Allow me  at  the outset to sincerely congratulate the President on her well- deserved election as the fourth woman to ascend to the highest seat at the United Nations. Although we are happy about her election, we can certainly take no pride in our own record as leaders. Out of 73 Presidents of General Assembly sessions to date, only four have been women. Nevertheless, all is not lost. We must resolve to walk the talk and ensure that women get the same opportunities as men, in line with the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.
I assure the President of my delegation’s full support. Her impeccable credentials and experience spanning more than two decades in the multilateral

setting assure us of a successful seventy-third session. It would be remiss of me not to commend her predecessor, Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, for his noteworthy leadership during the previous session. I also wish to thank the Secretary-General for his report on the work of the Organization (A/73/1), which outlines the state of our United Nations.
World history has been replete, since time immemorial, with periods when peace was lacking. It speaks of conflict among brothers and sisters — wars between and within nations. Terrorism and violence have disrupted and displaced families, while economic devastation has ruined countless lives. Natural disasters such as earthquakes, floods and tornadoes caused by climate change have taken their toll on humankind. Injustice continues to permeate countries, and societies are left devoid of hope for a prosperous, free, peaceful and just world. As new wars and civil unrest seem to be flaring up every week, our people look to us as their leaders for solutions, and they yearn for help from the United Nations.
It is in that context that we welcome the theme for this session — “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”. The theme speaks to the very principles underpinning the formation of the Organization. The Charter of the United Nations puts people at the centre of the United Nations with the following words in its Preamble: “We the peoples of the United Nations”. The big question today is: have we put the people at the centre of our efforts as an Organization for more than seven decades?
As the session of 51 representatives who came from across the world to adopt the Charter of the United Nations in 1945 was drawing to a close, the then President of the United States, Harry Truman, said:
“The Charter of the United Nations which you have just signed is a solid structure upon which we can build a better world    Between the victory in Europe
and the final victory, in this most destructive of all wars, you  have  won  a  victory against war  itself.
... With this Charter the world can begin to look forward to the time when all worthy human beings may be permitted to live decently as free people.” (Proceedings of the United Nations Conference on International Organization, final plenary session, San Francisco, 1945)
For the past 73 years now, we have been standing at this rostrum making commitments and inspiring hope among the citizens of the world. However, our rhetoric has not been matched with action. Our lack of fidelity to the principles enshrined in the Charter remains a concern. Seven decades on, we are still embroiled in vicious conflict and violence. The world  envisioned by our forebears, where “worthy human beings may  be permitted to live decently as free people” (ibid.), continues to elude us. The multilateral system seems to provide no sustainable solution to the multifaceted challenges that confront our world, while unilateralism is on the rise. Those challenges put to the test the trust that humanity has put in the United Nations. Their hope that future generations will be saved from the scourge of war, which, as stated in the Preamble to the Charter, has twice in our lifetime brought untold sorrow to mankind, is further receding from sight.
The above scenario is a reality. Even so, the centrality and relevance of the United Nations cannot be challenged. The world would not have been the same without the United Nations. Imperfect as it is, its positive impact on the lives of  countless people is  a fact that cannot be denied. From feeding more than 104 million people in over 80 countries every year to assisting millions of refugees and protecting women and children, fighting against poverty, HIV and AIDS, and restoring calm through peacekeeping initiatives, the United Nations has undoubtedly made a difference in the lives of global citizens.
When addressing the General Assembly at its seventy-second session (see A/72/PV.17), I did so with a heavy heart, as there was a dark cloud of instability and insecurity hovering over my country. But today, I stand before the Assembly to attest to the difference that the United Nations can make in people’s lives. With the help of the United Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the African Union and other development partners, we are on the path to changing the trajectory of a vicious circle of instability and volatile insecurity in Lesotho. The Kingdom of Lesotho is now embarking on a comprehensive national reform agenda that will culminate in the calibration of pivotal elements of Government, and thus achieve the tenets of the National Vision 2020. Our shared commitment as a nation to transforming our mountain  kingdom into a just, prosperous and stable country, marked by effective and people-focused institutions, national

unity of purpose, the rule of law, good governance and human rights, will certainly be attained.
Our resolve to build a safe, stable and secure country is motivated by the fact that peace and security are preconditions for development. We are determined to take charge of our socioeconomic transformation  as a country, in line with the African Union Agenda 2063, as well as the  United  Nations  2030  Agenda  for Sustainable Development — premised upon the principle of inclusivity and leaving no  one  behind. We note, however, the important role that financing plays  in any attempt to achieve the goals enshrined in both Agenda 2063 and the  2030  Agenda.  While we acknowledge that official development assistance remains a catalyst for development, we also advocate for robust domestic resource mobilization. We are determined to combat illicit financial flows, strengthen tax administration and harness remittances.
In line with our national priorities, we are taking substantive steps towards providing an appropriate space for private-sector investment and entrepreneurship as a complement to public investments. An industrial hub has been launched in the northern region. When fully operational, it will create job opportunities for more than 14,000 people. Private property investors will also be invited to build factory shells there.
We also cannot ignore the disturbing issue of migration. We all know that the movement of persons across borders is an issue of staggering importance. It is our view that migration is one area where opportunities for skilled and surplus labour can be  explored.  To that end, my Government is working closely with international partners to explore development outcomes related to migration. In addition, a national consultative committee was set up to deal with a range of migration-related matters, such as the development of a strategic plan on migration and development. Included in the plan are interventions aimed at enhancing the proper utilization of remittances from the diaspora. We therefore need to embrace migrants at the global level for their contribution to the economic development of both their countries of origin and their host countries. We find it disturbing that migrants all over the world continue to face challenges of unprecedented magnitude. We call upon all parties concerned to adhere to the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, and we look forward to the adoption of  the compact  in December.
Peace and prosperity cannot be achieved when women and girls are marginalized and not given the opportunity to contribute to  development.  The  role of women and other disadvantaged sectors of our communities in advancing the global development agenda must be further enhanced. It is equally important to underline that the protection of human rights is a noble objective of the international community that must not be politicized, redefined or even subjected to double standards according to the whims and caprices of a few powerful States pursuing their own agendas.
Today on the African continent we are more determined than ever to rid ourselves of conflict by settling disputes through peaceful means. The warring parties in South Sudan have finally brokered a peace deal. The developments in the Horn of Africa offer hope for a prosperous and peaceful region. In particular, the normalization of relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea through the signing of a peace deal and the opening of embassies in both countries’ capitals will usher in a new era of peace, with substantial concomitant economic, humanitarian and strategic implications for the region.
We continue to be saddened, however, by the situation in Western Sahara, which continues to be the only colony on the African continent. The suffering  of the Sahrawi people has been going on for far too long now. They deserve to be afforded an opportunity to voice their aspirations for independence through universal suffrage. Lesotho will continue to stand with them in their pursuit of emancipation.
As the plight of the Palestinian people worsens, the hope for the resolution of the crises in Syria and Iraq also diminishes. We  cannot  remain  indifferent to the suffering of those innocent people. Unilateral actions that defy international agreements and United Nations resolutions will only worsen the situation of the Palestinians. A two-State solution, with Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace and harmony, remains the only viable option for the settlement of the Palestinian question. Achieving peace is a process that requires engagement, accommodation and genuineness. Peace cannot be achieved through war or oppression. All of us joined this Organization voluntarily and professed a love for peace. Our actions must also reflect that commitment.
In the same vein, the economic and commercial embargo imposed on Cuba continues to weigh heavily on our conscience. There is no doubt that that measure

has had a negative impact on the people and the economy of Cuba. We call for the embargo to be lifted and for Cuba to be reintegrated into the world trading system.
In today’s globalized world it is indefensible and incomprehensible that decisions that bind us all are left in the hands of a few Member States. Our advocacy  for the democratization of the United Nations must be intensified. Reform of the Security Council, one that takes into account the aspirations of Africa, as set out in the Ezulwini Consensus, cannot be postponed any longer. Transparency, inclusivity and democracy must inform the work of the entire United Nations system.
It is equally important to underscore that the gains made in the field of disarmament are being eroded gradually. Small arms and  light  weapons  continue  to flood the illegal market. The threat of the use of weapons of mass destruction  has  re-emerged,  and the United Nations is paralysed by the current size, allocation of membership and power configuration of the Security Council, making the call for the reform of that organ even more urgent.
In conclusion, I note that the United Nations, to a very large extent, has attempted to put people at the centre of its core business. However, still more needs to be done. I appeal to all present to shun those who seek to divide and incite us against each other. It is through our solidarity, more than anything else, that the United Nations will thrive and successfully put humankind at the centre of its activities. The United Nations is the only platform that enables us to embrace true multilateralism.
At the same time, let us remember that, although we may have a shared vision and leadership determined to address peace, equity and sustainability challenges, the truth is that we are mortal beings with intellectual and other constraints. As such, we need to acknowledge that there is a divine Power above, which is the source of true wisdom. Let us therefore keep our communication lines with God open in order to find real and lasting solutions to the world problems that so often besiege us.


