A/78/PV.14 General Assembly

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister for External Affairs of the Republic of India.

Let me begin by expressing our felicitations to you, Mr. Dennis Francis, President of the General Assembly, and our fullest support to the theme of the seventy-eighth general debate, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”. This is an occasion to take stock of our achievements and challenges even while sharing our aspirations and goals. And indeed, in regard to both, there is much that India has to share. The world is witnessing an exceptional period of turmoil. As it is, structural inequities and uneven development have imposed burdens on the global South. But the stresses have been aggravated by the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the repercussions of ongoing conflicts, tensions and disputes. As a result, the socioeconomic gains of recent years have been rolled back, resources for sustainable development are severely challenged and many countries are really struggling to make ends meet. Navigating the future appears even more daunting. At this juncture, it was with a sense of exceptional responsibility that India took up the presidency of the Group of 20 (G20). Our vision of “One Earth, One Family, One Future” sought to focus on the key concerns of the many, not just the narrow interests of a few. In the words of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it was to bridge divides, dismantle barriers and sow the seeds of collaboration that nourish a world where unity prevails over discord and where shared destiny eclipses isolation. The New Delhi G20 Leaders’ Declaration articulates our collective ability to do so. At a time when East-West polarization is so sharp and North-South divide so deep, the New Delhi Summit also affirms that diplomacy and dialogue are the only effective solutions. The international order is diverse and we must cater to divergences, if not differences. The days when a few nations set the agenda and expected others to fall in line are over. As the United Nations itself symbolizes, finding common ground is an imperative. To listen to others and to respect their viewpoints is not weakness; it is the basics of cooperation. Only then can collective efforts on global issues be successful. Recognizing that growth and development must focus on the most vulnerable, we began the G20 presidency by convening the Voice of Global South Summit. That enabled us to hear directly from 125 nations and to place their concerns on the G20 agenda. As a consequence, the issues that deserve global attention got a fair hearing. More than that, the deliberations produced outcomes that have great significance for the international community. It was also noteworthy, that at India’s initiative, the African Union was admitted as a permanent member of the G20. By doing so, we gave voice to an entire continent that has long been denied its due. That significant step in reform should inspire the United Nations, a much older organization, to also make the Security Council contemporary. Broad representation is, after all, a prerequisite for both effectiveness and credibility. The outcomes of the New Delhi G20 Summit will surely resonate for years ahead. Among them is the Action Plan for Sustainable Development Goals, a crucial need of the day. Equally important are the High-Level Principles on Lifestyles for Sustainable Development and the Green Development Pact, as they shape our approach to our planet’s future. The transformative role of digital public infrastructure has also been finally recognized, as has the salience of women-led development in building an inclusive and progressive society. The reform of the international financial institutions has been given due weight, as has the resolution of debt vulnerabilities. The New Delhi G20 outcomes are expressed both as larger policies and as specific initiatives. They could be about building cities for tomorrow or fighting corruption; eliminating hunger or delivering quality education; ending plastic pollution or preserving the ocean-based economy; or for that matter, enhancing food security or even mapping global skills. Some address long-standing issues like the gender divide and climate action. Others focus on new concerns, such as the responsible harnessing of artificial intelligence. All in all, we have placed for the world’s consideration a set of actionable propositions, constructive solutions and new directions. Even as we encourage collective endeavours, India seeks to promote cooperation with diverse partners. From the era of non-alignment, we have now evolved to that of vishwa mitra — a friend to the world. That is reflected in our ability and willingness to engage with a broad range of nations and, where necessary, to harmonize interests. It is visible in the rapid growth of the Quad, a mechanism so relevant to the Indo- Pacific. It is equally apparent in the expansion of the BRICS grouping of the independent-minded nations Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, or in fact, the emergence of the I2U2 combination. Recently, we hosted the creation of the India-Middle East- Europe Economic Corridor. The forging of the Global Biofuels Alliance was another notable development. That willingness to work in an open-minded manner on specific domains is a defining characteristic of the emerging multipolar order. All countries pursue their national interests. We in India have never seen that as being in contradiction with the global good. When we aspire to be a leading Power, it is not for self-aggrandizement but to take on greater responsibility and make more contributions. The goals we have set for ourselves will make us different from all those whose rise preceded ours. India demonstrated that during the COVID-19 pandemic through the Vaccine Maitri initiative. Our endeavours, like the International Solar Alliance and the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure, have gathered wide support. Our espousing of the International Year of Millets is enhancing global food security today. We have built development partnerships with 78 nations across geographies. We have also been first responder in disaster emergency situations. The people of Türkiye saw that in February, as did those in Syria. Our commitment is understandably even greater closer to home. When Sri Lanka experienced a severe economic crisis, it was India that first stepped forward. But even in distant regions, partners such as the Pacific islands have appreciated our contributions to meeting their needs in health, technology and climate action. The most populous nation and the fifth largest economy knows that its progress makes a real difference to the world, especially when so many nations identify with us for reasons of history, geography and culture. They follow our experiences closely and evaluate our solutions for their larger relevance. Last week, the United Nations assessed progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The mood here reflected the struggle to overcome challenges, especially those of resource paucity. It is therefore vital at this midway that we expand our capacities and regain our confidence. As the largest contributor to meeting the SDG targets, India’s achievements should give heart to others on this journey. After all, the global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) records that we have halved the global MPI value in the past 15 years, lifting 415 million people out of poverty. That progress has now moved on to a higher level, with ambitious socioeconomic initiatives covering financial inclusion, food and nutrition, health and water supply, as well as energy and housing. We are seeking to demonstrate that social welfare need not be the sole prerogative of the developed world. Programmes under way in India highlight the transformational role of the digital delivery of public goods. It has facilitated scaling up, enhanced efficiency and combated corruption. The national objective of leaving no one behind is forging ahead in so many dimensions. Moreover, the democratization of technology has opened mindsets, instilled confidence and inspired innovations. In our deliberations, we often advocate the promotion of a rules-based order. From time to time, respect for the Charter of the United Nations is also invoked. But for all the talk, it is still a few nations that shape the agenda and seek to define the norms. That cannot go on indefinitely, nor will it go unchallenged. A fair, equitable and democratic order will surely emerge once we all put our minds to it. And for a start, that means ensuring that rule-makers do not subjugate rule-takers. After all, rules will work only when they apply equally to all. We must never again allow an injustice like vaccine apartheid to recur. Climate action, too, cannot continue to witness an evasion of historical responsibilities. The power of markets should not be utilized to steer food and energy from the needy to the wealthy, nor must we countenance that political convenience determines responses to terrorism, extremism and violence. Similarly, respect for territorial integrity and non-interference in internal affairs cannot be exercises in cherry-picking. When reality departs from rhetoric, we must have the courage to call it out. Without genuine solidarity, there can never be real trust. That is very much the sentiment of the global South. Next year, the United Nations will be hosting the Summit of the Future. That should serve as a serious opportunity to drive change, champion fairness and reform multilateralism, including the expansion of the Security Council memberships. We must address global challenges imbued with the conviction that we are one Earth and one family, with one future. India has entered the Amrit Kaal, a quarter-century where greater progress and transformation await us. We are confident that our talent and creativity, now so visibly unleashed, will power us forward. The world saw a glimpse of what is to come when our Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon. Today our message to the world is in digitally enabled governance and delivery, in the widening ambit of amenities and services, in rapidly growing infrastructure, and in our energetic start-up culture. It is visible, too, in vibrant cultural expressions, such as in the arts, yoga, wellness and lifestyle. Our latest assertion is in a pathbreaking legislation to reserve one-third of the seats for women in our legislatures. I speak for a society where ancient traditions of democracy have struck deep modern roots. As a result, our thinking, approaches and actions are now more grounded and authentic. As a civilizational polity that embraces modernity, we bring both tradition and technology equally confidently to the table. It is that fusion that today defines India — that is, Bharat.

I now give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Kamina Johnson Smith, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Jamaica.

On behalf of the Government and the people of Jamaica, Mr. President, I extend warmest congratulations to you on your election. We are proud to see a son of the Caribbean presiding over this pivotal seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly. We share your vision of a world in which trust is rebuilt, global solidarity is reignited and action is accelerated for the benefit of all our peoples. You can count on our fullest support in that endeavour. We meet at a time when the need for deliberate action is urgent on several global fronts. The Secretary- General has sounded the alarm and issued strong appeals for greater ambition and action. Young people all over the world have been expressing their frustrations and have been calling for more from us as leaders. We must act now if we are to meet the hopes, dreams and aspirations of present and future generations. Jamaica has long been committed to ambition and action beyond our size. Notwithstanding our limitations as a small island developing State, and even in the face of enormous challenges, we have made significant strides in recent years in the delivery of peace, prosperity and progress for our people. That has not been easy. It has required bold, strategic, inclusive and steady leadership, sustained commitment, hard decisions and great collective sacrifice. We are a country with a strong track record of peace, democratic traditions, political stability and respect for human rights. We are also now an economy that is growing in resilience and sustainability, having emerged from the pandemic in acceleration mode — a place where businesses can easily be started and can thrive, and where jobs are being created for women and men. Inspired by our motto, “Out of Many, One People”, we are building a cohesive society with opportunities for everyone to achieve their full potential. Peace is not merely the absence of conflict. It is a social condition defined by mutual respect and the acknowledgement of our shared humanity. It permits our societies to channel our collective energies towards building a better future for ourselves, our children and generations to come. In our own journey towards peace, as we tackle the twin-headed monster of crime and violence, Jamaica has invested heavily in the men and women of our security forces and the technology and infrastructure needed to support their work. Improved working conditions, increased mobility and the use of forensics and new legislative tools are delivering results. In that regard, we welcome a 22-per cent reduction in serious crimes since the start of the year. We know there is much more to be done. We are committed to using every lawful tool to save lives and to ensure social cohesion, inclusivity and respect for the inherent dignity of every human being. Those elements are now embedded in the training and capacity-building of our security forces. Furthermore, we await the report of the Violence Commission appointed by Prime Minister Andrew Holness to make recommendations for fundamental, holistic and inclusive solutions to the multifaceted challenges of crime and violence. We simply cannot, however, win that fight alone. Small island States like ours, with porous borders, rely on global partnerships to combat trafficking in persons, arms and drugs. Jamaica does not manufacture guns or ammunition. Countries that do and which serve as major consumers of drugs must do more to prevent their outflow and to fight those elements of transnational organized crime, which have massive impacts on developing countries like ours in the Caribbean region. Last year in this very Hall, Prime Minister Holness called for a war on guns comparable to the war on drugs (see A/77/PV.9). As he also said more recently at the International Drug Enforcement Conference XXXVII, which Jamaica co-hosted, “[t]he war on drugs must be reciprocated, complemented and fought in parallel with the war on guns… Our joint efforts not only seek to combat illegal firearms and drugs, but also to fortify international collaboration, reinforcing our pursuit of justice and security”. We also recognize the threat posed to peace and security in the digital space, and therefore continue to work to advance our domestic capacity, as well as multilateral efforts to address cybersecurity. We are also honoured to lead the work of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) work towards the conclusion of a United Nations convention on cybercrime to buttress global measures. Those are not only high-flown concepts; all have direct implications for the efforts of Governments of developing countries, like Jamaica, to deliver safe communities — real and virtual — in which families can live, work, go to school and achieve their dreams. On the matter of international peace and security, Jamaica firmly believes that dialogue, diplomacy and cooperation are the most effective pathways to resolving competing interests. Jamaica therefore calls on all nations to prioritize the pursuit of peace over the perpetuation of conflict and aggression. We reiterate our call for an end to the war in Ukraine and urge parties to regional and civil wars to choose dialogue and coexistence over conflict, as it is ordinary people and the most vulnerable people who suffer the devastating consequences of war. We are proud that Latin America and the Caribbean remains a declared zone of peace and a nuclear-free zone. We are, however, gravely concerned about growing global tensions and risks associated with nuclear proliferation, safety and use. Jamaica reiterates our long-standing position that all States must heed the call for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and refrain from the testing, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons. I must use this opportunity to reiterate Jamaica’s and CARICOM’s call for international action to restore order and security in our sister nation, Haiti. It is critical that we all fully support all meaningful efforts to contribute to Haitian-led solutions to the multidimensional and multifaceted challenges with which that country is faced. Let me be clear — there are no easy fixes. But let me be equally clear — doing nothing is not an option. Jamaica supports the call for a multinational security support mission to bolster the Haitian National Police in their efforts to vanquish ever-strengthening criminal gangs. Prime Minister Holness has made clear, that subject to the relevant Security Council resolution, Jamaica will contribute personnel to such an effort. We listened in Port-au-Prince when the CARICOM mission visited earlier this year. We have also heard the clear call of the majority of the Haitian people, as reflected in the polls conducted in Haiti by reputable local civil society and international agencies. We therefore urge the permanent members of the Security Council to put aside geopolitical sensitivities and to answer the call of the majority of the Haitian people and their brothers and sisters in the Caribbean region. A Security Council resolution under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, authorizing a multinational security support mission, must be adopted without further delay. We join CARICOM’s commendations of President Ruto for Kenya’s steadfast commitment to leading such a mission and welcome the offers from other countries, including from our own region. We call on other capable countries and other capable regions to lend their, financial, human, logistical and in-kind support to ensure that the mission on which we must embark will be effective in delivering peace and stability for the people of Haiti. Despite the many competing issues, Jamaica could not be clearer. Ordinary Haitians are suffering. Humanitarian support cannot be distributed in insecurity; hospitals cannot deliver care in insecurity; children cannot go to school in insecurity; men and women cannot go to work in insecurity. Candidates cannot offer themselves for election in insecurity, and people cannot vote in insecurity. The situation can and will become even worse if we do not act without delay. Peace and reasonable stability are indisputably necessary preconditions for each and every aspect of support and short-, medium- and long-term development in Haiti, including the holding of free and fair elections. We may rest assured that only chaos will reign if the international community remains distracted and fails to act. We must meet the moment. Jamaica will also continue to lend its support to the CARICOM Eminent Persons Group as it works with the Haitian Government and stakeholders towards a Haitian-owned solution to the political and governance crisis that has gripped the nation. Having hosted the first meeting of the Group with stakeholders in Kingston in May, we remain unwavering in our commitment to working towards a sustainable political outcome. We want Haiti — the first independent black republic — to be able to deliver, for its people, the prosperity they have always deserved. Jamaica itself has been undergoing a significant transformation over the past several years, fostering a growing sustainable economy. From farm roads to bridges and highways, from wind turbines to solar panels, from fibre optics to satellite connectivity, increased investment in infrastructure is playing a pivotal role in that transformation. Our efforts to diversify and modernize critical industries such as tourism, agriculture, manufacturing, and global services, including business process outsourcing, have yielded substantial results. We have not only increased economic growth but also created new employment opportunities for our citizens. This year, Jamaica achieved its lowest unemployment rate on record, at 4.5 per cent. Fiscal responsibility and prudent economic management have been central to our achievements. We have paid down our debt, expanded revenue by including more people in the formal economy and improved tax collection. We have established an independent central bank and legislated fiscal rules, ensuring a stable macroeconomic environment. We recognize the need, however, to ensure that there is an appropriate balance between macroeconomic performance and social cohesion so that as many people as possible benefit from growth and stability in the economy. Since April 2022, we have granted the largest increases in minimum wage in the past 20 years, cumulatively amounting to 86 per cent. We have conducted the largest and most comprehensive public sector compensation review, implemented a social pension for the elderly, and increased the benefits under and expanded student beneficiaries of our social safety net programme. We have also broadened coverage of our national health fund and are investing in health infrastructure. Despite several external shocks, our people have remained resilient and we remain poised for even greater growth and development. We have invested heavily in our young people, establishing a new coding academy, providing scholarships in science, technology, engineering and mathematics to students and student teachers at tertiary institutions, and removing all fees from our national skills training agency up to associate degree level. We are partnering with the private sector for internships and employment to ensure that our young people are not only catalysts but beneficiaries of sustained economic growth. Jamaica also remains committed to women’s economic empowerment, the achievement of gender equality and the elimination of violence against women and girls, and has embarked on an extensive process of policy and legislative reforms. In February, Jamaica established a Bicameral Caucus of Women Parliamentarians to bolster our efforts to coalesce around women’s issues and ensure that the needs of women and girls are adequately reflected in our legislative framework. On 1 July, the new Sexual Harassment Act came into effect and sensitization sessions have now started. The Government has also ramped up the mainstreaming of a gender perspective in the development of its policies through the institutionalization of gender focal points across the public sector. Jamaica is working to demonstrate its commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in action. As a small island developing State (SID), an enabling global environment is essential for Jamaica to build on that foundation. We are proud to have led and participated in global efforts to pursue reform of the international financial architecture and to improve access to affordable financing for development, including climate finance. More work, however, is needed in that regard to facilitate inclusiveness and equity for all States, and particularly for highly indebted and vulnerable small island developing States. We will therefore continue our advocacy to build momentum towards ambitious and pragmatic solutions. The multidimensional vulnerability index is urgently needed to address the vexed issue of graduation on the basis of per capita income only, and its implications for access to concessional finance and grant funding are critical. We look forward to the report of the High- Level Panel on the Development of a Multidimensional Vulnerability Index for Small Island Developing States and its early adoption by the international financial community. The pandemic taught us many lessons that we cannot afford to forget. For developing States, it exacerbated previously existing inequities and inequalities within and among countries. In terms of trade in services, global tourism and its related sectors were disproportionately impacted as the pandemic exposed the vulnerability of those industries. Massive global disruptions and unemployment were the result. Jamaica, as a leading tourism destination, recognizes the value of resilient tourism for economic, social and environmental development. Last year from this very rostrum, Prime Minister Holness issued the call for the declaration of an annual global tourism resilience day. I humbly express our sincere gratitude to all Member States for answering that call with the General Assembly’s designation, by consensus, of 17 February as Global Tourism Resilience Day. We look forward to collaborating with them on innovations to deepen the resilience of the sector. A strong, robust and inclusive multilateral system, with the United Nations at its centre, remains the single most effective means of ensuring international cooperation towards a sustainable future. It is the forum in which small States have an equal voice and equal participation in global decision-making. Unfortunately, the multilateral system itself has faced significant challenges over the past few years: the pandemic, a war in Europe, shifting geopolitical tides and a stubborn resistance to the realities of climate change, to name a few. Defying the odds, however, our collective endeavours resulted in the adoption of the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction in June. As a sustainable ocean economy, the seat of the International Seabed Authority and the home of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Jamaica actively participated in the negotiations and looks forward to its early entry into force and effective implementation towards the sustainable use and conservation of our invaluable ocean resources. Jamaica also welcomes the adoption of the Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which will catalyse action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. That hard-won victory for sustainable development highlights our shared commitment to protecting 30 per cent of terrestrial, coastal and marine areas by 2030. Both those landmark agreements, attained through multilateral action, will make an impactful contribution to furthering our shared objective of benefiting from our natural resources now, but in a way that ensures their sustainability for future generations. As we look forward to the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), we recall the breakthrough agreement secured at COP27 to establish a Loss and Damage Fund. The work of the Transitional Committee will be vital to ensuring that the Fund can be properly structured and operationalized. SIDS are counting on meaningful progress in that regard. We also expect that all States will commit to the achievement of net zero fossil fuel production and to keeping 1.5°C alive. We are playing our part through our more ambitious nationally determined contributions to bolster our society, economy and country against the existential threat of climate change. In that regard, we are working assiduously to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions; to increase reforestation, including through our 3 million trees in 3 years project; to reduce plastic waste, including in the marine environment; to accelerate the energy transition towards renewables; and to address coastal erosion and risks to biodiversity both on land and at sea. Notwithstanding our efforts, the responsibility for effective action is a global one, as the wide-ranging consequences of inaction are equally global. Having just completed the Climate Ambition Summit, we urge major and emerging economies to elevate their ambition and to deliver on their commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. That is a matter of survival for all our countries and peoples, especially small island developing States. Therefore, as we prepare for the fourth International Conference on SIDS, to be held in Antigua and Barbuda in May 2024, we look forward to assessing the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the implementation of previous plans of action. The Conference will also set the agenda for the programme of action for the sustainable development of SIDS for the next 10 years. Jamaica looks forward to having tangible outcomes focusing on the climate crisis, biodiversity and issues related to debt. As we mark the mid-point of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we must channel our fullest efforts towards accelerating achievement of the SDGs through partnerships and a whole-of-society approach. At the SDG Summit last week, we recognized the mutually reinforcing and cross-cutting nature of the SDGs and that we must turbocharge our efforts to attain the transformation we need for people, planet and prosperity. As we all work towards the attainment of the SDGs, Jamaica joins the international community in the unanimous call for ending the economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed against Cuba. Our shared commitment to achieving progress, prosperity and sustainability for all cannot be fulfilled until we have definitively closed the chapter on slavery and its legacies in our global history. The residual impact of the immorality of slavery and the transatlantic slave trade has lingered for far too long, and justice and accountability are long overdue. The systemic imbalances caused by centuries of exploitation constitute the foundation of the persistent underdevelopment that countries like Jamaica have worked hard to overcome. Jamaica therefore reaffirms its determination to further the call for the international recognition of reparatory justice as a necessary path to complete healing, the restoration of dignity and progress for people of African descent. Together, we must stride confidently forward in good faith, building on the lessons of that horrific past and moving purposefully towards a common future. Furthermore, Jamaica supports the call for an extension of the International Decade for People of African Descent, as insufficient progress has been made to address racial injustices worldwide. Complex global problems demand comprehensive global responses. As we work during this seventy- eighth session to achieve and maintain lasting peace, to attain and build shared prosperity and to accelerate meaningful progress and sustainability, Jamaica will remain hopeful that, together, we can overcome the major challenges that stand in our way. Genuine political will and innovative thinking are required to not only identify solutions but to also pursue them diligently and consistently until the desired results are achieved. I assure you, Mr. President, and all delegations of Jamaica’s unwavering commitment, support and partnership in that noble effort.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Tandi Dorji, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

