A/76/PV.18 General Assembly

We shall now begin our joint debate.

I thank you, Mr. President, for organizing this joint debate. It is crucial to the follow-up to the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda, which is a valuable and fundamental road map for translating the 12 points of the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy- fifth Anniversary of the United Nations into tangible and concrete action. As highlighted in the Secretary- General’s report, we are at an inflection point in history, and we must implement the programme of action he has recommended. The implementation of this road map represents a firm recognition that our Organization is the most suitable framework for effective cooperation, as well as the perfect platform for multilateral action to meet global challenges and strengthen international solidarity. The principles of the Charter of the United Nations reflect our profound belief in the importance of our Organization and its usefulness as a collective reference and framework for the international community’s effective and renewed solidarity in the face of the challenges confronting us today. In order to realize the 12 crucial commitments in the Declaration, we need to strengthen our joint action to implement the Sustainable Development Goals, conscious in the knowledge that we are less than 10 years away from the 2030 deadline. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has had a very negative impact on the entire planet and is currently the main threat to human security. It has revived international attention to the problem of climate change, since the links between the areas of climate change, biodiversity degradation and health safety have become more evident. The overlap between these two major global threats — the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change — should be a catalyst for the emergence of a new multilateral agenda based on a holistic approach to such challenges. Morocco believes that equitable and immediate access to vaccines through a global immunization plan, as mentioned in Our Common Agenda, is essential if we are to help all countries, especially African countries and the least developed, overcome this acute phase of the pandemic. We fully support the Secretary-General’s commitment to ensuring that vaccines are global public goods, as well as the commendable efforts of the United Nations and its agencies to see that they are safe, effective, accessible and affordable for all, including through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility. That is essential to an inclusive, sustainable and equitable recovery. Morocco, which supports the development of an international treaty on epidemics within the framework of the Organization, intends to organize an international conference on pandemic preparedness and response in 2022, in cooperation with Rwanda, the World Health Organization and the World Bank, with the aim of uniting international efforts to build the capacity of countries to deal with epidemics and emergency preparedness. In accordance with the instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has implemented an ambitious project to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines locally, which embodies our policy on African solidarity through its contribution to strengthening health safety in Africa by raising the level of vaccination in our sister nations. It is also important to continue strengthening the United Nations and to enshrine its role as a space for international understanding and consensus aimed at promoting peace, achieving development, especially in Africa, and disseminating and promoting the universal values and principles of human rights, gender equality and dialogue among cultures and civilizations. We need a more open, effective, solid and pragmatic multilateralism. In our view, we must build a renewed and fair multilateral system in order to strengthen the kind of international solidarity that should guide a post-COVID-19 world. The Kingdom of Morocco has repeatedly emphasized the need for us to rethink multilateral action, develop new approaches, define consensus concepts capable of inspiring a new drive to confront our immediate and future challenges and strengthen the effectiveness of international institutions. In that context, we commend the efforts of the Secretary-General and the leadership and perseverance he has shown since the beginning of the pandemic through his many calls to intensify efforts for a stronger Organization and reinvigorated multilateral action. We also welcome the great interest that Our Common Agenda shows regarding generations to come and the future that we will leave them. We must therefore strengthen the solidarity between generations and ensure that our actions and initiatives take full account of the world we will leave to our children. We must keep in mind that the consequences of our actions will inevitably affect them. In that context, we welcome the Secretary-General’s proposal to appoint a special envoy for future generations. I would also like to underscore the importance of ensuring that we Member States continue our support for the reforms initiated by the Secretary-General, particularly in the areas of development, peace and security and the management of the Organization, which have proved to be highly effective and relevant. That is extremely important if we are to strengthen our common agenda. Morocco continues to contribute actively to the discussions on Security Council reform and will continue to persist in the work of revitalizing the General Assembly and strengthening the Economic and Social Council, while respecting the institutional balance between the main organs of the United Nations, as outlined in the Charter. In that context, I would like to reiterate Morocco’s position in favour of reforming and enlarging the Security Council in order to increase the representativeness of both categories of members in a manner that reflects the ongoing evolution of the composition of the United Nations and ensures greater representation for Africa within a reformed Security Council. My delegation reaffirms its unwavering support for the African Common Position laid down in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which must continue to serve as the only viable option reflecting Africa’s rights and aims that does justice to our continent. The position calls for fair and equitable representation for Africa, with a minimum of two permanent seats with all the prerogatives and privileges of permanent members, including the right of veto as long as the veto remains in force, as well as five non-permanent seats. Morocco also supports the Group of Arab States’ demands for greater representation in an expanded Security Council through a permanent Arab seat, with all the associated prerogatives, as well as sufficient representation in the non-permanent category. Similarly, the process of revitalizing the General Assembly is an essential component of the overall reform of the United Nations. The goal is to make the Assembly more relevant, effective and proactive in addressing contemporary global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, migration, counter-terrorism, violent extremism and human trafficking. Lastly, we reiterate Morocco’s position regarding the need for a harmonious revitalization of the work of the Main Committees in order to produce lasting effects on the whole process. We emphasize the need to redouble our efforts to increase synergies and coherence by eliminating gaps, overlaps and duplications among agenda items. It is also imperative that we promote the alignment of the agenda of the General Assembly with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The President can count on Morocco’s commitment and my delegation’s active participation in our upcoming meetings, including the one planned for 25 October concerning the report on Our Common Agenda.