I wish to congratulate the President on her well-deserved election to preside over the work of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session. Her election to that prestigious position as the fourth woman in that post in the history of the Organization and the first from Latin America is not only a unique accolade to her person, but also a testimony bestowed on her by the States Members of the United Nations. In that regard, Tanzania pledges its full support to her and her entire Office.
I also wish to pay special tribute to her predecessor,
His  Excellency  Miroslav  Lajčák,  for  his  successful
leadership and commitment to the General Assembly during his presidency at the previous session. We wish him well in his future endeavours. In the same manner, I commend Secretary-General António Guterres for his tireless efforts to steer the work of our Organization, especially in implementing the challenging reforms that are under way under his stewardship.
I am greatly honoured to address the Assembly on behalf of my President, His Excellency Mr. John Pombe Joseph Magufuli, who could not join his colleagues in the Assembly owing to the tragic ferry accident that claimed the lives of more than 200 Tanzanians and left many others injured. We appreciate the support of the international community during this difficult moment. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace.
Before I proceed, let me express the condolences of the Government of Tanzania to the United Nations community and the entire world on  the  demise  of  Mr. Kofi Annan, an outstanding humanitarian and a defender and advocate of multilateralism. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, relatives and friends. May his soul rest in eternal peace.
This year’s theme, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”, is very captivating and timely in reinforcing global governance to ensure the implementation  of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. That impetus from the United Nations comes at a time when multilateralism is eroding and needs to be rescued with collective and determined efforts.
Today, we are living in a world where most societies are neither peaceful and equitable nor sustainable. The world is still facing many violent conflicts and wars resulting in a massive loss of lives, and the threat of terrorism, the destruction of the environment, refugee influxes, displaced persons and global migration, hunger and poverty persist in many parts of the world. Addressing those challenges requires a collective visionary leadership and governance.
Unfortunately, all those miseries are mainly human-made and could be prevented if we resolved to take collective measures. Continued and meaningful cooperation among Member States is a  prerequisite  in addressing all of the challenges confronting the world. Through such a platform, we could accentuate the relevance of this body to all nations and the people. Furthermore, we could shape global policies and norms

to respond to the various needs of our diverse cultures and societies. A call for the United Nations to be relevant to all people is therefore timely; and indeed,  it is in accordance with the Organization’s purposes and principles as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
It is in facing those global challenges that multilateralism at all levels of response, and especially through the United Nations and its institutions, becomes essential to ensuring  peaceful,  equitable and sustainable societies. It is an undeniable fact that every sovereign State in the international system seeks to maximize its national interests and the well-being of its citizens. However, acting alone and in isolation minimizes the potential for realizing the desired optimal results. Globalization and the intricate web of relations that have subsequently emerged globally render a multilateral approach to issues of national, regional and international concern essential and unavoidable.
Unfortunately, the world is witnessing multilateral institutions and principles being put to the test. For example, the World Trade Organization, which has been the pillar and yardstick of  the  rule-based and fair global trading system, is being now undermined. Climate change and global warming, which are already wreaking havoc on lives and property in all regions regardless of national borders, can be addressed effectively only through multilateral approaches. Above all, it is the post-Second World War multilateral edifice and institutions that have given us the peace we witness today, albeit an imperfect one. We should be seeking to improve the shortcomings in the multilateral system that we have created for ourselves and for a better world, rather than walking away from it.
Tanzania is unreservedly committed to multilateralism in pursuit of its national interests. It is also through unmitigated multilateralism that we will be able to address critical global challenges, such as terrorism, extremism, radicalism, climate change, restrictive trade policies, trafficking in persons, drug abuse, pandemic diseases, absolute and abject poverty, immigration dynamics and weapons of mass destruction, just to mention a few. We are encouraged by the united chorus from the General Assembly in defence of multilateralism and in defence of the purposes and principles of the United Nations, which bind all of us together.
We have seen diplomatic engagement work successfully to bring adversaries to a round table to
address their differences peacefully. Tanzania wishes to endorse the continuous use of diplomatic means and round-table negotiations to address conflicts between and among nations. It is in that regard that Tanzania, as a peaceful and stable country, has assisted and witnessed the value of brokering peace. Tanzania welcomes the recent talks between the United States and North Korea on the Korean nuclear deal, which paved the way for the recent signing of an agreement between North Korea and the Republic of Korea. We hope that deal and others that have followed the same pattern will yield the anticipated positive outcomes sooner rather than later, including resolving the long outstanding humanitarian issues in the Korean peninsula. Those are  some  of the good examples of successful outcomes resulting from diplomatic engagements around the world. All those efforts have confirmed the value of dialogue in resolving and preventing conflicts.
Reforms are necessary both for  continuity  and for change. For the past decades, the Assembly has continuously been discussing reforms of the United Nations and its institutions so that it can respond effectively to the current global economic, political, social and changing security dynamics. That is the way to make our Organization alive and relevant. Currently, the reforms are focusing on the United Nations development system, management, and peace and security. My delegation strongly believes that the reforms will be objective and balanced.
Tanzania supports the reforms of the United Nations, especially those relating to the Security Council, and reiterates the position of Africa as contained in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, which we endorse. In addition, Tanzania urges the international community to make the process transparent, inclusive and democratic. All countries, poor and rich, must have equal participation, and their voices and positions must be heard and taken seriously. After many years of almost stalemated negotiations on Security Council reforms, it is necessary to move the process forward, but in a manner that will preserve the interests and positions of all parties concerned in a transparent consultative manner.
We ought to remind ourselves that the credibility of the United Nations rests on a fully representative and responsive Security Council. The Council is what it is today and the reforms are not advancing well because of the veto. If we are to make meaningful reforms, we should, first of all and foremost, be bold enough to

decide on the future use of the veto. In that respect,  my delegation wishes to stress that issues relating to the veto and the expansion of the membership and categories should be addressed as a package and not  in isolation.
Over the years, and with the support of the international community and development partners, Tanzania has successfully implemented various national development plans that have significantly contributed to the reduction of poverty. Furthermore, we are proud to have incorporated the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into our national development agenda in order to accelerate economic growth and eradicate poverty. Drawing on experiences from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, it is apparent that the implementation of the SDGs requires adequate, sustainable and predictable funding, especially to assist least developed countries like mine. Thus, the mobilization of long-term innovative public and private financing is key to the realization of those Goals.
Tanzania has embarked on systematic legal and administrative reforms of mechanisms that have been hampering resource mobilization and accountability. The Government has embarked on a relentless fight against corruption and public-service  incompetence in order to increase accountability and transparency. The Government has undertaken stringent measures to fight drug and human trafficking, illicit trade in ivory and violent extremism. As expected, those measures have generated determined resistance on the part of vested economic  interests  and  criminal  elements. In response, the Government has needed to take appropriate countermeasures that have sometimes been misunderstood as being too restrictive. Despite those challenges, Tanzania will continue to respect the rule of law, good governance, democracy and human rights, as enshrined in our Constitution.
Notwithstanding the ongoing efforts to mobilize domestic resources, developing countries continue to experience global systemic issues relating to unfair tax regimes and illicit financial flows, which contribute to capital flight and deny those countries their rightful income. We call upon the international community to redouble its efforts to tackle those systemic issues by, among other things, establishing an intergovernmental tax body under the United Nations to address the evasion and avoidance of taxes. That,  in  turn, will put more resources at our disposal for implementing the SDGs.
Tanzania is among the top troop-contributing countries to United Nations peacekeeping missions, and we have significantly contributed to the restoration of global peace and stability in many parts of the world. We currently have 2,687 troops serving under the United Nations flag in six different countries.
Regrettably, Tanzania’s participation in peacekeeping operations has not been without incident. Some of our peacekeepers have been attacked and even killed. The December 2017 attack in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was the worst in the past 25 years of United Nations peacekeeping history. We thank the Secretary- General and all Member States that extended their condolences to Tanzania and the families, friends and relatives of the deceased. Our pain was eased by those who stood with Tanzania during those difficult days. May the souls of the departed rest in eternal peace.
We welcome the support of the United Nations, and we commend the Secretary-General for promptly forming a special investigation team that established the causes of the attack and determined the actions to be taken to prevent such hostile and cowardly incidents in future. We are also gratified that the recommendations of the investigation report  will  feature  prominently in the Declaration of Shared Commitments on United Nations Peacekeeping Operations, which Tanzania supports. Tanzania looks forward to the implementation of those recommendations.
I wish to remind the Assembly of the historic role played by Tanzania in hosting and providing sanctuary and protection to refugees from Central and Southern Africa for decades. We have done so for humanitarian reasons, but also because of the internationally agreed principles to which we are signatory with regard to the admission of asylum-seekers and the protection of refugees. We are currently hosting more than 330,000 refugees, mainly from Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over the decades of hosting refugees, Tanzania has provided local integration and citizenship to more than 150,000 refugees.
Apart from  providing  sanctuary  to  refugees,  we have also been involved in initiatives to resolve regional conflicts in the Great Lakes region, which have the potential to increase refugee  influxes into our country. In addition, as of September, Tanzania has also assisted in the voluntary repatriation of more than 46,000 Burundian refugees. The repatriation exercise was conducted transparently and inclusively

