In delivering my statement to the General Assembly at its seventy-third  session,  I  would  like to express my gratitude for the support of the United Nations to the  national political  dialogue under way in Honduras, undertaken at the initiative of several opposition leaders as well as my Government. Various political forces and civil society organizations are taking part in the national dialogue, which remains open to anyone wishing to participate. One of the main goals of the dialogue is to propose electoral reforms with a view to building a new model. Only yesterday, by 110 out of 128 votes, the National Congress of Honduras appointed a committee for modernizing and updating the national identification system from which the voter registry is established. As well,  the idea is to set  up  a new, modern and transparent technical system for authentic identification, all with a view to development.
As we meet at this great world forum and express our most sincere desire to work together as a team in order to build peace and find solutions, I also cannot avoid expressing my frustration at the lack of will and courage to make possible many of the ideas voiced here, despite the enormous size and amount of resources managed by the United Nations. Since the creation of the United Nations, it has been well established that respect for the sovereignty and self-determination of every State must be a priority for world peace. The principle of sovereign equality is crucial for the stability of the world. If we want to live in a harmonious system, we must comply with the pillars of the Organization, as reflected in the Charter of the United Nations.
We see international forces and actors constantly looking out for their own interests and interfering in our internal affairs, among other things, thereby affecting our democracy, which is a fundamental element for the development of nations that we are willing to defend. I say this today and I will say it tomorrow and always: it is necessary to protect the rule of law in our homeland. We live in new times with new realities and new challenges. The world demands great transformations and profound reforms. It is up to our current generation of leaders to live up to the demands of our peoples. That is an unavoidable responsibility.
I should now like to speak about the reality in my country, Honduras. We have been one of the countries most impacted by extreme weather events over the past 20 years, ranking first in the Germanwatch Global Climate Risk Index. Despite being one of the world’s most vulnerable countries, Honduran society as a whole has been working to combat the effects of climate change. Excessive bureaucracy has prevented access to financing from the vaunted green funds; were we to have access, it would allow us to undertake action and contribute to reforestation, conservation and mitigation. I am convinced that it is the obligation of

the United Nations and of each and every one of us to review and resolve as soon as possible the way those funds are used, rather than keeping them locked up in the vaults of the banks of the world. Every minute that those funds remain in bank vaults, the banking system gets richer and causes suffering to humankind.
Migration is a human right. Human beings have been on the move and migrating for centuries, thereby contributing to the social and economic development of the countries that welcomed them as they sought better opportunities. Honduras and the Central American region are no exception. Unfortunately, in recent times the entire world has witnessed the cruelty with which migrants, including my compatriots, have been treated. We have all seen the subhuman conditions in which they are held in detention centres, which trample on the dignity inherent to the human person. That undignified treatment is in addition to the daily abuse that thousands of migrants receive along the route of terror from South America through Central America to the United States, where they are victims of all kinds of violations by criminal networks, whether they be called coyotes, human traffickers, drug traffickers, maras or gangs.
I reaffirm that the principle of the dignity of the human person is a fundamental part of the Charter of the United Nations. We must act against the circumstances in which the most sacred institution of humankind, the family, is trampled upon and destroyed. With much pain, to date we continue to await the reunification of 120 separated children, who are being deprived of a right so basic and, at the same time, so fundamental for their development as is the family unit. The members of the Assembly  can  never  forget  the  commitment to universal and effective respect for fundamental human rights and freedoms, in which the overriding interests of children must prevail. That is where we need diligence from senior United Nations officials and every Government of the world.
Economic integration in Central America has been a major dream that we have longed for  since 1951. Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador took the initiative today to take a step towards fulfilling that goal by creating the first customs union in the Americas. Our region enjoys a privileged location, with maritime borders on both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, thereby acting as a link connecting the rest of the world to the Americas. Our objective is the establishment of a Central American common market, which entails the creation of a free trade zone and a common external tariff that establish the foundation for setting up a Central American customs union. That is one of those instances where the United Nations must become more aggressively involved.
We are working on integrating into that system the other countries of Central America, thereby enhancing a zone that holds great potential and enormous resources to be developed. Once fully established in Central America, that effort will make us the seventh-largest economy in Latin America. This model represents an opportunity to promote an American customs union that ensures the economic integration of the entire continent. Today, from this rostrum, I invite delegations, on the basis of paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 1 of the Charter of the United Nations, and with the support of the Organization of American States, to turn the region into an area of peace, prosperity and free trade, like the one Morazán and Bolívar imagined.
A customs union seeks to facilitate trade, but trade in which justice and fairness prevail. Today, the item at the top of the agenda of the United Nations is the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which in essence constitute a frontal attack on poverty. In the context of the commitments it has undertaken under the SDGs, my Government has  already  approved  the establishment of a national commission for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Still, the SDGs have sadly been interpreted as setting forth double standards, as millions of coffee producers — mainly the smallest ones, who are today receiving a price below their costs, which undoubtedly leads them in to extreme poverty — have witnessed. That is the case with approximately 90,000 coffee-producing families in my country, Honduras — and when I speak of my country, Honduras, in terms of coffee production, I am not talking about just any country, because we are the fifth- largest coffee producer in the world, the third-largest in America and the largest in Central America.
I would like to ask members of delegations a question. How many of them have a cup of coffee in the morning or during the day? We know that there is a very high possibility that, without knowing it, they have participated in an enormous injustice. Since we are all promoters of the Sustainable Development Goals, we must not turn a deaf ear to the fact that generates

extreme poverty. A cup of coffee in New York City can cost $5, or 500 cents. Do members of delegations know how much the small coffee producers in my country receive after working hard under the sun and rain, harvesting every single grain of coffee by hand? I want to tell them — these producers do not get even two cents for every cup of coffee, and it costs $5, or 500 cents, yielding barely two cents for the producer. Is this or is this not an injustice?
I know that those who applaud recognize that it is an injustice. That cannot be. We cannot close our eyes, stop listening or cease allowing something to stir in our conscience and wake us up. That is why we are here.
We have been talking about the Sustainable Development Goals for a long time. However, I must ask, does it make sense to ignore the crisis that millions of small coffee producers are living through? In my country, there are only approximately 90,000, but in the Americas all together there are more than 14 million producers and in the world 25 million producer families, and millions more indirectly dependent on coffee production. We must act now — today.
While the United Nations is taking action on this issue — I say this because I am convinced that it is going to take action on the issue — I call on all the Presidents of the coffee-producing countries and the coffee producers of the world to organize themselves, because it is clear that no one is in fact looking out for the interests of the world’s poor small coffee producers.
The first time I had the honour of addressing the General Assembly, I said that the greatest tragedy that Honduras has suffered in the history of the Republic has been the wave of violence resulting from drug trafficking (see A/69/PV.7). Our country is a transit zone for drugs produced in the southern part of the continent and consumed in the north. In addition to the scourge of drug trafficking, gangs, youth gangs and criminal groups have in the past literally supplanted States themselves in several regions, countries and circumstances. In my country, there are armed non-State groups that, when affirmatively confronted by good Hondurans who desire to live in peace, and are the object of the Government’s efforts to restore peace and security, go so far as to threaten electoral processes, democracy and the rule of law. It is my firm conviction that in Honduras these non-State actors are violating fundamental rights — the human rights — of thousands of  their compatriots. More  alarming is  the
fact that I have repeatedly made this denunciation in other United Nations bodies and in the Organization of American States, and until today we have not received any answers.
That is why I wanted to clearly draw the Assembly’s attention to the issue. This situation should trigger alarms for States and specifically for the United Nations in the defence of the rule of law and representative democracy. I emphasize that it is a question of such fundamental rights as the right to life, freedom and the enjoyment of participatory democracy. Therefore, I take this opportunity to ask that delegations draft a resolution that recognizes that gangs, youth gangs and other criminal groups should be considered non-State entities that violate human rights and threaten the stability of States.
At a high cost and at great risk, we in Honduras decided to face this monstrous multiheaded challenge, and like very few countries in the region we have made progress, increasingly entrenching a climate of greater security and peace each day. But I can acknowledge that not enough has been done yet. That is why there can be no State Member of the United Nations that considers itself a supporter of democracy, pacifist or full of respect for life and does not heed our call, which is also the call of other peoples who have suffered under the same circumstances.
We must honour that generation that had the vision to create the General Assembly and ensure respect for the sovereignty of nations and the self-determination of peoples. I represent a country that, like every country, has problems and faces great challenges. I represent a country that is small in the size of its territory but great in dignity. I emphatically wish to say that I could not forgive myself coming to the General Assembly and not making an appeal to the conscience of world leaders to adopt a transcendent attitude, demanding that we pass from words to concrete actions that change the lives of the peoples of the world for the better.
I call for the protection of our democracies and human rights from attacks by armed non-State actors, gangs, youth gangs and criminal groups. I call for respect for the principle of the best interests of the child and the family as the holiest institution of humankind. I call for leading by example when it comes to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, protecting the world’s small coffee producers so that they receive what they deserve through a truly fair

trade, since this fair trade implies not only obligations for producers but also that their rights are respected, which is what access to a fair profit would be.
In Honduras, we are ready to move from words and promises on paper to action. In Honduras, we are ready to act through actions that bring results.