I would like to thank the President for convening today’s joint debate. I want to take this opportunity to briefly share our preliminary perspectives on the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda, under agenda item 124. The Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations adopted by our leaders in September 2020 called on the Secretary-General to report back with recommendations. We thank and appreciate Secretary- General Guterres for his report, which builds on the 12 commitment areas identified in the Declaration. We also recognize the work done by the United Nations Foundation and its partners in putting together the report. We appreciate many of the important proposals, thoughts and visions of the Secretary-General that the report captures. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has served as a wake-up call. We need to truly realize a common agenda if we are to move ahead. If we continue on our current path, which seeks to divide us even more, we will end up even farther away from our own ability to renew and recover. Our vision should embrace reformed multilateralism, gender issues, human rights, development, counter-terrorism, climate change and the environment, financing, the pandemic and vaccines, and peace and security, among other priorities. There are areas that need greater focus, of course. For example, I am aware of the emphasis that the Secretary-General has placed on combating terrorism, and we commend the work of the Office of Counter- Terrorism. But the report deals with terrorism as a priority rather cursorily. In fact, the word “terrorism” appears only twice in the report, in contrast to the phrase “climate change”, which appears more than 20 times, and the word “climate” which appears more than 70 times. I hope that this can be remedied sooner rather than later, as terrorism remains the single most serious threat to world peace and security and one of the biggest obstacles to our achievement of our common agenda. We also appreciate the focus on climate change. There can be no doubt that it is going to define the common agenda. But as we have emphasized, India is the only one of the Group of 20 countries on track to meet the Paris targets. We are nowhere close to $100 billion. Further, the net-zero target has to be a global net-zero target, where developed countries should in fact vacate carbon space for developing countries by 2050. We need a net-minus target for developed countries because individual net-zero targets, without the application of common but differentiated responsibility, will disproportionately affect developing countries. I am sure that these and other issues will be discussed more thoroughly as the Assembly moves on through the seventy-sixth session. Apart from taking into consideration the inputs of various stakeholders, such as civil society, academia, the private sector and youth leaders, we must keep in mind that the approval and implementation of these recommendations must maintain the Member State-centric character of all United Nations processes. We are confident that this will be the case when we move forward, so that the priorities of Member States, dictated by their own development paths and circumstances, become the primary driver of agreed outcomes. India will be a constructive and active participant in that process, which will ensure that Member States carefully consider each of the specific proposals in the report with a view to reaching inclusive and consensus outcomes in accordance with established United Nations procedures.

I would like to thank the President for convening this meeting. My delegation welcomes the efforts of the Secretary-General and the publication of his Our Common Agenda report. We also applaud his vision for the future of global cooperation through inclusive, networked and effective multilateralism, as set out in the report, to which I would now like to provide a preliminary response. First, on the Sustainable Development Goals and climate action, we support the report’s overarching theme of advancing sustainability for a greener, safer and better future. Malaysia recently launched its twelfth national plan for the period from 2021 to 2025 under the theme “A Prosperous, Inclusive, Sustainable Malaysia”. It sets out our commitment to implementing a nationwide shift to more sustainable economic practices and lifestyles that value our natural endowments and environmental health. This shift will address the issues of climate change, unsustainable consumption and production practices, the loss of biodiversity and lack of coherence in the implementation of policies, among other things. We have also recently announced our goal to become a carbon-neutral country by 2050. In supporting this, we will also implement various economic instruments on carbon pricing, such as a carbon tax and the emissions trading scheme. We are also supportive of the proposal to hold the biennial summit of the Group of 20 (G-20), the Economic and Social Council, the Secretary- General and the heads of international financial institutions on working towards a more sustainable, inclusive and resilient global economy. As a member of the Global Governance Group, Malaysia looks forward to continued engagement with the G-20 and the relevant stakeholders to promote a more inclusive, accountable and effective global governance framework. Secondly, regarding human rights and social protection, Malaysia supports the call to reinforce global solidarity in addressing the pandemic and for the vaccine to be considered a global public good. We continue to call on Member States to advocate for vaccine multilateralism so as to ensure vaccine equity for all, especially for populations that have little or no access to these life-saving shots. We further underscore the need to increase vaccine production capacity to meet the global target of ensuring that 70 per cent of the populations of all countries are vaccinated by mid-2022. We also support the call for the improved inclusion and participation of women, young people and relevant stakeholders such as civil-society organizations in every area, particularly decision-making. In Malaysia we have been working to encourage more youth involvement in politics and decision-making processes. In 2019 our Parliament approved a bill reducing the voting age for general elections from 21 to 18 years old. We believe that young people can and should contribute to the democratic process and be part of nation-building. As a member of the Commission on the Status of Women, we are also supportive of the proposal to explore a reassessment of the Commission’s role in further accelerating action on global gender equality and its implementation. With regard to the proposed business models, we also urge Member States and relevant stakeholders to take the necessary steps to ensure that no business enterprises are involved in activities linked to human rights violations such as those reflected in the report on business and human rights in settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory (A/HRC/22/63) issued by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. On a related note, we hope that future discussion of this report will also include the situation in countries affected by unilateral coercive measures. Malaysia views such measures as contravening the norms of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Unilateral sanctions adversely affect free and open business across borders and hamper the social development of the general population. My delegation continues to call for the lifting of unilateral sanctions in order to protect human rights for all, especially during the pandemic. This is a time for solidarity, not exclusion. Thirdly, on peace and security, we welcome the proposed “new agenda for peace” as presented in the report. However, we would have liked to see greater emphasis on conflict resolution, including mechanisms to address the root causes of conflicts. We also note the absence of any mention in the report of the appeal for a global ceasefire that the Secretary-General advocated in 2020. As the lead initiator of the joint statement on a global ceasefire, supported by more than 170 countries, we firmly believe that the appeal and momentum should be further solidified in a spirit of pursuing our common agenda for peace. At the same time, we also call for dedicating collective efforts and resources to our continuing efforts to safeguard global peace and avoid major geopolitical crises. While there has been no third world war or nuclear-weapon detonation since the establishment of the United Nations, we should remember that the risk of such calamities has not been indefinitely removed. We continue to call on Member States to implement their obligations and their commitments to ensuring a world free of nuclear weapons. We also need to make it clear that the arms race is not and must not be part of our common agenda. We must end the arms race in every corner of the world. Everyone must refrain from taking potentially provocative military action that might escalate tension and spark conflict. Fourthly, with regard to strengthening the United Nations, we call on Member States to meet their financial obligations in full and on time. That is not a choice. It is a necessity for enabling our Organization to perform its mandate in the most effective and efficient manner possible. In that regard, Malaysia has consistently fulfilled its important obligations, and we are pleased to have been included on the honour roll for the past few years. Malaysia is also pleased to be playing its part in contributing to strengthening the work of the General Assembly. Together with Ecuador, Finland and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, we hosted the first transition workshop between the Offices of the President of the General Assembly last month in order to facilitate a smooth transition and strengthen the Office’s institutional memory so that it can better execute the mandates of the Assembly. I should add that the reform of the Organization would not be complete without reforming the Security Council. After decades of deliberations, we must make the Council more democratic in terms of its membership and decision-making processes. What I have presented today are some of our initial reflections on the report, noting that we need to engage more in the discussion on how to advance our common agenda. My delegation stands ready to support that process, including by engaging and working together with Member States, the Secretariat and relevant agencies and stakeholders in that regard.