in collaboration with the Burundian authorities, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and other relevant development partners. Nevertheless, some misguided Burundian exiles have criticized the exercise as involuntary. The truth is that the bottlenecks and constraints in the implementation of the Tripartite Agreement are due to a lack of resources and to mixed progress in the political and security situation in Burundi.
In that connection, Tanzania appeals to the international community to facilitate  and  support the ongoing voluntary repatriation of the remaining Burundian refugees while consultations continue between Tanzania, Burundi and the UNHCR. It is equally important to present a realistic assessment of the evolving political and security situation inside Burundi in order to enable the refugees to make informed and objective decisions on returning to various  parts of the country.
The people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo continue to face challenges to peace, security and stability. The country has continuously been destabilized by warring factions and warlords, who have wreaked havoc, leading to political instability in some parts of the country, especially in the eastern part of the country. The situation has not only denied the Democratic Republic of the Congo the opportunity to develop its country and people, but has also undermined and threatened regional peace and security. However, current efforts to address the protracted impasse are seeing some progress with regard to the Government’s commitment to holding the long-awaited general elections later this year. The stability of the Democratic Republic of the Congo would not only contribute to addressing the refugee problem, but would also improve the prospects for regional trade and investment, as well as the economic prosperity of the region. There can be no better assurance of the future, progress in and status of the political situation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo than the statement delivered two days ago from this rostrum by President Joseph Kabila Kabange (see A/73/PV.7). To that end, it is necessary to continue with the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) and the Intervention Brigade, in which Tanzania is a participant, in the eastern part of the country, until the elections in the Democratic Republic of the Congo are concluded.
In 2015, many world leaders who had gathered here welcomed the historic and momentous decision taken by the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba to restore diplomatic relations. For most of us, that was the beginning of a harmonious coexistence with high hopes and expectations. However, as time has progressed, we feel and see that minimum efforts have been made to meet such hopes and expectations, which ultimately should lead to the lifting the embargo that has condemned the people of Cuba for many years. We hope that through the power of reason and the diplomatic means that led to the re-establishment of ties, the embargo on Cuba will be totally lifted and that a new dawn of cooperation will follow, not only between the two countries but in the entire region of Latin America and the Caribbean.
The issue of self-determination for Western Sahara has taken a new direction with Morocco re-joining the African Union (AU), where it is a member of the Peace and Security Council. There is a renewed opportunity for the United Nations and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to work with the newly established AU troika mechanism on Western Sahara to address the issue of that area. Tanzania supports that initiative and hopes that the process will gather momentum and reach a new status soon.
On the question of Palestine, Tanzania reiterates its position on resolving the conflict between Israel and Palestine through the two-State solution. We believe that Palestine has the right to enjoy its independence and peace, just as Israel is entitled to peace and security, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. It is our belief that it is within the creative and resourceful ability of Israel and the determination of the Palestinian people to reach a peaceful solution that will permit Israel and Palestine to coexist in peace and security.
In conclusion, I reiterate Tanzania’s commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations and to multilateralism. The Government of His Excellency John Magufuli stands ready to participate constructively in the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts and to contribute to the United Nations mandate for conflict prevention and  peacekeeping.  Above  all,  we  look  to this Organization to continue championing the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and to support Tanzania’s own efforts to achieve those Goals as it heads towards a middle-income designation and furthers its ambition of industrialization.

May God bless us all and may God bless the United Nations.


Bula, and a very good day to all. Allow me to congratulate the President on her assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-third session.
Every year brings fresh challenges and new crises, even as the crises of last year and the year before await some resolution, or even some respite.

This Organization, the United Nations, is continually challenged to stand between parties in conflict, ease the suffering of refugees and migrants and continue its work to build a more peaceful, just and equal world. The Fijian people have always been proud of our nation’s full engagement with the United Nations. We have been a willing and energetic presence in peacekeeping efforts around the world, and we are now proudly putting every ounce of energy that we have into the fight to save this planet and its people — all of us — from a catastrophic warming of our climate.
Fiji will  soon celebrate  national  elections  for the second time since our return to democracy. I say “celebrate” with a purpose, because truly free elections are the very starting point for democracy and freedom. If the people cannot choose their Government freely, their other freedoms are always in jeopardy.
I am proud of what we have accomplished in our Fijian democracy. The shell of democracy that once existed has now been pierced, bringing the Fijian people into a genuinely inclusive society in which minority rights are respected and all citizens are equal, in name and in fact. That is the great promise of the 2013 Fijian Constitution, which has been the beacon for our progress through its vast array of political and socioeconomic protections for every Fijian.
Today and forever, in Fiji we make and will make no distinctions based on ethnicity, social status or religion, and we enforce and will enforce our laws guaranteeing equality. We have reinforced our democracy by passing laws to empower girls and women and protect them from violence. We have reformed our education system so that it provides real opportunities for all Fijians, regardless of income, gender or whether they live in the capital or on the most remote islands.
This year we achieved a literacy level of over 90 per cent. More than 90 per cent of girls in Fiji complete 15 years of secondary education and just under 90 per cent of our boys do the same. We are building our future on that firm foundation of education.
We have also reformed our welfare programmes not only to provide a stronger safety net but also to create greater opportunities for the most vulnerable in our society. While we provide free medicines and subsidized electricity, we also award grants to micro-businesses as a way of lifting people out of poverty and rewarding and encouraging self-reliance and entrepreneurship.
That approach goes beyond mere Government programmes for the disadvantaged. It is based on the fundamental principle that the socioeconomic rights of all Fijians must be protected. They include the right to a high-quality education, the right to receive treatment and medication when our people are ill, the right to decent housing, the right to clean water and electricity, and the right to affordable and accessible transportation.
We have also strengthened our independent institutions — our judiciary and the independent commissions that protect consumers, fight corruption, provide legal assistance, advocate and promote human rights and carry out many Government activities that must be free of political considerations. I may be disappointed when my Government loses a case in court, but those defeats are signs of strong, independent institutions, which we must support and reinforce. They serve to strengthen the people’s belief that everyone in Fiji can get justice. If people believe in the courts, they will go to the courts to settle their disputes and trust the courts to adjudicate without fear or favour.
There is no doubt that the Fijian people have a strong and abiding love for freedom. We want to live freely, and we see freedom, democracy and, perhaps most important of all, tolerance as powerful forces for peace in the world. It is with that clearly demonstrated vocation for personal freedom, tolerance and social justice that Fiji is running as a candidate for membership in the Human Rights Council during this session of the General Assembly. We have thought hard about human rights and have taken actions to be a better nation — a nation that encourages respect for the dignity of every person. We look forward to bringing that point of view to the critical work of the Council.
Fiji looks to a future free of racism, nepotism and privilege, a future where the rights of all persons are guaranteed and enforced by a robust constitutional framework that reaffirms and protects civil and political rights, as well as social, cultural and economic rights.
Our value to the Human Rights Council is also underpinned by our long experience in peacekeeping. It was exactly 40 years ago that Fiji first participated in United Nations peacekeeping. Over those 40 years, which have seen Fijians serving in Africa, the Sinai, East Timor and throughout the Middle East, we have come to identify ourselves as a peacekeeping nation, which makes us proud. That is something that we offer to the global community and our fellow human beings.