Let me join previous speakers in conveying our congratulations to the President for her election to lead the General Assembly at its seventy-third session.
Every year, this forum provides a suitable platform for Member States to broach critical issues of international peace and security and their ramifications for national and human development. In that spirit, I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to key matters of paramount importance to my country and our region as a whole.
As those present are all aware, Eritrea and Ethiopia recently signed a historic peace agreement ending a dark two-decade chapter of war, constant tension and strife. This historic achievement, even if it is almost  16 years late, will enable both countries to funnel their resources, potential and positive energy exclusively towards much-needed development. It has already given the peoples of both countries hope and optimism. The positive dividend for regional peace and security that it has generated is so clear that it does not need emphasis. It is clearly attested to by the new frameworks of all- around cooperation that have been set in motion in the past two months or are in the offing at the regional level. Eritrea would like to express its gratitude to the several countries that contributed in various ways and demonstrated their political goodwill in support of the success of the historical process under way.
Let me now turn to a perplexing injustice that has afflicted my country for almost a decade. I am referring to the unwarranted sanctions that were imposed on Eritrea in 2009 and 2011. With the positive winds of peace blowing in our region, several Security Council members are now calling for the immediate lifting of those deplorable sanctions. However, the diplomatic discourse is not completely coherent. As it happens, some countries are coming up with procedural and other pretexts and preconditions with the apparent aim of moving the goalposts and maintaining the illegal sanctions on Eritrea. As an aggrieved party that has been on the receiving end of a miscarriage of justice

for nine long years, Eritrea cannot and will not plead for clemency or magnanimity. The people and the Government of Eritrea will continue to stand up for their rights until justice is achieved and the wrongs done to them have been redressed.
The transgressions against Eritrea are in many ways symptomatic of the hubris and perverse power games that have largely governed international relations in recent times. The spiralling crises, instability, wars and conflicts that have raged, and continue to do so, in various parts of the world are the inevitable consequences of an absence of justice. They are the attendant outcomes of an international power imbalance. When the rule of law is suppressed and supplanted by the logic of force, and when the global power balance is compromised, the inevitable outcomes are intractable crises and escalating wars.
It was against that disconcerting global backdrop that Eritrea was first victimized and targeted by unlawful and unfair sanctions, on 23 December 2009. I will not burden the Assembly with the details of the incontrovertible facts of how and why the sanctions were imposed, since all the relevant information, including confidential communications, WikiLeaks and all, has long since been in the public domain and available for scrutiny. However, to sum up, the interplay of forces and factors that resulted in the sanctions was this.
First, the principal architects of the sanctions  were United States Administrations that felt that they could use their unassailable power and raw coercion to ram punitive measures against  a  small  country and people through  the  Security  Council  in  order  to advance their misguided regional agenda. In that context, is worth remembering that  certain officials in those Administrations had considered imposing similar sanctions on Eritrea in 1999 and 2000, at the height of the border war with Ethiopia, in order to impose asymmetrical arrangements by coercive means. The fabricated charges peddled in 2009 were in fact improvised attempts at implementing an overall agenda.
The second reason for the imposition of sanctions was the inability of the United Nations system to prevent such wrongs from happening, in particular systemic flaws and political horse-trading in the operations of the Security Council. In that context, too, one must remember that the Council failed to take any meaningful action against Ethiopia, despite the fact  that  previous  Ethiopian  regimes  had flagrantly
violated the Charter of the United Nations and the Algiers Agreement guaranteed by the same Security Council when they refused to abide by the final and binding decisions of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission of 13 April 2002.
A third factor that drove the imposition of sanctions was the fact that the Governments in place at that time served the agenda of the major Powers. In the case of Eritrea, the principal architects of the sanctions against it resorted to regional Trojan horses designed to mask their resolutions with an African face.
The sanctions imposed on Eritrea for the past nine years have resulted in considerable economic damage to the country and unnecessary hardships for our people. The related smear and defamation campaigns have done immeasurable damage to the country’s reputation and to the prospects and potential of investment. Perhaps the most significant damage is the regional instability and insecurity that this state of affairs has bred and exacerbated. The actual costs incurred and the opportunities forfeited, at both the national and regional levels, are therefore huge.
In the light of the widely acclaimed peace and cooperation that have been brokered in the region, the fact that certain countries are choosing to ignore the stark truth and prolong the sanctions regime in Eritrea is astounding. Over the past six decades, the Eritrean people have waged a long and difficult struggle to advance the cause of justice and foster a climate that  is conducive to mutual security and stability in the region. Those robust convictions and that legacy have enabled them to withstand all the wrongs and scars imposed on them by the unfair sanctions. Through their characteristic resilience and hard toil, they have now vanquished the injustices inflicted on them.
In conclusion, as I stressed earlier, the people of Eritrea have not committed any crime or transgression that impels them to seek clemency. As such, they are not only calling for the immediate rescinding of the sanctions but they are also asking, and deserve, amends for the damages incurred and opportunities forfeited.


It is impossible to stand here speaking from this rostrum on behalf of Cuba and not recall historic moments before the General Assembly that are among our most cherished memories. Fidel Castro, Ernesto Guevara, Raúl Castro Ruz and the Chancellor of Dignity, Raúl Roa, to mention only the most illustrious, here raised their voices on behalf not only of our people but also of other non-aligned peoples of Latin America and Caribbean, Africa and Asia,  together  with  whom  we have fought for more than half  a  century for  a  fair international order, that is still far from having been achieved.
That failure is absurd but consistent with the irrationality of a world in which the richest 0.7 per cent of the population can claim 46 per cent of all wealth, while the poorest 70 per cent of the population has access to only 2.7 per cent of that wealth, 3.46 billion people survive in poverty, 821 million live in hunger, 758 million are illiterate and 844 million lack basic services, such as drinking water. All these  figures are, of course, prepared and  regularly  manipulated by global organizations, but it seems that they have failed to raise sufficient awareness among the so-called international community.
These facts are not the result  of  socialism,  as  the President of the United States said in this Hall