At the outset, I would like to convey the warmest greetings from His Majesty the King and the people of Bhutan to the General Assembly. Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session and assure you of my delegation’s full support. Our gratitude also goes to Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the General Assembly at its seventy- seventh session, for the excellent guidance of our work during the past year. We also welcome the theme for the seventy-eighth general debate, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all”, which is very relevant, appropriate and timely. Our appreciation is also due to Secretary-General António Guterres, who continues to inspire and serve valiantly in advocating for peace, prosperity and wellbeing of the people and the planet. The initiatives laid out in the Our Common Agenda report (A/75/982) present us with the opportunity to find new ways to work together for the common good, without undermining the existing agreements or mandates. Bhutan is happy to engage constructively in preparing for the Summit of the Future and to work towards the elaboration of a global digital compact, which would, among other things, accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The reforms of the United Nations, which are centred firmly on implementing the 2030 Agenda, will provide the essential impetus to galvanize support and progress in areas that have been found to be insufficient to meet the Goals and targets within the set timeframe of 2030. This discussion assumes even greater urgency as we have passed the midpoint towards implementing the 2030 Agenda. That is further exacerbated by the conflicts and the looming climate emergency, which have thrown efforts towards achieving the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs off track. We need to refocus our priorities by shifting gears and turning our commitments into action. In that regard, we support the Secretary-General’s SDG Stimulus, which is aimed at significantly increasing affordable, long-term financing for development and scaling up affordable financing to ensure that the 2030 Agenda regains its traction. Under the guidance of our visionary leaders, Bhutan embarked on its development path with a holistic guiding philosophy that we call Gross National Happiness (GNH). When the world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda in 2015, it was apparent that the SDGs presented high levels of synergy with our own development philosophy of GNH. Therefore, mainstreaming the SDGs into our national plans and their implementation came very naturally. I am happy to share that Bhutan is well on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and on our part reaffirm our commitment to undertaking concrete actions to fulfil the 2030 Agenda. After more than five decades of planned economic development, Bhutan is set to graduate from the list of least developed countries (LDCs) at the end of this year. That is the result of strong and benevolent leadership, guidance from successive monarchs, the hard work of our people and, above all, the generous assistance of all our development partners. I take this opportunity to thank all our bilateral and multilateral partners, well- wishers and friends for their generosity and support, without which we would not have been able to realize that important milestone. While that achievement in our development journey is an occasion for celebration, we do so in the full knowledge of the vulnerabilities under which we graduate and the challenges that lie ahead. The Royal Government looks forward to a smooth transition, and the thirteenth Five-Year National Development Plan, which is set to commence early next year, will be critical to ensuring that our graduation is smooth, sustainable and irreversible. Here, we look forward to the continued good will, support and assistance of our development partners. We are also hopeful that there will be universal support for the full implementation of the Doha Programme of Action, which is critical to the LDCs, graduating countries and newly graduated countries. Devastation and destruction from extreme weather events and natural disasters are taking place at levels never seen before, with studies pointing to climate change as the main responsible factor. I would like to convey Bhutan’s sympathies and deepest condolences to all those affected by those unfortunate events in the past year. Bhutan has also been affected by extreme weather phenomena, with the increasing frequency and ferocity of natural disasters such as glacial lake outburst floods, flash floods, windstorms and landslides. Unpredictable rain and weather patterns have wrecked the lives of farmers and people across the country. Those are serious causes of concern that have consequential impacts on the assets and livelihoods of our people and our hard-earned development gains. Bhutan falls within the Hindu Kush Himalayan region. The report of one working group of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms that the rate of ice-sheet loss has increased at an alarming rate over the past three decades, with the region experiencing glacier-mass loss of 65 per cent. Even if global warming is limited to 1.5°C, one-third of the glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region will disappear by the end of the century. For countries like ours, that means permanent loss of water resources for agriculture, hydropower generation and natural resources, and increased risk of disaster events. The melting of our glaciers also contributes substantially to rising sea-level and triggers a host of cascading effects, including coastal erosion, flooding and permanent land submersion. On our part, we have done all we can and Bhutan’s leadership in sustainable development and environmental stewardship has been well recognized globally. We are fortunate that the past investments in environmental conservation are reaping climate dividends. Our forests not only serve as a carbon sink for greenhouse-gas emissions, but also provide the valuable ecosystem service of delivering clean water for drinking, agriculture and hydropower generation. We are committed to remaining carbon neutral and reaffirm our pledge to fulfil our commitments to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. While welcoming the breakthrough agreement to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries on the frontline of the climate crisis during the twenty- seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27), we are hopeful that progress will be made and that it will be operationalized by COP28. In addition, we need to mobilize new and additional climate financing, while ensuring balance between financing for mitigation and adaptation. We also need to forge strong international cooperation in coming up with viable projects and partnerships to scale up investments in alternative renewable energy to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, particularly in the manufacturing and transport sectors. Although a small developing country, with a population of less than a million, Bhutan has always worked constructively with other Member States to realize the noble objectives of the United Nations since its accession to membership in 1971. Among other things, Bhutan remains fully committed to the cause of international peace and security, which is one of the key mandates and objectives of the United Nations. Bhutan joined the fraternity of troop- and police-contributing countries in 2014 to contribute its part towards maintaining international peace and security. That signifies our commitment to sharing the burden along with other Member States. Since then, Bhutan has been working towards gradually broadening and deepening our engagement in the United Nations peacekeeping operations. I am happy to share that in November 2022, Bhutan deployed its first uniformed contingent to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. Bhutan has also pledged an integrated formed police unit (FPU) and we are working towards fulfilling that pledge. We stand ready to deploy our FPU whenever the United Nations calls upon us to do so. The Royal Government would like to express our appreciation to the United Nations Department of Peace Operations and the Department of Operational Support for their guidance and support to Bhutan’s participation in that very important mandate. Effective multilateralism must address the concerns of the less powerful nations of the world. The global governance architecture has not delivered the equity and inclusion that are required to ensure that the ideals of the common agenda are carried out. The increasing fragmentation and polarization and the growing inequity we witness in the world today only serve as an urgent cry for strengthening multilateralism, forging greater political resolve and solidarity, and practicing compassion. Bhutan has consistently maintained that the reform of the Security Council must progress hand-in-hand with the reform of the entire United Nations system. The reform must accommodate the interests and concerns of all Member States, particularly of those that are unrepresented or underrepresented. We believe that the Security Council must evolve to stay relevant and effective to address the multifaceted challenges of our times, and in that regard Bhutan supports the expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent categories of Council membership. We continue to believe that in a reformed Council, India and Japan must be included as permanent members, as must members of the African Union. Under the leadership of His Majesty the King, the Government has initiated and implemented a number of reforms across all Government agencies and sectors. Having learnt valuable lessons from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, we are convinced that business as usual cannot be the norm. Urged on by the expectations of our people, the need to overcome our vulnerabilities and to progress as an advanced nation, we have undertaken major transformations so as to enhance public services, accelerate the economy and sustain the development gains while promoting and preserving our core values, which are our tradition and culture and, most important, our environment. There are a number of foundations on which those reforms are built. One of the most important and critical of those is leveraging technology for nation-building, without which we will be left behind. With the enactment of the National Digital Identity Act, Bhutan became the first country in the world to enact a legal framework for implementing self-sovereign identity. That will serve as the foundation on which all other services will be accessed and provided to citizens digitally. Over the past decade, strong political, social and economic institutions established under the guidance of our monarchs have taken firm root to set the foundations for a functional and vibrant democracy. As we look to the future, Bhutan will continue working with all Member States to ensure that the United Nations continues to play an instrumental role in promoting peace and security and a United Nations that is fit for purpose in the twenty-first century. In conclusion, may I submit that the world has largely forgotten the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the fact that it killed close to 20 million people globally. We should, however, remember the vulnerabilities that we all faced, how ill-prepared we were and the sufferings that all of us experienced collectively. We have all seen the best and worst of humanity and global cooperation. Today, as we emerge victorious from the pandemic, we must learn from those lessons and prevent any such catastrophe from occurring in the future. From the Spanish flu in 1920 to severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2002, it took nearly 80 years for a global pandemic to emerge, and ever since we have seen rapid incidences of such potential pandemics, such as the Middle East respiratory syndrome in 2012, Ebola in 2014 and Zika in 2016. As the name SARS- CoV-2 suggests, SARS-CoV-3 may just be around the corner, brought about by climate change, massive loss of habitat and ever-increasing interaction between humans and animals. We must all acknowledge our interdependence and the importance of working closely together and collaborating with each other to combat our common challenges. While each of our countries has its own priorities, we must not forget that we share this world together, and that therefore we should all prioritize global well-being, preparedness and cooperation. Together, we can.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Lejeune Mbella Mbella, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Cameroon.

The President of the Republic of Cameroon, His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, did me the honour of representing him at the work of the seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly and has instructed me to deliver the following speech on his behalf. “Allow me at the outset to extend Cameroon’s warm congratulations to Mr. Dennis Francis following his election as President of the General Assembly at this session. His extensive experience in multilateral diplomacy and his eminent human qualities allow us to believe that he will be able to lead our work efficiently and successfully. I would therefore like to assure him of my country’s support in carrying out his honourable mission. “I take this opportunity to also congratulate his predecessor, Ambassador Csaba Kőrösi, who worked to prepare the numerous high-level meetings, the examination of which at the seventy- eighth session involves our future. May he rest assured of the gratitude of Cameroon. “I am also pleased to reiterate to Secretary- General António Guterres all my appreciation for the results he has obtained so far in the exercise of his high and sensitive functions. I renew Cameroon’s full support for its efforts to ensure that our common Organization effectively addresses the multiple challenges facing the world. “Finally, from this rostrum, I would like to reiterate Cameroon’s support and solidarity to the respective Governments and peoples of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Libya following the recent natural disasters that they have suffered. which caused very heavy material loss and claimed many human lives. “The theme chosen for the general debate of this session is ‘Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) towards peace, prosperity, progress and the sustainability for all’. The relevance of the theme no longer needs to be demonstrated. Indeed, this seventy-eighth session is being held in a context where tensions and geopolitical rivalries are intensifying, endangering peace, economic, social and cultural development in many countries of Africa, Asia, Latin America and Europe. That is particularly the case in Ukraine and in the Sahel, the Great Lakes and Horn of Africa regions. Those situations undermine the numerous efforts made to overcome the coronavirus disease pandemic, return to growth and development, and effectively fight climate change. “Fortunately, we can be pleased that the international community has mobilized to reach a consensus around certain major issues. That is the case with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the major agreement on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that we launched together here in 2015, accompanied by the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for development. Even more recently, we adopted the Ottawa framework convention, as well as the agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction. “It is in that same dynamic that Africa is gradually implementing its Agenda 2063 and the African Continental Free Trade Agreement in order to promote a united Africa, an Africa of peace, an Africa of security, an Africa of good governance, an Africa of shared prosperity, an Africa called to play a major role in international relations by 2063. “Despite all those efforts, the expected results are still slow to emerge. What could explain such a situation? Among other reasons, it must be recognized that action has not always followed words. By way of illustration, I note the insufficient mobilization of resources for the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals or the failure to achieve the 0.7 per cent objective set for public development assistance, despite the promises made almost 50 years ago . “Let us also recognize that, sometimes, the resources mobilized have been either late to arrive or distributed sparingly, due to conditionalities. Sometimes, too, it is the timidity of political will that is at fault, when it is simply not absent or altered by selfish considerations that may take precedence over the general interest and active solidarity among peoples and nations. Finally, the tools, mechanisms, institutions and schemes put in place following the Second World War to promote peace, security and economic and social development are no longer as effective and relevant, due to the diversity and complexity of the new realities of the world. “What can we consider now? First, a surge of pride, self-improvement and a new political will are required, as is a new awareness  — one that emphasizes the primacy of the general interest; one where science is put at the service of all humankind with a view to ensuring the well-being of each and everyone in such important areas as peace, security, health or economic, social and cultural development. In that regard, we must truly base our action on the Charter of our Organization, its ideals, its principles and its objectives. “We must resolve conflicts through dialogue and consultation. We must promote a pact for a renovated global financial architecture. We must work tirelessly towards the advent of truly equitable global development that allows all regions of the world to aspire to prosperity and growth. That, in any case, is the ambition of Africa, through Agenda 2063 and the establishment of its Continental Free Trade Area, the success of which is expected in areas such as research, science, technology, energy, infrastructure, communications and telecommunications, agriculture and food, debt, climate financing and development in general. “We must finally act together for Security Council reform with a view to giving the countries of the South, and in particular Africa, permanent and equitable representation. Indeed, it should be noted that Africa, in addition to being underrepresented on the Council, is the only continent not to have a permanent presence within that organ, even though two-thirds of the Council’s activities are devoted to it. That is, frankly, an injustice that must be corrected. It is why we reaffirm our support for the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, by calling for two additional permanent and three non-permanent positions for Africa on the Security Council. “Cameroon is, for its part, determined to honour its commitments in the context of the various circles of solidarity to which it belongs. It was one of the first countries to ratify the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and, in conjunction with the other members of the Congo forest basin, is actively working to find solutions to climate change. Cameroon is also one of the pioneers in the operationalization of the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement and has initiated an implementation plan for the SDGs and Agenda 2063 through the adoption of SND 2030, a national development strategy intended to make it an emerging country by 2035. It has also adopted all the reforms necessary for the promotion of sustainable economic and social development, good governance focused on decentralization in order to allow all citizens to participate fully in the affairs of their country. “On the security front, the fight against Boko Haram continues actively, in concert with the member countries of the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. The results of those efforts are already observable on the ground, although additional efforts should be made. In the North-West and South-West regions in particular, peace and stability are gradually returning thanks to the diligent actions of the Government following the recommendations of the Major National Dialogue, despite episodic cases of violence or the taking of hostages for ransom, orchestrated by the separatists. “The effective implementation by the Government of the Presidential Reconstruction and Development Plan, as well as the operationalization of the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration centres, make it possible to confidently foresee the return of lasting peace and stability and the relaunch of economic and development activities in the two regions. Those efforts will certainly not be in vain. “We take this opportunity to thank once again our bilateral and multilateral partners, who continue to contribute to improving the situation through their support for the various plans put in place by the Government. Their valuable assistance in the fight against the financing of destabilizing activities in those two regions is also appreciated by the Government, which continues to reach out to those who have taken up arms and calls on them to lay them down. “The world is changing. It is therefore up to us to take the appropriate decisions and orientations to make it better, for the well-being of our populations. We can get there so long as we can strengthen our solidarity in order to address our common challenges together. In this era of digital technology and artificial intelligence, we have prodigious tools at our disposal. If used wisely, they can enable us to achieve the desired results to ensure the survival of humankind and guarantee a better future.”

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Stanley Kakubo, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Zambia.