Moreover, over those 40 years we have witnessed at first hand the way intolerance embraces and leads  to repression, violence and mass migration. We have experienced intolerance in Fiji, which was an ugly experience that corroded our trust in each other and our sense of who we are as a people. We must remember that experience so that we do not repeat it, and we will never stop working to ensure that it stays in our past.
I am proud to stand before the Assembly and report that Fiji is in its ninth year of strong economic growth. I believe that that is due in no small part to  the democratization that has taken root in our country and is flourishing. Democracy is  based  on  a  belief in the people and the belief that everyone is capable   of great things if they are given equal opportunity. When people see that they have opportunities, can obtain justice, speak their minds and be heard, and that their hard work will be rewarded, they invest their money and their sweat in their future and in greater possibilities for their children. They stay at home and contribute rather than emigrating, and they feel free to let their hopes and ambitions soar. That is what drives a thriving economy.
However, that optimism must be nurtured and supported through intelligent Government action. In Fiji we have reformed the tax laws to make them simpler and more just. In that connection, we have begun to rigorously enforce our tax laws to ease the burden on those who have little and to ensure that whoever should pay pays a fair share. People who take risks and mount successful businesses should enjoy the fruits of their hard work, but they must also do their part to sustain the nation. Tax cheating is an offence against the people, and we will root it out and penalize it wherever it exists.
We have also reformed our State enterprises to make them profitable and efficient. The  people  of  Fiji and the employees of those companies have been the main beneficiaries, because better capitalization and better management has produced better services, increased investments and higher wages.
We also see small and medium-sized enterprises as important ways of promoting growth and lifting people out of poverty. I am proud to say that my Government has given grants worth $32.4 million to small and micro-enterprises, and we have been rewarded with explosive growth and extraordinary innovation in that sector. Free people need an economic structure that
serves them and makes them optimistic. That is one of the basic pillars of democracy.
Fiji is coming to the end of its presidency of the twenty-third session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-23), part of the United Nations ongoing climate negotiations among the nations of the world, but the struggle to fight global warming and end the degradation of our oceans will continue to be Fiji’s highest priority. The many disastrous effects of climate change that we are seeing in the South Pacific and around the world are well documented. The same can be said of the enormous stresses on our oceans arising from acidification, overfishing, warming and plastic refuse. The time to debate those facts is long past.
As the Fijian Prime Minister, I have met thousands of Fijian women, men and children every year who have suffered from the latest wave of climate-related impacts, such as cyclones, flooding, prolonged droughts and steadily rising seas. I have met with farmers whose crops have been washed away, teachers and students who have lost their schools, and families whose homes have been destroyed. They want their Prime Minister to demand that the world take action on their behalf.
The commitments that we have all made through our nationally determined contributions fall woefully short of the mark. They simply will not get us to the goal agreed in the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, that of reducing the rate of global warming to well below the 2°C target, let alone the more ambitious target of 1.5°C. What matters now is action. Fiji will press for more action on climate change and ocean health in every forum that it is a part of. We cannot simply wait for the rest of the world to come around, because the effects of climate change are already bearing down on us.
We are already taking steps to boost our resilience. Fiji has begun a project to improve access to sustainable water supplies and sewerage services for approximately 270,000 Fijians. We will provide cyclone insurance coverage for low-income households. We are relocating entire villages and communities to escape the rising seas. Following the cyclones, we are rebuilding our infrastructure to a higher and far more resilient standard. We are working to protect communities that face unacceptably high risks of flooding. Fiji also became the first emerging market to issue a sovereign green bond to fund such activities.

However, no Government can combat climate change alone. The challenge is simply too great. That is why, from the beginning of Fiji’s presidency of COP-23, I have sought to build a grand coalition of Governments, the private sector, labour forces, religious groups and civil society to take initiatives and come up with ideas and solutions, both great and small.
I am confident that I speak for all Fijians and Pacific islanders when I say that I tend to lose patience with national leaders who proclaim their deep concern over climate change and then do little or nothing to lead their nations onto a more ambitious path for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions. Leaders who ignore that threat and give their people new coal-fired power plants instead of a better future for their children are either tragically short-sighted or simply engaging in a most cynical form of betrayal. And their people — all people — will bear the burden.
The world has embraced the Pacific tradition of talanoa, a tradition of open and honest dialogue. That will help to raise our collective ambition. But ambition without action and without a plan is just talk. The Talanoa Dialogue will reach a crescendo in Katowice, Poland, at COP-24. We cannot let Katowice fail. Katowice must not became another Copenhagen.
We are not only calling on others to act, we are also leading from the front. Earlier this week I announced that Fiji will commit to significantly raising its nationally determined contribution. Fiji will be a net- zero greenhouse-gas-emission country by 2050. Fiji is proud to have launched the Ocean Pathway Partnership with the Government of Sweden. We know that the interaction of ocean ecology and climate change runs deep. We cannot attempt to solve the crisis of one without confronting the crisis of the other. Our oceans are suffering from the stress of human activities, which goes beyond climate change and includes pollution, overfishing and acidification.
I want to draw the world’s serious attention to the need to help developing nations, particularly the most disadvantaged and vulnerable, to overcome climate and oceans stresses. We need access to finance and practical solutions, and we need the United Nations to help us get there. It has been an honour for Fiji,  and for me personally, to lead the United Nations efforts on climate change this year. I am proud of what we have accomplished. The world has never needed the United Nations more. The existential problem of climate
change requires us to work together, the challenge of mobilizing finance for climate resilience requires us to work together, and more complex and more globalized conflicts require us to work together.
Fiji is firmly committed to the United Nations. We need the United Nations to be at its best if we are to have any chance of overcoming the grave challenges that Fiji and the world now confront.


I am pleased today to address the General Assembly on behalf of my Prime Minister, His Excellency Mr. Peter Paire O’Neill, and the Government and the people of Papua New Guinea.
I congratulate you, Madam President, and the people of Ecuador on your election as the first woman leader from the Latin American and the Caribbean region to preside over the General Assembly. You can count on Papua New Guinea as a partner committed  to supporting your work during your presidency. I would also like to thank the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Miroslav Lajčák, for his excellent work in the past year. It is also important to commend the leadership of the Secretary-General for the reform of the United Nations and its systems, the United Nations being an organization that is so fundamental to the peace, prosperity and security of the world.
This is an exciting year for Papua New Guinea because, throughout 2018, we are hosting the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum. In so doing, our country is emerging on the global stage as never before.
Located in the Pacific Ocean, we are part of  a vast blue continent of island nations linked by sea. We also border with South-East Asia and are within sight of Australia. We have more than 8 million people, the biggest economy and the largest land mass of the Pacific island countries. We are joining with our Pacific sisters and brothers in a mighty regional endeavour to protect the ocean and its bounty and to  bring prosperity to our peoples.
Nations near and far are learning that our country, Papua New Guinea, is a great treasury of riches. We have the third-largest rainforest in the world, after Brazil and the Congo. We are guardians of a third of the global supply of tuna, the fish that feeds the world. Our land is home to vast storehouses of gold, silver, nickel, oil and gas.
We are one people forged together from more than 1,000 tribes. With more than 800 distinct languages, we are the most linguistically diverse nation on Earth. Like all developing countries, we have issues to face, but we do not let them daunt us as we strive for progress and prosperity.
This year, we are taking a giant stride as we host the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum. The APEC economies encompass 39 per cent of the world’s