yesterday (see A/73/PV.6). They are consequences of capitalism, especially imperialism and neoliberalism, of the egoism and exclusion inherent to that system, and of an economic, political, social and cultural paradigm that concentrates wealth in the hands of a minority as a significant majority pay the price through exploitation and poverty.
Capitalism financed colonialism; gave rise to fascism, terrorism and apartheid; and  spread  war and conflict, violations of the sovereignty or self- determination of peoples, and the repression of workers, minorities, refugees and migrants. Capitalism runs counter to solidarity and democratic participation. The patterns of production and consumption characteristic of capitalism promote plundering and militarism, threaten peace, lead to violations of human rights; and pose the greatest danger to the ecological balance of the planet and the survival of the human race.
No one should mistakenly believe that humankind lacks the material, financial or technological resources to eradicate poverty, hunger, preventable diseases and other scourges. What is missing is political will among the industrialized countries, which have the moral duty, the historical responsibility and abundant resources to solve the most pressing global problems. The truth is that while funding shortfalls are cited as justification for failing to attain the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development or address the increasing impacts of climate change, $1.74 trillion was wasted on military expenditure in 2017 — the highest figure since the end of the Cold War.
Climate change is another unavoidable reality and a question of survival for the human race, especially for small island developing States. Some of its effects are already irreversible. Scientific evidence shows that the average temperature has increased by 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels, and that nine out of 10 people living in urban areas breathe polluted air. However, the United States, one of the major polluters, both historically and today, refuses to join the international community in implementing the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In so doing, it endangers the very lives of future generations and the survival of all species, including humans.
Furthermore, as if there were not enough threats to humankind and its dazzling creations, it is a fact that military and nuclear hegemony not only continues but is extending its reach, dashing the hopes of the majority
of peoples for general and complete disarmament. Cuba shares this ideal and, as evidence of its commitment to that aim, on 31 January became the fifth State to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
It is impossible for the Organization, born of the desire to overcome through dialogue among nations the destruction wrought by an horrific war, to remain silent about the dangers that threaten us all with the exacerbation of local conflicts, wars of aggression disguised as humanitarian intervention, the forceful overthrow  of  sovereign  Governments,   so-called soft coups and interference in other States’ internal affairs — all of which are established behaviours on the part of certain Powers, under a wild range of pretexts.
International cooperation to promote and protect human rights for all is imperative, but it is manipulated in a discriminatory and selective way in an attempt to dominate, violating the rights of peoples to peace, self- determination and development.
Cuba rejects the militarization of outer space and cyberspace, as well as the covert and illegal use of information and communication technologies to attack other States.
Multilateralism and full respect for the norms and principles of international law to advance towards a democratic, equitable multipolar world are necessary to ensure peaceful coexistence, maintain international peace and security and find lasting solutions to systemic problems.
Running counter to  this  vision,  threats  or  use of force, unilateralism, pressure, retaliation and sanctions — which increasingly characterize the behaviour and rhetoric of the United States Government and its abusive use of the veto power in the Security Council to impose its political agenda — represent immense challenges that threaten the very institution of the United Nations. Why do we not simply implement the promised strengthening of the General Assembly as the principal deliberative, decision-making and most representative organ? Security Council reform must not be delayed or sidelined; it must be updated to reflect the times and democratize its membership and working methods.
We reiterate today what Commander-in-Chief of the Cuban revoluation Fidel Castro Ruz said on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. His

sentiments reflect the most noble aspirations of the majority of humankind:
“We lay claim to a world without hegemonism, without nuclear weapons, without interventionism, without racism, without national or religious hatred, without outrageous acts against the sovereignty of any country, a world with respect for the independence and self-determination of peoples, a world without universal models that totally disregard the traditions and culture of all the components of mankind.
“We lay claim to a world without ruthless blockades that cause the death of men, women  and children, young and old, like noiseless atom bombs.” (A/50/PV.35, pp. 19-20)
More than 20 years have passed since that  demand was made, and none of those ills has been cured; on the contrary, they have got worse. We  have  every right to ask why and the duty to insist on effective and fair solutions.
Our Americas are today the scene of persistent threats that are incompatible with the proclamation of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, signed in Havana in 2014 by the Heads of State and Government at the second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States. The current United States Administration has proclaimed the validity of the Monroe Doctrine and, in a new deployment of its imperial policy in the region, is attacking Venezuela with particular cruelty.
In this menacing climate, we reiterate our absolute support for the Bolivarian and Chavista  revolution, the civic-military union of the Venezuelan  people  and its legitimate democratic Government, led by Constitutional President  Nicolás  Maduros  Moros. We reject the interventionist intent of the sanctions against Venezuela, aimed at economic strangulation and damaging Venezuelan families. We reject calls to isolate that sovereign nation, which is doing no harm to anyone.
We likewise reject the attempts to destabilize the Government of Nicaragua, a peaceful country that has made remarkable social and economic progress and improved security for its citizens.
We denounce the political imprisonment of former
President  Luiz Inácio Lula  da Silva  and  the decision
to prevent the people from voting for Brazil’s most popular leader and electing him to the presidency.
We stand in solidarity with the Caribbean nations demanding legitimate reparations for the horrific legacy of slavery as well as the fair, special and differential treatment they deserve.
We reaffirm our long-standing support for the self-determination and independence of the brotherly people of Puerto Rico.
We support Argentina’s legitimate claim to sovereignty over the Malvinas Islands, South Georgia Islands and South Sandwich Islands.
We reiterate our full support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, based on the establishment of two States, permitting the Palestinian people to exercise their right to self-determination in a sovereign independent State based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. We reject the unilateral action of the United States in establishing its diplomatic representation in the city of Jerusalem, which has further heightened tensions in the region. We condemn the barbarous acts committed by the Israeli forces against the civilian population in Gaza.
We reaffirm our steadfast solidarity with the Sahrawi people and support the questfor a definitive solution to the question of Western Sahara that allows them to exercise their right to self-determination and to live in peace in their territory.
We support the search for a peaceful and negotiated solution to the situation imposed on Syria, without foreign interference and in full respect for the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We reject any direct or indirect intervention executed without the agreement of the legitimate authorities of that country.
The  continued  expansion  of  NATO  towards  the Russian border is provoking significant danger, aggravated further still by the imposition of arbitrary sanctions, which we reject.
We demand that the nuclear agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran be implemented.
We welcome the process of inter-Korean rapprochement   and   dialogue,   which   represents the path towards lasting peace, reconciliation and stability on the Korean peninsula. At the same time, we strongly condemn the imposition of unilateral

and unjust sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and foreign interference in Korean internal affairs.
The violation of international trade rules, and the imposition of sanctions against China, the European Union and other countries will result in harmful effects, in particular for developing countries.
We favour dialogue and cooperation, thanks to which we can report today that the Political Dialogue and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and Cuba has provisionally entered into force, representing a strong foundation on which to build beneficial ties between the parties.
The Government of the United States maintains its aggressive rhetoric towards Cuba and a policy aimed at subverting the political, social, economic and cultural system of my country. Contrary to the interests  of both peoples and giving in to pressure from minority interests, the United States Government has engaged in fabricating pretexts to stoke false tensions and hostilities that benefit no one. This is in stark contrast with the fact that we maintain  formal  diplomatic  relations and participate in mutually beneficial cooperation programmes in a limited number of areas. Our peoples share increasingly close historical and cultural bonds, as expressed through the arts, sports, science and the environment, among other areas. The potential for a healthy commercial relationship is well recognized, and a genuine relationship of respect would benefit the interests of the entire region.
However, the defining core component of the bilateral relationship remains the embargo, which is intended to strangle the Cuban economy, generate poverty and disrupt constitutional order. It is a cruel policy that punishes Cuban families and the entire nation. It is the most comprehensive and long-standing system of economic sanctions ever implemented against any country. It has been and remains a major obstacle to the country’s development  and to the realization   of the aspirations for progress and well-being of several generations of Cubans. As reiterated from this very rostrum for many years, through its aggressive extraterritorial implementation the embargo seriously damages the sovereignty and interests of all countries.
On behalf of the Cuban people, I thank the General Assembly for its near-unanimous rejection of the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed by the United States against my country. However,
that Government’s actions against my country go even further, to include public and covert programmes of gross interference in Cuba’s internal affairs, using tens of millions of dollars officially allocated in the budget to that purpose, in violation of the norms and principles upon which this Organization is based and, in particular, of Cuba’s sovereignty as an independent nation.
Cuba stands ready to foster respectful and civilized relations with the United States Government, based on sovereign equality and mutual respect. That is the will of the Cuban people and an aspiration that we know to be shared by the majority of the citizens of the United States, especially the Cubans living there.
We will continue tirelessly demanding the end of the cruel economic, commercial and financial embargo, the return of the territory illegally occupied by the United States Naval Base in Guantánamo and adequate compensation to our people for the thousands of deaths and injuries and the economic and property damage caused by this aggression over so many years.
Cuba will always remain willing to engage in dialogue and cooperation based on respect and equal treatment. We will never make concessions that affect our national sovereignty and independence. We will not barter our principles or accept conditions. In spite of the embargo, the hostility and actions of the United States to impose regime change on Cuba, the Cuban revolution remains alive and strong, steadfast and faithful to its principles.
The enemies of the revolution should not be deluded by the generational change in our Government. We represent continuity, not any sort of rupture. Cuba has continued taking steps to improve its model of economic and social development with a view to building a sovereign, independent, socialist, democratic, prosperous and sustainable nation. That is the path that our people havefreely chosen. The Cuban people will never return to the disgraces of the past, from which it freed itself by the greatest of sacrifices over 150 years of struggle for independence and dignity. In accordance with the will of the overwhelming majority of Cuban women and men, we shall press forward in the work that began almost 60 years ago.
In this conviction, we have initiated a process of constitutional reform — a truly participatory democratic exercise with public discussion of the draft text which will later be submitted for approval by referendum. I am certain that there will be no changes in our strategic

objectives and that the irrevocable nature of socialism will be reaffirmed. The principles of our foreign policy will remain unchanged. As the First Secretary of our Party, Mr. Raúl Castro Ruz, said, on the occasion of the seventieth anniversary of the United Nations:
“The international community can always depend on Cuba to raise its honest voice against injustice,	inequality,	underdevelopment, discrimination and manipulation and for the establishment of a more equitable and fair international order that really focuses on the human being, his dignity and well-being.” (A/70/ PV.14, p.6)
The Cuba on behalf of which I speak today is proud to carry the torch of that independent sovereign policy, which is bound by links of brotherhood and solidarity to the world’s poor, who produce all the world’s wealth but are condemned to live in poverty by an unjust world order under the cover of words like “democracy”, “freedom” and “human rights” — words which those in power have, in fact, emptied of all meaning.
I am moved to be speaking from the same rostrum from which Fidel spoke the truth so powerfully 58 years ago that it still resonates with the representatives of more than 190 nations who, rejecting extortion and pressure, year on year turn the voting screen a dignified green with lights approving our demand for  an end  to the embargo. I close with the hope that the noble aspirations shared by the majority of humankind may be realized before yet further generations take to this rostrum to demand the very same things we demand today and our historic predecessors did before us.