The world today is overcome with the overlapping challenges of war, global economic uncertainty, climate change and food insecurity. The cost of war, be it in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the heart of the Sudan, or the war between Russia and Ukraine, has at best led to the displacement of innocent women and children, and at worst led to the demise of many of our brothers and sisters. War has left scars that extend beyond the physical; it wounds the souls of nations and fragments the bonds that hold humankind together. Needless to say, humankind must win the war against war. Neither must we lose the race to save our planet. Destroying our planet is destroying our very own existence. At this seventy-eighth session, we, as a global community, must bolster our commitment towards the implementation of all existing agreements. We need to agree and work towards strengthening global partnerships and good governance that will uphold the dignity and human rights of all people. We must accelerate the attainment of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We must direct our efforts towards addressing inequalities and realizing a just transition and fostering greater climate action for present and future generations. In this case, a just transition must mean fairness among nations. While we acknowledge that fairness is not about equality, fairness must guarantee the access of each nation to its unique needs. Nations burdened with debt must be guaranteed access to cheaper and fairer financing. That ought to be one of the pillars of restoring trust in our systems. It is therefore imperative that the international financial institutions and multilateral development banks scale up concessional financing to least developed countries, and that financing should be under improved terms of lending. Regrettably, the exorbitant cost of capital remains an insidious problem afflicting the global South. In fact, Africa bears the heaviest burden of those crippling capital costs. We implore the international community to grasp the urgency of that matter and to ensure that every nation, regardless of its economic size, has equitable access to affordable capital. It is a fact that countries with smaller economies are in greater need of the capital that, unfortunately, ends up in first world economies that need it least. We recognize that a few development partners have honoured their pledges of official development assistance, and we applaud them for that effort. We also commend France and other partners for successfully hosting the Summit for a New Global Financing Pact in Paris in June. Zambia further expresses its appreciation to the Creditor Committee of the Group of 20, with a special note of gratitude to the co-Chairs, China and France, along with the Vice-Chair, South Africa. Their diligent work and collaborative spirit played an indispensable role in reaching that important agreement to restructure Zambia’s heavy debt burden. We continue calling for the reform of the international financial architecture to accelerate the decision-making process that would enable countries in special circumstances to restructure debt. We wish to welcome the Secretary-General’s proposal for a Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Stimulus of at least $500 billion per annum to offset the unfavourable financing conditions faced by countries in special situations. The elements of that package hold great potential to catalyse transformative actions in least developed countries in critical sectors such as renewable energy, social protection for the weak, health care, quality education, food security, resilient infrastructure, artificial intelligence (AI) and information technology. There is need to scale up partnerships and collaboration so that we can have a unified effort in strengthening the inclusiveness and effectiveness of international tax cooperation for the world to combat illicit financial flows. It is also important that we enhance the protection of the domestic resources that are required for application to desired sectors, as outlined in the SDG Stimulus proposal. With regard to climate finance, we wish to emphasize the need for an effective implementation mechanism for the Loss and Damage Fund, agreed upon at the twenty- seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. In the same manner, we reiterate the need to honour the annual $100-billion pledge for climate finance, with greater emphasis on adaptation. That will be very crucial if we are to uphold the credibility of global efforts that are aimed at addressing climate injustices and protecting our planet from further degradation. To complement access to affordable finance, countries need to enhance trade and investment as the engine of economic development and job creation at both the regional and the multilateral levels. Under the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), Zambia is leading the COMESA integration agenda by reducing barriers to trade and encouraging the free movement of businesspersons and goods. In this era of instant communication and globalized economies, the well-being of one nation profoundly impacts the well-being of another. Leveraging the transformative capabilities of digital technology, especially artificial intelligence, we aspire to enhance the quality of life for our citizens. We need only imagine using AI to deliver lifesaving medicines to a seemingly forgotten grandmother in a village in Africa, or the grand transformation we can achieve in harnessing the fertile soils of countries like Zambia using the technology of precision irrigation. As information communication technologies continue to advance, we have a new frontier for interaction in digital cooperation. Now it is possible for a professor at Harvard to mentor students in Kenya or to deliver a lecture at the University of Lusaka. The advancement in digital technology makes it possible to improve the quality of lives of our people by creating new jobs and opportunities for young people, as well as providing access to top-class education and quality health care for all. It is therefore very important that we continue to forge new alliances in the development and use of technologies, the creation and sharing of digital resources and content, and the development of regulations and policies that govern the use of digital technologies to promote social and economic development. We also need to enhance cooperation and ensure that the digital space and technologies are used in a responsible manner. We, therefore, call for support and investment in digital infrastructure, and the provision of access to affordable devices and internet services in underserviced communities in least developed countries. The empowerment of women and girls is very important in decisively overcoming poverty in our societies. Beyond the economic empowerment of women, we need to equally put greater emphasis on programmes that will promote their well-being. That is why President Hakainde Hichilema, as the African Union Champion on. Ending Child Marriage, will continue to enhance collaboration in preventing and wiping out the scourge of early and child marriages so that we can foster an environment conducive to giving children a chance in life. Consistent with that, Zambia, in collaboration with the African Union, will this year host a conference for traditional and religious leaders across Africa aimed at advancing a culture that promotes inclusive development and the prevention of early and child marriages. Zambia, in line with our reputation as a beacon of peace on the African continent, will continue to champion the cause of peace, security and stability as prerequisites for sustainable development. Without peace, our joint development efforts will be in vain. We shall continue to call for the use of diplomacy as the only option for resolving conflict between nations. Zambia is committed to furthering peace, security and stability, and that President Hichilema visited Kyiv and St. Petersburg, alongside other select African leaders, and held honest and constructive discussions with both President Putin and President Zelenskyy. Zambia will continue to be committed to the Charter of the United Nations and its principles of upholding territorial integrity and just respect for international borders. As Zambia leads the Southern African Development Community Organ on Politics, Defence and Security Cooperation, we pledge not only to play our individual role, but also to galvanize regional efforts to restore peace in the areas requiring intervention on our continent. We take immense pride in our strong democratic credentials, and we will continue to guarantee the Zambian people their rights and freedoms, including their civil liberties. President Hichilema has led his Government to the historic abolishment of the death penalty and of the offence of criminal defamation of the President. That is the first time this has been achieved in the history of Zambia. Today we address the Assembly with a sense of accomplishment, because prudent fiscal policies have been reinstated in our country. We are nurturing our economy back to health, and the results are quantifiable. In 2021, our economy achieved a commendable growth rate of 4.7 per cent following a contraction of 2.8 per cent in 2020. In 2022, the economy demonstrated resilience and maintained a positive growth of 3.7 per cent. Furthermore, we have diligently worked to reduce year- end inflation to single digits, making it at 9.9 per cent for the calendar year 2022. Concurrently, our Government is deeply committed to stabilizing the exchange rate of the local currency, the Zambian kwacha, against major currencies. Going forward, we will remain steadfast in reducing the cost of essential household goods for our people. Zambia reiterates the call to reform the Security Council to make it more inclusive, and particularly for Africa to have permanent representation, in line with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. Those reforms will not only enhance the legitimacy of the Security Council, but put an end to that historic injustice against Africa. The time has come to ensure the true composition of our United Nations family, as well as to create an opportunity for a better diplomatic position and representation for countries that are perceived to be weaker. The threat of nuclear warfare is a matter that needs our full attention. We take this opportunity to reiterate our resolute stance against the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and we advocate for a world free of nuclear threats. We urge all nations — and we mean all nations — to uphold their obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to work to prevent the development and production of chemical weapons. We have set our eyes on an agenda to put the world on a path of sustainability and success for the next generation. We are hopeful that all our voices will be heard at the Summit of the Future next year. We shall rebuild trust in this forum. A platform such as ours must ensure that inequality and systemic injustice are tackled and that the benefits of progress are shared across the world. Zambia therefore calls on all States Members of the United Nations, the private sector, youth groups across the world and other stakeholders to come together in good faith to draw out the contours of the world as it should be for future generations as we pass the baton on all the challenges we face today for a sustainable and positive future.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Archbishop Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States of the Holy See. Archbishop Gallagher (Holy See): I am pleased to extend to you, Sir, and to the representatives of nations gathered here the warm greetings of Pope Francis, while also congratulating Mr. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the Assembly. The Holy See wishes to commend him on the topic for this general debate and cannot agree more that there is an overwhelming need to start rebuilding trust in order to reignite global stability, peace and prosperity. In recent decades, the Organization has witnessed an increase in activities on various fronts, including laudable initiatives aimed at reducing poverty, helping migrants, combating climate change, promoting nuclear disarmament and offering humanitarian aid, along with multiple others. On the other hand, in these past years, we have seen crumbling trust among nations, clear evidence of which is the increase in number and gravity of conflicts and wars. Furthermore, the current conflict in Ukraine has made all the more evident the crisis that has long affected the multilateral system, which needs a profound rethinking if it is to respond adequately to the challenges of our time. All of that has resulted in an inevitable and equally significant increase in the number of meetings held at different levels, though not always in direct proportion to the effectiveness required in pursuing the proposed goals. We witness a marked tendency of States to impose their own ideas and agenda. Pope Francis calls that “ideological colonization”. It is necessary to return to listening and dialogue in order to solve and avoid further conflict and lessen the suffering of humankind. The international community must maintain the universality of global multilateral forums and not turn them into clubs reserved for a few elites, who think alike and where some are simply tolerated as long as they do not bother anyone. In that sense, I would highlight the following key words for effective multilateralism: dialogue, shared responsibility and cooperation, each in the pursuit of the common good and all under the banner of solidarity that comes from knowing that we are responsible for the fragility of others by seeking a common destiny. All States must rediscover a spirit of service with the intention of building a global solidarity that expresses itself concretely in helping those who suffer — a task that serves not ideas but people. Indeed, any reform of the United Nations must be based on rendering what is already existing more efficient and in line with the current era we are living in. In that respect, the multilateral system has shifted its focus from the peaceful coexistence of States to issues that are not that relevant for that purpose, preferring issues pertinent to the lives and patterns of individuals. Thus, a real reform of the United Nations must favour a reversal of the current priorities, making the United Nations truly fit for purpose and reviving coordination among States to achieve truly common ends — in other words, going back to the basics, while restoring the healthy distinction between the actions of States and those of civil society, focusing on rebuilding healthy relations and trust among Nations. The conflict in Ukraine has been instrumental to bringing back the elevated threat of nuclear escalation into the discussion. Once again, it is the firm conviction of the Holy See that the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is, today more than ever, a crime not only against the dignity of human beings, but against any possible future for our common home, while the mere possession itself of nuclear weapons is also immoral. In that context, there is need to instil an ambitious programme of work for the second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), including the advancement of discussions on the creation of an international trust fund to support a restorative approach to the human and environmental harms caused by nuclear use and testing. The Holy See calls on States to sign and ratify the TPNW, as well the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which together form the basis for the disarmament and non-proliferation regime. Another important challenge that we have at hand could be defined more generally as the expanding digital galaxy we inhabit, and specifically artificial intelligence. There is an urgent need to engage in serious ethical reflection on the use and integration of supercomputer systems and processes in our daily lives. We must be vigilant and work to ensure that the discriminatory use of those instruments does not take root at the expense of the most fragile and excluded. It is not acceptable that the decision about someone’s life and future should be entrusted to an algorithm. That is valid in all situations, including in the development of use of lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS). Recently, a growing number of legal and ethical concerns have been raised, about the use of LAWS in armed conflicts. It is clear that their use should be in line with international humanitarian law. The Holy See supports the establishment of an international organization for artificial intelligence, aimed at facilitating the fullest possible exchange of scientific and technological information for peaceful uses and for the promotion of the common good and integral human development. Moreover, the development of new technologies should go hand in hand with the care for our common home. New technologies should be used to mitigate the planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss, and it is urgent that we act now to safeguard the world we live in. The international community needs to focus on a positive outcome at the forthcoming twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in the United Arab Emirates, without reducing the discussions on climate change to financing issues. This year we are marking the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the thirtieth anniversary of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. The significant anniversaries of those documents invite us to engage in an in-depth reflection on the foundation of human rights and respect for them in the contemporary world in order to renew commitments in favour of the defence of human dignity. In the world today, numerous forms of injustice persist; while one part of humankind lives in opulence, another part sees its own dignity denied, scorned or trampled upon, and its fundamental rights disregarded or violated. First and foremost among those are the unborn, who are denied the right to come into the world. Let us never forget that the true litmus test to see if human rights are being protected is the degree to which people have freedom of religion or belief in a country. Disturbingly, we continue to live in a world where people are persecuted simply for professing their faith in public. There are many countries where religious freedom is severely restricted. Indeed, about one-third of the world’s population lives in that condition and the number only seems to be growing. Along with the lack of religious freedom, there is also outright religious persecution. I cannot fail to mention that one Christian in every seven is persecuted. Moreover, violence against Christians is on the increase and not only in countries where they are a minority. Even the terms “hate crime” and “hate speech” are now being used subjectively and manipulated to keep people from expressing their religious beliefs, equating the practice of religion to violence. That purposefully dishonest, politically motivated agenda, especially egregious in the West, must end. Despite the fact that so many tragedies have struck and are still shaking the family of nations this year, amid natural disasters, severe food security problems and political instability, causing anguish, hardship and uncertainty about the future, the Russian attack on Ukraine remains one of the most painful and bleeding wounds, which instead of healing is widening and deepening. Undoubtedly, in more than 18 months of war, we have witnessed the admirable, ever-renewed commitment of so many countries to helping the battered Ukraine defend its people and its territory. Unfortunately, however, that has not been accompanied by an equal effort to find ways in which the confrontation can be overcome. We remain far from true encounter and dialogue so as to put an end to the hatred, destruction and death and open paths of peace and reconstruction. That is what the Holy See, apart from its humanitarian assistance, hopes for and seeks to promote with each of its countless appeals and initiatives, dependent on the cooperation of all international actors. The humanitarian situation in Syria is indeed worrisome. Syrians, plagued by 12 years of war, earthquake and great poverty, are once again sounding the alarm, expressing their great hardships and demanding that a solution to their sufferings be found. The Holy See, in addition to encouraging the resumption of a political process of reconciliation, calls for humanitarian emergencies not to be weighed against the rigidities of political positions, but to have the courage to look at the suffering of the people with truth and honesty, so that the international sanctions imposed on the Syrian Government by the European Union, the United States and the United Kingdom do not afflict the local population. The situation in the Sudan also continues to be of great concern. Over the past six months, armed clashes have resulted in a high number of victims and displaced persons, as well as a very serious humanitarian crisis, increasingly distancing the prospect of achieving peace and restoring stability to the country. The Holy See makes a heartfelt appeal for the laying down of arms so that dialogue can prevail and the suffering of the population can be alleviated. The Holy See closely follows political events in sub-Saharan Africa and renews its commitment to the promotion of peace, justice and prosperity. Local churches contribute to national reconciliation processes and act with a view to the common good, especially in the educational, charitable and health sectors. Of particular concern in sub-Saharan Africa have been the numerous episodes of violence, as well as the frequent coups that disrupt democratic processes, cause death and destruction, and cause humanitarian and migration crises. It is painful to discover that, sometimes, behind episodes of terrorism and violence, there are also international economic interests that encourage the unjust dynamics of colonialism. In that regard, I appeal to the family of nations gathered here in the General Assembly to let the spirit of dialogue prevail, to cease all kinds of economic and financial exploitation, and to take care to foster generous and respectful international cooperation. A special thought goes to Nicaragua, with which the Holy See hopes to engage in respectful diplomatic dialogue for the good of the local Church and of the entire population. The Holy See urges dialogue and negotiations between Azerbaijan and Armenia, with the support of the international cooperation, which will favour a sustainable agreement as soon as possible, thus ending the humanitarian crisis and resolving the dramatic situation in Nagorno-Karabakh. In addition, I express my condolences to the families of the victims of the explosion at a petrol station near the city of Stepanakert. The Holy See expresses serious concern about what is happening in Jerusalem, and in particular the attacks against the Christian communities. Those episodes are not simply undermining the coexistence between the different communities, but are threatening the very identity of the city of Jerusalem, which some cannot conceive as a meeting place between the three faiths: Christianity, Judaism and Islam. I renew my appeal to the international community to ensure that Jerusalem is not forgotten, so that the project of a holy city as a place of peace for all and of all, with a special internationally guaranteed status, is not abandoned. Today’s globalized world has brought all of us closer together, yet it has not made us any more fraternal. Indeed, we are suffering from a famine of fraternity. New ideologies, characterized by widespread individualism, egocentrism and materialistic consumerism, weaken social bonds, fuelling the throwaway mentality that leads to contempt for and abandonment of the weakest and those considered useless. In that way, human coexistence increasingly tends to resemble a mere do ut des that is both pragmatic and selfish. Yet the worst effect of this famine of fraternity is armed conflict and war, which make enemies of not only individuals but entire peoples, and whose negative consequences reverberate for generations. With the founding of the United Nations, it seemed that the world had learned, after two terrible world wars, to move towards a more stable peace, moving towards becoming a literal family of nations. However, it seems that we are backlogging history. In order to make peace a reality, we must move away from the logic of the legitimacy of war. Peace is possible if it is truly willed; and if peace is possible, it is a duty. It is the duty of each one present in this Hall, because it is only in the research of peace and in the peaceful living between States that we can become truly united nations in a single human family.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Bassam Sabbagh, Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the Syrian Arab Republic.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the General Assembly at its current session, and to thank his predecessor, Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, for his presidency at the previous session. I also thank the Secretary-General for the efforts he is making to implement the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in accordance with the mandate entrusted to him. Our world today is witnessing important transformations and an increase of serious challenges, foremost of which is the outbreak of devastating conflicts in many regions around the world, the continued occupation of some peoples of the world, the spread of the scourge of terrorism, declining rates of development and a sharp rise in rates of poverty and hunger, in addition to the catastrophic impacts of unilateral coercive measures and economic blockade policies, as well as the negative repercussions of climate change and related natural disasters. We must all confront those challenges as they will affect the future of our upcoming generations. Eliminating them or mitigating their impacts to a minimum requires global cooperation, solidarity and concerted efforts among Member States to build a new multipolar world order that strikes a new balance in international relations, including by reforming international financial institutions and other bodies, especially the Security Council, and achieving true sustainable development that guarantees the benefit and well-being of all peoples of the world. The policies of creative chaos adopted by successive United States administrations in our region to serve their geopolitical and selfish interests have led to the destabilization of security and stability there as they worked to create and exaggerate problems to ignite tensions and then conflicts. They spent billions of dollars to demolish and destroy development achievements made over decades, and contributed to the emergence of the phenomenon of extremism and terrorism, such as the Da’esh and Al-Nusra Front terrorist organizations. Multilateralism, the United Nations Charter and other relevant international conventions have not been spared that creative United States chaos. Over the past 10 years, we have witnessed an increasing tendency to misinterpret and misapply the provisions of the Charter, especially Article 51, and to use them as an excuse to justify attacks on the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of other countries, as well as to manipulate the provisions of international conventions and treaties and to politicize human rights issues to justify interfering in the internal affairs of other countries and exert pressure on them. The basic principle affirmed by the Charter of the United Nations is respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of Member States. Therefore, any acquisition of the lands of others by force is an occupation, and any illegal military presence on the territories of any sovereign State is an explicit violation of the Charter and a clear breach of international law. It must end immediately and unconditionally. Accordingly, Israel’s occupation of the Arab lands in Palestine and the Golan since 1967 to this very day; the consequent construction of settlements; efforts to change the demographic composition and institutional structure, especially through attempts to forcefully impose Israeli citizenship on the people of the Golan, not to mention the plundering of the natural resources of the Golan; the seizure of Syrian farmers’ lands to build huge wind turbines on them, and other documented violations are the most heinous forms of grave and systematic violations of the United Nations Charter and international humanitarian law. The Syrian Arab Republic reaffirms its legitimate right to recover the entire occupied Syrian Golan up to the line of 4 June 1967, no matter how long it takes. That is an inalienable right that is not subject to compromise, pressure or any statute of limitations. It is guaranteed by international law and relevant United Nations resolutions, especially Security Council resolution 497 (1981). Syria also stresses that it will exercise its legitimate right to defend its territories and people by all necessary means and to ensure that the Israeli occupation authorities are held accountable for all their crimes, with no impunity. Syria has supported and continues to support the Palestinian question, as it is the central Arab cause. Syria has spared no effort to stand alongside the brotherly Palestinian people in their legitimate struggle to regain their legitimate rights, especially their right to establish their independent State on their land, with Jerusalem as its capital, and to attain Palestine’s full membership of the United Nations. What we have witnessed during this year of dangerous escalation of Israeli criminal practices, in which the number of victims has reached its highest level yet, is pushing the region into unprecedented tension and instability. That is evident in Israel’s commission of more massacres, the escalation of its military aggression and its repeated missile attacks on Syrian cities, ports and civil airports, which have endangered civilian lives and the safety of civil aviation, and hampered United Nations humanitarian operations. Moreover, it has pursued its policies of settlement, Judaization, siege, arbitrary arrest, forced displacement and racial discrimination in the occupied Arab territories. While the Syrian Arab Republic condemns in the strongest terms all those Israeli crimes and attacks, it equally denounces the continued support for such practices or silence about them on the part of some countries that declare themselves protectors of international humanitarian law and human rights law, which makes them complicit with the perpetrators of those crimes and clearly demonstrates the double standards they practice. Israel’s continued occupation of Arab lands and its brutal practices are consistent with the destructive role played by some countries on Syrian lands. The United States and Türkiye continue to violate Syria’s sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity by insisting on perpetuating their illegal military presence on Syrian lands and supporting separatist militias and terrorist organizations. This is in addition to the infiltration of Western political and military officials and others into Syrian territory, without any respect for Syria’s sovereignty and independence. That is a flagrant interference in its internal affairs. The systematic and exposed United States plunder of the Syrian people’s national wealth, such as oil, gas and wheat, has deprived the Syrians of their resources and exacerbated their humanitarian suffering in an unprecedented manner. Our latest statistics show that the total value of the direct and indirect losses caused to the oil sector in Syria has exceeded $115 billion. We believe that the United Nations is obligated to hold the United States accountable and compel it to return that looted money to the Syrian Government. In parallel with all of that, the United States of America and its European allies continue to impose unilateral, illegal, immoral and inhumane coercive measures on various sectors in Syria, which has only exacerbated the suffering of Syrians wherever they are, given that their impact includes third countries. The Secretary-General has noted in his reports the impact of those measures on United Nations procurement and payments. Those countries intentionally include in their measures the public health sector, the banking sector, the air transport sector, Syrian civil aviation equipment and the energy sector, including a ban on the supply of oil and its derivatives to Syria or the import of power plants, equipment related to power generation and spare parts. They also include a prohibition on importing equipment and machinery necessary for drinking water supply, irrigation, water sterilization and purification, and the repair and improvement of the sewage system. The agricultural sector has not been spared from those unilateral sanctions, which include a ban on the import of the fertilizers and machinery necessary for agricultural production that provides food for the Syrians. Syria was one of the most stable and prosperous countries in the world. It was achieving food self- sufficiency and providing all the basic necessities of life for its people in a way that was rarely seen in the region. However, the terrorist war that has been waged against it since 2011 has changed that situation and caused a significant humanitarian crisis whose severity was aggravated by the imposition of unilateral coercive measures. Recently, the devastating earthquake that struck Syria on 6 February added a new burden and suffering. The earthquake destroyed hundreds of buildings, infrastructure and service facilities, claimed thousands of victims and injured many more, and made tens of thousands homeless. The Syrian Government has taken all measures to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid and relief workers to all affected areas. It has granted and continues to grant open approvals to the United Nations and international organizations working in Syria to facilitate and accelerate the entry of emergency relief supplies to support those affected, including the opening, by sovereign decision, of border crossings to facilitate the humanitarian response for the sake of Syrians in the affected areas under the control of terrorist organizations in north-western Syria. In that regard, the Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its thanks and appreciation to all countries that have stood in solidarity with Syria and its people and rushed to respond to the needs of the Syrian people in light of the difficult circumstances they have faced. It also expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for launching the flash appeal to respond to the catastrophic repercussions of the earthquake. The Syrian Government is still continuing, within its limited capabilities, to make every effort to address the impacts of the earthquake in the four affected governorates. The President of the Republic issued in May a decree establishing the National Fund to Support those Affected by the Earthquake, with the aim of providing them with financial support and helping them overcome the resulting physical, material or moral harm. The decree represented the foundation of the basic directions and the national action plan approved by the Syrian Government to deal with the repercussions of the earthquake in their various aspects, and to move from the emergency response phase of relief work to the recovery phase from its impacts. The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates that improving the humanitarian situation in Syria will require providing sustainable solutions to support the Syrians, especially after the earthquake, by increasing the size and quantity of early recovery projects in a way that reduces dependence on life-saving humanitarian aid, increases the Syrians’ resilience and establishes conditions for a dignified and voluntary return of displaced persons and refugees to their homes. However, that will require providing the necessary funding through the fulfilment by international donors of the pledges they have made. Turning to the return of refugees, the Syrian Arab Republic declares from this rostrum its readiness to welcome the return of all Syrian refugees who left their homes, villages or cities. We call on our citizens who were forced by terrorist organizations to seek refuge to return to their homeland. The Syrian Government has taken all necessary decisions in that regard and is cooperating with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the Arab Contact Committee to reach that noble goal. In that regard, I call on Western countries that have been asking refugees not to return to their homeland to end those inhumane practices. In parallel, Syria has responded positively to the efforts and initiatives presented within the framework of the political track. It has supported the approach of local settlements and national reconciliation as a way to restore conditions to normalcy in various parts of the country and to strengthen national unity and the cohesion of Syrian society. It has participated in the meetings held in the Astana format, welcomed their results and maintained communication with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria. The Arab Summit that was held in May in Jeddah, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, made a great achievement by restoring the resplendence of the collective Arab position and the momentum of Arab joint action. At the Summit, the Arab countries affirmed their support for Syria in its efforts to preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity and to overcome the difficult circumstances it is enduring as a result of the terrorist war it has faced, the economic sanctions imposed on it and the repercussions of the devastating earthquake that struck it. The Syrian Arab Republic expresses its support and solidarity with the Libyan people in facing the repercussions of the hurricane and floods that struck them, as well as with the Moroccan people as a result of the devastating earthquake there. Syria reaffirms its support for the right of the Russian Federation to defend itself and protect its national security in response to aggressive Western policies. In doing so, it is defending not only itself but also the right of all of us to reject the logic of Western and unipolar hegemony. Syria commends the constructive and responsible approach of the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding its return to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, from which the United States unilaterally and illegally withdrew. It calls on the United States and its Western allies to meet Iran’s legitimate demands. Syria supports the one-China principle and the positions of the People’s Republic of China in confronting attempts to interfere in its internal affairs, whether in Taiwan, Hong Kong or Xinjiang. It stresses China’s inalienable right to take whatever measures and steps it deems necessary to defend its sovereignty, especially in confronting the unprecedented escalation and provocation policy practiced by the United States of America against it. Syria condemns the unjust economic blockade imposed on Cuba for decades, including the United States Administration’s extension of the so-called Trading with the Enemy Act. Syria calls for an end to the military action and exercises conducted by the United States on the Korean peninsula, which have led to escalation of tension in that region. Syria also demands the lifting of all forms of unilateral coercive measures imposed by Western countries on the Russian Federation, Iran, Venezuela, Belarus, Nicaragua, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Zimbabwe, Eritrea and my country, Syria, and considers them to be a form of economic terrorism, which is no less brutal and dangerous than armed terrorism in its catastrophic humanitarian effects on the targeted peoples. In conclusion, the General Assembly was created to be a platform for dialogue and public diplomacy among Member States, and not a platform for levelling false accusations or launching hostile campaigns against each other. That is why we look forward to the current session of the General Assembly, under President Francis’s leadership, being able to fulfil the theme he has set, namely, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and the sustainability for all.” That requires translating the theme into real and serious action that helps give all countries fair opportunities that ensure no one is left behind, and also strengthens the position and status of the General Assembly as the most representative organ of the United Nations.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Khaleel, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Maldives.