Costa Rica would like to discuss the recent report of the Secretary-General, Our Common Agenda, under agenda item 124. Perhaps the most important lesson to be drawn from the current crises is the relative fragmentation of our international system. We often forget that what happens anywhere can affect all of us everywhere. If we can ever hope for a better future, that future must be based on the recognition that the well-being of one community in one corner of the world is as important as that of other communities in every other corner, that our present and our future are intertwined and our short-term actions have long-term consequences. Our Common Agenda urges us to rebuild from the current crises and work towards a more inclusive, equitable and resilient world. It asks us not to forget the lesson that interconnectedness, and the empathy it can create, will be essential to our success. At this time, when so many outside this bubble seem sceptical about our collective ability to step up, we must resolve to do more to pave the way for the United Nations to rise to the occasion and do all that it has the capacity and determination to do in order to help the Organization and our own countries change the course of our common destiny — while there is still a destiny to change. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is an essential component of our common agenda and demands that we create a new social contract for a new era. It reinforces the promises made to a planet sick of conflicts, the effects of climate change and now a pandemic. It is a new pact with the planet and its people that we simply must decide to keep. But we cannot keep these promises unless we all decide to do so together. Costa Rica, as an active member of this Organization, the UN75 Leaders Network and the Alliance for Multilateralism, will continue to do its part and more. We are doing that to ensure that our noblest and biggest promises to our constituents, especially the Sustainable Development Goals, remain at the centre of our multilateral commitments. This pandemic is serious and very likely to continue in the form of variants arising in communities that we have so far failed to vaccinate. But the pandemic is not responsible for our inaction and ineffectiveness. It does not excuse the abandonment of our human rights obligations, the weakening of our democratic norms or the promotion of hate speech or nationalistic fervour. Nor is it responsible for the conflicts we fail to resolve, the resolutions we adopt that have no teeth or the warnings we hear but do not heed. Now is the time to act. It is time to stand firm against the fragility and even the collapse of ecosystems, international financial systems, democratic ideals, our now dangerously over-weaponized societies and the waning vitality of our multilateral system. This is the time to choose. Will we stay the course or forge a new path? Will we live in isolation, looking only to our own interests, or will we work together to solve pressing global problems? Let us choose the second option, the path that offers no shortcuts but much promise. In this new journey, we all have a role to play. Our Common Agenda represents a call to us all — to the richest countries, the middle-income countries and the most vulnerable countries, to all of us who have been hit by climate change, the barbarity of conflict, authoritarianism, inequality and exclusion, to those who have not yet been invited to the policy table to help make the world a better place. It is a call to us all, without exception or distinction, because we all deserve to occupy a more dignified, empowered and healthy place under one sun.

I now give the floor to the representative of the European Union in its capacity as observer.

I am delivering this statement on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States on item 124, related to the Secretary- General’s Our Common Agenda report. We would like to voice our appreciation to the Secretary-General for consulting very broadly and inclusively and delivering a rich report and recommendations, which we are still digesting. Once we have assessed the report in full, we stand ready to engage actively in addressing our current and future challenges as presented in the report, with the aim of improving global governance. The EU values the report as a tangible contribution to strengthening multilateralism, with a stronger and more inclusive United Nations at its core, which responds to what leaders asked for in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations. We also share the Secretary- General’s frank and dire analysis of the state of the world, the deficiencies of the global governance system and the urgency of acting to avoid a breakdown scenario and work towards a breakthrough. The EU is looking forward to reconvening on 25 October in this Hall, where we can discuss the proposals in Our Common Agenda with the Secretary-General in more detail. We note positively that the President of the General Assembly has committed to treating this matter as a top priority in this session and fully support a leading role for him in the follow-up process. The immediate next step is to agree on a framework that will enable us to follow up on the report and its recommendations and to articulate them within existing initiatives and mechanisms while maintaining momentum on this important matter. The EU would be supportive of a short and concise procedural resolution to provide that framework, which should allow for continuing the broad and inclusive consultation with external stakeholders. We stand ready to engage with all Members and our partners as we move forward on this key matter.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session, during which he will have the full support of my delegation. We take note of the report of the Secretary-General entitled Our Common Agenda and its presentation on 10 September. We share the Secretary-General’s call to strengthen multilateralism and international cooperation as a solution to our current and future global challenges. Due to its programmatic nature, and taking into account its large number of short-, medium- and long-term proposals, as well as the inclusion of various concepts and terms that require further intergovernmental consideration and elaboration, the report deserves calm and comprehensive analysis by Member States. Proposals such as the repurposing of the Trusteeship Council, the creation of an emergency platform and the adoption of new international instruments that Member States have not yet agreed on, to mention just a few of the most salient proposals, would have a significant impact on the United Nations system, the mandates and working methods of various bodies and in some cases even their functions under the Charter of the United Nations. Other ideas could affect the roles of Member States and the Secretariat or open up a new avenue for the involvement of other actors in the work of the Organization. We therefore need intergovernmental discussions to explore these ideas further and achieve the consensus needed to determine the feasibility of moving forward on each of the proposals. While we agree that there we need a stronger United Nations, we believe that we must move in that direction on solid foundations and with the agreement of all. I would like to conclude by reiterating our unwavering commitment to continuing to work with the Organization and its Member States in the defence of a more democratic and just international order, one that responds to the demand for peace, development and justice by all the peoples of the world and that guarantees the preservation and strengthening of multilateralism and international law.

I would like to thank the President for convening this meeting. I am delivering this statement on behalf of a cross-regional group of countries — Fiji, Georgia, Mexico, Qatar, Rwanda, Singapore, Sweden and my own country, Denmark. It is our understanding that today’s plenary is of a more procedural nature, primarily to allow the General Assembly to formally register the Secretary- General’s report Our Common Agenda at its seventy- sixth session. In that respect, we would like to welcome the substantive debate in the General Assembly on Our Common Agenda that has been scheduled for 25 October. It is our understanding that the President of the General Assembly, as well as the Secretary- General, will be present for that important debate. We believe that the nature of the report and the challenges it deals with merit the full and undivided attention of the leaders of two principal organs of the United Nations, the General Assembly and the Secretariat. Equally important, the period until 25 October will give Member States more time to digest both the analysis and the many recommendations of the report, and, not least, to reflect on how we the Member States may best take our deliberations and follow-up on the report forward. We believe that the report and the analysis and recommendations it contains deserve serious and thoughtful reflection and follow-up. We are facing unusual challenges that probably require unusual processes and solutions. We look forward to engaging with all our colleagues with a view to ensuring that the General Assembly can send a clear and unequivocal signal that we, the States Members of the United Nations, are ready to be invested in the various discussions, deliberations and concrete follow- up on the analysis and the many recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda, which we asked him to prepare and present to us.