It is a great privilege for me to stand before the General Assembly today in New York. We are gathered here because of

those who believed, following the tragedy of the Second World War, that an international order based on rules and dialogue, rather than on relationships of power, would lead us to peace and prosperity. They were right. Given the considerable challenges and transformations we must face in the world today, no person or country has the capacity to stand alone. By that I mean globalization, inequality, war and internal conflict, as well as extremism, migration flows and climate change, and even health crises and the digital revolution. It is our shared responsibility — the responsibility of each and every State Member of the United Nations — to ensure that international institutions and organizations are up to the task of supporting us in this endeavour. Unfortunately, there seems to be a tendency at the moment to seek the answers to these problems in nationalist isolation and in increasing mistrust with regard to cooperation between States.
We are seeing a new international order take shape, with new actors and a new middle class. According to the World Bank, between 1990 and 2015 — in a single generation — the number of people affected by extreme poverty fell from 2 billion to 700  million,  a  result that can be described as exceptional. What is of great concern to us today, however, is that these changes have gone hand in hand with the erosion of the international system founded on the rule of law. I believe that we  are witnessing a real crisis in multilateralism, perhaps paradoxically at the very moment when we are trying to forge the main pillars of the global governance of the future. As a country that is interconnected and open  to the world, Switzerland understands the value of a working international legal order based on exchange and multi-stakeholder dialogue, which guarantees stability and is consistent with Swiss values as they are set out in our Constitution.
There are crises currently ongoing in many parts of the world, some of which have been there for  a  very long time, particularly the Middle East, where re-engaging in dialogue is the only option. Switzerland is working for a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians in accordance with international law and the relevant Security Council resolutions, based on a negotiated two-State solution.
The conflict in Syria has entered its eighth year, with no real end in sight. The basic rules and principles of international humanitarian law and human rights are not being respected. In recent months the conflict has intensified further on various fronts. More than
13 million men, women and children in Syria are dependent on humanitarian aid. It is essential that we step up our efforts to find a political solution to the conflict. Only a negotiated solution that includes all sectors of Syrian society can guarantee lasting peace and sustainable reconstruction in Syria and the region as a whole.
In Yemen, too, the conflict has been going on for years. The armed conflict has deprived millions of people of water, food and medical care. Switzerland calls on all parties to cease hostilities and come  to the negotiating table to seek solutions to end this humanitarian crisis. In that regard, Switzerland remains ready and willing to play its part — for example, by hosting peace talks in Geneva under the auspices of the United Nations.
Large-scale health crises accompany all of those conflicts. The spread of disease, especially in war zones and refugee camps, is a major burden on weakened or ruined health systems. In that regard, it is vital to protect health-care facilities and personnel in order to maintain working health systems and access to medical care.
The United Nations is truly the cornerstone of peaceful coexistence between all States, in accordance with the rules we have established together. It is indispensable and, above all, ideally placed to tackle contemporary challenges, especially the fight against inequality. To fulfil that role, the United Nations must be strong. If it is to make the maximum impact with the means at its disposal, it must adapt to an ever-changing environment and constantly re-examine its working methods. Switzerland is therefore an active supporter of the reform programmes launched by Secretary- General António Guterres. Those reforms, in the areas of peace and security, development and management, aim to ensure the relevance and effectiveness of the United Nations in the face of current global challenges. We are engaged on multiple fronts. Today  I  would like to address the following points. I shall begin by addressing the Sustainable Development Goals.
Switzerland is working  actively  to implement the 2030 Agenda for  Sustainable  Development  and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. We have been working to put a robust monitoring mechanism in place to provide for voluntary national reviews and report  on progress made towards achieving the Goals. More specifically, we have contributed, with other countries, to providing better statistical data. We are also engaging

with innovative projects in areas such as health care, education, energy and innovation. Nonetheless, we are all aware that there is still work to be done to combat global warming and the negative environmental impacts of economic development.
I want to take this opportunity to stress the essential contribution of culture and cultural diversity to building a sustainable and successful society. Without a policy of culture, there is no economic, social or environmental sustainability. Culture must therefore occupy a central place in development policies. In January, more than 30 countries reaffirmed culture’s essential contribution to our lives, as well as the importance of culture overall, in the Davos declaration.
Secondly, with regard to the Human Rights Council and the International Criminal Court, respect for human dignity and fundamental rights is not optional but rather an obvious necessity for stable and sustainable development. Switzerland strongly supports the work of the Human Rights Council and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, both based in Geneva, with a view to enabling them  to fulfil their duty to promote, strengthen and protect human rights in the world. International cooperation is also essential in preventing conflict and establishing a framework for lasting peace. I would like to mention in particular the fight against impunity. Switzerland worked for the adoption of the Rome Statute and the establishment of the International Criminal Court, exactly 20 years ago. We will continue to support that unique international cooperative effort at the service of the victims of the most serious crimes.
Thirdly, I would like to speak about Geneva and the good offices of Switzerland. We intend to continue to build bridges, support negotiations and mediation and use our diplomacy and good offices to help countries and international and regional organizations find solutions to conflicts and create space for new reflections and new topics. In Geneva, Switzerland makes all of the preparations needed so that discreet peace talks, of  the kind undertaken by the parties to  the  conflicts  in Syria and Yemen, can take place. Geneva is also home to several United Nations agencies — the World Health Organization and the International Labour Organization — in addition to numerous international organizations. Geneva can therefore serve as a platform for dialogue on new challenges at the interface between politics,  society,  innovation,  science  and  economy. I would mention in particular of the areas of Internet
governance and digitalization. Those topics develop and increasingly require synergies and dialogue between the traditional arenas of international action. However, Switzerland’s role is not limited to Geneva. For example, we have actively contributed to the process of negotiating the global compact for safe, orderly and regular migration, and we are grateful for the trust placed in Switzerland in that regard. The management of migration flows at the global level is an enormous undertaking that necessitates the participation of all the relevant stakeholders. Policies relying on trade protectionism and selfish interests are enjoying a certain popularity at present. They would like us to believe that the world is a zero- sum game and that there are no winners without losers. However, today, as in the past, withdrawal, protectionism, threats and violence will not provide answers to the dysfunctions and disparities of the world in which we live. Worse still, such policies can lead only to a drop in trade and, ultimately, a decline in prosperity. They nurture mistrust and isolation, which obstruct   knowledge-sharing,   competition and innovation. Our world will become all the more impoverished, both spiritually and culturally, and we will set off alone in search of solutions for problems that can only be solved together.
The current malaise serves as a warning that we must do everything we can to prevent a world in which we look out only for ourselves, and to encourage a world of cooperation between States, in which we strive for the common good, for causes such as peace, sustainable development and environmental protection. We can overcome the challenges and causes of growing inequality, demographic change or migration only if we approach them with a spirit of mutual trust. All States are winners if we see others as potential partners instead of competitors. All States are stronger if the international situation is more stable. The world is not a zero-sum game. To the contrary, it is a positive-sum game.