Let me begin by congratulating Mr. Dennis Francis on his election to his important high office. It is a testament to one of our key principles  — that small island developing States (SIDS) can lead and SIDs must lead. I also thank Mr. Csaba Kőrösi for his leadership of the seventy-seventh session. We commend the Secretary-General for his leadership and commit our full support for his tremendous work. Our global community today is grappling with multifaceted challenges, from ongoing and new conflicts to pandemics, climate change to food insecurities, gender-based inequalities to intolerance. Addressing them requires recommitting to the values of peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability. We firmly support President Francis’s priorities. The Maldives has always been a principled and committed member of the Organisation. Just five days ago, we celebrated 58 years since we gained membership of the United Nations. Over the past 58 years, the Maldives has reaped the many benefits that multilateralism has to offer. From being the poorest country upon gaining our independence, we became only the third country to graduate from least developed country status. We have assumed leadership roles. And our track record, our credentials and our achievements speak for themselves. We have demonstrated that neither size nor vulnerability holds us back, but hope, commitment and our principles drive us forward. We have approached every session of the General Assembly in that same spirit. And for the seventy-eighth session, the Maldives wishes to highlight six areas of focus that will guide our engagement in this crucial body. First, we will work towards ensuring a more fair, just and equitable multilateral system, one that caters to everyone, but especially its weakest and the smallest. Small States deserve a seat at the table. We have the most to gain from multilateralism and indeed, the most to lose. Small States know that a rules-based international order, one where all States have an equitable voice, is essential. Small States know that shared problems can be solved only through shared solutions. Small States stand up for principles because it is those principles that will safeguard us in our time of need. Small States like the Maldives have therefore always looked at ways to contribute. That is why we have put forward our candidatures to the Security Council, for the term 2033-2034; the Economic and Social Council, for the term 2027-2029; and to the Committee on the Rights on the Child, for the term 2025-2029. Enhancing the representation of small States in decision-making bodies is essential to ensure that the Organisation lives up to its ideal to leave no one behind. A fair, just and equitable multilateral system also requires the revitalization of the United Nations as a whole. At the forefront of that revitalization is the much-needed reform of the Security Council, a goal the Maldives has advocated for from the very beginning. In 1979, we were among the 10 countries that requested the inclusion of an agenda item on the agenda of the General Assembly on the question of equitable representation and expansion of the Security Council. Today we reiterate our calls to increase the number of permanent and non-permanent seats alike, while ensuring equitable geographic representation. We reiterate our call for a dedicated seat for small island developing States (SIDS) in an expanded Security Council. We believe that this will make the Council more responsive and responsible. Secondly, we must confront the climate crisis. Warming beyond 1.5°C will lead to catastrophic ecological loss, causing severe damage to our lives and livelihoods. We have recognized that the climate crisis is a threat to security, development and human rights at multiple platforms. We are proud to have led the work towards the adoption of the landmark resolution 76/300, recognizing the human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment, a milestone we celebrated in this very Hall last year. Domestically, we will continue to display strong and ambitious climate action. We have a net zero target of 2030. We are conserving and protecting parts of our ocean, marine species and corals, and we are taking concrete steps to phase out single-use plastics. At the upcoming the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), we must all raise climate ambition to secure our future, for the future. As we approach the first ever global stocktake at COP28, science must be given precedence. We must make an urgent call to close the gap between ambition and implementation. A definitive road map to reduce emissions, in line with the main goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, is crucial. We must also see adaptation as a universal challenge and demand adequate financing. We must operationalize and capitalize the Loss and Damage Fund and scale up existing funding arrangements. Given the inherent link between climate and the ocean, we must also do more to protect that vast and important resource. As a large ocean State, we have an intrinsic responsibility to protect the ocean and its marine resources — a responsibility many of us share. We have seen the value of working together to fight climate change and protect our environment. Earlier this year, we asked the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the obligation of States with respect to climate change. The historic Kunming- Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted, promising to deliver for nature. The historic agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction was adopted, and we call for international support to build capacity in implementing provisions of the agreement. We also call for ambition during the intergovernmental negotiations to develop an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. It is time to turn agreement into action! Our third priority area is to renew our commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the provision of adequate and sustainable financing for development. The Sustainable Development Goals Summit and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development have already expressed our collective commitment towards addressing these issues. Today we stand at the midpoint of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. The Maldives showcased its progress, presenting our second voluntary national review in July at the High-level Political Forum. We identified that physical and digital connectivity can accelerate our achievement of the 2030 Agenda. Recognizing that, the Government of Maldives has established an Integrated National Public Ferry Network, which connects our widely dispersed islands to one another. We are also undergoing a digital revolution, with the proliferation of online education, telemedicine and e-payment systems. We are bringing services closer to the people who need them. Those efforts are, in turn, supporting micro, small and medium- sized enterprises — the backbone of our economy. The provision of easy payment procedures, coupled with enhanced physical connectivity, have expanded the reach of such businesses beyond individual islands. Issues like this are what we intend to bring to the fourth International Conference on SIDS next year. As co-Chair of the Preparatory Committee for the Conference, we witnessed a robust foundation laid out during the preparatory meetings for a forward looking and action-oriented programme of action for SIDS. We also recognize that sustainable development can truly be fostered with sustainable and affordable financing. We need a global response to guarantee the necessary liquidity support for developing countries, especially SIDS, to facilitate a recovery that addresses the scale of the debt burden, exacerbated by the coronavirus disease pandemic. And so, the international financial institutions must reassess their eligibility criteria in providing concessional loans and grants. They must look beyond gross domestic product as the sole measure of development. The answer lies with the early adoption and use of the multidimensional vulnerability index. We urge the international financial institutions to use the index as a tool, ensuring that the vulnerabilities of developing countries are integrated into decision-making, enabling easier access to affordable financing and debt relief. Our fourth focus area of focus is eliminating gender barriers and ensuring gender equality. Women deserve more than a seat at the table; they should play an active and equal role in shaping decisions. The Maldives is committed to its endeavours as a champion for women’s rights and gender equality. One of our initiatives in that regard was the establishment of the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, celebrated every year on 24 June. We recognize the invaluable role of women in diplomacy, who continue to lead us towards a more sustainable future, and it is our hope that the seats behind me on this rostrum will one day be occupied by women. Together we must work to promote and protect human rights, one of the pillars of our foreign policy and our fifth area of focus. The need to protect human rights was the basis of our democratic journey. The right to express ourselves without reprisal; the right to peaceful assembly; the right to freely choose our leaders — those rights are sacred. This month, the first round of our presidential elections went ahead in a peaceful, festive and orderly manner. In that election, we saw a record number of candidates, which we believe to be a sign of a maturing democracy. We assure the global community that the run-off, which will be held in just a few days, will also proceed in a similarly peaceful, festive and orderly manner. Our firm commitment to protecting human rights at home is mirrored by our international engagements. I am proud to share that, with our recent ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, the Maldives is now a State party to eight of the core international human rights conventions. We also take great pride in our active participation in the Human Rights Council since its inception. We are glad to assume our role as a Council member once again this year, also serving as Vice-President from the Group of Asia-Pacific States. We will work with all States towards the protection of human rights around the world. In that regard, we recently made a written submission to the International Court of Justice demonstrating our support for the right to self-determination of the Palestinian people  — a cause that deeply resonates with us. Their rights can be most effectively protected only through a two- State solution based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as the capital of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine. This brings me to our sixth and final area of focus  — upholding international peace and security. The Maldives advocates for the unwavering adherence to the Charter of the United Nations. The people of Ukraine, Myanmar and many other countries across the world deserve peace and prosperity. Most importantly, they deserve a dignified life. We must also work towards bringing non-traditional security threats to the forefront of global discourse on peace and security. Terrorism and violent extremism continue to plague us. They transcends borders; they have no single face or faith. As such, the Maldives remains resolute in its unwavering commitment to countering terrorism and extremism. We condemn the repeated and public acts of the desecration of the Holy Quran in some European countries. The repeated and public acts of desecration of the Holy Quran cannot be justified under the guise of freedom of speech and expression, and is of grave concern. It is necessary to combat the rise of Islamophobia and hate speech through concerted global action. We will also continue to raise our voice on the links between climate change and sea-level rise and peace and security, which are becoming more and more apparent. Mutual respect and deep-seated cooperation are the cornerstones for effectively addressing our collective challenges. Together, we have the potential to achieve peace. Together, we can chart new paths towards sustainable development and together, we can leave behind a future that is better than what we found. The Maldives will continue to collaborate with our fellow nations in the international community, united in our shared commitment, to deliver that vision.

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Ronaldo Moncada Colindres, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua.

The President of the Republic of Nicaragua, Comandante Daniel Ortega Saavedra, and Vice-President Rosario Murillo Zambrana send the following message to the General Assembly and the world. “The people of Nicaragua salute the peoples represented in the General Assembly at its seventy- eighth session, with our heads held high, as always, because we have managed to survive and overcome all the tragedies and catastrophes imposed by a history of domination, cruelty, intervention, occupation and interference in all aspects of our life, including our electoral processes, subverted by the empires and their economic and military might, with which they have tried to destroy us and dominate us. “We are living at a time of the extinction of the imperialist, colonialist model of looting and genocide, whose greed has impacted nature and our world — a world of many patrimonies, languages and steadfast ways of life. In these times of decision and conviction of the need for substantive change in order to recover all our rights and values in the face of the overwhelming criminal greed of colonialism and imperialism in all their manifestations, Nicaragua continues to engage in all battles for genuine freedom, for light and for truth that cannot be concealed. “We are the immense and invincible force of a courageous new world of peoples who do not let themselves be cut off from hope or faith, and who, with our growing spiritual strength, demand respectful cooperation, solidarity and human fraternity, such that everything can change and be transformed and we can live peacefully and securely, working and prospering in our own sacred lands, in shared destiny and prosperity. “This world that has now stood up; that has started to make its way, claiming its own voice and identity, its ancestral and current knowledge; this world of a culture of peace has spoken at this seventy-eighth session of the General Assembly, shall continue, with increasing self-assurance and certainty, to sow, cultivate and harvest the indispensable transformations, even in these very United Nations, whose nature has been distorted and transformed, unfortunately, into a body servile to and dependent on the Powers that be. “The new world that belongs to us all demands respect. It demands peace. It insists upon peace. It demands justice for everyone. It demands remembrance, history, reparation and non-repetition. That is why, from this rostrum, we demand that the United Nations enforce the mandate of the International Court of Justice of The Hague, which in 1986 sentenced the United States of America to indemnify Nicaragua, at least in part, for the costs of the destruction, permanent aggression, pain and suffering endured by hundreds of thousands of families during the insane and vengeful war imposed on our country and our people, in what was called the “counter- revolution”. “That, of course, does not restore lives; it does not heal the broken hearts of so many families and individuals, but at least it rebuilds, for all Nicaraguans, the economic, social, productive, cultural infrastructure that those responsible shattered with their grotesque intervention, but which, as always and every time, was defeated by the honour, integrity and glory of Nicaragua’s spirit, by the grace of God. “Sandino lives. Sandino lives in each of those victories over nefarious and diabolical imperialism, and Sandino is in this Hall today, demanding that all of us comply with and enforce the law and international law to indemnify the Nicaraguan people with what they deserve in all justice and truth, after having forcefully asserted the right to peace and life, claiming what belongs to us — sovereignty, freedom and harmony — to make our way with our own destinies. We demand that the United Nations speak up and order the Government of the United States of America to comply with the historic judgment that condemned and obliged it to recognize Nicaragua, and to abide by it in all its commendable provisions. “Nicaragua, with the dignity and heroism of our struggles, races, peoples, cultures and balanced life, demands that closure and joins in the call of all the peoples and countries that have spoken from this rostrum to denounce the aggressive, interventionist, arbitrary, unjust policies whose coercive, unilateral measures are not only illegal and illegitimate, but constitute a destabilizing, destructive, warlike modality that imposes changes of Government through coups d’état, attempts to incite coups and acts of vandalism known these days as “colour revolutions”, causing grief to so many families among so many peoples. “We stand in permanent solidarity with the peoples and countries that experience the uncivilized barbarism that recapitulates the tides and echoes of the imperialist, colonialist, fascist models that have caused the deaths of millions of human beings, imposing regimes of terror and deprivation, with shameful waves and unprecedented tsunamis of migration. Those tragedies trace the desperation of injustice and the neocolonial project to silence, dominate and exclude so as to continue plundering the wealth of the world’s peoples. Entire countries have been destroyed in that brutal scorched-earth policy, which seeks to satisfy the beastly appetites of the Earth’s imperialists. Entire countries have been occupied and their peoples sacrificed and massacred under the same atrocious policies and actions, in violation of all rights, which only reinforces what we know and denounce again here as hate crimes. “We express our permanent and combative solidarity with the Palestinian people, the Syrian people, the Sahrawi people, the Eritrean people and people in all those places where they have sought to create fascist and neo-Nazi enclaves. We express our permanent and combative solidarity with all the struggling peoples of Africa, Asia and Latin America. We are peoples and countries that resist and fight the blockades, the economic warfare and the systematic and permanent intervention in the social, cultural, economic and political life of all our institutions as we witness more and more violations of all rights. “We express our combative solidarity with the people of Cuba, of Martí, of Fidel, of Raúl and of Miguel Díaz-Canel over 62 years of murderous blockade. We express our combative solidarity with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, where Chávez lives on, the struggle goes on and Nicolás has defeated all destructive assaults. ‘We express our combative solidarity with the peoples and Governments of our Central American region that do not falter in the struggle for security and peace so as to confront and conquer the hell of poverty. To Honduras and its brave President Xiomara Castro Sarmiento  — Honduras, our fraternal neighbour, where Morazán and Sandino prevail — we offer our familial, fraternal embrace in unflagging solidarity. “We express our combative solidarity with Bolivia, the great people of Túpac Katari, who are moving onward amidst the same old threats; with the people of Argentina and their sovereign right over the Malvinas Islands; and with Puerto Rico, brave and unstoppable in its struggle for independence. “Our strength is with the People’s Republic of China, the Power that today is showing the world and the human family how solidarity, respectful cooperation, generous brotherhood and sisterhood are practiced and lived among older brothers and sisters, younger brothers and sisters, but all as one big family with a common destiny, as we fight to overcome the actions of dispossession, economic stagnation and poverty imposed on so many people. ‘We express our active and combative solidarity with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in its historical battles for sovereignty and rights. ‘To the people of Belarus, always dignified and in solidarity, we offer our respect and recognition. “We express our solidarity and combative force with the heroic struggles waged by the Russian Federation for peace and security, for a world that we must all defend from the growing threats of empires and their neo-Nazi policies, their fascist emblems and slogans, which seek to return us to the unwonted perversion of wars of expansion and domination, and which have left millions of dead and families destroyed all over the world. Our support for the Russian Federation is an unwavering support and an inescapable human alliance for the security, dialogue and harmony that are essential and irreplaceable for the human community. “We express our solidarity and support with the Islamic Republic of Iran, another example of sharing and coexisting with peoples ravaged by imperial greed. Despite the incessant, excessive and infernal arrogance of those who think they are superior, we reaffirm that they do not separate us and together we travel along paths of courage and dignity. “We demand from this place respect for the United Nations system in order to restore its founding values, in this other world where we learn, keep ourselves abreast and continue, yes, to defend just, sovereign, self-defined models based on the maxim “Respect for the rights of others is peace”. As Eternal Comandante Hugo Chávez Frías told the General Assembly in 2005, the United Nations must be refounded. That was taken up again by Nicaragua’s Foreign Minister of Dignity, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, who also served as President of the General Assembly, when in 2008 he raised the urgency of refounding the United Nations to serve the world’s peoples. “The United Nations has just held a meeting of Heads of State and Government of the Group of 77 and China in Cuba, which reached agreements of fundamental importance for the world — agreements that must be taken into account and fulfilled so that, with a consciousness of freedom and of the brotherhood and sisterhood of the human family, we continue to break the chains of slavery and dependence, of submission and subordination, of servile obedience that the selfish, ambitious and perfidious colonial and imperial interests intend, even at this point in history, to continue imposing on us. “We regard with hope the recent meeting and enlargement of the BRICS grouping, which today with Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, in addition to Argentina, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Ethiopia and Iran, represent new forces and strength in the struggles for our economic and financial sovereignty as free and capable peoples. “In the face of all the advances in science, techniques and technologies, including those portentously called “artificial intelligence”  — as if they were not the result of human intelligence  — Nicaragua demands the full participation of the peoples who have made those advances of the conquistadors possible with our blood and resources. We demand what is ours — the right to fully enjoy this development, improving the conditions of work, study and life of our peoples, with all their rights. In addition to inclusion, Nicaragua also proposes the rational and beneficial use of those resources of humankind, which in the hands of the same malevolent actors as always, constitute weapons of mass destruction against countries, peoples and communities. “‘Always together and always moving forward’”, as Sandino would say, with proposals based on respect, consideration, fraternity and a nation for everyone, Nicaragua joins the intense search for, and struggle to protect our inheritance of natural resources, our cultures, our languages and ways of life and our original communities, working daily and tirelessly for peace, which is not only a right, but an urgent necessity for the survival of humankind — that is, for the life we all deserve. The aggressions that they arrogantly and haughtily call “sanctions” do not define or intimidate us, nor do they disable us, nor do they bend us, nor do they lead us to sell out or surrender. We do not know the word “surrender”. I repeat — the aggressions that they arrogantly and haughtily call “sanctions” do not define or intimidate us, nor do they disable us, nor do they bend us, nor do they lead us to sell out or surrender. We do not know the word “surrender”. “Life is made up of daily struggles to assert what belongs to us  — a world free of wars, of chemical or nuclear weapons, of looting, ignorance, fraud, of new deceptions and brazen thefts, including the assault on our talents; a world free of offences, because war, looting, the poverty they generate, misery, pandemics, the lack of health care, education, housing and the lack of favourable conditions for life all constitute an offensive, disparaging, humiliating, cruel, degrading and immense prison where human security is denied, promoting seas of exoduses bereft of dignity and cutting off hope, joy, culture and life for the majority of the planet. “What belongs to us is a world free of brutality and aggression; a world free of arrogance; a world free of supreme ignorance; a world free of hatred, evil and misery; a world free of sadness and emotional poison; a world free of the deformations, apathy and depression intentionally created by drugs, which have become another form of terrorism, among so many other perversions and provocations that plague us. “What belongs to us is a world free of impositions; a world of vigour, courage and values; a world committed to a simple, powerful, forceful common good  — love, which is stronger than hatred and conquers everything and is capable of everything; love, which we so sorely need to build trust so as definitively install new horizons and prodigious futures. We want a world of spiritual beings who are also human, who are not perfect but who can and should close ranks to recover the goodness and strength of this planet that we share. “Above and beyond all the forms of terrorism imposed upon us, there is the spirit, the flame, the insignia and the axiom of our human condition. That is what we are fighting for. That is why we win. That is why we will overcome. We are forever moving forward.”