We are grateful for the opportunity to have another, more detailed discussion of the Secretary- General’s report Our Common Agenda and its ideas on the future direction of the Organization’s work and international cooperation. We believe that there is much in the report that deserves close attention. We agree with its basic thesis on the need to strengthen multilateralism in international relations, which should become the basis of a more just, multipolar world order. At the moment, unfortunately, we are seeing a different trend. The divisions in the international community are only growing, posing a serious threat to efforts to address both traditional and new challenges in areas such as health care, the digital space, climate and social stratification. In that connection, we support the Secretary-General’s call for solidarity and collective action. We also welcome his focus on the interests of developing countries. We would be ready to assist in strengthening the role of the Economic and Social Council and its collaboration with the Group of 20, promoting science-based approaches to the work of this global Organization, adopting an inclusive reform of the international taxation system and the global economic governance system as a whole, regulating artificial intelligence, limiting the influence of technological giants and improving the effectiveness of Internet governance. However, we feel compelled to point out that in our view some of the report’s conclusions are ambiguous and go beyond the scope of the Organization’s work as provided for in its core documents and agreed parameters. In the context of issues relating to peace and security, we consider the emphasis on human rights and gender questions inappropriate. The notion that climate and security are inextricably linked is also counterproductive. We firmly believe that one of the strengths of the United Nations system is in its principle of the division of labour among its main bodies, whereby each deals with its own affairs without encroaching on the others’ mandates. Against that backdrop, it is clear that mixing mandates can lead only to a duplication of efforts and a reduction in our global Organization’s overall effectiveness. In our view, while cases of poor coordination among those executing overlapping mandates are the result of individuals’ irresponsibility or human error — nobody is perfect — but that is certainly no reason to constantly revisit mandates and reforms. We do not agree with intrusive demands on States with regard to combating climate change that fail to take disparities in their socioeconomic development levels into account and infringe on their sovereignty. We do not consider it useful to pressure countries to exceed their commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change or to apply economic disincentives to national carbon-intensive industries or green protectionism in trade. Attempts to achieve climate goals in one fell swoop could lead to serious energy imbalances of a sort that we have been witnessing in recent weeks, or even to social upheaval. Regarding disarmament, we are concerned about the absence of calls for compliance with existing agreements and for negotiating new agreements by consensus, as well as the overemphasis on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which does not have universal support. While we hear the Secretary- General’s call to mainstream approaches to disarmament for the sake of individual, State and collective security. However, the erosion of the current arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation system has some very concrete causes, above all the deliberate actions by a number of States designed to undermine it in order to give themselves a freer hand, including in terms of coercive pressure. Multilateral cooperation should first and foremost be based on the decisions of the United Nations Charter organs. As has already been the case with many initiatives, the recommendations of various so-called advisory bodies to the Secretary-General composed of experts and former politicians may be duplicative and even divisive. For example, the initiative to create some kind of emergency response platform to discuss urgent global problems, which would involve non-governmental structures in addition to States, raises questions. The idea conflicts with the exclusive prerogatives of the General Assembly and the Security Council, which have been able to convene meetings successfully, including on an emergency basis. Moreover, if even sovereign Governments have failed to show the necessary level of solidarity in the face of the common threat of the coronavirus disease pandemic, how can more complex systems, such as the proposed networking platforms, work together? We have similar questions about a new consultative structure made up of elders for preparing a so-called Summit of the Future on the basis of a concept of the global commons that has not been agreed on in an intergovernmental format. We are not ready at this stage to subscribe to its promotion in United Nations documents before it has been discussed at the interagency level within States and approved by Member States. With regard to the health-care arena, we want to point out that while the report emphasizes the recommendations of the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response to the Director- General of the World Health Organization (WHO), they are not the sole source of such efforts within the WHO. Neither can we support the tendency to gradually equate Member States and non-State entities, including non-governmental organizations, private corporations and municipalities, in the so-called multi-stakeholder approach. That runs the risk of diluting the inter-State nature of this global Organization that is enshrined in its Charter and of ruining the entire architecture of contemporary international relations. We are convinced that such innovations will only lead to a decline in the effectiveness and functionality of the United Nations. The views of other interested parties and experts are of course a useful contribution to discussions, and we can only welcome them, including through national dialogues with them. At the same time, we must bear in mind that it is States that are subject to international law and, as such, make decisions and are responsible for their implementation. We hope that our colleagues in the Secretariat will take our concerns and perspectives into account as they move forward with the proposals in the report.

I would like to begin by sincerely commending the Secretary-General for the report before us, Our Common Agenda. I think he has faithfully complied with the mandate we gave him in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy- fifth Anniversary of the United Nations by engaging, as my colleague from the European Union highlighted, in a process of broad consultations that has clearly involved very deep thought and reflection on his part in order to present us with ideas on how to keep the United Nations relevant in the next 25 years. This is obviously the beginning of the process, not the end, as he has submitted the report to the Member States and it is up to us to take the proposals, consider them carefully and see how they can be implemented within our priorities and mandates. It is especially important that we avoid a pick-and- choose mentality. That is something that we have unfortunately come to see in this Organization in the past few years. One very clear example of something that we are somewhat disappointed about is the way the report tackles the issue of development. We should all remember that the first commitment we all made in the Seventy-fifth Declaration was to leave no one behind. In that connection, there are very important issues, particularly for the developing world, such as fighting poverty, reducing economic inequalities and promoting free trade. These issues do not seem to have been addressed appropriately in the report. It seems to us that the concept of sustainable development has gone backwards by a few decades. I am not minimizing the importance and urgency of climate change, but we cannot revert to a situation where the environment, in all its multiple aspects, is treated without making the appropriate connections to economic and social development. This is a concept that we have developed and built up over many decades to ensure that we have a common understanding of sustainable development and its three pillars and it is something that we think has to be addressed. Member States have to sit down and discuss it as part of the way forward from the report. On the issue of the pandemic, I think the diagnosis and proposals put forward by the Secretary-General are very much in line with our views. We must have ways to prepare for and prevent future crises and avoid what we have seen with coronavirus disease in terms of inequality in access to vaccines, medicines and medical products. We would caution very strongly against the use of the concept of global public goods. We understand where the Secretary-General is going, but we need to sit down and reach a common understanding on exactly what a common public good is, because there is no accepted definition so far. Let us therefore treat the concept with a degree of caution. Lastly, we are greatly encouraged by the Secretary- General’s proposals for reform, which must indeed be undertaken. We have to adapt the Organization to the reality of the world today. Perhaps nowhere is that more evident than in the issue of reform of the Security Council. We are talking about the next 25 years, but this has been a priority for the last 25 years and yet it remains unimplemented. If the Secretary-General’s report on our common agenda can also bring momentum to the discussions on Security Council reform, we would applaud that.