It is my privilege and honour once again to address the General

Assembly on behalf of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. At the outset, allow me to congratulate the President on her election to lead this body at this most significant time and as the first woman to assume the post from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States. I assure her of my country’s fullest support during her tenure.
During the opening days of this session of the General Assembly we paid tribute to the late former Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whom we remember dearly, and what he said about the United Nations, namely, that it was critical in the international community’s efforts to solve the wide range of global problems. Multilateralism, with the United Nations system at its fulcrum, has long informed our global engagements. The United Nations has been, is and will continue to be critical to global peace, progress and prosperity. That is why there is a need to move urgently to reform the United Nations, making it more responsive to the needs and concerns of all, in particular small island developing States (SIDS).
The United Nations has become too preoccupied with summitry, that is, with specialized high-level meetings and declarations, and less focused on delivery. The lack of cooperation among Member States stymies the  forward  march  of  humankind.  A reformed United Nations must become a body of greater action and fewer words. We need urgent action on climate change, non-communicable diseases, global cooperation, peace, prosperity and the reordering of the international financial system. Guided by this year’s theme, “Making the United Nations relevant to all
people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”, my delegation is of the view that those ideas can enable us to address the unfairness and inequity of the international development order, and we urge a new and more inclusive paradigm of equitable and sustainable development.
Although it is the smallest country in the western hemisphere, my country has always had  its  own goals, since long before the Millennium Development Goals and the Sustainable Development Goals were announced. More than a week ago, we celebrated 35 years of independence. We have made significant progress towards alleviating poverty, providing free primary and secondary education, ensuring access to affordable health care and enhancing the standard of living for our citizens and residents.
All those gains could be erased by the phenomenon of climate change. The damage  sustained  last  year by the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States subregion as a result of Hurricanes Irma and Maria was unimaginable. The high-level pledging conference in the aftermath of  those hurricanes was an attempt  to chart the way forward towards creating resilience and better recovery. We ask that Member States with commitments still outstanding  fulfil  them  as  soon as practicable. We applaud those countries that have redeemed their pledges. There is still a great deal  to be done to restore affected Member States, but that requires strong, meaningful and enduring international partnerships.
We continue to highlight, on the one hand, our inherent  vulnerabilities  to natural   disasters  and, on the other hand, an unflinching determination to maintain a sustainable society. Our responsibility is clear. Individually and collectively, we must commit  to reducing the amount  of  harmful  materials  that we emit into the environment. It is a matter of great concern that nations such as my own continue to pay dearly for a problem that we did not create. Our people see the impact of climate change on their lives and livelihoods. Climate change is largely the consequence of the actions of the more developed countries, their carbon emissions and harmful lifestyles, yet SIDS pay an unfair price — a price so high that, for many of us, climate change presents an existential threat.
In that connection, how will the United Nations assist our region with the growing prevalence of the

sargassum seaweed that has adversely impacted the Caribbean area and is thought to be a noxious side effect of global warming? Sargassum affects our marine environment, in particular our coastal fisheries, and has affected the revenues of the fisherfolk in the region. Hotels, beaches and other tourism-related activities have  also  been  severely  impacted.  It  is my fervent hope that my plea today for international intervention will bring some relief to the people of our region. We must hold countries accountable for the environmental degradation that they cause not  only  in their own jurisdictions but also in other States. The United Nations system presents the best vehicle to do that.
We welcome the funding mechanisms established to assist countries, particularly highly vulnerable SIDS. However, the process must be transparent, easily accessible and, most importantly,  the  commitments of donor countries must bear fruit. That said, the international community cannot on the one  hand claim to be helping SIDS, while at the same time classifying us as middle- and high-income countries based on archaic financial models that ultimately deny access to critical developmental assistance and hinder investment financing. We reiterate our calls for the international community to address with urgency the sterile measure of per capita income now employed. It is equally important to address the issues of disaster-risk insurance and recognition of the unique vulnerabilities of small States. My country remains  committed  to the Sustainable Development Goals and the SIDS Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway.
The developmental efforts of small States are also being thwarted by an unfair financial architecture, which includes the threat of  de-risking and the loss   of correspondent banking  relationships. That is compounded by the very discriminatory and irrational blacklisting of countries that are forced to divert scarce resources to address the onerous and arbitrary demands of the European Union’s Code of Conduct Group for business taxation and other entities created by large, highly developed countries. It is completely unfair to subject some countries to such evaluation and ever- fluctuating standards, while others are exempt.
The threats to the survival of small States  are real. I therefore call on this body to bring the plight of small States like Saint Kitts and Nevis to the forefront of international discourse and to bring an end to the discriminatory policies that I have mentioned. At great
cost, my  country and other small States seek to rise  to the challenges posed by the unfair international financial architecture. However, the frequency and arbitrariness of those unilateral demands derail essential development efforts in small States. I submit to this body that we deserve and have a right to expect fairness, transparency and consistency in the treatment of all States. A clear, rules-based financial system that applies to all States must be our collective goal.
My Government is mindful that without peace, there can be no shared prosperity. We have aggressively confronted the problem of crime and violence on several fronts. We condemn all acts of violence and support efforts to maintain peace. My Government will use every resource available to achieve a stable, peaceful and equitable society, which is what our people expect and certainly deserve. Saint Kitts and Nevis supports the calls for diplomacy aimed at addressing the conflicts around the world and is particularly heartened by the welcome dialogue on the Korean peninsula. The Caribbean is a zone of peace, and our clear philosophy is to promote peace, friendship and dialogue while avoiding conflict with other territories. In that regard, a denuclearized world is a most desirable objective for all humankind.
Throughout the Caribbean, we suffer from an increase in crime connected to the trade in small arms, light weapons and drugs. Those weapons flow into the Caribbean, where they are not manufactured, and are linked to an insatiable drug appetite in the West. It is beyond our power to unilaterally control the flow of guns into the region or the addiction that drives the dangerous global drug trade. We seek the assistance  of the international community as we work tirelessly to address that scourge. My country remains fully committed to the Arms Trade Treaty. Our increasing internal budget allocations are an indication of our commitment to the maintenance of safety and security.
Saint Kitts and Nevis is  delighted  that  this week, this body joined in committing to scaling up multi-stakeholder and multisectoral responses aimed at the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), in the context of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Our region remains encumbered by the unfortunate burden that the NCDs have placed on our society and economy. The statistics are stark and startling. Eight of every 10 deaths in the Caribbean are attributable to NCDs, 40 per cent of which are premature and 70 per cent of that number are

preventable. Hypertension is our leading risk factor for death. The Caribbean region’s diabetes rate is double the global rate. We are facing an NCD crisis in our region. In that regard, we applaud the launch earlier this week of the Defeat-NCD Partnership, and the Caribbean Community and the Caribbean Public Health Agency will provide the fullest support to that new partnership.
We endorse a holistic approach to health, and I am happy to report that we have moved into high gear to make universal health coverage, which is an essential component of global health, a reality for  all citizens  in Saint Kitts and Nevis. However, I must remind the Assembly that NCDs and climate change are two sides of the same coin. They are symptoms of the failure of the current development paradigm.
My Government believes in making an equitable society a reality for all citizens in Saint Kitts and Nevis. In keeping with our commitment to transform our world through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we have endeavoured to create an equitable pathway by improving the standard of living of the most vulnerable so that they can become self-sufficient and productive citizens and residents.
I cannot address this great body without recognizing our dear friend, Taiwan. My Government views the United Nations as an organization for all people, including the people of Taiwan. We strongly believe that Taiwan has an important and continuing role to play in international development strategies, as it has achieved great success in technology, agriculture, health and renewable energy. We advocate that Taiwan be given space to add to the dialogue, progress and well-being of the global community. We also continue to voice our support for our Caribbean sister, Cuba, and call for the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States of America in order to alleviate the real suffering caused to the Cuban people by the policy of exclusion. My country is conscious of the current difficulties in Venezuela. Venezuela has been a very good friend to the Caribbean, and Saint Kitts and Nevis continues to call for peaceful dialogue aimed at resolving the issues in that country, with due regard to the rule of law and the democratic ideals that we hold dear.
As I conclude, I must remind the Assembly that our people want action. They want results. We need to see all global leaders come together to create and maintain stability, equality and peace in our countries so that
our collective contributions can prevent and avoid war and violence, end the proliferation of nuclear weapons, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create a level playing field, enabling small States to thrive. May we be always mindful and proactive so as to ensure that no country is left behind in the pursuit and achievement of the 2030 Agenda.
It is our shared responsibility to create the best opportunities and fulfil the expectations of our current and future generations. I am convinced that if we continue to work steadfastly, while always remaining vigilant and focused on the overarching goals, we will contribute to a more relevant, fair, productive and meaningful United Nations and, by extension, a better world for all our peoples.