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Song Kim, Chair of the delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Allow me, first of all, to congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis, on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. I am confident that his able stewardship will lead this session to a resounding success. I would also like to thank Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the General Assembly at its seventy-seventh session, for his tireless efforts to ensure the success of the previous session. Peace, prosperity, progress and development are the main purposes of the foundation of the United Nations, and they remain the unchanging desire of humankind, as ever. Thanks to the joint efforts of the international community, the global public health emergency is terminated. However, the world has yet to be freed from the sociopolitical instability incurred by the crisis of the malignant coronavirus disease pandemic. This year, disaster-inducing abnormal climate events, such as El Niño, caused extremely high temperatures, droughts, destructive forest fires and heavy rains in many countries and regions around the world, resulting in enormous human and material losses. Such events once again remind us that climate change is a pressing common task to which we should no longer remain indifferent. To make matters worse, some Member States are instigating confrontation between camps and forming blocs in pursuit of hegemony and self-profit. Because of their biased behaviour, conflict and bloodshed among nations, forces and ethnic and religious sects continue unabated in the international arena. In order for humankind to successfully achieve the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by braving all these crises and challenges, we should seek the correct ways and means to solve problems, while defending multilateralism in the United Nations and promoting unity and cooperation among countries on the basis of international law and the fundamental principles governing international relations. This year, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea celebrated its seventy-fifth anniversary, in commemoration of the 75 years in which it has firmly safeguarded the dignity and sovereignty of the country and nation and has laid a solid foundation for self- respect and prosperity. Even in the face of the manifold trials and challenges, our people are firmly convinced of a thriving future in our increasingly powerful nation. In recent years, global challenges and trials of various kinds created innumerable hardships and difficulties for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, as well. But my Government achieved encouraging, progressive and proud successes, one after another, in all sectors, including the economy and the improvement of people’s living standards, overcoming those difficulties on its own initiative through its own positive efforts. As the malignant disease mutates into new variants with high transmission rates and immunity evasion and continues to threaten the existence and development of humankind, the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is controlling and managing its anti-epidemic strategy in a stable manner, relying on a science-based and transparent anti-epidemic policy and the strong unity of its entire people to take voluntary action. The Government is also accelerating the building of the State’s anti-epidemic capacity to successfully counter any future health crisis in a proactive manner. It has put considerable effort into developing all sectors of the country in a simultaneous and balanced way. Therefore, all sectors of economic construction are showing a clear trend towards growth, and the agricultural sector has opened prospects for increased stable production even under the unfavourable weather conditions. Providing the people with affluent and civilized living conditions is the overriding principle that governs the activities of the Workers’ Party of Korea and the Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Their people-first policy has ensured that numerous modern houses were distributed to ordinary workers free of charge this year, as they were last year, and that all children in nurseries and kindergartens are regularly given dairy products on a daily basis at the expense of the State through a well-established and orderly system. The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea has made dynamic efforts to cope with ever-worsening climate change and abnormal, disaster-prone weather conditions. As a result, the protection and improvement of the country’s land and ecological environment are aggressively promoted on a nationwide scale, and the material and technical foundations needed to build State resilience against disasters are being laid with a long-term perspective. The achievements made in national economic development and improvement of the people’s livelihood, even amid harsh conditions, is the welcome result of the patriotic and devoted efforts of the entire Korean people, who strive to quickly bring about a happy future for themselves and for posterity by dint of self-reliance and self-development. The Korean people, who aspire to a full and perfect realization of the priority goals of overall national prosperity, must first and foremost defend the security environment and development interests of the State. However, the high- handed and arbitrary practices of some Member States have created an unpleasant situation on the Korea peninsula this year, which runs counter to the theme of the current session and its orientation towards peace, prosperity and progress for all. Owing to the reckless and continued nuclear showdown hysteria of the United States and the forces of its followers, 2023 was recorded as an extremely dangerous year, in which the military security situation in and around the Korean peninsula was driven closer to the brink of a nuclear war. Since the beginning of the year, the United States and the Republic of Korea have been making hysterical remarks of confrontation, using such terms as “end of the regime” and “occupation of Pyongyang”, in flagrant violation of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. They staged their largest-ever joint military exercises of a clearly aggressive nature on our doorstep — one after another — including the Freedom Shield, Ssangryong, Combined Joint Fire Annihilation Drill and Ulchi Freedom Shield operations. After fabricating the so-called Nuclear Consultative Group in April, which is committed to the planning, operation and execution of a pre-emptive nuclear strike against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the United States has moved on to the practical stage of realizing its sinister intention to provoke a nuclear war, frequently dispatching strategic nuclear submarines and strategic nuclear bombers carrying nuclear weapons to locations in and around the Korean peninsula for the first time in decades. The formation of the tripartite military alliance of the United States, Japan and the Republic of Korea has also put into practice its long-sought ambition for an Asian version of NATO, thereby introducing a new Cold War structure to North-East Asia. The current dangerous situation on the Korean peninsula is attributable to the United States and its attempt to realize its ambition for hegemony by all means, overestimating its powers. But due responsibility also lies with the incumbent Republic of Korea ruling forces, which seek to impose the scourge of a nuclear war on the nation, obsessed with pro-United States submission and fratricidal confrontation. Only a few days ago, in this Hall, Yoon Suk Yeol unreasonably denounced our just and legitimate measures to enhance national defence capabilities, and went as far as to make provocative remarks about the normal development of our cooperative relations with our friendly neighbours (see A/78/PV.6). The development of equal and reciprocal relations among independent sovereign States is not an issue for the Republic of Korea to interfere in, as it is no more than a colony of the United States. Ever since the current puppet Government came to power, the whole area of the Republic of Korea has literally turned into a military colony, a powder keg of war and a military outpost of the United States, due to its sycophantic and humiliating policy of depending on outside forces. Now the Korean peninsula is in a hair-trigger situation and is in imminent danger of the outbreak of nuclear war. The reckless acts of the United States and the forces of its followers are having an irreversibly destructive impact on the regional political and military situations and security structure, as they drive the situation of the Korean peninsula towards an actual armed conflict. Given the prevailing circumstances, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is urgently required to further accelerate the build-up of its self- defence capabilities in order to defend itself and make the country more secure. It is only too natural that, in response to an increasing number of reckless military moves and intensified provocations by the hostile forces that threaten the sovereignty and security interests of our State, our endeavours to enhance national defence capabilities should increase in direct proportion. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea remains steadfast and unchanged in its determination to firmly defend the nation’s sovereignty and security interests and the well-being of the people against the hostile threats from outside. The United States and the forces of its followers should look back on the consequences of the hostilities they have committed to date, which tarnish the image of our State and gravely infringe upon our security and fundamental interests, and they should make the right choice based on the likely result. Comrade Kim Jong Un, President of the State Affairs of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said that we should not tolerate the imperialists’ moves for aggression and war against sovereign nations; instead, we should struggle to ward off the danger of war and defend global peace and security. Now the United States is arbitrarily judging other countries by its unilateral hegemonic values and is imposing factional confrontations on them, creating deep divisions and conflicts among States. As the United States seeks political and military collusion on an unprecedented scale in order to allegedly cement an alliance and revive and expand on a global scale such an aggressive military bloc as NATO, whose days are numbered, the world is now faced with the worst security crisis since the Second World War. No country or region in the world can be said to be secure as long as high-handed acts are taken by domineering forces that pose a threat to other nations’ security, while scheming and inciting bloody confrontations, coups d’état and wars in different parts of the planet in pursuit of their hegemony and expansion. The current reality urgently demands that the United Nations strictly adhere to the principles of impartiality and objectivity and fulfil responsibly its mission and role, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter, in keeping with its mission to save the present and future of humankind from the scourge of war and realize international justice. The issue to be addressed before anything else in United Nations activities is to ensure that the Security Council is not allowed to be used as an instrument of specific forces for pursuing their geopolitical purposes, but strictly observes the principles of objectivity, impartiality and equity, befitting its heavy responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. It was only a month ago that the Security Council disgracefully convened meetings (see S/PV.9406) to debate as separate agenda items the legitimate right to a satellite launch and a human rights issue relating to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, a full- fledged State Member of the United Nations. The decision by the Security Council to discuss the just and independent right of a sovereign State and to groundlessly take issue with the human rights situation of an individual country amounts to nothing more than an insult to the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and the deliberate neglect of the Council’s mission. Such actions bear absolutely no relation to the Council’s mandate of maintaining international peace and security. On the contrary, the Security Council has never expressed concern about the nefarious nuclear war exercises carried out by the United States and its acolytes against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or about their continued deployment of strategic assets, both of which clearly constitute a threat to the peace and security of the Korean peninsula and the rest of the world. In defiance of strong protests and criticism from the international community, Japan discharged nuclear- contaminated water into the ocean, thereby causing irrevocable damage to the safety of humankind and the marine ecosystem. Nevertheless, the Security Council remains silent, and some permanent members do not even hesitate to resort to the irresponsible act of instigating it. The Security Council’s failure to uphold its inherent duty and responsibility to defend global peace and security has its root cause in the unfair behaviour of, and the double standards applied by, the United States and some Member States obedient to it. If the Security Council does not observe the principles of sovereign equality and respect for sovereignty enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, it will never live up to its reputation of representing the collective will of the Member States, and instead will earn the Council only the shameful name of inner chamber of the United States. In order to prevent the high-handedness and arbitrariness of specific forces, including the United States, in the Security Council, it is essential to reform the irrational Western-led structure of its membership. and to that end to expand and strengthen the representation of developing countries, which make up the absolute majority of the United Nations membership. The Security Council should also stop discrediting sovereign States, interfering in their domestic affairs and fomenting confrontation and division by discussing issues that are detrimental to the Council’s mission and mandate. The delegation of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea avails itself of this opportunity to extend its full support to Cuba, which unwaveringly bears aloft the banner of socialism in the face of the heinous sanctions and blockade and the subversive schemes of the United States. We also strongly reject and condemn the United States economic, commercial and financial blockade against Cuba  — a decades-long economic genocide — and that country’s designation as a State sponsor of terrorism, and we demand an immediate end to both policy measures. At the same time, we call for the immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of all coercive and unjustifiable measures against Syria, Venezuela, Iran and other independent countries. We also express our steadfast support for, and solidarity with, the Palestinian people in their righteous cause to regain their legitimate national rights, including the establishment of an independent State with East Al-Quds as its capital. Independence, peace and friendship are the foreign policy ideas consistently championed by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Moreover, in the future we will forge unity and cooperation with all countries and nations that aspire to independence and love justice, while opposing and rejecting aggression, intervention, domination and subordination, regardless of differences in ideas and systems. We will also expand and develop diversified exchanges and cooperation with capitalist countries that respect our country and are friendly to us.

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Marc Hermanne Gninadoou Araba, Chair of the delegation of the Republic of Benin.

I have the privilege and signal honour, on behalf of Mr. Patrice Talon, President of the Republic of Benin, who is unable to be here today, to deliver this statement, as follows. “At the beginning of my remarks, I would like to extend to Mr. Dennis Francis my warm congratulations on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session. I wish him every success in fulfilling this great responsibility. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, whom Benin is honoured to have supported in its capacity as Vice-President, for the remarkable way in which he presided over the work of the seventy-seventh session. “I cannot conclude my opening remarks without reiterating my thanks to Mr. António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for his active and constant commitment to the effective achievement of the noble objectives of our shared Organization, in the context of the many pressing challenges that confront us today more than ever. “Here we are once again, gathered at the general debate, the annual meeting of the community of nations, not only to discuss the burning issues of world affairs but also, and above all, to provide the political guidelines needed to build a viable consensus on the ways and means of resolving them. “Before engaging in that exercise, I would like to extend to the Assembly the warmest greetings of my Government and of the entire Beninese nation, a nation that is tirelessly striving to reveal to itself and to the whole world its potential and its strengths and to fully play its part in the community of nations in the service of a more united and prosperous humankind. “Indeed, for just over seven years, Benin has been methodically carrying out the major reforms set out in my Government’s two successive plans of action, which are anchored in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our efforts have enabled us to increase our growth rate from 4 per cent in 2016 to 7.6 per cent in 2019 and to join the category of middle-income countries as of 2020. These results deepen our conviction that underdevelopment is not inevitable. “In order to ensure that economic growth effectively serves the cause of social development, my Government has adopted a series of measures aimed at eliminating poverty and strengthening human capital. We are working tirelessly to improve our people’s living conditions through flagship initiatives in urban development and sanitation, access to energy and drinking water and education and health care. That effort is taking place in a calmer political environment, with the successful organization in January of this year of free and transparent legislative elections that bolstered plurality in the national political landscape. “Despite those many achievements, we remain aware that many economic challenges persist, many social issues remain unaddressed and security risks persist at the subregional level. “Located in West Africa, Benin faces a series of challenges and complex dynamics that have a significant effect on a variety of areas, including security and political stability. It is no secret that, at the political level, the West African subregion is grappling with instability and problems of governance. Furthermore, the security threat has intensified in several countries due to the combination of terrorism, violent extremism and piracy. Solving those challenges will require subregional and international cooperation, as well as a continued commitment to sustainable development and democracy. As a peace-loving country, Benin remains committed to the ideals that governed the establishment of the Economic Community of West African States at the subregional level and of the United Nations at the international level, and will not fail to contribute to the resolution of the problems I mentioned, which will require coordinated international responses and stronger cooperation at the global level. “The theme that brings us together this year is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and the sustainability for all”, which fits perfectly with the agenda of the United Nations, which conducted an assessment of progress towards the implementation of the 2030 Agenda at the SDG summit held a few days ago. In the current global context, replete with various crises, in particular the worrisome effects of climate change, the war in Ukraine and its consequences and the political unrest in a number of countries, we are approaching the current session even as humankind continues to face a multitude of complex challenges. “The past few years have been particularly challenging for people around the world, highlighting the fragilities of our world in the context of globalization, the coronavirus disease pandemic and its consequences. In our world, which has been shaken, divided by inequalities and weakened in the face of new threats, the United Nations must remain for the people of the planet a beacon of hope, solidarity and humanism that we must strengthen and preserve at all costs. The theme of the current session of the General Assembly brings us face to face with our responsibilities and urges us to renew our faith in the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. It reminds us of the urgency of taking collective action to find appropriate and sustainable solutions to the challenges of our time, the most pressing of which is that of achieving the SDGs by 2030. Those challenges underline, more than ever, the crucial role that multilateral institutions must play for our prosperity and our collective security. Benin therefore supports all initiatives that will contribute to the strengthening and ambitious overhaul of global governance, through appropriate reforms along three major lines. “The overhaul of the United Nations that we are calling for requires us to take full measure of the fact that the world has changed greatly since 1945 and that, if we want to keep the promises of the Charter, the governance of the United Nations must be reformed with a view to adapting the Organization to the challenges of our time. At this time, I wish to renew my delegation’s political support for the reform agenda proposed and launched by the Secretary-General with respect to the three pillars of peace and security, development and human rights. Furthermore, the severity of the crises shaking the world and the geopolitical changes that have occurred since 1945 require a readjustment of the balance of power at the United Nations, particularly in the Security Council. In that regard, Benin calls for an effective and immediate reform that will make that organ more representative and effective, in particular through an increase in the number of its representatives, permanent and non-permanent, in line with the African position expressed by the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. That overhaul must also take place at the level of the multilateral trading system, with fairer trade rules for the international environment that favour developing countries and promote the production and creation of added value, access to markets and integration into all segments of the global value chains. “Finally, there is an urgent need for an overhaul of the global financial architecture in the current context that some describe as a “great financial divide”, in which the global financial system struggles to effectively curb the impacts of global crises on the countries of the South and to promote the financing of sustainable development in a meaningful way. At the halfway mark to the deadline of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, if we want to increase our chances of achieving the goals we have set for ourselves, it will be imperative to ensure an environment that allows better access to structuring and sustainable financing. That imperative calls for an approach that goes beyond the traditional official development assistance mechanism and towards productive direct investments, at the lowest interest rates and with the longest possible timelines. “It is only subject to such courageous reforms, supported by firm political will, that we can effectively face the major contemporary challenges confronting us and on which our Organization stakes its credibility at both the national and the international levels. Those challenges are, inter alia, peace and security, including cybersecurity; democracy and human rights; access to water and energy in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner; health and education; the fight against poverty and inequalities, whether economic, social or otherwise; climate change, biodiversity and the environment; food safety; and migration. Those challenges are interconnected, and international cooperation, concerted action and innovative solutions will be required to solve contemporary global problems and build a more sustainable and equitable future for all. “The credibility of our Organization will also depend on our ability to finally provide, in a fair and lasting manner, peaceful solutions to questions that have persisted for decades, including the following questions. With regard to peace and security in the Middle East, in particular the Palestinian question, Benin reaffirms its support for diplomatic initiatives aimed at creating a viable Palestinian State endowed with the attributes of full international sovereignty and living in peaceful coexistence with the State of Israel. With regard to the economic, commercial and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States of America, my delegation is of the opinion that the relaxation, or even the lifting, of the embargo will allow the Cuban people to face the numerous crises currently disrupting our world; in that context, we call for concrete measures to be taken towards the complete and definitive lifting of the blockade, as well as the normalization of relations between those two countries, which are friends of Benin. With regard to the question of the Western Sahara, it merits increased efforts on the part of the international community to find a definitive solution, building on the achievements of the political process conducted under the auspices of the Secretary- General pursuant to the implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions. “The future of the United Nations, our shared Organization, depends on our collective responsibility to give it the means to strengthen itself and contribute to creating a more inclusive global governance system that keeps its promises and guarantees the best possible future for the people of the United Nations, especially young people. My delegation will continue to take action alongside all countries that share that ideal.”

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Damiano Beleffi, Chair of the delegation of San Marino.