population and 48 per cent of the world’s trade. Among the participants in the forum are the United States, the People’s Republic of China, Japan and other significant economies. APEC itself is, in many ways, a regional example of attempts to achieve what States Members of the United Nations are working so hard to accomplish.
Many issues are on the table  either  formally or  in informal meetings on the sidelines, namely, first, prosperity through free trade, which is the founding rationale for the APEC-plus approach; secondly, cleaning up and protecting the natural environment; thirdly, inclusiveness, so that none of our precious human beings are left behind; fourthly, embracing the digital economy; and, fifthly and very importantly, gender equality.
International trade is an important engine for inclusive economic growth and poverty eradication,  as well as a critical source for financing development and achieving sustainable development. As the  host  of APEC, we  have  opportunities  like  never  before. It is the largest international event in our country’s history. We are well prepared for the leaders summit in mid-November. The world will see the stunning APEC House, an outstanding architectural creation inspired by our local culture. We thank the APEC economies for their material and organizational support, including, in particular, Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, the United States of America and many others that are  too numerous to mention. To add to the Pacific island flavour of the event, we have invited all Pacific island leaders to come to our country during this time.
Through APEC, we have opportunities to attract trade and foreign direct investment. It will continue to provide us with access to knowledge and to a dialogue with APEC economic leaders, who will be in attendance. Such capacity-building support in our country will lead directly to business growth and the creation of more jobs for our people. However, given our small and open economy, which is subject to external forces, we join all other members of the international community in promoting respect for and the strengthening of the rules-based, international multilateral trading system.
Hosting the APEC event is a  huge challenge for   a developing country such as ours, and people can sometimes paralyse themselves by focusing only on their perceived shortfalls or problems. But we in Papua
New  Guinea decided  to  try it.  That  perspective also
applies to our view of the United Nations and its work.
Of course, we must acknowledge and work to eliminate the great problems confronting us today. However, in doing so, let  us  all  keep  our  eyes  on the prize: our vision of peace, security, a return to a pristine environment and ongoing prosperity.  The key  to overcoming the varied challenges lies within  us — we the peoples of the United Nations. Let us work on being united and being stronger together in a system based on mutual respect, friendship, dialogue and multilateralism. Unity, of course, is the answer. It is the greatest strength on the planet.
Two weeks ago, Papua New Guinea celebrated its forty-third anniversary of independence as an unbroken democracy. We continue to consolidate our economic and structural reforms, supported by responsible monetary and fiscal policies aimed at having a balanced budget. With recovering oil and gas prices and several well-advanced new major energy and mining projects, we are optimistic about our future economic outlook.
The 2030 Agenda  for  Sustainable  Development is a solid pathway that holds great promise for the international community. The choice to enjoy its full potential lies in our hands. At the Pacific regional level, earlier this month, in Nauru, our forum leaders reaffirmed our collective commitment. The call for collective action is  set  out  in  the  Boe  Declaration, a copy of which was delivered to His Excellency the Secretary-General yesterday. At the national level, we recognize the importance of putting in place the basic building blocks needed to enable sustainable, inclusive and participatory development. Both Australia and New Zealand, which are our good friends, have eloquently addressed the General Assembly on issues facing our region and the world and on the requirements and obligations for collective action.
An essential part of our  development  challenge  is harnessing the vastly untapped potential of our increasing population of young people, which today constitutes approximately 60 per cent of our total population. Creating employment opportunities in both the formal and the informal sectors is a key priority in our efforts to address the needs of young people in our country. We have hopes for the transformative nature of the digital economy, which is truly a game-changer.
In addition, one  of  our greatest  challenges  is  to
protect women and girls and to ensure that they have

full equality in our society. We believe that women’s equality is a fundamental human right. We have a very long way to go in that area. However, we are determined to find ways to make progress towards achieving that objective, for the sake of women and girls themselves and for the good of the nation. In fact, our long-term advancement depends on making great strides in what we believe is a very crucial area.
We are working hard to do that through policies and laws, combating gender-based violence, providing business opportunities in the formal and informal sectors, such as microcredit schemes, and investing in our girls’ and women’s education at all levels of our education system. The changes are noticeable in my country, as we have put an additional 1 million young people in schools, many of whom are girls. We of course express our gratitude for the support of our multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the United Nations system, in assisting us in more ways than one in achieving our goals.
We are preparing our people to cope with the increasing dangers arising from climate change, which are very real for us. Earlier this month, as I have said, at the Pacific Island Forum leaders meeting, in Nauru, we reaffirmed our strong commitment to working together to combat the adverse impacts of climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and other frameworks for the resilient development of the Pacific region. The Boe Declaration of the Pacific Island Forum leaders makes our position clear. We  therefore  strongly  welcome the Secretary-General’s climate summit to be held in September 2019.
In February, Papua New Guinea experienced a tragic and unprecedented earthquake, the worst in our history. It hit five provinces, killed nearly 200 people and displaced nearly 600,000 others. Many others were injured and traumatized. Vital infrastructure was destroyed. The national economy slowed. Compounding our situation were two separate volcanic eruptions.
We are not alone. Accordingly, we sympathize with other countries, such as Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, China, the United States of America, the countries of the Caribbean and others that have been affected in recent times by months of natural disasters and climate-change-induced challenges. We express our gratitude to our bilateral partners, including the United Nations system, Australia, New Zealand, China,
Japan and others, as well as the private sector and civil
-society groups, which stood with us in our time of need. We are now revamping our economy and disaster- related plans to address similar events that may occur in the future.
We naturally welcome the efforts made to replenish the financing available through the Green Climate Fund and thank the contributors for their generosity. Improved and timely access is imperative, especially for small island developing countries such as ours, in order to benefit from that important support to help us to mitigate, adapt and build resilience to the ravages of climate change and its adverse impacts and natural disasters. Again, this is a call for collective global action that all small island developing States will benefit from and seek accordingly.
Our Government notes the international community’s increasing interest in the imminent referendum in June 2019 in Papua New Guinea’s Autonomous Region of Bougainville under the Bougainville Peace Agreement. We are fully committed to the Agreement. This year, we appointed the former Prime Minister of Ireland, Mr. Bertie Ahern, to preside over the work of the Bougainville Referendum Commission. We are eager for the Commission to begin its mandate soon. We  are  again  grateful  to  our multilateral and bilateral development partners, including the United Nations, for working together with us on this issue of national importance for my country. However, we want to emphasize that the work done through partnerships should in no way undermine the sovereignty of Papua New Guinea over its territory, in accordance with international law.
We welcome the easing of tensions on the Korean peninsula, commend the efforts made by all parties involved, and further encourage peaceful dialogue. We support the moves to keep sanctions in place, not as a punishment but as a real incentive to get rid of nuclear weapons and fully implement all Security Council resolutions in order to bring prosperity to the people of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
Accordingly, we applaud and support the efforts of the President of the General Assembly to draw global attention to the dangers of weapons of mass destruction. For our part, we are working towards signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Let me take this opportunity to share the current status of the refugees and migrants on our Manus

Island with the General Assembly. The processing centre was officially closed  by  my  Government  on 31 October 2017, following the decision of the Supreme Court in April 2016. We are therefore working closely with Australia in resettling qualified asylum-seekers, including in the United States. Other migrants remain in our country, each of whom will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. That is our contribution, within the limit of our means, in partnership with Australia, to addressing human trafficking, people-smuggling and international crime.
As a maritime nation, Papua New Guinea considers the oceans agenda to be of great importance, as it contributes significantly to our nation’s well-being. We are working to ensure equitable returns from our marine resources, particularly by combating illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing in Papua New Guinea’s territorial waters. We are grateful for the close cooperation of like-minded countries in the World Trade Organization that are working to address harmful fisheries subsidies that foster IUU fishing. At the Pacific Islands Forum meeting, under our “Blue Pacific Continent” theme, we have agreed to secure the region’s maritime boundaries, work to eliminate marine litter and enhance maritime surveillance so as to deter illicit activities.
In conclusion, I want to draw the Assembly’s attention once again to our country as we prepare to host the APEC leaders summit in November. As the world increasingly turns its attention to the Pacific Ocean, we are witnessing the enhanced interest of a range of countries, such as Australia, China, France, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States. As one of the nations of the Blue Pacific Continent, we welcome that interest. However, we urge everyone to play an appropriate role in accordance with the accepted rules of international order so that the blue Pacific Ocean will be a zone of cooperation, stability and security, and an environment of pristine beauty for future prosperity.
I would therefore like to conclude by expressing the fervent hope of all our peoples that the Pacific Ocean forever lives up to the meaning of its name — the ocean of peace.