My delegation would like to thank the President for convening this important joint debate on the agenda items relating to integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, the follow- up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit, the strengthening of the United Nations system, the reform of the United Nations, and other related measures and proposals. My delegation thanks Secretary-General António Guterres for the clarity of his report entitled Our Common Agenda and welcomes the relevance of his recommendations on achieving our development goals pursuant to resolution 70/1. In his report, the Secretary-General speaks of the urgent need to take action and calls on all to take responsibility. We realize that we cannot continue to ignore the major issues before us in the context of the current multifaceted crisis. In that regard, my delegation believes there are only two possible choices: collapse and chaos on the one hand, and on the other, a new beginning — promises kept to ensure the survival of our planet and the advent of a prosperous and peaceful world in accordance with the future we want. Regarding the possibility of chaos, my delegation is extremely concerned about the current situation. The fact is that as long as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues, economies are being destroyed and poverty and inequality are worsening, leaving little hope for peoples who are drained and deprived of access to basic goods and services such as health care, security, drinking water, food and education. In this race-to-collapse scenario, conflicts continue to rage and worsen. The disastrous effects of climate change, including famine, floods, fires and heat waves, threaten our existence. Are chaos and collapse that fundamentally undermine our well- being inevitable? Cameroon says no. But are the chaos and collapse that seriously threaten the very future of humankind accidental? We say no to that, too. The fact is that rather than choosing resignation and chaos we have the option to act. That is why Cameroon continues to emphasize that the Secretary- General’s Decade of Action is above all one of concrete action, to the extent that it is a question of moving from rhetoric and unfulfilled promises to commitments that are actually honoured as part of the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, including the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. In that regard, we should focus on our efforts to revitalize multilateralism, including through a reformed United Nations endowed with the resources it needs to work in the interests of the peace, security and prosperity of human beings, on the one hand, and in the interests of the planet for future generations, on the other. In that context, Our Common Agenda is first and foremost a programme of action that requires will, ambition and audacity in order to enable us — nine years away from the sustainable development agenda’s target date of 2030 — to hasten the implementation of existing agreements in the area of sustainable development and to face the triple threat of climate change, loss of biodiversity and pollution that is destroying our planet. In order to provide concerted, sustainable and comprehensive solutions to these challenges and threats, Cameroon advocates for a strengthened and inclusive multilateral system with as its cornerstone an effective, visible and audible United Nations system, in harmony with its goals and principles as set out in the Charter of the United Nations. Our peace and development agenda for providing sustainable solutions to the world’s problems requires reform of the United Nations focused on two major issues — ensuring the legitimacy of the United Nations through its representation and mandate as a shared space and providing the Organization with the appropriate means of action. That demands first and foremost a reform of the Security Council whereby Africa takes its rightful place with two permanent seats, including all the associated rights, and two additional non-permanent seats, as outlined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. It also requires a reform of means, because the Secretary-General and the United Nations system must be given the means to act and the sufficient, predictable resources necessary to fulfil the mandate of our institution. It is a matter, lastly, of repositioning to better align with the historical mandate of the United Nations. The Organization’s system must be brought into line with national priorities and realities based on the sustainable development agenda as an action plan for humankind, the planet and prosperity. It is undoubtedly unnecessary to remind some United Nations partners that the mandate in resolution 70/1 stipulates that eradicating poverty in all its forms and dimensions, including extreme poverty, is the world’s greatest challenge and an indispensable requirement for sustainable development. My country, which has ratified most of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, is working actively to apply them comprehensively as relevant instruments for overcoming the crises and challenges that affect and mobilize our international society and our planet. The programme of reforms that we have undertaken, with the aim of ensuring their fulfilment by 2035, reflects the spirit of the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and is aligned with the economic, social and environmental dimensions of the sustainable development agenda. Faced with the choice that today’s many challenges impose on us, and in acknowledgement of the pivotal nature of the times, Cameroon is resolutely committed to a path of peace, security and well-being for all. We urge all Member States, institutions and other development partners to firmly oppose the choice of resignation, chaos and collapse, and we appeal for a resolutely action-oriented stance and for international solidarity and responsibility. That is the only way to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. Let us build back better, which is how we can ensure that Africa’s industrial development will have genuine benefits and lead to the eradication of poverty. That is also how we will ensure the survival of our planet.

My delegation would like to thank the Secretary-General for the reports contained in documents A/75/982, on Our Common Agenda, and A/76/275, on the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa. For almost two years, the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its effects on economic activities, particularly global supply chains, have affected the manufacturing and industrial sector in Africa, the continent with the lowest manufacturing added value in the world. That has been challenging for the continent’s economy and has hindered its regional and global economic integration process. The Agreement Establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which is an important milestone for Africans, has seen delays in finalizing some of the remaining negotiations, owing to the pandemic. But we remain optimistic, and with the finalization of those issues, the African Continental Free Trade Area will enable us to increase the volume of intra-African trade by more than 81 per cent, thereby raising income by 7 per cent. We therefore cannot overemphasize the importance of steadfastness in implementing projects under the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa, as that also contributes to the successful implementation of the Agreement. Continued support for the Agreement is crucial and should be aimed at enabling African countries to build resilience and greener economies and spare their population the effects of COVID-19. We in Africa are well aware that we have primary responsibility for our own economic and social development. It is also important to underline that our development efforts need the support of an enabling international economic environment and global cooperation. The Government of Ethiopia has put industrialization at the heart of its 10-year development plan and is working tirelessly to ensure that the targets are met within that time frame. In an effort to achieve that lofty objective, we have forged and benefited from various partnerships and cooperation. Despite these and other supports, however, the share of the manufacturing sector in Ethiopia’s gross domestic product remains below 5 per cent, and that is a story that resonates with other African countries. Much remains to be done to bring about structural transformation and improve productivity and competitiveness in this sector. Ethiopia therefore calls on regional organizations — including the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and, specifically, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization — to continue to provide the necessary support for the effective and timely implementation of programmes under the Third Industrial Development Decade for Africa. This can also contribute to achieving Africa’s Agenda 2063 and the Sustainable Development Goals. My delegation commends the Secretary-General for his report entitled Our Common Agenda, which makes the case that our challenges are interconnected and can be addressed only through an equally interconnected response. Indeed, we need a strengthened multilateralism and the United Nations at the centre of our efforts. As the report puts it, we are confronted with a choice between a breakthrough or a breakdown scenario. It is time to renew our social contract, put the needs of the most vulnerable at the centre of our quest for recovery from the pandemic, address pressing development challenges, bring the internationally agreed development goals to a successful conclusion and build a better world for all.