On behalf of the Government of the Republic of San Marino, we would like to congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy- eighth session and to wish him success in his work. I would also like to extend my special thanks to Secretary-General António Guterres for his energy and determination in leading the United Nations in these difficult and challenging times. The coming years will be crucial not only for our future but for that of generations to come. The promises of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development are in danger. Despite years of sustainable development gains, millions of people have fallen into poverty, and hunger and malnutrition are becoming more prevalent. We are concerned about the multiple interlinked crises that are pushing our world, especially developing countries, towards the brink. The crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, migration, forced displacement, the cost-of-living crisis and the water, food, financial and energy crises are threatening our planet and people and derailing progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Moreover, the intensification of conflicts in many parts of the world, together with natural disasters, which have become more frequent and intense, are causing human suffering and compromising the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The increasingly evident interrelationships among global challenges highlight the need for Member States to work together to overcome difficulties today more than ever. No individual State, not even the most powerful or technologically advanced State, has the capacity to face global challenges on its own. San Marino reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism, with the United Nations at its centre, in particular in the framework of the General Assembly, which is the most representative body of the United Nations on account of its deeply democratic nature, universal participation and undisputed legitimacy. We need to strengthen our commitment to implement existing agreements, such as the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and international law treaties, and make the necessary reforms to the system. We need to revitalize the United Nations by reinvigorating multilateralism, if we want to pursue credible solutions to global challenges. To that end, it is essential to rebuild trust in the potential of the Organization and its leadership — and most of all, trust among its Members and all its stakeholders. Moreover, global governance must become more inclusive and accountable to be effective, by providing more space for the participation of civil society and the private sector. It must ensure sustainable financing by catalysing a new generation of public and private investment in global goods, as well as strengthening the global financial safety net in order to make it possible for Member States to access international funding during times of crisis. Reforms must remain at the centre of our action, because they are crucial to future world stability and the maintenance of international peace and security. In that regard, San Marino is following with particular interest the reform of the Security Council. As we have stated on previous occasions, our country believes that the intergovernmental negotiations favour the search for an agreement based on a broad and strong political consensus that is able to reflect the interests of all negotiating groups. San Marino calls for reform that makes the Council more democratic, transparent, efficient and accountable. That goal can be achieved only through continuous dialogue among Member States and the awareness that overcoming their respective initial positions is essential to negotiate the broadest agreement possible. We are facing difficult times, with an unprecedented level of violence, mass atrocities and displacement. San Marino is deeply concern about the number and the scale of armed conflicts across the globe, which are causing immense suffering to millions of civilians. San Marino is also very concerned about the alarming increase in dangerous nuclear rhetoric and nuclear threats, which reinforce the image of a dark future, instead of a sustainable one. Any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is irresponsible and totally unacceptable. Unfortunately, the risk of nuclear weapons being used either deliberately or by accident is higher today than at any other time since the Cold War. The use of nuclear weapons would cause mass-scale death and destruction and would have catastrophic and prolonged consequences for human health and well- being, as well as the environment. San Marino reaffirms its commitment to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons and attaches great importance to the milestone Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which more than 90 States have signed to date. The war of aggression against Ukraine has resulted in dramatic consequences for the civilian population, including civilian deaths, the destruction of vital infrastructure and massive displacement. San Marino condemns the Russian aggression against Ukraine and supports Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, within its internationally recognized borders. At the same time, San Marino welcomes all international efforts to bring about a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in Ukraine, in line with the Charter of the United Nations, the relevant General Assembly resolutions and international law. San Marino supports upholding obligations under humanitarian law, such as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Rome Statute and the Geneva Conventions. San Marino reaffirms its full commitment to the International Criminal Court, whose work is crucial to the fight against impunity for genocide and crimes against humanity and which represents one of the core elements for the implementation of the responsibility to protect. Through its work, the International Court of Justice fosters accountability and thereby promotes prevention and reconciliation. Armed conflicts around the globe have dramatically impacted the lives of millions of civilians and have resulted in continued and massive displacement. San Marino is alarmed by the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis affecting hundreds of millions of people around the world. The protection of civilian infrastructure is key to ensuring food security in times of conflict. When infrastructure and tools essential to the survival of civilians are damaged or destroyed, food production and distribution, water delivery, sanitation, energy provision and health care can all be disrupted. San Marino calls on all parties to implement Security Council resolution 2417 (2018), which condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare, as well as the unlawful denial of humanitarian access. Furthermore, San Marino supports Security Council resolution 2573 (2021), which condemns attacks against the critical civilian infrastructure that is indispensable for the population’s survival. San Marino is particularly concerned about the high number of grave violations against children reported once again this year in the report of the Secretary- General (A/78/1). Armed conflicts continue to devastate children’s lives and compromise their fundamental rights. We are witnessing an increase in attacks on schools and hospitals. That is unacceptable. San Marino firmly condemns attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as their use for military purposes. Health care and education are fundamental children’s rights that must always be preserved. We reiterate our support for the Safe Schools Declaration. Educational facilities should be a safe place for all children, students and teachers. We are also concerned about the substantial increase in the recruitment and use of child soldiers. We call on all Member States to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict. We also encourage all parties to support other important tools, such as the Paris Principles, the Paris Commitments and the Vancouver Principles on Peacekeeping and the Prevention of the Recruitment and Use of Child Soldiers. San Marino supports the work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict and her Office and welcomes the new action plans and commitments that have been signed or are in progress. The increasing number of conflicts shows how diplomacy, mediation and conflict prevention are tools that must be strengthened in order to achieve sustainable peace. Today more than ever, political solutions, inclusive peace processes, conflict-prevention strategy and strong faith in multilateralism are required. Today we face several interrelated security challenges. Access to natural resources is one of them, while climate change is increasingly both an existential threat and a key driver of conflict. The link between the climate emergency and security issues is self-evident, and it needs to be addressed within the Security Council in order to respond to the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable communities. The effects of climate change are causing suffering to the most vulnerable communities, especially small island developing States, least developed countries and those affected by conflict. Rising sea levels, poor precipitation and record temperatures exacerbate the risk of instability by reducing harvests, displacing communities and destroying infrastructure. Climate policies and green transitions offer opportunities for reducing the devastating effects of climate change. It is imperative to address the challenges posed by climate change through ambitious mitigation and adaptation, in addition to the implementation of the loss-and-damage agenda and an adequate climate finance agenda. If we fail, there will be devastating effects, not only for the planet but also for development and human rights. Without the immediate acceleration of the implementation of the SDGs, our world will endure new periods of crisis and uncertainty. The recent SDG Summit represented a chance to scale up the efforts to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, including through development cooperation, SDG investments, enhancing macroeconomic policy cooperation and implementing actions to accelerate sustainable development, in particular in support of developing countries. San Marino commits to accelerating action to remove all legal, social and economic barriers to achieving gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls. We also support the empowerment of other vulnerable groups, such as young people and persons with disabilities, aimed at the realization and full enjoyment of their human rights. San Marino believes it is essential to continue to work for an inclusive and equitable quality education, including early childhood education and digital education, and we stress the importance of addressing the gender gap in education. In that regard, we welcome the outcomes of the 2022 Transforming Education Summit. San Marino calls on all Member States to spread the benefit of digitalization by expanding the participation of all countries, in particular developing countries, in the digital economy. We also believe it is extremely important to accelerate the transition to sustainable food systems and promote healthy nutrition, diets and consumption practices, and to recover the momentum and accelerate the efforts to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition. In that respect, we welcome the outcome of the 2023 Food Systems Summit + 2 Stocktaking Moment, which served as the first global follow-up to the 2021 Food Systems Summit. Moreover, as a promoter of resolution 74/209, which established the 29 September as the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, San Marino firmly believes that the fight against food loss and waste will contribute to promoting food security, and we welcome all the initiatives aiming at developing awareness of such responsible behaviours. In conclusion, if we want to build inclusive, equitable and peaceful societies, it is essential to find new ways of working together and to ensure that multilateral institutions will be able to address the rapid changes taking place. Member States must shoulder their responsibilities, including that of enabling our Organization to fulfil its mandate, which is to protect the citizens of the world. Thanks to its century-old history of peace and freedom, San Marino is a State with a strong vocation for dialogue and solidarity. Our State is small, but we are proud to make our contribution to the work of the United Nations.

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Robert Rae, Chair of the delegation of Canada.

I am very honoured to speak to the General Assembly on behalf of the Government of Canada. I recognize that I am doing so on the traditional territory of the Lenape people. I would first like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election as President of the General Assembly. If I may say so, it is wonderful to see a member of the community of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations taking charge. It has been a pleasure working with you, Sir, and I look forward to working together in the time ahead. I would like to offer our sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the terrible floods in Libya, and to our dear friends in Morocco, who are mourning the many lives that were taken by the devastating earthquake. Let me assure the Assembly that Canada stands ready to assist in whatever way we can in the face of those challenging situations. We are also thinking today — as we see the very tragic photographs and videos  — of the Armenians who are leaving Nagorno-Karabakh after such a challenging experience over the past several months and indeed years. Just before I came to New York, I had the opportunity to work with an indigenous council of leaders in Northern Ontario, Canada. They had what I thought was a very effective slogan, which was quite simple. It talked about the power of unity and the dignity of difference. I believe that is a theme we should perhaps think about. Sometimes people talk about the failure of the United Nations, and I point out to them that, no, it is actually the divided nations that are failing. When we are united, we succeed. It is when we are divided that we fail. I therefore suggest that we seize this time and all the times we have to make a difference. But we will only succeed if we come together. We are at the halfway point in trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, which we all agreed we would work on eight years ago. We recently adopted the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. We are also approaching the first global stocktaking of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. However, in listening to the speeches over the past week, it has been very clear that there is a profound consensus that we are very far behind where we need to be to meet the commitments that we have all made to our populations and to one another. The health of our planet, our people and our institutions, the well-being of all our populations and indeed our global economy are all at serious risk. I met earlier last week with Wilton Littlechild, a former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and a member of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in addition to being a negotiator of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He talked to me very directly about how it is so critical that we not look at the issues in isolation. As we speak here, we go from topic to topic and from things we have to cover to the next thing we have to cover. But it is important we see them all as a whole. We need to recognize how things are connected. (spoke in French) I can assure everyone that, like many people in the countries of our Organization, Canadians, too, are worried about the cost of living. They are also concerned about artificial intelligence, foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation. As we all know full well — and as the citizens of New York know full well — Canadians are also experiencing climate and environmental crises. This summer, Canadians witnessed the most destructive forest fires in our country’s history. We had never seen anything like that before this summer, and it demonstrated the extent to which we are all interconnected. Those fires were on a never-before-seen scale. They were burning at the same time, everywhere. And that was not unique to Canada. Fires raged on an unprecedented scale around the world. That was not a glimpse into our future, but a testament to our present. Our response to these challenges must not be complacency, division or nostalgia for the past. This is not about pointing the finger or of looking for panaceas. What is important is taking concrete measures to help address — both in Canada and around the world — the challenges we all face together. (spoke in English) We are taking steps at the national level, of course. And it is entirely right and normal that all of us would be taking steps at home to deal with the crisis that we face. For example, in Canada, we made a decision to admit more people into our country than ever before because we have found and discovered that immigration has made us a better country and it has made us a better place to live. We have also decided to put a price on carbon because we know that we must do everything we can to curb climate change, even as we know that we have to do more ourselves. We believe strongly that reducing emissions is a duty that is shared, but so is the need to ensure something else — the access to capital on longer terms and with more favourable rates in order to help in the green transformation of the global economy. That is why we recently agreed to donate more of our special drawing rights at the International Monetary Fund, as the Prime Minister announced last week. We made the decision to grant 48 per cent of our own drawing rights to other countries. That is the highest number among those that have special drawing rights, and we encourage others to follow that example. We also continue to search for ways to break down gender barriers and to end systemic racism — to not be afraid to describe it as such and to say it is something we have to continue to deal with. We continue to strive to protect and promote the rights of two-spirit, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual individuals and communities, in all their diversity. And let me say from this platform why we do that and why I describe it in this way. It is because it is so fundamental to human nature itself to let people be themselves, to let people be who they are and to have the right to celebrate their own identity, without repression, without division and without discrimination. It is foundational for us. And yes, so is walking the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples because, with full humility and in recognition of our own faults, we have found strength in diversity, purpose in equity and unity in inclusion. And like many others, we have found greater peace in finally admitting the truth of who we are. Late last month, at the invitation of the Government of Panama, I had the opportunity to visit the Darién Gap  — the jungle that serves as the border between Colombia and Panama. I saw the irregular migration crisis unfolding there, as we call it, where, in real terms, it is hundreds of thousands of men, women and especially children who are risking their lives to cross the Gap. The sheer number of people who are crossing and on this journey is shocking, and it has to be seen in a much broader light. I had the chance to speak with individuals from many different countries, of course from the region, but also from Afghanistan, China and Syria. And this regional crisis, which is now very much in the Americas, is part of a global crisis. There are today more than 108 million people that are forcibly displaced around the world. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya remain displaced in Bangladesh and in their native Rakhine, as the military junta continues its brutal and illegal crackdown in Myanmar. In Afghanistan, where the de facto authorities are repressing the rights of women and girls, more than 5 million people are displaced or refugees. After more than 12 years of war, more than 12 million Syrians are internally displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries. Two million have now been displaced by the conflict in the Sudan, including those already scarred by the genocidal violence in Darfur. (spoke in French) Conflicts are one of the main drivers of this global crisis, as are climate change, natural disasters and economic insecurity. Those who are seeking to cross the Darién Gap are fleeing all of those factors for displacement. The numerous people who are trying to cross the Gap showed me the consequences of our action or our inaction here, at the United Nations. And my visit strengthened my deep conviction that what we say and what we do here at the United Nations is of crucial importance to the lives of the people we represent. We must remember our collective power. As I said earlier, power lies in unity, not in division. We must also remember our responsibility to do as much good as possible for as many people as possible. To be honest, I was moved by the remarkable work done by the United Nations and all the humanitarian organizations that I visited. We see around the world that humanitarian needs have reached historical levels. However, funding is clearly insufficient. We all know that the most sustainable solutions are political ones. They must address the underlying causes of humanitarian crises, while finding lasting solutions that respect human dignity and human rights and that create sustainable frameworks for economic development and prosperity. That is just as true in Afghanistan as it is in Myanmar, Syria and the Sudan. (spoke in English) We are also at a crossroads, as the President of the General Assembly said in his opening address. We are at a crossroads in history on two issues that are closely linked — gender equality and democracy. I was in the Hall when the President of South Africa was speaking, and he eloquently reminded us in his speech that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on the empowerment of women in all spheres of life. He called for the provision of adequate health services to every woman, child and adolescent — every kid — and made a passionate plea for the equal representation of women in decision-making. President Ramaphosa is absolutely right. Yet sometimes today we are told at the United Nations, when we are in our negotiations, that gender is too divisive an issue. We are told that to seek ambition in this area is insensitive — I have heard those words myself — that it should be put aside for compromise. Well, I could not disagree more. For us, gender equality is a not an issue to be bartered against perceptions of progress, nor is it just something nice to have or something that can be said but always has to be qualified. Gender equality — the equality between men and women, the equality among all human beings  — is core to our dignity. It is the foundation of freedom; it is the foundation of justice; and it is the foundation of peace. If we cannot treat ourselves as equals, we will never achieve the things we want to achieve. It is also essential in our work on financing for development and in the reform of the global financial architecture. And we are committed to responding to the calls of developing countries in those discussions. As I mentioned before, it is not just what I say, it is what we do. And what we have done, is to indicate and to take the decision that we are moving forward in respect to the special drawing rights, as we have been asked to do. Sustainable economic growth cannot be realized if the opportunities for women, who represent half the population, are suppressed. At the same time, as we put great emphasis on the importance of equality, we also have to uphold the values of free and democratic societies. We cannot bend the rules of State-to-State relations for political expediency, because we have seen and continue to see the extent to which democracies are under threat through various means of foreign interference. But the truth is, if we do not adhere to the rules that we have agreed to, the very fabric of our open and free societies may start to tear. We also have to protect and promote the principles of equality and universality of access to health care for all, including sexual and reproductive health rights for all women. By building open, inclusive societies and by promoting and protecting human rights for all, everyone benefits. That is how we get closer to equality and to justice. (spoke in French) I turn now to the situation in Haiti. We must also work together to address the urgent humanitarian, political and civil crisis in Haiti. Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau convened a meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, which Canada is proud to chair. We are grateful for the participation of leaders from Haiti, from Caribbean countries and from many others. If I may say so, I very much appreciated the statement delivered here earlier this morning by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jamaica. We have heard it loud and clear: the security situation in Haiti is dire. Rape is being systematically used as a weapon, while violence, corruption and impunity are the norm. We therefore unreservedly support the intensification of efforts deployed by the Security Council to address the situation as a priority. The offer from Kenya to lead a security support assistance mission in Haiti is a testimony to its leadership and solidarity. We also welcome the contributions pledged by Jamaica, the Bahamas and other countries. We commend those countries and international organizations that have joined the international joint security coordination cell that was announced in June by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, Ms. Melanie Joly. Canada has made significant investments in the Haitian security sector and will continue to do so. We encourage others to join us in that effort. At the same time, we reiterate our appeal for an inclusive political dialogue. We once again encourage all stakeholders to work together in a spirit of compromise for the benefit of the Haitian people. It is essential to re-establish constitutional order, pave the way for free and fair elections, and ultimately address the root causes of the violence. But above all, a comprehensive approach that supports Haitian-led solutions and includes urgent measures in the fields of security, humanitarian assistance and development is absolutely essential. (spoke in English) Security for everyone living in Haiti is a precondition for all else that we must do. But in doing so, we must reinforce that security by working on the humanitarian, development and political crises. We have to show what we can do in that joined-up effort. Over the past decades, the Middle East and the wider world have struggled with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was an issue in 1945 and it remains an issue today. Today Canadians are greatly concerned by the trajectory of the conflict, noting in particular the rising levels of violence in the West Bank and in Israel, the continued risk of escalation between Israel and Gaza and groups in Lebanon and the continued growth of Israeli settlements that do not have a foundation in international law. The measures and rhetoric that make two States impossible has to stop. We are committed to the goal of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, which includes the creation of a Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel. We urge both parties to return to the negotiating table and make the difficult compromises that will be required to achieve that result. We firmly oppose the unilateral actions that jeopardize efforts for peace and the failure to embrace all that is entailed in creating two States that are not bickering or at war and fighting each other, or threatening each other, but live in peace, in mutual recognition and with that concept of the dignity of difference. Unless we get there, we will have only deeper conflict. That has to be avoided. (spoke in French) The path that we take together at this crossroads in history will determine the future of our Organization. It will also have an impact on the lives of all of our citizens. We have seen the power of the veto of the permanent members of the Security Council used to prevent the Council from reacting to atrocities and aggression. We support voluntary restraint on the use of the veto by all permanent members in situations in which civilians are at risk of atrocity crimes. We also support efforts that seek to increase the number of elected members of the Council in order to guarantee more equitable representation of a larger number of developing countries around the world. We challenge all permanent members of the Council to accept, more fully and more publicly, the need to become more effective, more inclusive and more transparent. Now is the time for reform. That appeal does not stop at the Security Council. All of our intergovernmental processes, within all organs of the United Nations, must become more efficient. We must be open to making the necessary changes. It is up to us to decide. Yes, we are halfway to 2030 and yes, we are falling behind. But we are also capable of rectifying the situation and forging ahead together. Canada is convinced that we can indeed do so. Multilateralism has always evolved — that has been the case in the past and it will be the case in the future — but we must act. Our institutions, including the international financial architecture, do not need to be static. We have worked closely with our colleagues from Jamaica and Barbados and with the Secretary-General because we all believe in the possibility of change and the need to undertake efforts towards significant progress. We will continue to invest, as we have done in the past, because we believe in the United Nations. We believe that the Organization can build lasting peace. (spoke in English) I have to conclude on a sombre note. What remains the greatest threat to global peace and security today — and there is no getting around it, there is no avoiding it and not calling it what it is — is Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We wake up every morning, our time, to the news of which city has been bombed, which children have been maimed and which communities have been destroyed. The Charter of the United Nations clearly commits us all to end the scourge of war. Those are the first words of what we were determined to do. The Russian Federation signed the Charter of the United Nations and yet, despite that signature, for 580 days the Russian Federation has waged an illegal and immoral war of aggression against a fellow Member of this Organization, namely, Ukraine. The Russians went to the International Court of Justice and said that it was not an invasion, it was self-defence. They said that they were exercising their right under Article 51 of the Charter, and besides that, that it was a genocide caused by the Ukrainians. The only problem with those arguments was that the Court looked at them and said that they were not true. This is an invasion of one country by another. It is the most fundamental breach of the Charter one could imagine. The costs of the war are staggering. First of all, there is the unimaginable cost in lives  — thousands upon thousands — with hospitals and schools bombed, people displaced and children abducted and forcibly deported. President Zelenskyy was right when he said that it was a global natural disaster. It has caused volatility in food and energy prices at a time when the global economy was already struggling. And what has been Russia’s response? First, it has denied that it is happening and has called it a special military operation generated under Article 51. Those are just lies. They are not compatible with what we know and what we can see are the facts. Russia has also blocked the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It is holding the world’s food supply hostage. It is causing the cost of living to go up in every country in the world. It is putting millions of people out of work in countries all over the world. It is turning countries against each other. We have to realize that Russia does not have the best interests of any of us in mind. And we simply cannot allow President Putin and his enablers to pretend that the Charter does not exist and make a mockery of our foundational law in the relationships between us. The truth is that Russia has committed a terrible aggression and is committing a terrible aggression each and every day. We received a report earlier this week saying that torture is being committed as a matter of State policy. We believe that Russia has to be held accountable, and we are determined to see justice served. Canada welcomes the International Criminal Court’s indictments of President Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights because we believe that no one is above the law. But what have the Russians done even this week? This week they issued arrest warrants against three senior officials — judges of the International Criminal Court. The President of the International Criminal Court, who speaks from this rostrum every year describing the work of the Court, is under an arrest warrant issued by the Russians. Imagine what it would be like if we lived in a world where, in any of our countries, a criminal indicted for crimes could simply say, “Well, fine. I am just going to take out the chief justice”. These are terrible things. We will do everything we can to support Ukraine as it continues to defend itself and its people, identity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We believe that is fully in line with our commitments under the Charter and international law, and we also believe that it is the war that is not legal. It is the war that is fundamentally immoral. It is a war that Russia started, and Russia can end it. Russia could end it right now by simply saying that it is over and pulling its troops back. That would be the end of the war. There would be no invasion of Russia. It would be over. Peace would come. People say that they want peace. Tell that to the Russians. They are the ones who can create peace, with the snap of their fingers. Let me go back to where I started just to say that we have to seize the chance we have to make a difference. (spoke in French) We must seize all the opportunities before us to make a difference. (spoke in English) We have to find within ourselves the ability to create unity where there is division. We have to find inside ourselves the capacity to recognize the importance of accepting differences. If we can do that, we can create a United Nations that will be worthy of the name. That is our job and our obligation, and that is the work we have to do.

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Odo Tevi, Chair of the delegation of the Republic of Vanuatu.