I bring a message of peace from the people of Nicaragua and from President and Commander Daniel Ortega and Vice-President Rosario Murillo.
Since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development three years ago, we have continued to witness a world in crisis, the result of unbridled capitalism, interference in the affairs of others and the violation of international law and the sovereignty of our peoples through the use of  force, as well as attempts at coups d’état and destabilization efforts that threaten our prospects for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals set out in the 2030 Agenda. Nicaragua has resisted attempts at regime change. Our country has once again prevailed and achieved peace, fraternal coexistence and a gradual return to normal daily life. The attempted coup d’état that we overcame in Nicaragua was the result of such interventionism, and its legacy has entailed grave consequences for us, including economic damage, death, destruction and terrorism disguised as peaceful protest, characterized by the savage killing of citizens and policemen, the setting on fire of public and private property, assaults, rights violations, extortion, torture and cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
In the region, Nicaragua  is  widely  recognized  as an agent of regional stability, peace and security with its exemplary benchmark achievements in economic, political and social development, poverty reduction, gender equality and public security, all

of which are included in the State policies that we continue to develop and that insulate our country from international organized crime, local and transnational gangs, terrorism and narcoactivity. The Government and the people of  Nicaragua  are  staunch  defenders of the principles of independence and sovereignty, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. We therefore demand that an end be put to all interventionist policies, which violate international law, including interventionist activities in Nicaragua and brotherly nations of the Americas and the world.
The Government and the people of  Nicaragua have worked persistently to meet the Sustainable Development Goals. As of April our country recorded sustained annual growth of approximately 4.7 per cent. Our socioeconomic  projects  and  programmes to eradicate overall poverty at the national level have succeeded in decreasing poverty from 42.5  per cent in 2009 to 24.9 per cent in 2016. Extreme poverty decreased from 14.6 per cent in 2009 to 6.9  per cent in 2016. Today,  we  are once again facing the threat of the United States, which seeks to halt the social, economic and cultural development of our people. We condemn such interventionism, which is manifested in the introduction of a law in the United States Congress requiring international financial institutions to refuse to issue loans to Nicaragua.
For Nicaragua, contributing to international peace is synonymous with achieving general and complete nuclear disarmament. We have therefore signed and ratified the recent Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and call on countries to ratify that historic Treaty. The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua has supported the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, based on dialogue and communication between the authorities of both parties. We welcome the rapprochement between the two Koreas and the holding of the third inter-Korean summit, as well as the Joint Declaration that the two Korean leaders agreed on in September in Pyongyang and which is seen as a great stride forward in alleviating tensions and meaningfully obviating the danger of war on the entire peninsula. The Government of the Republic of Nicaragua hopes that nuclear weapons will be dismantled in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, and that the countries involved will cooperate and consequently ensure firm and lasting peace on the Korean peninsula.
The Government of Nicaragua supports nuclear negotiations  between  the  Islamic  Republic  of   Iran
and the E3/EU+3, that is China,  France,  Germany, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States, along with the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, which resulted in the finalization of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on 14 July 2015. We stress that that agreement demonstrates that dialogue and diplomacy are the most appropriate means for solving such problems and are the essential components that enable multilateralism to work.
Nicaragua condemns the criminal blockade against the sisterly Republic of Cuba and all of the associated extraterritorial measures and ramifications. Nicaragua rejects all coercive economic measures that seek to bend the will and spirit of freedom and sovereignty of peoples and Governments. Our country finds the use of unilateral coercive economic measures to be a political and selective instrument aimed at trying to illegally change Governments, and it is therefore unacceptable. This year we will once again vote against the unjust blockade imposed by the United States. Our sisterly Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, the Bolivarian People and the legitimate Government of President Nicolás Maduro Moros can count on our unconditional solidarity. We have condemned the assassination attempt against President Nicolás Maduro Moros and the threat of military intervention against the Bolivarian people and Republic of Venezuela.
We must continue to promote decolonization in the world, and we therefore support the Palestinian, Sahrawi and Puerto Rican peoples and the Argentine Malvinas Islands. Nicaragua advocates for the two- State solution, that is, the State of Israel and the State of Palestine, with East Jerusalem as the Palestinian capital, within the 1967 borders, living in peace and harmony. We reiterate our complete solidarity with the Government and the people of Syria in their struggle against international terrorism and in defence of their sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Humankind continues to seek peace. Seventy- three years after its founding, the Organization has  not yet managed to fully meet the goals set out with regard to peace. Given such a regrettable state of affairs, the call for reinventing the  United  Nations, as former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nicaragua, Father Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, proposed during his presidency of the General Assembly (see A/63/ PV.1), is more urgent than ever. To that end, we must promote the transformation needed to ensure that the

Organization serves the interests of every one of its Members and all of humankind. We underscore that  at the sixty-third session of the General Assembly in 2008, during his presidency, the late Father Miguel D’Escoto Brockmann, whom we fittingly referred to as the Chancellor of Dignity of Nicaragua, planned and fought, with those ideas in mind, wishing  to fulfil Nicaragua’s mandate to lay the groundwork for discussions on such a transformation, by  introducing a proposal for a “universal declaration of the common good of the Earth and humanity” (A/63/PV.105, p.32), as the first indispensable step towards reinventing the United Nations.
We need urgent  action  to  combat climate change. The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities remains in force, and those primarily responsible for the largest volume of the emissions, destruction, degradation and imbalances in nature must recognize the losses and damages suffered by the rest of us and help with the recovery of Mother Earth and the peoples of the world. In order to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, we need to repeal the unilateral and coercive measures that are impeding our countries’ development programmes and which are in violation of international law. We must work to achieve justice, peace, respect, dialogue and sovereign security in the world. To that end, we must encourage making the changes necessary so that the Organization can serve the interests of all its Members.
Our Government  and  our  people  advocate  for  a world with values, a world in which we, as human beings, can rely on what is best within us to foster the best possible conditions for creating fair, sustainable, equitable, secure and sovereign  development  based on full access and sharing by every man and woman  of  scientific  and  technological   advances   relating to all aspects of our  lives.  We  once  again  entreat the international community and hope that, at this seventy-third session of the General Assembly, the commitment that we are undertaking will result in an open process marked by profound reflection aimed at achieving the required transformation for reinventing and democratizing the United Nations.
In conclusion, we stress our commitment to continuing to fight for peace — a priority for the world and our people — and to ensuring that conflicts arising in various parts of the world can be overcome through dialogue and negotiations and that, above all, peoples and countries can be free of fear from the use or threat
of the use of force, a threat that the great Powers seek to impose on States that are small in population. In fact, they may be small in terms of development, but they are great in terms of their values and history.


E nga mana nul o nga whenua o te ao/Tena koutou katoa/Nei ra te reo mihl maioha o Aotearoa/Tena tatau i nga kaupapa korero/Ka arahina e tatau/Me te ngakau pono/Me te kotahitanga o te tangata.
My opening remarks were in Te Reo Maori, the language of the indigenous people of Aotearoa New Zealand. As is tradition, I acknowledged those who are here, why we are here and the importance of our work. It seems a fitting place to start.
As a leader attending my first General Assembly, I am struck by the power and potential that resides here. In New Zealand we have always been acutely aware of that. We are a  remote nation at  the bottom  of the South Pacific. It takes three hours to reach our nearest neighbours by plane, and anywhere that takes less than 12 hours is considered close. I have no doubt, though, that our geographic isolation has contributed to our values.
We are a self-deprecating people.  We  are  not ones for status. We will celebrate the  local  people who volunteer at their sports clubs as  much  as  we will celebrate successful entrepreneurs. Our empathy and strong sense of justice are matched only by our pragmatism. We are, after all, a country made up of two main islands, one simply named North and the other South. For all of that, our isolation has not made us insular. In fact, our engagement with the world has helped shape who we are.
I am a child of the 1980s, a period in New Zealand’s history where we did not just observe international events, we challenged them. Whether it was apartheid in South Africa or nuclear testing in the Pacific, I grew up learning about my country and who we were by the way that we reacted to international events. Whether it was taking to the streets or changing our laws, we have seen ourselves as members of a community, one that we have a duty to use our voice within.
I am an incredibly proud New Zealander, but much of that pride has come from being a strong and active member of our international community, not in spite of it. At the heart of that international community has been this place. Emerging from a catastrophic war, we have collectively established — through convention, charters and rules — a set of international norms and human rights. All of these are an acknowledgement that we are not isolated, that Governments do have obligations to their people and to one another and that our actions have a global effect.
In 1945, New Zealand’s Prime Minister Peter Fraser said that the Charter of the United Nations offered perhaps a last opportunity to work in unison to realize the hope in the hearts of all of us, for a peace that would be real, lasting and worthy of human dignity. None of those founding principles should be consigned to the history books. In  fact,  given  the  challenges we face today and how truly global they are in their nature and impact, the need for collective action and multilateralism has never been clearer. And yet,  for  all of that, the debate and dialogue we  hear globally is not centred on the relevance and importance of our international institutions. Instead, we find ourselves having to defend their very existence. That surely leaves us all with the questions of how we got here and how we get out.
If anything unites us politically in this place right now it is this: globalization has had a massive impact on our nations and the people we serve. While that impact has been positive for many, for others it has not. The transitions our economies have made have often been jarring and the consequences harsh. Alongside unprecedented global economic growth, we are still seeing a growing sense of isolation, dislocation and insecurity and the erosion of hope. As politicians and Governments, we all have choices in how we respond to those challenges. We can use the environment to blame nameless and faceless others, feed the sense of insecurity and retreat into greater levels of isolationism,