When I spoke here three years ago (see A/70/PV.22), Israel stood alone among the nations. Of the nearly 200 countries that sit in this Hall, only Israel openly opposed the nuclear deal with Iran. We opposed it because it threatens our future, even our very survival. We opposed it because the deal paved Iran’s path to a nuclear arsenal. By lifting the sanctions, it has fuelled Iran’s campaign of carnage and conquest throughout the Middle East. We opposed it because the deal was based on a fundamental lie, that Iran is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
Israel exposed that lie earlier this year. In February 2018, Israel conducted a daring raid on Iran’s secret atomic archive. We obtained more than 100,000 documents and videos that had been stashed in vaults in an innocent-looking building in the heart of Tehran. In May, I presented a short summary of what we obtained to the international media. I provided hard evidence of Iran’s plans to build nuclear weapons and its plans to deceive the international community. Israel shared that information and even more damning evidence that we found with members of the five plus one group and with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Months have passed, and the IAEA has still not taken any action. It has not posed a single question to Iran. It has not demanded to inspect a single new site discovered in that secret archive. Given that inaction,  I have decided, therefore, to reveal today something else that we have shared with the IAEA and with a few intelligence agencies. What I am about to say has not been shared publicly before. Today I am disclosing for the first time that Iran has another secret facility in Tehran, a secret atomic warehouse for storing massive amounts of equipment and materiel from Iran’s secret nuclear-weapon programme.
In May, we exposed the site of Iran’s secret atomic archive. It is in the Shorabad district of Tehran. Today I am revealing the site of a second facility, Iran’s secret atomic warehouse, which is located in the Torquzabad district of Tehran, just three miles away from the archive. Let me show exactly what the secret atomic warehouse looks like. From this image, it looks just like the atomic archive, another innocent-looking compound. For listeners at home using Google Earth, this no-longer-secret atomic warehouse is on Mehr Alley. The coordinates are on the image. Anyone can try to get there. And for those who try to get there, it  is a hundred meters from the Kalishoi, a rug-cleaning operation. By the way, I hear they do a fantastic job of cleaning rugs there. But by now they may be radioactive rags. That is the second secret site.
Now countries with satellite capabilities may notice some increased activity on Mehr Alley in the days and weeks ahead. The people they will see scurrying back and forth are Iranian officials desperately trying to finish the job of cleaning up that site. Since we raided the atomic archive, they have been busy cleaning out the atomic warehouse. Just last month, they removed 15 kilogrammes of radioactive materiel. What did they do with it? They had to get those 15 kilogrammes of radioactive materiel out of the site, so they took it out and spread it around Tehran in an effort to hide the evidence. The residents of Tehran, now endangered, may want to know that they can get a Geiger counter on Amazon for only $29.99. At today’s exchange rate, that is just 4 million Iranian rials. But we will get to that later. I will talk about the Iranian economy in a minute.
They took that radioactive material and spread it around Tehran. The Iranian officials cleaning out the site still have a lot of work to do, because they had at least 15 gigantic ship containers full of nuclear-related equipment  and  materiel  stored  there.  Since  each of

those containers can hold 20 tons of materiel, the site must have contained as much as 300 tons of nuclear- related equipment and materiel, all in that very place.
We now have to ask ourselves a question. Why did Iran keep a secret atomic archive and a secret atomic warehouse? After all, when South Africa and Libya gave up their nuclear programmes, the first thing they did was to destroy both the archives and the materiel and equipment. The answer to the question is simple. The reason Iran did not destroy its atomic archive and its atomic warehouse is because it has not abandoned its goal to develop nuclear weapons. In fact, it planned to use both of those sites in a few years when the time was right to break out the atom bomb. Delegations may rest assured that that will not happen. It will not happen because what Iran hides Israel will find.
I have a message for  the  Head  of  the  IAEA,  Mr. Yukiya Amano. I believe he is a good man. I believe he wants to do the right thing. I therefore ask him to do the right thing now. The IAEA should inspect that atomic warehouse immediately, before the Iranians finish clearing it out. Do delegations remember the time when we were promised that inspections could take place anytime, anywhere? Well, how about inspections of Mehr Alley right now? And while Mr. Amano is at it, he should inspect the other sites that we told him about. Once and for all, he should tell the world the truth about Iran.
I also have a message today for the tyrants of Tehran. Israel knows what they are doing, and Israel knows where they are doing it. Israel will never let a regime that calls for our destruction develop nuclear weapons — not now, not in 10 years, not ever. And Israel will do whatever it must do to defend itself against Iran’s aggression. We will continue to act against it in Syria. We will act against it in Lebanon. We will act against it in Iraq. We will act against it whenever and wherever we must. We must act to defend our State and to defend our people.
Three years ago, a few weeks after the nuclear deal was completed, I asked this question from this very podium: does anyone seriously believe that flooding Iran’s radical theocracy with weapons and cash will curb its appetite for aggression? But many of the deal’s supporters believed just that. They believed that Iran’s regime would become more moderate, more peaceful. They believed that Iran would use the billions of dollars it received in sanctions relief to improve the lives of
its people — solving the water problem, the trucking problem, the electricity problem and improving hospitals and schools. That is what they believed. Perhaps some people here today also believed that.
Well, it did not happen. Instead, Iran used the money to fuel its vast war machine. Just this past year, Iran has attacked Kurds in Iraq, slaughtered Sunnis in Syria, armed Hizbullah in Lebanon, financed Hamas in Gaza, fired missiles into Saudi Arabia and threatened the freedom of navigation in the Strait  of  Hormuz and the Strait of Bab El-Mandeb. That is some peace, some moderation.
If people think that Iran’s aggression has been confined to the Middle East, they need to  think again. Last month, two Iranian agents were arrested for plotting terror attacks here in the United States, and several weeks ago, Iranian agents were arrested for plotting terror attacks in the heart of Europe. Yet while the United States is confronting Iran with new sanctions, Europe and others are appeasing Iran by trying to help it bypass those new sanctions.
Now, I have just used a tough word,  a  very  strong word: appeasement. I use it reluctantly. But unfortunately that is exactly what we are seeing again in Europe. We need to think about that. The same week that Iran was caught red-handed trying to murder European citizens, European leaders were rolling out the red carpet for President Rouhani, promising to give Iran even more money. As the son of a historian, I have to ask — and I ask it not merely as a historian’s son, but as a Jew, a citizen of the world and someone who has lived through the twentieth century — have these European leaders learned nothing from history? Will they ever wake up?
We in Israel do not need a wake-up call, because Iran threatens us every day. Despite the  best  of  hopes — and there were many hopes around the nuclear deal — that deal did not push war further away. It brought it ever closer to our borders. In Syria, Iran  is trying to establish permanent military bases against us and has already launched missiles and drones into our territory. In Gaza, Iran is arming terror groups to launch rocket attacks on our cities and terror attacks on our civilians. In Lebanon, Iran is directing Hizbullah in the building of secret sites for converting inaccurate projectiles into precision-guided missiles that can hit targets deep inside Israel with an accuracy of within 10 metres.