I would like to thank the President for his invitation to contribute to this important matter, and I join in the acknowledgements of previous speakers. On 10 September, Secretary-General António Guterres presented to the Assembly the document entitled Our Common Agenda. On that day, I thanked him for his timely presentation and for the 12 commitments formulated in the report. The Secretary-General’s report came ahead of what the President of Ecuador described during the high-level general debate of this seventy-sixth session (see A/76/PV.4) as a new era of understanding with the planet, in which international cooperation on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and global solidarity are essential to world diplomacy. There will be an opportunity to deepen the analysis of the report in specific areas, such as the so-called new social contract, the defence of facts and science as a weapon against disinformation in the face of the widespread infodemic, and new ways to measure progress and prosperity beyond that of gross domestic product. At the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow, Ecuador will participate at the highest level and will support the consideration of issues raised in Our Common Agenda and others not explicitly mentioned, such as the need for a balanced approach to sustainable development that includes the preservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of oceans. For all those reasons, I want to emphasize Ecuador’s support for the deliberations that will arise from the Secretary-General’s report. The proposal of a new common agenda is a warning drawing attention to several aspects of our current situation. The tone of the proposal has the degree of urgency it needs in order to elicit a positive reaction and correct the course in several problem areas. However, in our opinion, the Secretary-General’s report perhaps suffers from a pessimistic point of view that ignores many other things that are going well and that do indeed form a basis for this new common agenda, designed to create a favourable, solid environment and enable us to uphold — not merely as a postulate but as a deeply held belief — the validity of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, as well as international law and justice and an order based on the rule of law. These have underpinned the international agenda for peace, development and human rights for 76 years. One particularly important aspect is the call for ensuring that representatives of civil society, academia and the private sector have sufficient opportunities to contribute to deliberations in the United Nations system. This is one of the key elements underpinning the values of trust and solidarity in this new global diplomacy, which must be nurtured by contributions from such groups if States are to make informed decisions. However, the support of civil society is no substitute for the responsibility of Member States to embrace this new common agenda and make it our own. That begins at home with our ongoing work, which is progressing very slowly, whether we are talking about revitalizing the General Assembly or reforming the Security Council to expand its membership. The 12 commitments set out by the Secretary-General in his report must be taken up by the Organization’s membership as a whole. This is not just a wake-up call or an ambitious plan. It is an effective and pragmatic course of action that should be discussed at meetings such as this one. I therefore reiterate our thanks for the convening of this meeting, as well as my delegation’s commitment to doing the work that we know is necessary and can wait no longer.

Thank you, Mr. President, for convening us to this important joint debate. We also thank the Secretary-General for his report entitled Our Common Agenda. The report mentions that the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is only the latest reminder of our vulnerability to the economic shocks that hit the poorest and most vulnerable the hardest. Our hard- won development gains and efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have also fallen off the track. It is therefore critical that we explore every possible way of managing our health and economic challenges while at the same time ensuring social protection for our peoples. As my President said at the high-level political forum on sustainable development convened under the auspices of the Economic and Social Council in July, Indonesia’s commitment to the SDGs has not faltered, despite the pandemic. In that spirit, we have continued to work to overcome the impact of COVID-19 while ensuring the implementation of the SDGs. The health sector is being strengthened through financial and technical support, with additional incentives for medical workers. We have introduced economic stimulus packages, including tax relaxation, debt restructuring and support for small and medium-sized enterprises. In our voluntary review at this year’s high-level forum, we also highlighted our systemic economic reforms aimed at ensuring that the implementation of the SDGs remains on track. Leaving no one behind is at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It should not be a mere tag line invoked in every discussion but should be effectively translated into concrete action. The 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change must remain our compass for sustainable, inclusive and resilient recovery. As a member of the Economic and Social Council until 2023, Indonesia stands ready to continue to advance economic and social development issues. In addition, in 2022 Indonesia will take up the presidency of the Group of 20 under the theme of “Recover together, recover stronger”. Our priorities for our presidency will be promoting productivity, increasing resilience and stability, ensuring sustainable and inclusive growth, an enabling environment and partnership, and forging stronger collective global leadership. We look forward to working with the United Nations in that framework. With regard to international cooperation in supporting global supply chains in order to address the challenges that seafarers are dealing with as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia takes note of the section in the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development’s Review of Maritime Transport dedicated to information about the crew-change situation during the pandemic, as was requested in resolution 75/17. The chapter considers various issues related to the health, safety, security and welfare of seafarers, areas where industry, Governments and international organizations can cooperate to protect seafarers’ legal and human rights, implement relevant labour standards, including those agreed on in the 2006 Maritime Labour Convention, and, especially, alleviate their plight resulting from the pandemic. We believe that the information provided in the relevant chapter of the Review of Maritime Transport 2021 will be valuable to our collective efforts to address the impact of the global COVID-19 crisis on seafarers. For its part, Indonesia reaffirms its commitment to taking concrete policy measures to address challenges confronting seafarers on account of COVID-19 by opening a total of 11 ports to facilitate crew changes and repatriation, implementing national procedures and World Health Organization protocols, including COVID-19 quarantine, and supporting the continuing international efforts in this area, including in the framework of the International Maritime Organization and the International Labour Organization. Finally, we would like to assure the President of our readiness to engage in the collective endeavour to deliver on the promises of the Charter of the United Nations and achieve meaningful progress.