or we can acknowledge the problems we have and seek to fix them.
In New Zealand, going it alone is not an option. Aside from our history, we are also a trading nation, and proudly so, but even without those founding principles, there are not just questions of nationhood to consider. There are generational demands on us too. It should hardly come as a surprise that we have seen  a global trend of young people showing dissatisfaction with our political systems and calling on us to do things differently. Why would they not, when they themselves have had to adapt so rapidly to a changing world?
Within a few short decades, we now have a generation that will grow up more connected than ever before. Digital transformation will determine whether the jobs they are training for will even exist in two decades. In education or the job market, they will not just compete with their neighbours but their neighbouring countries. This generation is a borderless one, at least in a virtual sense, and its members increasingly see themselves as global citizens. As their reality changes, they expect that ours will too, that we will see and understand our collective impact and that we will change the way we use our power.
If we are looking for an example of where the next generation is calling on us to make that change, we need look no further than climate change. Two weeks ago, Pacific Island leaders gathered together at the Pacific Islands Forum. It was at that meeting, in the small island nation of Nauru, that climate change was declared the single biggest threat to security in the Pacific. Please, just think about that for a moment. Of all the challenges we debate and discuss, rising sea levels present the single biggest threat to our region.
For those who live in the South Pacific, the impacts of climate change are not academic, or even arguable. They are watching the sea levels rise, the extreme weather events increase and the impact that has on their water supply and food crops. We can talk all we like about the science and what it means and what temperature rises we need to limit in order to survive, but there is a grinding reality in hearing people from  a Pacific island talk about where the sea was when they were children and the potential loss of their entire village now that they are adults.
Our action in the wake of that global challenge remains optional, but the impact  of  inaction  does not. Nations like Tuvalu, the Marshall Islands or
Kiribati — small countries that have contributed the least to global climate change — are suffering, and will suffer, the full force of a warming planet. If my Pacific neighbours do not have the option of opting out of the effects of climate change, why should we be able to opt out of taking action to stop it? Any disintegration of multilateralism and any undermining of climate-related targets and agreements are not interesting footnotes in geopolitical history. They are catastrophic.
In New Zealand we are determined to play our part. We will not issue any further offshore oil and gas exploration permits. We have set a goal of 100 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035, established a green infrastructure fund to encourage innovation and rolled out an initiative to plant 1 billion trees over the next 10 years. Those plans are unashamedly ambitious. The threat that climate change poses demands it. But we represent less than 0.2 per cent of global emissions. That is why, as a global community, not since the inception of the United Nations has there been a greater example than climate change of the importance of collective action and multilateralism. It should be a rallying cry for all of us.
Yet there is a hesitance that we can ill afford and a calculation of personal cost and self-interest. But that is not the only challenge where domestic self-interest is the first response and where an international or collective approach has been diluted at best, or rejected at worst. But it would be both unfair and naive  to argue that retreating to our own borders and interests has meant turning our backs on a perfect system. The international institutions that we have committed to have not been perfect. But they can be fixed.
That is why  the challenge I  want to issue today   is this: together, we must rebuild and recommit to multilateralism. We must redouble our efforts  to  work as a global community. We must rediscover our shared belief in the value, rather than the harm, of connectedness. We must demonstrate that collective international action not only works but is in all of our best interests. We must show the next generation that we are listening and have heard them.
But if we are truly going to take on a reform agenda, we must acknowledge the failings that have led us to this crossroads. International trade, for instance, has helped bring millions of people out of poverty around the world. But some have felt their standard of living slide. We in New Zealand have ourselves seen

the hesitancy around trade agreements within our own population. The correct response is not to repeat the mistakes of the past and be seduced by the false promises of protectionism. Rather, we must all work to ensure that the benefits of trade are distributed fairly across our societies.
We cannot rely on international institutions to do that, in the same way that we cannot blame them if they have not delivered those benefits. It is incumbent on us to build productive, sustainable and inclusive economies and demonstrate to our peoples that, when done right, international economic integration can make us all better off. If we want to ensure that everyone is better off, surely we should start with the most vulnerable.
We in New Zealand have set ourselves an ambitious goal. We want to be the best place in the world to be a child. It is hardly the stuff of hard and fast measures — after all, how are play and a feeling of security and happiness measured? But we can measure material deprivation and poverty, and so we will. Moreover, we are making it a law that we report on those numbers every single year alongside our budgets. What better way is there to hold ourselves to account, and what better group to do that for than children?
But if we are focused on nurturing that next generation, we equally have to  worry about  what  it  is that we are handing down to them, including our environment. In the Maori language there is a word that captures the importance of that role, kaitiakitanga, which means guardianship. That is the idea that we have been entrusted with our environment and have a duty to care for it. For us, that has meant taking action to address degradation, such as setting standards to make our rivers swimmable, reducing waste and phasing out single-use plastic bags, right through to eradicating predators and protecting our biodiversity. The race to grow our economies and increase wealth makes us all the poorer if it comes at the cost of our environment. We in New Zealand are determined to prove that it does not have to be that way. But those are all actions and initiatives that we can take domestically that ease the blame and pressure on our international institutions. That does not mean they do not need fixing.
At the heart of the multilateral system, the United Nations must lead the way. We strongly support the Secretary-General’s reform efforts to make the United Nations more responsive, effective and modernized so that it is capable of dealing with today’s challenges.
We encourage him to be ambitious, and  we  stand with him in that ambition. But ultimately it is up  to  us, the Member States, to drive change here at the United Nations. That includes reforming the Security Council. If we want the Council to fulfil its purpose  of maintaining international peace and security, its practices must be updated so that it is not hamstrung by the use of the veto.
New thinking will also be needed if we are to achieve the vision encapsulated in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In New Zealand we have sought to  embed the  principles behind the  SDGs  in a new living-standards framework that is guiding policymaking and the management of our resources. We remain absolutely committed to supporting the rollout of the SDGs alongside international partners through a significant increase in our official development assistance budget.
But revitalizing our international rules-based system is not just about the mechanics of how we work together. It also means renewing our commitment to our values. The Charter of the United Nations recalls that the Organization was formed to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which after two world wars had brought untold sorrow to humankind. If we forget that history and the principles that drove the creation of the United Nations, we will be doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past.
In an increasingly uncertain world it is more important than ever that we remember the core values on which the United Nations was built — that all people are equal, that all are entitled to have their dignity and human rights respected and that we must strive to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. We must consistently hold ourselves to account on each one.
In addition to renewing that commitment, though, we must acknowledge where accountability must continue, and that is especially the case when it comes to equality. So many gains have been made, and each is worthy of celebration. In New Zealand we have just marked the 125th year since women were granted the right to vote. We were the first country in the world to do so. As a girl I never grew up believing that my gender would stand in the way of my achieving whatever I wanted in life. I am, after all, not the first but the third female Prime Minister of New Zealand.

But for all of that, we still have a gender pay gap and an overrepresentation of women in low-paid work and as victims of domestic violence. And we are not alone. It seems surprising that in this modern age we should have to recommit to gender equality, but we  do. I for one will never celebrate the gains we have made for women domestically while internationally other women and girls experience a lack of the most basic opportunities and dignity. #MeToo must become #WeToo. We are all in this together.
I accept that the list of demands, whether domestic or international, on all of us is long. We are operating in challenging times. We face what we in New Zealand would call wicked problems, ones that are intertwined and interrelated. Perhaps then it is time to step back from the chaos and ask what we want. It is in that space that we will find simplicity, the simplicity of peace, prosperity and fairness.
If I could distil it into one concept that we are pursuing in New Zealand it is simple and it is this: kindness. In the face of isolationism, protectionism and racism, the simple concept of looking outwardly and beyond ourselves and of kindness and collectivism might be just as good a starting point as any. Let us therefore start here, with the institutions that have served us well in times of need and will do so again.
In the meantime, I can assure everyone here that New Zealand remains committed to continuing to do its part in building and sustaining international peace and security; promoting and defending an open, inclusive and rules-based international order based on universal values; and being pragmatic, empathetic, strong and kind. The next generation, after all, deserves no less.