I have the great honour to address the General Assembly on behalf of the Government and the people of the Republic of Vanuatu. At the outset, I would like to sincerely congratulate you, Sir, on your well-deserved election as President of the Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, and to assure you of the full support and cooperation of the Vanuatu delegation during your term. I commend your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, on the Assembly’s many remarkable achievements under his stewardship during challenging times. I also congratulate Secretary-General António Guterres on his determined and skilful leadership of the United Nations in promoting peace, security and development. I would like to express Vanuatu’s sincere condolences to the Governments and the peoples of Morocco and Libya, who have been severely affected by the recent devastating earthquake and floods. Vanuatu stands in solidarity with both countries during these difficult times. We are meeting at a time of unprecedented global crisis and uncertainty. We are failing to address the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. We are hurtling from one emergency to the next, unable to address the global shocks resulting from new technologies, pandemics, rapidly changing economies and accelerating poverty and inequality. We are putting the existence of future generations at risk. The world is at a historic crossroads. Geopolitical tensions are exacerbating the global challenges of our time. We are confronted by multipolarization and the conflicting interests of major Powers. The lack of trust among the major Powers is weakening the foundations of multilateralism. Those challenges are global in nature and their resolution therefore requires deepened international cooperation. It is essential that we respect and adhere to the international rule of law, and that includes the Charter of the United Nations. We need a renewed commitment to multilateralism, with the United Nations at its core. We welcome the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, an initiative that we see as a transformative tool for effective multilateralism. Vanuatu also welcomes the theme of the seventy- eighth session, “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and the sustainability for all”, which is relevant to addressing the current global challenges and accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Despite the changing international environment, the United Nations has shown that it can be strong when the will of its members is harnessed for positive collective action. We have seen the recent successful international legally binding instrument agreed on under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of the marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction, a breakthrough in establishing a loss and damage fund at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the adoption of resolution 77/276, initiated by Vanuatu through the Pacific Islands Forum for an International Court of Justice advisory opinion on climate change. All of those efforts are a notable testament to effective multilateralism. The guiding principles of these extraordinary institutions are the promotion of international peace and security, development and human rights and the eradication of poverty. The most recent in a chain of events challenging those principles is the Ukraine conflict. The danger of escalation of the war in Ukraine further justifies Vanuatu’s resolute calls for a nuclear- free world and a universal Arms Trade Treaty, which are necessary measures to prevent global human disasters. In that regard, we must find the means to quickly reach consensus on nuclear non-proliferation. We can find comfort in initiatives such as the Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace, a tool that offers us a unifying vision anchored in trust, universality and solidarity. It can help us to address all forms and domains of threat  — from prevention, peacemaking and peacekeeping to peacebuilding and sustainable development. I remain firmly convinced that the challenges that have come so sharply into focus in recent years and months emphasize the call by Vanuatu and many other Member States for the reform of the Security Council and other United Nations agencies. This reform is overdue and is critical to reflect today’s global realities. We are halfway through the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. With a worrisome lack of progress, decades of development gains have been undermined and, in some cases, reversed by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), climate change and rising inflation, threatening the success of the 2030 Agenda. In its accelerated development path, Vanuatu leads a holistic and transformative approach, focusing on economic, social and environmental development, national well-being indicators, as well as building a peaceful society based on democratic institutions and human rights. Putting the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda into action is not merely a Government priority, it is an inclusive national undertaking across all State institutions, as well as civil society. In the lead-up to the 2030 deadline, the Vanuatu Government convened a six-day national summit of the people, from 25 to 30 July, where all stakeholders, including those from academia and the corporate sphere, youth leaders and civil society representatives, across Vanuatu revisited and committed their efforts to implementing The People’s Plan 2030, Vanuatu’s development road map. As we renew efforts to double down on our commitments to the 2030 Agenda, we must acknowledge that climate change is the defining existential challenge of our time and has proven to set back decades of development progress. While our countries are the smallest contributors to global climate change, we find ourselves on the front lines of the crisis. In March, tropical Cyclone Judy hit the archipelago of Vanuatu, followed by tropical Cyclone Kevin just two days later. The twin cyclones affected about 60 per cent of the total population. Assessments estimated the total effects amounted to around 43 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the total recovery needs were estimated to be around 77 per cent of GDP. Leading into the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we once again emphasize the absolute imperative of limiting global warning to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Global efforts in that regard remain woefully inadequate, as reflected in the recent Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report confirms that we are dangerously close to overshooting the 1.5°C limitation goal. Drastic actions are required in this critical decade for course correction. We need to not only fulfil the commitments that we have already made but also increase ambition to close the mitigation gap in line with the available science. Not addressing it is a death sentence to small States such as Vanuatu. Given the existential threat imposed by climate change, Vanuatu, together with a core group of 18 countries, submitted to the General Assembly a draft resolution seeking an advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on climate change, which was adopted by consensus on 29 March (resolution 77/276). Today States and intergovernmental organizations, such as the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources and the European Union, have received permission from the International Court of Justice to provide submissions to the Court. This is a unique opportunity in our history, and I encourage Member States to prepare and present their submissions and make representations at the Court. While Vanuatu acknowledges the critical role of the Paris Agreement to affect climate change, Vanuatu believes that the Agreement does not go far enough to address the current increase in fossil fuel production. As a consequence, in May, Vanuatu hosted, the fifth Pacific Regional Energy and Transport Ministers’ Meeting, which culminated in the Port Vila call to action, which is aimed at a just and equitable transition towards a fossil fuel-free Pacific. Together with Tuvalu, we are leading a call for the establishment of a global alliance to negotiate a non-proliferation treaty to facilitate ending fossil fuel expansion, an equitable phaseout of fossil fuels and a global just transition to renewable energy. Reliable data has indicated that the Pacific small island developing States have received only 0.22 per cent of the global climate funds. That is quite remarkable, given that we face the gravest threat from the impacts of climate change. There remains a significant gap in the provision of sufficient predictable financing for implementing climate change adaptation and mitigation. With the support of development partners, we are doing our part to start the construction of climate-resilient infrastructure and projects promoting sustainable resource management to assist mitigation and adaptation work. However, more support and investments are required. I wish to reiterate that climate finance must be separate and scale up and be in addition to development finance. Both are critical to meet the development challenges we face. The promised $100 billion in climate financing must also be fully delivered, providing climate vulnerable countries, such as Vanuatu, much-needed funds for adaptation and mitigation. As we approach the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and the global stocktake of the Paris Agreement, the progress recorded so far is very worrisome We therefore cannot overemphasize the urgency of accelerating the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 as an integral part of the 2030 Agenda. We acknowledge and applaud the Secretary- General’s call to protect everyone on Earth through universal coverage of early warning systems. We are delighted to see that some Pacific Island countries are included in the Secretary-General’s projects on early warning systems. Vanuatu has undertaken the following measures, among other measures, to strengthen disaster risk management in the context of the climate change discourse: first, the new Disaster Risk Management Act, a tool that is built around preparing for and responding to disasters at the national, provincial and local levels, and secondly, a national land subdivision policy that takes a more comprehensive approach to risk reduction and climate adaptation for land development across Vanuatu. Vanuatu’s experience with cascading natural disasters has prompted the need to incorporate disaster risk reduction in development planning to ensure that its national development framework is risk-informed. We have come to realize that disaster risk reduction must be mainstreamed into the SDGs to ensure effective implementation and resilience. COVID-19 has exerted considerable fiscal pressures on our country’s economy. The tourism industry was hard hit, losing approximately 9.1 per cent of revenues. Significant GDP contractions led to large fiscal deficits, leading us to maintain temporary fiscal measures, such as tax cuts and other spending, supporting the response to the pandemic. Those temporary support measures come at the expense of building fiscal buffers to withstand fiscal shocks. We need to strengthen regional and international cooperation, global solidarity, coordination and governance at the highest levels through a multisectoral approach to development and prepare for and respond to pandemics and other health emergencies in the future, in particular in developing countries. Besides the inherent natural disasters that affect Vanuatu each year, the interlinked global crises are also placing immense pressure on the local economy. Bilateral and domestic resource mobilization alone cannot compensate for the impact of the global crisis. We face an enormous financing gap in solving the climate emergency while ensuring poverty reduction and sustainable development. Therefore, to close the SDG financing gap, all financial sources must contribute towards a significant, rapid and exponential scaling up of investments towards the SDGs. The reform of the international financial architecture to respond to the global challenges is therefore crucial. Access to grant-based financing for transformational adaptation development is an ongoing challenge that is exacerbated by restrictive eligibility criteria for accessing development funding. In that regard we see the proposed multidimensional vulnerability index as a welcome development and look forward to its adoption by the General Assembly later in the year. As with many developing countries, debt sustainability remains a priority issue for us. Debt relief or restructuring will create the necessary fiscal space to enable us to grow and focus on other priority needs. We also need support from donor partners in accessing technical assistance and building capacity in order to enable better debt management and greater debt transparency. In that regard, we welcome the formation of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable as a framework for discussing options for debt resolution. While we acknowledge the invaluable contributions of our major partners to our development aspirations, reliable data has shown that aid to the Pacific small island developing countries has been declining in recent years. That has had several negative consequences for our States. For Vanuatu, it has made it more difficult to invest in essential infrastructure, such as roads, schools and hospitals. It has also made it more difficult to address pressing challenges such as climate change, disaster risk reduction and social protection and economic diversification. South-South cooperation, which is complementary to North-South cooperation, is critically important to Vanuatu, just as North-South cooperation and strengthening and expanding South- South cooperation in future will be crucial to Vanuatu’s efforts to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Vanuatu graduated from least developed country (LDC) status in 2020. Our Government is working actively to implement a smooth transition strategy, with support from our development partners, in order to minimize any negative impacts of graduation. The focus of our transition extends from simply mitigating the loss of existing LDC support measures to negotiating new ways of thinking about how we move forward and of working with trade and development partners to achieve our national development aspirations. As we look ahead to the future we want, we must picture a world of freedom, one that is free from colonial rule, persecution and human rights abuses. Seventeen non-self-governing territories still remain under the purview of the Special Political and Decolonization Committee today, and accelerating the decolonization agenda is critical. It is a process that must be guided by the aspirations and needs of the territories on a case-by- case basis, and constructive dialogue is essential. The consent of the territories is valid, and we must ensure that there is space at the United Nations for their voices to be heard. I would like to emphasize that the imposition of coercive economic measures, including unilateral sanctions, on developing countries constitutes a major impediment to their economic and social development and seriously hinders dialogue and understanding among countries. Such actions not only undermine the principles enshrined in the Charter and international law but are also a severe threat to freedom of trade and investment, and in that context we continue to call for the lifting of the economic embargo on Cuba. Today we are facing unprecedented and interlocking crises. The multilateral system is under greater strain than at any time since the creation of the United Nations. We urgently need effective multilateral responses to prevent and resolve conflicts, manage economic uncertainty and rescue the Sustainable Development Goals. Amid the recent challenges confronting the Charter, it remains our compass. Let us work together for a better world.

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Omar Hilale, Chair of the delegation of Morocco.

At the outset I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session, and to wish you success during your term in office. I also commend the outstanding efforts of your predecessor, Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, during his presidency of the previous session. I would like to take this opportunity to reiterate the support of the Kingdom of Morocco for the initiatives of Secretary- General Guterres aimed at enabling the Organization to address the world’s pressing challenges, which he outlines in his report Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). In that context, Morocco looks forward to participating in and contributing to the Summit of the Future in 2024. I would like to express the gratitude of the Kingdom of Morocco to all the Heads of State and Government and Ministers who have expressed their solidarity and support to us following the earthquake that struck our country, and to thank them for their readiness to stand with my country in confronting the repercussions of that natural disaster. Morocco has been dealing with the consequences of the earthquake, which led to the deaths of nearly 3,000 people and injured 5,700 others, in addition to grave material losses. We are tackling those repercussions with determination, seriousness and solidarity, all of them values upheld by the people of Morocco. From the first moments after the earthquake, His Majesty King Mohammed VI gave instructions for mobilizing all State institutions, including the armed forces, national and local authorities, public forces and civil prevention teams, to take all the urgent measures needed to accelerate the rescue and relief of the injured and provide assistance to the families affected. We immediately established an inter-ministerial committee to develop an emergency programme for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the areas affected. Under the personal leadership and direct supervision of King Mohammed, Morocco has moved from the initial stage of urgent rescue and relief to that of rehabilitation and reconstruction. He has given instructions for launching a well- studied, integrated, ambitious programme aimed at addressing all the consequences of this natural disaster thoroughly, quickly and consistently. We have allocated an estimated $12 billion to the issue for the next five years, with a first phase covering all the areas affected and providing services to 4.2 million people. The multidimensional programme was adopted following the identification and detailed assessment of the various needs, and it includes projects for rebuilding homes and restoring damaged infrastructure, as well as promoting socioeconomic development in the affected areas. It will be financed from the State budget, the contributions of the committee and the special solidarity account established to address the effects of the earthquake, as well as from international support and cooperation. King Mohammed has also stressed the importance of ensuring that the rehabilitation and reconstruction process is consistent with the architectural specifics and traditions of the areas affected. The process must respect the residents’ dignity, norms and traditions. In line with those measures, all components of Moroccan society, both inside and outside the country, have been participating in national efforts to provide assistance to the people affected, in a demonstration of our strong national unity and solidarity in difficult circumstances. The earthquake that struck Morocco, the hurricane and floods that hit our sister State of Libya and the phenomenon of climate change generally continue to represent the greatest challenge facing humankind across the world. That is why today, more than ever, strengthening prevention, resilience and international cooperation must be priorities of the international community. This session is being held in a critical global context, marked by many challenges related to geopolitical tensions, climate change, poverty, migration, terrorism, hate speech, pandemics and natural disasters. Nevertheless, the current pace of scientific and technological progress may constitute a source of optimism, provided that the current challenges lead to international cooperation and solidarity in the promotion of scientific research, including artificial intelligence, and encourage sharing its benefits in strategic priority areas such as health security, energy transformation, food and water security, modern technologies and natural-disaster mitigation. The current circumstances require national policies aligned with our international commitments by focusing on the promotion of resilient societies through a comprehensive approach based on the principles of equity and social justice in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). They also require that we promote a multilateral system based on cooperation and solidarity, with the United Nations at its core. That approach was adopted by the Kingdom of Morocco, in line with the lofty directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to launch structural workshops, foremost of which is the new development model, in order to enhance sustainable development, promote energy transformation, ensure the provision of water and social services and address natural disasters as part of an integrated vision in line with the SDGs. His Majesty King Mohammed VI attaches great importance to the empowerment of women and the family, in general. That is why His Majesty today issued a lofty letter to the Prime Minister to review the family code through inclusive consultations, with the participation of all stakeholders, for the subsequent submission of proposals to His Majesty to amend it within six months. The Kingdom of Morocco expresses deep concern about the spread of hate speech, especially through social media. This sows the seeds of division within societies and among cultures and States and exacerbates violent extremism. It is the main factor of global instability. That is what His Majesty King Mohammed VI highlighted in his lofty message to the participants of the ninth session of the Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, held in the city of Fez on 22 and 23 November 2022, when he said: “Our civilization has never confronted such numerous risks. Coexistence has never faced such daily challenges. Rarely have we feared and suspected others like we do today, and rarely has every triggered event been used to incite and inflame feelings of fear and hatred as it is today.” We reaffirm the Kingdom of Morocco’s categorical rejection and condemnation of all attacks on religious symbols and holy books. We strongly denounce the desecration and burning of the Holy Qur’an, which insults more than 2 billion Muslims around the world and is a violation of the most basic human rights. The relevant countries must take all necessary measures to prevent such violations. In line with that position, in July the Kingdom of Morocco presented resolution 77/318, on combating hate speech, which was unanimously adopted in the General Assembly by the Member States, condemning the desecration of holy books. For the first time, such acts were classified as a violation of international law. The resolution also called on the Secretary-General to organize the first conference on hate speech in 2025. We recognize the important role of sports in bringing nations together and spreading a culture of peace and tolerance. Consequently, the Kingdom of Morocco submitted its candidacy, jointly with Spain and Portugal, to host the 2030 World Cup finals. His Majesty King Mohammed VI highlighted the meaning of that unprecedented candidacy, which brings together two continents and two civilizations — Africa and Europe — and unites the two banks of the Mediterranean, thus promoting the ambitions and aspirations of the peoples of the region for greater cooperation, understanding and communication. The Kingdom of Morocco remains committed to a definitive political solution to the artificial regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara, in order to promote development, stability and peace in the region and the African continent. Morocco continues to support the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to relaunch a series of round tables, with the same format and the same participants, especially Algeria, the main party to that conflict, in accordance with Security Council resolution 2654 (2022). We reaffirm that a definitive solution can only be political, realistic, practical and based on consensus. The initiative for autonomy, as part of the Kingdom of Morocco’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, remains the one and only solution to this artificial regional conflict. There is no alternative. On that basis, more than 100 countries from all over the world support today the Moroccan autonomy initiative. Approximately 30 States and regional organizations have opened general consulates in Laayoune and Dakhla, thus affirming their full support for the Moroccan Sahara. As part of our new development model for the southern regions, the Kingdom of Morocco has allocated a budget of over $10 billion to date. Approximately 81 per cent of that model has been accomplished by launching many projects for achieving socioeconomic development and conducting trade between Africa and the rest of the world. The Special Envoy of the Secretary- General, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, personally witnessed those achievements during his visit to Laayoune and Dakhla, in the Moroccan Sahara, at the beginning of this month. Those great efforts are part of the lofty directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, as mentioned in his speech commemorating the forty-seventh anniversary of the Green March on 6 November 2022, when he said: “Our defence of the Moroccan Sahara is based on a comprehensive perspective that includes diplomatic and political work, as well as advancing the economic, social and human development of the region.” The Kingdom of Morocco reiterates its deep concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Tindouf camps in Algeria. The host country, Algeria, has illegally delegated its authority in the camps to a separatist armed group with confirmed and documented links to international terrorist and criminal networks, a disturbing situation that requires the attention of the international community, particularly in view of Algeria’s refusal to allow a registration and census of the people detained in the camps, which is a clear and flagrant violation of international law and of repeated calls from the Security Council since 2011. The failure to register the population detained in Tindouf has permitted looting of the humanitarian aid sent to the camps, as has been confirmed in reports by international, regional and non-governmental organizations, most recently a World Food Programme report issued in January. Morocco stands in full solidarity with our sister Maghreb country of Libya in the wake of the unprecedented floods in various parts of Libya that have resulted in enormous and serious loss of human life and property. We express our sincere condolences and sympathies to the State, to our brother people of Libya and to the families of the victims of that painful tragedy. We wish all the injured a swift recovery. In accordance with King Mohammed’s directives, Morocco will continue to stand with Libya’s legitimate institutions and support the international efforts aimed at resolving the crisis there based on the agreements concluded between the various Libyan parties. First and foremost, we support the efforts of the United Nations aimed at reaching a permanent political solution to the Libyan crisis as outlined in the Skhirat agreement of 2015. In that context, Morocco hosted a series of meetings that resulted in an agreement in October 2022 between Libya’s Speaker of the House of Representatives and President of the High State Council on implementing the outcomes of the Bouznika meeting on sovereign positions and the unification of executive authority. And from 23 May to 6 June of this year a meeting of the 6+6 joint committee of the House of Representatives and the High State Council was also held in Bouznika for the preparation of electoral laws, resulting in major agreements on the organization of elections in Libya. Morocco considers the Palestinian question a national priority and a focus of its foreign policy. We call for avoiding any kind of escalation or violence in order to prevent the situation from getting out of control and to spare the Middle East region from further tensions that may hinder the revival of the peace process. In that regard, King Mohammed, in his capacity as Chair of the Al-Quds Committee of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, expressed the importance that Morocco attaches to the Palestinian question, saying “With the same seriousness and determination, we stress Morocco’s firm position with regard to achieving a just solution to the Palestinian question and ensuring the legitimate right of our brother Palestinian people to establish an independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, in order to ensure security and stability for all peoples of the region.” Morocco rejects all unilateral measures that undermine the legal and historical status of Al-Quds Al-Sharif. We reaffirm our support for the Palestinian Authority, under the leadership of President Mahmoud Abbas, and for all its decisions aimed at preserving the legitimate right of the Palestinian people to achieve their aspirations and establish an independent State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the 4 June 1967 borders, and in accordance with an internationally agreed two-State solution and respect for the principles of international legitimacy and the relevant resolutions. In conclusion, I want to underscore the responsibility that all of us have as Member States to create the conditions that the United Nations needs to succeed, by providing it with the necessary resources and mobilizing the political will to reform it and streamline its working mechanisms so as to build a more just and more humane multilateral global system in a spirit of solidarity. King Mohammed emphasized that task in his address to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, where he called for “[t]rust in the United Nations as the conscience of humankind and the bedrock of a new world order, where the values of peace, global security, joint development, equality, tolerance, democracy and solidarity prevail.” (A/59/PV.4, p.23)

We have heard the last speaker in the general debate. One week ago, I stood before our Heads of State and Government, ministers and representatives, and spoke of the need to unite the nations (see A/78/PV.3). I made a call to action for all States to find within themselves the will to act together in solidarity. I am encouraged by the progress I have seen over the past week, during which 136 Heads of State and Government, as well as 40 ministers, spoke from this rostrum  — a record in recent times. Hundreds of voices of members of civil society and public and private stakeholders were heard at Headquarters. There were only 20 women leaders who spoke during the general debate, which is down from 23 last year. During high-level week, following in the footsteps of my predecessors, I had the privilege of reconvening the Platform of Women Leaders. I spoke to many leaders of the importance of recognizing that women’s voices, aspirations and rights matter at every level, from the grass roots to the global stage. That begins with investing in education, particularly for girls. Let us be resolute in our commitment to inclusivity and ensure that no woman or man — indeed, no one — is ever left behind. The General Assembly held seven high-level meetings and delivered no less than four major political declarations, covering universal health care, work to end tuberculosis, pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, and the need to urgently and ambitiously scale up progress on sustainable development. That last declaration, which was a result of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Summit, is a particularly remarkable win, representing recognition of the promise we made in 2015 to drive sustainable development and a commitment to pushing harder and closing the gaps. That speaks to the continued relevance of the General Assembly and the commitment by the United Nations to delivering peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability to the peoples of our world. Those developments are a welcome reminder that the United Nations remains focused on the collective challenges of our time. But declarations in and of themselves are not enough. We need to maintain the momentum and build on it with concrete, tangible actions. In that regard, I commend Member States for their active involvement in the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, as well as discussions on the urgent need for reform of the international financial architecture. We cannot rest until there is accessibility, equity and justice in development finance. That is the key to accelerating progress on the SDGs. Among the topics raised during the high-level week, few were as frequent, consistent or charged as that of the war in Ukraine. The international community has been clear that political independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity must be respected and the violence must end. Those are calls enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. The fact that the war is being perpetrated by a permanent member of the Security Council is unconscionable, and the fact that it has rekindled decades-old fears of the use of nuclear weapons is unthinkable. As we have discussed today, we must redouble our efforts to entirely and definitively end nuclear proliferation and promote full and total denuclearization. Calls for undivided attention to be given to other conflicts raging across the globe, from Africa to the Middle East, as well as the deteriorating situation in Haiti, have also been echoed loud and clear As President of the General Assembly, representing the best interests of all States Members of the United Nations, I recommit to doing my part to shine a spotlight on the urgent need to resolve those situations of deep concern. In that regard, I will make myself available if any nation or leader desires my assistance in facilitating a peace and friendship dialogue between any nations or groups in conflict. I want to assure them that I am at their service. One call resonated across the General Assembly Hall this week. Our planet is under siege, with the intensifying effects of climate change becoming increasingly evident. We see it in extreme-weather events, rising sea levels, pollution and biodiversity loss, which are becoming more prevalent and destructive by the day. Embracing climate action means safeguarding the Earth’s natural resources, preserving biodiversity and ensuring equitable access to clean air and water for all. It means looking closely at our own carbon footprints. It means assisting vulnerable communities in building resilience. It means moving beyond gross domestic product to a metric that captures a country’s true vulnerability to shocks. Tackling those questions is a moral, scientific and social imperative. I urge Member States to approach the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in a spirit of unity and solidarity and to deliver a transformative and bold plan of action. I also welcome the recent United States-Pacific Islands Summit hosted by President Biden, building on the recent high-level events that I co-hosted on climate mobility and sea level rise. As a matter of principle and responsibility, the United Nations must safeguard the inalienability of the sovereignty and statehood of the countries affected by the climate crisis. The challenge cannot rest solely on the shoulders of front- line communities. Calls for action on issues related to climate conflict, poverty, justice, peace or strong institutions are not just global, they are existential  — they are calls measured in lives lost, homes destroyed, rights violated, inequalities maintained and access denied. All of those challenges demand that we reach further; that we engage fully in preparations for the Summit of the Future and define the future of international cooperation amid multidimensional risks; and that we focus our energies on creating a world that grows sustainably for the people and the planet and that can give every child an equal chance at success. We hear often that the clock is ticking. We have it within us today to heal our divisions, find integrated solutions that reflect our universal values and commitments and usher in a brighter tomorrow. I am confident that we can do that together, as one United Nations. As we come to the end of high-level week and the general debate, let us reach out further. The exercise of the right of reply has been requested. I would like to remind members that statements made in the right of reply are limited to 10 minutes for the first intervention and five minutes for the second, and should be made by delegations from their seats.

