures of the United Nations pertaining to international peace and security. Morocco has backed up this choice at the regulatory and financial levels. As Chairman of the African Union Peace and Security Council in September, Morocco will spare no effort in prioritizing African concerns at the United Nations.
The lack of promising avenues in the relaunching of the Palestinian-Israeli peace process is a major source of concern for the Kingdom of Morocco and another cause of instability and tension in the Middle East. The Kingdom of Morocco is honoured to stand side by side with the Palestinian people, especially given that His Majesty King Mohammed VI is chairing the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
Morocco rejects any changes to the nature or status of the holy city. We also reject the settlement policy, and we are convinced that there can be no just and lasting peace if the Palestinian people cannot realize their legitimate right to their own independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Multilateral action is not just an organizational structure of international relations; it is also a state of mind. We therefore must use it to fight hate speech, racism and the rejection of others, which seriously run counter to established values, foremost among which are coexistence, respect for human dignity and pluralism.
Morocco values its deep-rooted identity, which has multiple tributaries. We do not hesitate to address hate speech and Islamophobia, the bases of violent extremism of all kinds. Ninety States Members of the United Nations sponsored a draft resolution submitted by Morocco and adopted unanimously by the General Assembly at its seventy-third session entitled “Promoting interreligious and intercultural dialogue and tolerance in countering hate speech” (resolution 73/328). That initiative demonstrated the role of multilateral cooperation in building bridges of tolerance and dialogue among religions and cultures.
In this respect, I would recall the historic visit made by His Holiness Pope Francis to Morocco in March. It was strongly symbolic of Morocco’s valued contribution in the area of promoting religious and cultural dialogue. On the occasion of that visit, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, as Chairman of the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, along with his Holiness the Pope, signed a joint appeal on Jerusalem confirming the special religious status of the city as a meeting place of the monotheistic religions and as a symbol of peaceful coexistence and harmony.
Morocco, having a deep-rooted belief in its historical, legal and sovereign rights, is working seriously on the issue of Moroccan Sahara, which is one of ensuring the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, which considers that its full sovereignty on its southern regions is absolutely non-negotiable. Every State has the right and duty to defend its citizens, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity. Morocco is committed to this principle in its foreign policy
The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates from this rostrum that the autonomy initiative that has been considered by the Security Council in all of its resolutions since 2007 is serious and credible and puts a definitive end to this contrived conflict. In this regard, we appreciate the efforts made by the Secretary-General to help make progress towards a political solution that is realistic, practical and sustainable based on consensus, as set out in Security Council resolution 2468 (2019), adopted in April.
The deplorable situation of the inhabitants of Tindouf camp is a source of constant concern for us. We once again call on the international community to encourage the host country to shoulder its legal and humanitarian responsibilities and to carry out a census in the camp and respect the basic rights of its inhabitants, which are systematically violated every day.
For seven decades now, the United Nations has been making progress in the areas of peace, development and human rights. Nonetheless, many serious challenges remain. It is the responsibility of all of us to provide our Organization with the mechanisms necessary to ensure its continuous adaptation to a complex international reality and to mobilize our potential and capacities to reform and strengthen it. We cannot maintain an old system amid the realities of a new world. Instead of attacking the bases of the multilateral system in order to weaken it, there is a need to strengthen it by developing it further so as to move towards a world order that is more just, fair, human and characterized by greater solidarity, a world that is not based on a superficial understanding of reality and does not impose a unilateral vision of a normative authority. Rather, it should be a renewed world of multilateral action in which account is taken of the differences among actors and the multiplicity of challenges; a balanced world that enables Africa to take its rightful place in the international arena; a practical world that adopts successful experiences of integration; and a realistic world that attaches importance to preventive diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes. These are our ambitions and goals. The Kingdom of Morocco will continue, as always since its independence and joining the United Nations, to make efforts to achieve these noble objectives.