I would like to thank the President for organizing today’s meeting. Last year, in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations, world leaders made a solemn commitment to strengthening multilateralism and the role of the United Nations. We commend Secretary-General Guterres for presenting his report on Our Common Agenda, which contains actions for implementing the Declaration and unveils a comprehensive plan for responding to future challenges. China is ready to study the report thoroughly with all parties and to discuss its recommendations in depth on that basis. Regarding the follow-up to the report, we would like to make some preliminary points. First, we must take a balanced approach to promoting security, development and human rights. With the world still in the throes of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the road to global economic recovery will be long and arduous. The international community is facing daunting challenges in achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Global challenges such as climate change require that we improve global governance and practise true multilateralism. The world has only one system and that is the international system, with the United Nations at its core. We have only one order and that is the international order, based on international law. We have only one set of rules and those are the basic norms of international relations, anchored in the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. We hope that our Organization will focus on tackling salient issues and translating our commitment to multilateralism into concrete action on the ground. COVID-19 has affected the gains made in global poverty reduction, widening an ever-growing development divide. The United Nations should therefore prioritize the development agenda over other issues and inject new momentum into countries’ efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Attention should be given to priority areas, including poverty reduction, food security, combating the pandemic, COVID-19 vaccines, financing for development, climate change and green development, industrialization and the digital economy and connectivity. It is important to deepen pragmatic cooperation in those areas while focusing on developing countries’ actual needs and facilitating the sharing of development gains. Secondly, Member States must be in the driver’s seat. As an intergovernmental organization of sovereign States, the United Nations should ensure that its priorities meet the needs of Member States and reflect their ownership of them. The implementation of the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report requires first and foremost the determination and efforts of Member State Governments. At the same time, other stakeholders, such as civil society and young people, should be heard with a view to mobilizing individuals from all walks of life in an integrated manner. Thirdly, we need to maintain solidarity and cooperation. Faced with global challenges, including climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic, the United Nations should promote the practice of mutual respect and win-win cooperation among countries. Our Common Agenda puts forward a fair number of forward- looking considerations and plans for the future work of the United Nations. Its follow-up and implementation must be focused. It is important to take into account the concerns of all parties based on their actual needs and to take follow-up action based on thorough consultation, a gradual approach and consensus-building.

We would first like to thank the Secretary-General for presenting his report Our Common Agenda, prepared based on the agreement by Heads of State and Government in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations adopted on 21 September 2020. The commemoration of the seventy-fifth anniversary has provided us with a great opportunity not only to renew the international community’s commitment to multilateralism and reaffirm the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations, but also to assess the current and emerging challenges that we must face in a world in crisis — debt, climate change, the coronavirus disease and other pandemics, hunger, poverty — the list goes on. But listing all the issues carries the risk of forgetting at least one, and Our Common Agenda has fallen into that trap. Nevertheless, we are confident that its proposals represent a relevant contribution to future debates on the international order that we will need in a post-pandemic era, and reaffirm our support for a more robust and dynamic multilateralism. Argentina once again reiterates its firm support for any debate that strengthens the role of the United Nations and coordination among States in facing new challenges in order to ensure a more inclusive and equitable international stage that can respond to the needs of our peoples while leaving none behind. We also hope that this proposal can contribute to the regional and international strategies we need in order to resume a path towards sustainable development and the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With that in mind, we will study the Secretary- General’s report carefully so that we can work on developing the topics it identifies during this session of the General Assembly. Each deserves comprehensive analysis because, as we must not forget, the Secretary- General’s report is not an isolated document but should be read in conjunction with the system’s relevant instruments that address the various substantive issues. Our Common Agenda proposes a road map for the work of the United Nations in the next few years. The Member States must now begin to discuss the actions proposed and the issues that are missing, and then reach the agreements necessary for their potential implementation. That is a process that can only be led by Member States in the framework of the General Assembly and especially by taking into account a development agenda that responds to current and future challenges. My delegation’s comments so far are preliminary. We hope to expound our views on the substantive issues raised in the document at the next meeting scheduled for 25 October. In conclusion, I would like to express my delegation’s willingness to work constructively in this process.

I would like to thank the President for allowing me to take the floor on this important agenda item relating to the strengthening of the United Nations system, and for encouraging us to use the opportunity of this joint debate to further advance the consideration of elements in the Secretary-General’s report Our Common Agenda. We welcome the report as a thoughtful process and an invitation to elaborate on the 12 commitments made in the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations. The report puts forward several new concepts and proposals that deserve Member States’ close consideration. Our criticisms are designed not to denigrate the Secretary- General’s important proposals but to ensure effective action that is responsive to the national interests and aspirations of all States Members of the United Nations, and I will therefore make a few comments. It is important to underline that our two main purposes under the Charter of the United Nations are the maintenance of international peace and security and the promotion of universal socioeconomic development through international cooperation. The observance of human rights was added subsequently as a third United Nations objective after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The challenges facing the international community in each of those areas are due less to structural deficiencies than to the inability to mobilize the political will at the national and international levels to implement actions and decisions aligned with the purposes and principles of the Charter and the international and national commitments of Member States. Our efforts to build for the future should not ignore the past, especially past commitments, or our present challenges to peace, security and development. We cannot save succeeding generations if we cannot save the largest segments of today’s generations. Advancing the agenda for the future should start with ensuring that past and current agreements and commitments are upheld, especially those relating to ongoing crises, conflicts, disputes and challenges to economic and social development at the national, regional and international levels. We should work to ensure that is fully reflected in our common agenda. The proposed actions must also address the underlying causes of inequality, exclusion and marginalization. The United Nations was established to promote international peace and security in a world composed of sovereign States. A cardinal principal of the Charter, enshrined in paragraph 7 of Article 2, is that of non-interference in the internal affairs of States. While a number of universal values, principles and objectives have been developed over the past 75 years, and a host of non-State actors, including international organizations, multinational corporations, charitable foundations and civil-society organizations have emerged to play a part in international relations, sovereign States remain the foundation of the existing world order. While a networked, multi-stakeholder multilateralism can be a useful adjustment to the current world order as established under the Charter, it cannot replace it. Moreover, a multi-stakeholder multilateralism will have to be inclusive, equal and equitable. Multi-stakeholder participation should continue to be pursued as it is now, as and when required in informal or ad hoc arrangements. In particular, the rules pertaining to the participation of civil society should continue to ensure the credibility and likely objectivity of the organizations that are invited to participate in United Nations deliberations. To be inclusive, such arrangements should be in the form of a summit, convened by the Secretary-General, of all the members of the General Assembly. Another of the Secretary-General’s proposals, that of convening an emergency platform, is also interesting. Its composition would obviously be determined by the nature of each crisis or emergency. The creation of a standing platform with a predetermined membership might conflict with the mandates of the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the Programme and Budget Committee and other standing bodies. The proposal to transform the Trusteeship Council into a multi-stakeholder forum to address emerging challenges and become a deliberative forum on global commons is problematic on several levels. First, the Trusteeship Council is a Charter body with a decolonization mandate that has not been fully achieved. Changing the mandate would be a difficult process involving amending the Charter. Secondly, new provisions would have to be devised to transform it into a multi-stakeholder forum, and that would involve the caveats just indicated regarding the concept of a networked, multi-stakeholder multilateralism. Thirdly, the global commons proposed for this forum’s consideration, such as outer space and the oceans, are already being addressed in several other bodies and forums. Those worthy issues are best addressed in specialized bodies with the relevant expertise. These are a few of our delegation’s preliminary comments on the Secretary-General’s important report entitled Our Common Agenda. As discussions advance further, our delegation will be an active participant, especially in the meeting on 25 October.