The Assembly needs to listen to this. Hizbullah is deliberately using the innocent people of Beirut as human shields. It has placed three of these missile-conversion sites alongside Beirut’s international airport. I can show a picture that is worth a thousand missiles. In it, we can see Beirut’s international airport, the first missile site, which is in the Ouzai neighbourhood, on the water’s edge, a few blocks away from the runway. There is also a second site, which is underneath a soccer stadium, two blocks away, and a third site, which is adjacent to the airport itself, right next to it.
I therefore have a message for Hizbullah today. Israel also knows what it is doing. Israel knows where it is doing it. And Israel will not let it get away with it. Just as supporters of the nuclear deal were wrong about what would happen when sanctions were removed, they were dead wrong about what would happen when sanctions were restored. They argued that United States sanctions alone would have little economic impact on Iran. That is what they said. It is hard to believe.
Let us take a look at what  has  happened  to  Iran’s economy now that President Trump has forced companies to choose between doing business with Iran and doing business with the United States, whose gross domestic product is 50 times the size of Iran’s gross domestic product. A year ago, Iran’s economy was booming. Now it is collapsing. Iran’s currency is plummeting. Inflation and unemployment are soaring. British airlines, German banks, French oil companies, Japanese oil importers and many others are scrambling to get out. If that is little economic impact, we can imagine what will happen with the next batch of United States sanctions, which will be imposed in November.
The deal’s supporters were also wrong when they argued — and it is hard to believe that they argued this, despite the fact that I have had many arguments with them — that restoring sanctions would rally the Iranian people around the regime. While they are definitely rallying, their rallying is definitely not around the regime. They are rallying against the regime. They are not chanting “Death to America”. They are chanting “Death to the dictator”. They are not chanting “Export the Islamic Revolution”. They are chanting “Leave Syria”, “Leave Lebanon”, “Leave Gaza”, and “Take care of us in Iran”.
I listen to those protests. I talk to Iranian people. I show videos and get so many responses — from Iranians. At first, I thought they were Iranian exiles — in the
safety of London or Paris or Los Angeles. No, these are Iranians from Iran, embracing Israel, criticizing their regime — that is an understatement — with their names. Shortly after the protests broke out, I asked my intelligence people, “What is going on?”
Those protests are an indicator of something extraordinary that has been taking  place there. Through those protests, the Iranian people are showing unbelievable courage. The protests are now embracing the whole of Iran — from the urban centres to distant villages, from the striking merchants in the bazaars to the young women  uncovering their hair.  The people of Iran are bravely standing up to a regime that has brutally repressed them for four decades and that has squandered — and still squanders — their money in bloody wars across the Middle East.
This is what I say to Europe’s leaders and to others. Instead of coddling Iran’s dictators, join the United States and Israel and most of  the Arab world  in supporting new sanctions against a regime that endangers all of us across the world.
Israel is deeply grateful to President Trump for his bold decision to withdraw from the disastrous nuclear deal with Iran. A great many of our Arab neighbours are also grateful. And everyone who cares about the peace and security of the world should also be grateful.
But I have an important confession to make. It  may be surprising, but I have to admit that the Iran deal has had one positive consequence, an unintended but positive consequence. By empowering Iran, it has brought Israel and many Arab States closer than they have ever been before, in an intimacy and friendship that I have not seen in my lifetime and that would have been unimaginable a few years ago.
When friendships are formed around a threat or a challenge, opportunities are quickly seen, not just for security but for how to bring a better life to our peoples, which is what Israel can and wants to contribute to. Israel deeply values those new friendships, and I hope the day will soon arrive when Israel will be able to expand peace, a formal peace, beyond Egypt and Jordan to other Arab neighbours, including the Palestinians. I look forward to working with President Trump and his peace team to achieve that goal.
I also want to take the opportunity now, here at the United Nations, a place I know something about because many years ago I served here as Ambassador

for many years, to express Israel’s appreciation to President Trump and Ambassador Haley for the unwavering support they have provided to Israel at  the United Nations. They have unequivocally backed Israel’s right to defend itself.  They rightly pulled out of a history-denying UNESCO and a morally bankrupt Human Rights Council. I think that more resolutions about Israel than about the rest of the world combined have been introduced in those bodies, and tenfold the number of resolutions on Iran, Syria or any other State. It is not even fair to say “tenfold”, because there are no multiples of zero.
President Trump and Ambassador Haley also stopped funding an unreformed United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, an organization that perpetuates the Palestinian refugee problem instead of solving it. Day after day, the Trump Administration has stood up to what has long been a specialty here at the United Nations, slandering Israel. Even though the shameful resolution 3379
(XXX) comparing Zionism to racism was repealed 25 years ago, I am sorry to say that its foul stench still clings to these halls.
Israel airlifted Ethiopian Jews to freedom and a new life in Israel, in the Jewish State. Yet here at the United Nations Israel is absurdly accused of racism. Israel’s Arab citizens vote in our elections, serve in our Parliament, preside over our courts and have exactly the same individual rights as all other Israeli citizens. Yet here at the United Nations Israel is shamefully accused of apartheid. Today there are at least five times as many Palestinians as there were in 1948, the year of Israel’s founding. Yet here at the United Nations Israel is outrageously accused of ethnic cleansing. Do those here know what that is? It is the same old anti-Semitism with a brand-new face. That is all it is.
Once it was the Jewish people who were slandered and held to a different standard; today it is the Jewish State that is slandered and held to a different standard. Here is an example. Take the outlandish attacks that have been levelled against Israel after our Knesset, our Parliament, recently adopted a law declaring Israel the nation-State of the Jewish people. Nevertheless, Israel is a free country. People can oppose that law, and people have done so. People can call for different wording in this or that clause, or add or delete a clause. People can do that.
But when Israel is called racist for making  Hebrew its official language and the Star of  David  its national flag, when Israel is labelled an apartheid State for declaring itself the nation-State of the Jewish people — that is downright preposterous. And does the Assembly know why? Because represented in the Hall today are more than 100 countries that have only one official language, even though many other languages are commonly spoken within those countries. There are more than 50 countries here that have crosses or crescents on their flags, even though they have many non-Muslims and non-Christians living in  their  midst. And there are dozens of countries that define themselves as nation-States of a particular people, even though there are many ethnic and national minorities within their borders. None of those countries have been denigrated or libelled for celebrating their unique national identity. Only Israel is denigrated. Only Israel is libelled. What is unique about the Jewish people is not that we have a nation-State. What is unique is that many still oppose our having a nation-State.
Moments ago, President Abbas outrageously said that Israel’s nation-State law proves that Israel is a racist, apartheid State. President Abbas should know better. He wrote a dissertation denying the Holocaust. His Palestinian National Authority imposes death sentences on Palestinians for selling land to Jews. Let me repeat that. If a Jew buys an apartment or a piece of land anywhere in the Palestinian territories, the Palestinian who sold  him that land is executed. That  is what the law says. President Abbas proudly pays Palestinian terrorists who murder Jews. In fact, the more they slay, the more he pays. That is in their law too. Then how can he condemn Israel’s morality and call Israel racist?
That is not the way to peace. That is not the way  to achieve the peace that we all want and need and to which Israel remains committed. This body should not be applauding the Head of a regime that pays terrorists. The United Nations should condemn such a despicable policy. And the United Nations, which brokered an Israeli-Palestinian ceasefire in 2014, should demand that Hamas release our fallen soldiers Oron Shaul and Hadar Goldin. The latter was kidnapped when Hamas violated that very ceasefire. Hamas should also release the two Israeli citizens whom it holds captive, Avera Mengistu and Hisham Al-Sayed.
Every time I stand here I  feel  as  I  do  today.  I am privileged to stand here as the Prime Minister

of the State of Israel, a Jewish and democratic State. Some believe that Israel cannot be both Jewish and democratic. That is false. Israel is both, and Israel will always remain both. Ever since Abraham and Sarah made their journey to the promised land, nearly 4,000 years ago, the land of  Israel has been our homeland. It is the place where Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob, Leah and Rachel carried out their eternal covenant with God. It is where Joshua made us a sovereign nation, where David ruled and Isaiah preached, where the Maccabees fought and where Masada fell. It is the place from which we were exiled and to which we returned, rebuilding our ancient and eternal capital, Jerusalem. The nation-State of Israel is the only place where the Jewish people proudly exercise our collective right of self-determination. That right was recognized nearly a century ago by the League of Nations, and more than 70 years ago by the United Nations when it supported the establishment of a Jewish State. That is what resolution 181 (II) said, “a Jewish State”.
At the same time, Israel is a vibrant democracy, where all its citizens, Jews and non-Jews alike, enjoy equal individual rights, and those rights are guaranteed by law. In Israel, whether a person is a Jew or an  Arab, a Christian or a Muslim, a Druze or a Bedouin or anything else, that person’s individual rights are exactly the same and will always  remain the same.  In the Middle East that is not obvious. Now that is an understatement. In the Middle East, where women are often treated as property, minorities are persecuted and gays are hanged, Israel stands out as a shining example of freedom and progress.
I could not be more proud to represent my country, Israel. I am proud that we have made Israel a global technological Power of breathtaking creativity in information technology and precision agriculture. Is the Assembly aware that we target the fertilizer and the water down to the individual plant — not to a field,  not to part of a field, but down to the plant? I am proud of those geniuses that have brought those unbelievable developments in water management, cybersecurity, autonomous vehicles, digital health, medical devices and so many other fields that are improving the lives of billions of people around the world. I am proud of Israel’s brilliant scholars, innovative entrepreneurs, talented artists, devoted teachers and compassionate doctors, and of our search-and-rescue teams who save lives from Haiti to Mexico, from Nepal to the Philippines. I am also proud of Israel’s courageous soldiers, the men
and women who bravely defend our homeland while upholding the highest values. Most of all, I am proud of the people of Israel, who draw extraordinary strength from the deep wellsprings of our heritage, who possess an unbreakable spirit and who are as determined as ever to build a secure and magnificent future for the one and only Jewish State.