At the outset, I extend the warm congratulations of His Excellency Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, President of the Togolese Republic, to the President of the General Assembly on her well-deserved election to preside over the Assembly at its seventy-third session. I also assure her of the support of my country, Togo.
At the same time, I would like to pay a well-deserved tribute to Mr. Miroslav Lajčák for the masterful leadership he showed during his term as President of the General Assembly at the previous session. I am also particularly pleased to commend the sense of human affairs and practical wisdom of the Secretary-General António Guterres. We appreciate his clearly expressed commitment and daily work in support of the principles and values of the Organization, which we share.
I would like to welcome the relevance of the choice of the theme for this session, which draws the attention of all of us to a challenge that is essential, because it is fundamental: decentralizing the exercise of responsibilities at the United Nations level in order to bring the Organization into line with the realities of a plural and multipolar world. Taking that into account

will undoubtedly broaden the basis of the legitimacy and effectiveness of the United Nations in the world.
United Nations reform is less a wish than a logical necessity. The world has evolved; new problems and actors have emerged; the planet itself is now suffering; violent extremism and terrorism threaten the world; and new forms of responsibility have emerged. As a centre for the exercise of  collective responsibility on  a global scale, the United Nations must update the  way in which it is organized and functions if it is to effectively play its role as an institution in the service of the human community. The time has come, in the words of the philosopher of science Thomas Kuhn, for a paradigm shift.
I would like to reiterate my country’s support for and commitment to the Secretary-General’s initiative for the far-reaching reform of the Organization, which has the merit of being based on an open and inclusive process that takes into account the three main institutional pillars of the United Nations system: peace and security, development and the management structure. The reform initiative is focused on restructuring the peace and security pillar, which will help to make the institution more pragmatic and effective.
The link between peace, security and development is well established. Without peace and security, there can be no sustainable development, nor development of any kind nor the building of resilient and sustainable societies. The new United Nations peace and security architecture must therefore be intrinsically linked to the broader development pillar, which includes respect for and promotion of human rights and the strengthening of humanitarian action. The ongoing reform should reposition the United Nations development system to adapt it to the new requirements associated with the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in order ultimately to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and push back the boundaries of objective poverty and domestic and global inequality.
The United Nations must do more to help address the world’s lack of development. One more step in the war on the development deficit will help our world to lift entire segments of the world’s population out of the misery of their position and condition, and restore their autonomy and power of control over their own lives. The Organization’s new development system must accommodate the need to build a world in which each country enjoys sustained, inclusive and sustainable
economic growth. The aim is to reorient the system with significant adjustments focusing on skills, leadership, coordination and accountability mechanisms.
This new restructuring of development mechanisms must also aim at the implementation of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The challenges of climate change are vital, and our response must not wait. Obviously, in our response to the challenges of climate change, a significant place must be given to the promotion of partnerships and innovative mechanisms for financing development, in accordance with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda.
With regard to the management pillar of the ongoing reform, we are pleased to note  that  the major changes envisaged correspond to the need to improve the Organization’s internal management methods by simplifying procedures, decentralizing action and investing in people in order to better meet the requirements of sustainable development and for building a peaceful world. Investing in people means taking a stand for development and peace in the world. In short, the reform we are talking about today aims to make the United Nations more dynamic and capable. The current global challenges call for the strengthening of the operational capabilities of the United Nations.
The challenges facing Africa today are immense. Our continent continues to face new forms of crises and difficulties. Unfortunately, Africa is now  home  to hotbeds of terrorism in some of its regions and countries, where people who legitimately aspire to peace of mind face daily acts of barbarism that feed on violent extremism, religious ignorance and intolerance, and ideological fanaticism.
Poverty persists in Africa, and African populations are seeking well-being. The consequences of climate change are terrible, and migration is decimating a significant part of Africa’s young people and making them vulnerable. The current challenges relating to the difficult issue of migration and  the  human tragedies it generates appeal to our conscience and sense of collective responsibility and call for appropriate and sustainable responses. In that regard, the Togolese Government urges all stakeholders to give priority to the participatory approach and the logic of consensus in the ongoing negotiation process and to work with determination towards the adoption, at the Marrakech Conference on 10 and 11 December 2018, of a global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration.

The General Assembly will certainly agree with me that the emergence of the peaceful, equitable, prosperous and sustainable societies that we all want cannot become a tangible reality unless priority is given to effective, innovative and mutually beneficial partnership mechanisms. To that end, the United Nations should, in order to play its full coordinating role, rely more on regional and subregional organizations in the fields of international peace and security and development.
In the case of Africa, where development problems are acute, Governments have become aware of the need to accelerate the regional integration process in order to pool development efforts and poverty-reduction strategies, as recommended under the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development  Goals. Several initiatives  are  currently  under  way to further strengthen that integration. In that regard, Togo welcomes the appointment of its President, His Excellency Mr. Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé, by his peers to lead the project to establish the Single African Air Transport Market, which is an important instrument for the continent’s  economic integration. The effort  to mobilize States to sign that solemn undertaking is ongoing, with a view to creating such a market.
On the issue of international peace and security, our priority today is to strengthen international cooperation in peacekeeping operations and in the fight against terrorism. We must redouble our efforts to end conflicts, especially in Africa and many other parts of the world. This is an opportunity to pay tribute to, and acknowledge the true value of, the leading role that the United Nations has always played in the world through its various peacekeeping missions, the majority of which, unfortunately, involve the African continent.
It is my pleasure to welcome in passing the Peace Agreement reached between the parties to the crisis  in South Sudan and to plead for the implementation of the commitments made for a political and definitive solution  to the ongoing conflict in that country. As    a member of the African Union Peace and Security Council, we believe that further cooperation between United Nations peacekeeping structures and the operational mechanisms of the African Union and the subregions is an urgent necessity.
The resolution adopted by the General Assembly last June during the biennial review of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy reminds us of that imperative (resolution 72/284). In that regard, the Togolese Government welcomes the holding of the
first Joint Summit of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States on Peace, Security, Stability and the Fight against Terrorism and Violent Extremism, in Lomé,  on 30 July, during Togo’s term as Chairman-in-Office of the Assembly of Heads of  State and  Government of ECOWAS. That meeting, the first of  its  kind on the continent, organized at the initiative of the two subregions, made it possible to create a framework for exchanges on preventive and operational conditions for the preservation and maintenance of a lasting peace in the common space of the two communities.
In order for the United Nations to assert its leadership and play its role effectively and fully as a guarantor of international peace and stability, it is essential to continue and complete the Security Council reform process. The reform of the Organization will be complete only if it also involves the reform of the Security Council. The new approach is based on a shared vision of responsibilities and recommends that solutions to international peace and security problems should be the prerogative of all States Members of the United Nations. In that way, the expanded Security Council would, in the interest of equitable representation and the involvement of all regions of the world, contribute to making the Council more effective in fulfilling its important mission. Although my country welcomes the consultations held throughout this year,  which have enabled States and groups to  make  proposals and enrich the discussions, there is reason to wonder about the outcome of the negotiation process, which has obviously been stalled for 28 years.
At the national level,  Togo’s  action  is  part  of the shared commitment of States Members of the United Nations to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The Government’s main objective is to make Togo a middle-income country that is economically, socially and democratically stable and open to the world’s demands. The recently adopted national development programme, which is consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, ECOWAS Vision 2020 and the African Union’s Agenda 2063, aims to structurally transform the national economy for sustainable, inclusive and resilient growth. Togo is working to improve the quality of life of its citizens and to contribute, alongside the United Nations, to reducing pockets of insecurity in our changing world. In that regard, I would like to express my gratitude to the development partners that have

already come forward to support my country in that ambitious and burdensome task.
Sustainable development also promotes the development  of  human  rights.  The   establishment of a  fair and free society depends on  the building of  a peaceful and secure world. In that regard, Togo is resolutely pursuing its constitutional and institutional reform process with a view to consolidating democratic gains and guaranteeing rights and freedoms for all. In that perspective, the Government has launched efforts to find a definitive and lasting solution to the political misunderstandings that we have experienced in recent months, by continuing to bring together the political class and civil society to share views on the common challenges and objectives of peace and social and human progress.
In the spirit of  regional  solidarity,  ECOWAS has been helping Togo to overcome its political difficulties. That noble regional organization, through the facilitation of Ghana and Guinea, has helped the Togolese political class agree on the joint composition of the Independent National Electoral Commission with a view to the scheduled holding of legislative elections on 20 December 2018.
The late former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, who passed away last month and to whom we pay a well-deserved and grateful tribute for his admirable commitment to the service of peace in the world, said on 24 September 2001: “The only route that offers any hope of a better future for all humanity is that of cooperation and partnership” (A/56/PV.7, p. 2). Together we will be able to build the world that we want to leave to future generations.