Hungary aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union and would like to add some remarks in its national capacity. We affirm our strong commitment to multilateralism. However, we are of the view that certain national interests are better served by unilateral actions. We should focus our efforts on the credibility of multilateral forums where the added value of cooperation should dominate the agenda. We believe there is no need for centralized global governance but that rather we need strong national Governments that cooperate with each other on issues of international concern. Furthermore, we want to remind the Assembly that all States have the right to define their migration policies, guard their borders and provide protection against the criminal networks that exploit the often vulnerable situation of people on the move. In particular, States should avoid creating pull factors for illegal migration that create further opportunities for human traffickers and smugglers. We also stress that promoting immigration does not resolve the socioeconomic, political and environmental challenges in migrants’ countries of origin. Instead, we should put our efforts into addressing the root causes of migration, including through conflict prevention, sustainable development and the upholding of human rights. For those reasons Hungary did not vote in favour of the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration at the General Assembly and has taken no part in its implementation, either. For the same reasons, we reject the inclusion of the Compact and other such documents in Our Common Agenda because that clearly does not respect the position of States that do not adhere to them.

El Salvador would like to reiterate its full support for the convening of this plenary meeting and appreciates the effort to enable a joint debate of the report of the Secretary-General Our Common Agenda. My delegation considers it essential to have a debate on the way forward on the key commitments contained in the report. The world has certainly changed since the United Nations was founded, and multilateralism has evolved as well. Since last year, we have been confronting the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and are continuing to deal with its profound political, economic and social consequences. COVID-19 has been a very severe test for our countries and for the entire multilateral system. In that context, it is important to remember that we, the Member States that make up this General Assembly, have a crucial responsibility, given that we embody the commitment to taking an action-oriented approach to the major decisions emanating from the main deliberative body of the United Nations. Accordingly, we recognize that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity in our task of building a more egalitarian, resilient and sustainable world. In the framework of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Revitalization of the Work of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session, El Salvador recognized the importance of reflecting that commitment in the core points of the relevant resolution (resolution 75/325), which is why the preamble to the resolution recalls the Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations, which outlines the working priorities of the General Assembly, including the commitment to multilateralism and the importance of continuing the work of revitalizing the Assembly. One of the most pragmatic steps in resolution 75/325 was its emphasis on the urgent need to preserve the primacy, importance and established practice of the general debate, as well as to limit the number of high- level events held outside the general debate to those of key importance that require the immediate attention of Heads of State and Government. My delegation will be very interested to see how implementing the resolution can serve as a basis for further improving the Assembly’s high-level week, taking into account in that regard the Secretary-General’s recommendation in paragraph 128 of his report regarding strengthening it by taking advantage of it to make decisions and commitments at the level of Heads of State and Government. However, El Salvador believes that a multilateral system that is equal to our current challenges will not be possible without a more transparent, representative and democratic Security Council. That is even more evident in the current circumstances, as the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for international peace and security make it necessary to promote inclusiveness in the Council’s decision-making process. El Salvador appreciates the willingness of the Secretary-General to continue working with Member States and other bodies to put into practice the ideas reflected in the report, reiterates its readiness to continue the discussions on this important matter and urges that we work for meaningful results that will enable us to modernize the United Nations while maintaining its legitimacy, universal vocation and impact on the genuine realization of global public goods in favour of peace, well-being and security for all our peoples.

We thank the Secretary-General for the presentation of his report entitled Our Common Agenda. We agree on the need to strengthen multilateralism and international cooperation, which are indispensable preconditions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals contained in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the most urgent challenge in that area being the eradication of poverty. Our delegation is committed to a collective agenda that strengthens international cooperation and solidarity. However, as we have before us a very broad and complex document, with concepts that have not yet been widely discussed by the Member States, in our view it would be appropriate to engage in intergovernmental discussions to thoroughly and carefully address the proposals put forward in Our Common Agenda. Our delegation will continue to study the report and will make a more in-depth statement at the meeting scheduled for 25 October.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on these items. As members are aware, as stated in the letter from the President of the General Assembly dated 8 October 2021, there will be an informal plenary meeting of the Assembly on 25 October, at 3 p.m., to give Member States a further opportunity to comment on the Secretary-General’s report entitled Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda items 15, 119, 124 and 125.

The positions of delegations regarding the recommendation of the Fifth Committee have been made clear in the Committee and are reflected in the relevant official records. Therefore, if there is no proposal under rule 66 of the rules of procedure, may I take it that the General Assembly decides not to discuss the report of the Fifth Committee that is before the Assembly today?

I would like to remind members that under paragraph 7 of decision 34/401, the General Assembly agreed that “When the same draft resolution is considered in a Main Committee and in plenary meeting, a delegation should, as far as possible, explain its vote only once, that is, either in the Committee or in plenary meeting, unless that delegation’s vote in plenary meeting is different from its vote in the Committee.” In addition, I would like to remind delegations that, also in accordance with General Assembly decision 34/401, explanations of vote are limited to 10 minutes and should be made by delegations from their seats. Before we begin to take action on the recommendation contained in the report of the Fifth Committee, I would like to advise representatives that we are going to proceed to take a decision in the same manner as was done in the Fifth Committee, unless notified otherwise in advance. The Assembly has before it a draft resolution recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. The Assembly will now take a decision on the draft resolution, entitled “Scale of assessments for the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations: requests under Article 19 of the Charter”, recommended by the Fifth Committee in paragraph 6 of its report. The Fifth Committee adopted the draft resolution without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of agenda item 142.