All praise is due to the Almighty Allah for granting us the favour of gathering in the Assembly once again to discuss and advance our common global agenda. Please allow me to begin by sincerely thanking His Excellency Mr. Miroslav Lajčák for the excellent manner in which he presided over the General Assembly at its seventy-second session. By the same token, I congratulate Ms. María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés on her assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at  its seventy-third session.  I assure her that as one of her Vice-Presidents, the Gambia pledges its full support and cooperation during her tenure of office.
The theme of the seventy-third session, “Making the United Nations relevant to all people: global leadership and shared responsibilities for peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies”, is indeed very relevant to today’s global affairs. By implication, the pursuit of the mission of the United Nations for peace, development and human rights also remains as relevant today as it was in 1945, when it was adopted in response to the horrific experiences and destruction during that tragic era. Amid the complex multilateral challenges that continue to confront us globally, no country can thrive or solve all of the challenges it faces in isolation. As human beings, our salvation lies in strengthening our multilateral institutions and fostering greater
international cooperation in order to collectively address global challenges. The United Nations provides a unique opportunity to achieve that goal.
It is apparent that in order to make real progress, effective global leadership is imperative. As leaders, we must therefore all shoulder our responsibilities as best we can. That should compel us to support and invest more in the United Nations, instead of withdrawing our participation or cutting back our financial support. It is ironic that at a time when multiple global challenges are emerging and mounting, support for the work of the United Nations is being undermined through inadequate funding. Those of us who value the United Nations, as well as those who have benefited immensely from its work, should be at the forefront in calling on all Member States to step up support for the Organization. Indeed, the United Nations must play a lead role in solving global challenges, and our task is to ensure that it has the required capacity, influence and effectiveness.
Decisions and actions rooted in a rules-based international system that is underpinned by multilateral agreements and processes form the basis for the successful conduct of relations between and among nations. Let us therefore restore faith in our rules- based international order, so as to  remain  relevant and collectively make progress on our global agenda, ranging from tackling the menaces of climate change and terrorism to addressing disarmament, trade, development and other issues of concern to humankind. I am confident that it is only through effective global leadership and international cooperation that the well- being of all of the world’s citizens can be achieved. As leaders, we have  the shared responsibility to promote a world order that prioritizes peace over insecurity, eliminates the growing inequalities around the world and brings us sustainable development.
With reference to the Gambia and following a difficult political impasse in December 2016, Gambians have managed, with the support of our partners, to restore democracy and the rule of law in our country. We have completed our national electoral process in full, after successfully conducting both legislative and local Government elections. We are also resolutely pursuing institutional and constitutional reforms. Such reforms have commenced, with the hope of putting the Gambia on a solid path to becoming a shining champion of democracy and human rights in the world.

When Gambians voted for change in 2016, they were yearning to be in charge of their destiny. They wanted significant, not cosmetic, improvements in their lives. It is for  that reason that my  Government  is now implementing a comprehensive national development plan for the period 2018-2021. The plan seeks to transform the Gambia through key priorities, such as infrastructure development, agricultural transformation, macroeconomic stability, job creation and employment. The plan also seeks to consolidate our democratic gains through good governance, the rule of law and respect for human and people’s rights. In all, our goal is to deliver a fully transformed Gambia that has a future, a country that is energy secure, food-self- sufficient and investment-friendly. We have also begun to exploit and harness the  benefits  of  information and communication technology as a catalyst for modernization and youth empowerment.
Our  national  development  plan  was presented to a successful donor conference in Brussels, where significant pledges were made to help us meet our funding targets. I want to once again express our profound thanks to our bilateral and multilateral partners, including the United Nations, the European Union, the World Bank and many others, for their interest and support. We  are  indeed  truly  grateful, as we look forward to their continued collaboration and support for our efforts to attain our development objectives. The national development plan will continue to be implemented through the partnerships and solidarity built at the Brussels meeting. Quite deliberately, the plan is consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
In our pursuit of a fully transformed Gambia, we recognize the importance of meaningful engagement with the Gambian diaspora, fondly referred to as the eighth region of the Gambia. Our diaspora strategy seeks to explore and utilize the skills, talents and resources of Gambians everywhere for the successful implementation of our national development plan.
The Gambia’s experience demonstrates that democracy yields amazing dividends. Remarkably, we have noticed a decrease in the number of young people attempting to undertake dangerous journeys  across the Mediterranean to Europe. The average Gambian is willing to stay in the country and contribute to national development. Despite those positive developments, I strongly urge that interventions to curb youth migration
be supported through incentives to young people to stay in their country. In that regard, we look forward to the high-level conference in Marrakech in December aimed at adopting the new global compact on safe, orderly and regular migration. Better educational and job opportunities must be harnessed for young people in order to inspire them and give  them hope  in life.  In that regard, my Government stands ready to work collaboratively with the United Nations, the African Union, the Economic Community of West African States and other regional blocs to devise and implement suitable strategies and interventions.
As a member of the Sahel region, the  Gambia fully supports the implementation of the new United Nations Support Plan for the Sahel, anchored in the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel. We are optimistic that it will contribute significantly to addressing the challenges of development in the Sahel, as well as to fostering peace, security and cross- border relations. We are particularly excited that the new strategy views the Sahel as a land of opportunity and not of hopelessness. Given that fact, we envisage that it will yield important dividends for Africa, especially with regard to the maintenance of peace and security and the elimination of terrorism in the region. Strategically, we must disrupt all criminal networks and the financing of criminal sales of organs and body parts, using better information-sharing and cross- border security initiatives.
As we battle those negative forces and try to fulfil our aspirations of silencing the guns on the African continent by 2020, we are worried about the state of United Nations peacekeeping missions in some of our trouble spots, especially in view of the drastic cuts to the peacekeeping budget. The lack of the critical resources needed to support peacekeeping is quite worrisome. The Gambia supports the introduction of appropriate reforms to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations for both peacebuilding and peacekeeping, and they should be reconsidered and maintained as important priorities on the Organization’s agenda. My Government proposes that we do a better job of protecting the lives not only of innocent civilians but  also  of  the  men and women who constitute the peacekeepers. At this juncture, I want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all the gallant peacekeepers who have fallen. We call on our partners to rise to the challenge and stop the prolongation of conflicts, and we therefore support the Secretary-General’s agenda for reform.

As Africans, we must assume leadership for maintaining peace and security in our continent. In that respect, I commend the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea for the extraordinary efforts they have made to bring lasting peace to the Horn of Africa, setting an example for the  rest  of  the  continent  to  emulate.  Similarly, I applaud the leaders  of  South  Sudan  for  agreeing to restore peace and work towards developing their country. We call on the leaders of Libya and the Central African Republic to intensify their efforts through political dialogue for national reconciliation and peace.
My  Government  reaffirms  its  strong  support for a two-State solution to establish peace between  the Palestinians and their neighbours. We also unconditionally recognize the One China policy. Similarly, we recognize the support provided by the Government and the people of Bangladesh to address the plight of the Rohingya Muslims. As the upcoming Chair of the next summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, the Gambia has undertaken, through a resolution, to champion an accountability mechanism that would ensure that perpetrators of the terrible crimes against the Rohingya Muslims are brought to book.
While it is our strong desire to see reform that enables the Secretary-General to  operate effectively, it is equally expected that the reforms also facilitate the successful implementation of the  2030  Agenda for Sustainable Development. Reform of the Security Council is long overdue. I want to remind the Assembly that the process truly reflects all interests and positions represented in the intergovernmental negotiations.  We are convinced that Africa’s voice should be fully represented on the Security Council.
My delegation looks forward to a successful seventy-third session, and we hope that the President’s election will strengthen efforts aimed at highlighting the plight of rural women and girls.
Before I conclude, let me express our sincere condolences to the family of the late former Secretary- General Kofi Annan. Mr. Annan was a formidable voice on everything, including reform of the United Nations. He stood for a just world and was a passionate advocate of good governance and fundamental freedoms. Kofi Annan will surely be greatly missed.