In his address to the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session on Friday, 23 September, the Minister of the People’s Power for Foreign Affairs of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela allowed himself to state falsehoods that were excessive even by Venezuela’s customary standards of untruthfulness in relation to my country. Venezuela should not have insulted the intelligence of the international community with its allegations that Guyana is allowing its territory to be used as a platform for military aggression against any State, including the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. All of that is based on Venezuela’s grotesque claim to two thirds of Guyana. Throughout, the Government of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana has acted and continues to act in relation to its neighbour Venezuela in full accordance with international law, and it has consistently invited the Government of Venezuela to do the same. In particular, Guyana urges Venezuela to confirm its adherence to the judicial processes of the International Court of Justice in the matter of Venezuela’s basic contention regarding the border between our two countries. Venezuela’s diatribes, which are not confined to Guyana alone, are refuted in full measure. The Government of Guyana would like to remind Venezuela that the Geneva Agreement of 1966 is in fact the binding legal instrument that provides for a settlement of the controversy over the validity of the arbitral award of 1899 and the land boundary between Guyana and Venezuela. The obligatory settlement procedure is set forth in article 4 of the Geneva Agreement. Under that article, when bilateral negotiations failed to achieve a settlement, Guyana and Venezuela agreed to refer the controversy to the Secretary-General to choose the means of final settlement. In the first instance, the Secretary-General chose to use his good offices to bring about a settlement that would be satisfactory to both parties. The good- offices process took place with the participation of Guyana and Venezuela over a period of more than 20 years without success or progress. In January 2018, acting in accordance with article 4 of the Geneva Agreement, the Secretary-General determined that the good-offices process had failed and chose a new means of dispute settlement — litigation before the International Court of Justice. Under article 4, his decision was binding on Guyana and Venezuela. Guyana then filed an application with the Court seeking its final and binding judgment on the validity of the 1899 arbitral award and the boundary between the two States in accordance with article 4 of the Geneva Agreement of 1966 and the Secretary-General’s decision of January 2018. Venezuela appeared twice before the Court to object to the Court’s exercise of jurisdiction in the matter, and the Court rejected the objections both times. The Court ruled that the basis of its jurisdiction was precisely article 4 of the Geneva Agreement and the Secretary-General’s decision that the dispute should be resolved by the Court. Accordingly, if Venezuela truly believes that the best or only way to resolve the controversy is by adherence to the Geneva Agreement, it should plead its case to the International Court of Justice and accept the Court’s decision when it is issued as a final and binding settlement of the controversy. Guyana will not agree to any procedure that contradicts the express provisions of the Geneva Agreement and bypasses the Court, which is the only means of settlement that is now authorized by article 4 of the Agreement.

Belize would like to reply to the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Guatemala at the conclusion of the General Assembly’s 13th plenary meeting, on 23 September. The assertion made in Guatemala’s statement about deaths of Guatemalans at the hands of Belize’s armed forces is completely false and baseless. The truth is, as confirmed by verification reports of the Organization of American States (OAS), that Guatemalans encroach on Belize’s territory on a daily basis, deforesting our protected areas, cultivating illegal drugs, poaching endangered species and looting Mayan artefacts. Such activities are contrary to international law and good-neighbourliness. The Government of Belize would like to restate its long-standing position that the boundaries between the two countries were settled by the 1859 Boundary Treaty between the United Kingdom and the Republic of Guatemala, which provides that the mid-channel of the Sarstoon River marks the boundary between the two countries. Furthermore, article 6 of that convention provides that citizens of both countries should be equally free to navigate the channels of the Sarstoon River. Belizeans are therefore fully entitled to utilize the Sarstoon River without harassment or intimidation. Belize repeats its call for Guatemala and Belize, under the auspices of the OAS, to urgently engage in constructive discussions to agree on a protocol to promote confidence and good-neighbourly relations in the Sarstoon River area. The Government of Belize renews its commitment to maintaining good relations with Guatemala, resolving issues along the border in accordance with the agreed confidence-building measures and reaching a peaceful, final and just settlement of Guatemala’s claim to Belizean territory at the International Court of Justice.

In the statement by the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, there was a reference to the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS)-treated water into the sea. The Government of Japan decided to initiate the discharge of ALPS-treated water on 22 August and the discharge was initiated on 24 August. It has been confirmed that the concentration of nuclides, including tritium, in seawater and marine products is far below the standard limit, which indicates that the discharge is safe, as planned. Japan will continue to take all possible measures to ensure the safety of the discharge into the sea and will never allow any discharge that could adversely affect human health or the environment. Specifically, Japan is implementing three types of monitoring in a multilayered manner with the involvement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA issued a comprehensive report in July, in which it concluded that the radiological impact on humans and the environment is negligible. Furthermore, the IAEA has confirmed and publicly stated that the levels of tritium in the discharged water are far below the standard limit. The Government of Japan will continue to make every effort to ensure the safe discharge of treated water with the continued involvement of the IAEA, including its reviews.

The fundamentally flawed allegations in the statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia in the general debate reveal the extent to which hatred and falsehood dominate his country’s discourse. Armenia’s attempts to artificially tie its fabricated narratives to legalistic formulations, and its reliance on some biased pseudo-experts, do nothing to contradict the facts. The common feature of all the actions that Azerbaijan was compelled to take in response to Armenia’s repeated unlawful use of force was their compliance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law, which affirm that States have the right and responsibility to protect the lives and ensure the safety and security of all persons under their jurisdiction and to defend their sovereignty and territorial integrity from imminent and immediate threats and aggressions. Armenia’s allegations about Azerbaijan’s unwillingness to genuinely and constructively engage in the peace process and to recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia are worthless, as they totally ignore the simple fact that despite the ruinous consequences of the aggression, occupation and mass atrocities endured by the people of my country immediately after the conflict ended in the fall of 2020, it was Azerbaijan that extended the hand of peace and initiated a process of normalizing relations with Armenia based on mutual recognition and respect for each other’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the inviolability of their borders. This initiative was widely supported by the international community, and concrete steps were taken to launch and move the process forward with the facilitation of international partners. However, Armenia did everything possible, in words and deeds, to limitate and obstruct the talks, backtrack from its commitments, sustain and further incite violent ethnic separatism in the territory of Azerbaijan and advance its revanchist agenda. Armenia disregarded its commitments under the November 2020 trilateral statement by refusing to comply with the ceasefire, terminate hostilities and withdraw its armed forces from the areas of Azerbaijan where the peacekeepers are temporarily deployed. Moreover, Armenia continues to occupy eight villages of Azerbaijan situated along or close to the border between the two States. Armenia’s continued use of invalid or fabricated names to refer to the localities within Azerbaijan, its circulation by its diplomatic missions of various papers on behalf of its former occupation regime in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and, most recently, its highly provocative congratulatory message on the region’s fake independence day and the staging of so-called presidential elections there make clear who has territorial claims and who is disrupting the peace process. Armenia’s insinuations about the blockade, humanitarian crisis and ethnic cleansing and calls for the deployment of international missions, mechanisms and even the United Nations-mandated peacekeeping force to the sovereign territory of Azerbaijan are clear indicators of its intent to further fuel tensions and destabilize the situation. The sole purpose of Armenia’s anti-Azerbaijan smear campaign under the cover of humanitarian slogans was to derail the normalization process, cover up its illegal actions, flame anti-Azerbaijani hatred, maintain the separatist potential in the Armenian-populated areas of the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan and prevent the contact and dialogue of its residents with Baku and their peaceful reintegration. Azerbaijan has no hidden agenda regarding the reopening of the Zangezur corridor. Armenia’s commitments in that regard are laid out in paragraph 9 of the trilateral statement, according to which, “[t]he Republic of Armenia shall guarantee the security of transport connections between the western regions of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic in order to arrange unobstructed movement of persons, vehicles and cargo in both directions.” (S/2020/1104, annex) Although almost three years have passed since the signing of the trilateral statement, Armenia has yet to implement its obligations. Armenia’s statement at the general debate also blatantly misinterpreted the decisions of the International Court of Justice. Thus, in its order of 22 February, the Court declined to issue a measure in the form requested by Armenia and rejected most of its other requests. Therefore, it is no coincidence that in the quotation from this order, contained in the statement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, some important words simply disappeared, which indicates a malicious distortion and falsification of its content. As is known, Armenia subsequently requested that the Court order Azerbaijan to effectively remove the border checkpoint it established at the entrance to the Lachin-Khankendi road. The Court’s decision of 6 July to reject Armenia’s request was a unanimous decision by all of the Judges of the Court, vindicating Azerbaijan’s sovereign right to secure and protect its borders. Armenia’s comments about the meetings of the Security Council on 16 August and 21 September are equally deceptive. What Armenia groundlessly calls military attacks against the peaceful population last week, on 19 and 20 September, were local counter- terrorism measures taken by Azerbaijan on its sovereign soil in response to systematic armed provocations and mine terrorism committed by the Armenian armed forces illegally deployed and present on the territory of Azerbaijan. Contrary to Armenia’s allegations of an atrocious large-scale offensive, those counter-terrorism measures, which lasted less than 24 hours, targeted exclusively legitimate military objects and strictly adhered to the principle of distinction and feasible precautions to avoid civilian casualties. Speaking about the number of killed and wounded, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia omitted to clarify that those figures belong to the personnel of the Armenian armed forces. One must have a great imagination to present an armed force consisting of 10,000 troops and equipped with tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery, rockets, anti-aircraft systems, mortars, electromagnetic warfare equipment and other types of offensive weapons as the peaceful population. Even the Prime Minister of Armenia had no choice but to admit publicly that rumours about mass casualties among the civilian population are not true and that there is no direct threat to the civilian population in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Since the completion of counter-terrorism measures, disarmament, demobilization and reintegration efforts have continued and the Special Representative of the Government of Azerbaijan met with the representatives of Armenian residents on 21 and 25 September. Moreover, the President of Azerbaijan has established a working group led by the Deputy Prime Minister to address social, humanitarian, economic and infrastructure issues in the Karabakh region of Azerbaijan. Concrete steps have been taken to provide food, medicines, medical care, fuel, electricity, heating and other essential resources to the residents, in cooperation with the Russian peacekeepers and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Subsequent efforts have been identified, including with a view to implementing confidence-building measures. Both the Lachin and Aghdam roads are fully operational for the movement of people and for humanitarian purposes. Azerbaijan is fully committed to the objectives of a peaceful, secure, stable and prosperous region and will continue its efforts towards that end and looks forward to tangible progress in the normalization process.

I take the floor to exercise my delegation’s right of reply to the statement delivered earlier in the general debate by the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Before exercising the right of reply and listening to the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s statements today, I have to say that I do deeply regret that we here in this Hall have to hear the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s repeated groundless, illogical and absurd allegations targeted at the Republic Korea again and again and again. I cannot resist asking every Member State in this Hall if it agrees that the Republic of Korea — fully democratized and economically prosperous, the country of the rule of law, the country significantly contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals  — is the one that is undermining the spirit and principle of the Charter of the United Nations. Do representatives really believe, as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea claims, that the Republic of Korea, together with the United States, conspires to provoke nuclear war on the Korean peninsula, without reason, which would cause catastrophic casualties to be inflicted on Korean people and beyond? How many Member States in this Hall are seriously aligned with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s false assertions? My answer is clear. Those assertions are untrue and absolutely incorrect. As a responsible Government, it is our duty to protect the lives and safety of our people from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s military threats by maintaining a robust Republic of Korea- United States combined defence and deterrence posture. The Republic of Korea-United States combined defence and deterrence posture, including our combined exercise and training, is in response to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s military threat. Those exercises and training are long-standing, routine and defensive in nature. Also, our defence cooperation with the United States is in full accordance with the global non-proliferation regime, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, unlike that of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Let me reiterate that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is the only country in the world — I repeat, the only country in the world — to have conducted nuclear tests in the twenty- first century, and it is ready to conduct more nuclear tests at any time. It has continued to escalate tensions to an unprecedented level of provocation this year, including through multiple intercontinental ballistic- missile launches and so-called satellite launches, and is openly threatening a pre-emptive nuclear attack on us. Lastly, I should add that the issue of human rights in North Korea is intrinsically linked to international peace and security. The North Korean regime funds its illicit weapons development programme through human rights abuses such as forced labour. The Security Council is therefore justified in addressing the human rights situation in North Korea, and that is why a majority of Member States urge North Korea to prioritize the improvement of its human rights situation and the welfare of its people rather than focusing on expanding its military capabilities.

I would have preferred not to take the floor at this late stage, given that we have already concluded the general debate of the General Assembly. But at the outset I want to reiterate the condolences of the entire people of Algeria and their solidarity with our brother people of Morocco during this painful period following the devastating earthquake that occurred at the beginning of this month, and our readiness to provide disinterested humanitarian assistance to those affected by this natural disaster. I feel compelled to take the floor because the Permanent Representative of Morocco attempted to distort the position expressed by President Tebboune in his address to the General Assembly last Tuesday (see A/78/PV.5). It is true, and we affirm that President Tebboune did once again call for Algeria’s unwavering support to peoples who are still living under foreign domination. However, the reason for our support for the quest for freedom of peoples still under colonial domination can be found in our history and our own fight for national liberation. Everyone has a side, and we have chosen the side of justice and decolonialization, freedom, self-determination and human rights. That commitment of course applies to the cause of the Sahrawi people, who have now been waiting almost half a century for the United Nations to ensure that justice is served and to finally apply resolution 1514 (XV), the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples. Need we point out that in 1975, the territory of Western Sahara was first cut into pieces and then divided — yes, divided — between the Kingdom of Morocco and Mauritania? Three years later, it was completely occupied by the Kingdom of Morocco. The United Nations did try to ensure respect for international law by creating the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO). That Mission is still on the territory of Western Sahara, bearing witness to the desire of the international community to put an end to the occupation and to organize a free and transparent consultation of the Sahrawi people regarding their future. But to this very day MINURSO has been regularly prevented from holding that referendum on self-determination, with vague proposals on autonomy being made that so far have convinced no one. If Moroccan-occupied Western Sahara were really such a paradise, with or without the granting of autonomy, why prevent the referendum from happening and ignore the desire of the Sahrawi people to be heard? First, the essence of the question of Western Sahara is one of decolonization. We have only to look at the agendas of the Security Council, the General Assembly and the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples to really understand the nature of the issue of Western Sahara, which is and remains a question of decolonization that must be resolved through the self- determination of the Sahrawi people. Secondly, the reference to Algeria was incorrect, because Algeria is not a party to this conflict. The two parties to the conflict are the Kingdom of Morocco and the Frente POLISARIO, and that is how they negotiated the ceasefire. That is how they negotiated the beginning of the organization of a referendum, as is shown by resolutions of both the Security Council and the General Assembly. And as demonstrated by documents circulated at the United Nations with a view to resolving the conflict, the international community has called for determining the decision of the Sahrawi people between two proposals, which are the referendum and autonomy. Let us leave the Sahrawis to choose in a transparent way in a referendum organized by the United Nations. It is no secret that Algeria has supported and will continue to support the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. President Tebboune stated that clearly and with conviction before the General Assembly last Tuesday, and there is really no need to repeat it.

Like my Algerian colleague who just took the floor, I would like to say that it brings me no joy to take the floor to respond to him. Indeed, it has always been the tradition for Morocco never to exercise its right of reply following the statements of its sister country of Algeria, but we will respond to what it has said. My Algerian colleague kindly offered us his country’s condolences and solidarity. However, I would have liked it very much, given what Morocco has gone through — families in mourning, thousands dead, thousands wounded and massive destruction — if he had felt compelled to remain silent out of respect for the moment, and as he said as a show of solidarity. One cannot shed crocodile tears and at the same time criticize a country that is still enduring a tragedy. He offers his solidarity and support, but at the same time he injects his poison. That is an insult to the dead and to Moroccans. For 50 years, they have been telling us the same tale. For 50 years, they have been saying that they are only a neutral party and they are not a stakeholder. For 50 years, they have been claiming to defend a principle. But what is Algeria — and what is its Ambassador — if Algeria is not a stakeholder? What compels him to take the floor if Algeria is not a stakeholder? We heard several delegations exercise their right of reply this afternoon, but those are delegations with direct disputes. Why did Algeria take the floor? Because it is neutral? Because it is not a stakeholder? Because it is merely defending a principle? Because it defends the referendum? But it is perpetrating a huge distortion of history. It is demonstrating its own ignorance of what the United Nations has done. The representative of Algeria speaks about referendums and Security Council resolutions, but he has forgotten that it has been nearly 23 years since the Security Council discussed such referendums. He speaks about the principle of self-determination, but he does so like a public defender who purports to defend the law and its principles, while at the same time he violates them. If the principle of self-determination is so dear to his heart, so dear to his spirit and so linked to his history and his DNA, why does he not apply it at home? There is a people, the Kabyle people, who existed before the Algerian State and who have been demanding their right to self-determination for decades. Algeria denies them the very same thing that it is willing to offer a group of people who affirm their Moroccan identity. He speaks about the Sahrawi people. Why is Algeria closing the camps? Why is it not opening them? Why does it not allow the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to register those living in the camps if it is not a stakeholder? By his reactions, my colleague in fact demonstrates the contrary, because everyone in this Hall is wondering why Algeria acts that way if it is not a stakeholder, why Algeria would send a letter to the Secretary-General to denounce a resolution. No State Member of the United Nations has sent a letter to denounce a resolution on the Western Sahara question. And no country sends a letter to denounce a resolution that does not directly concern it. Why does Algeria refuse to take part in the round tables? Which country is mentioned in the Security Council’s resolutions? It is Algeria, because it is a stakeholder on that issue in the Council. Algeria does not want to hear that. It chooses what it wants from the Council’s resolutions and puts aside the rest. Algeria speaks about partition. I have here a letter dated 22 July 2002 from the Ambassador’s former colleague, Mr. Abdallah Baali, addressed to the President of the Security Council (S/2002/807), in which he states that Algeria remains ready to consider the proposal concerning a possible partition of Western Sahara between the Sahrawi people and the Kingdom of Morocco. Morocco’s response on the same day was a resounding no — no partition ever, with anyone, and no division ever of the peoples of Morocco from their southern region. Algeria distorts history while wishing to appear as a party with no direct interest, but it is a concerned and responsible party. It is because of Algeria that the Western Sahara problem has persisted for 50 years. Yet it continues to claim that it is not interested, it is not responsible, it has nothing to do with the matter, and it is up to the United Nations. But the United Nations asks Algeria to attend the round tables. Why does it not attend? The United Nations adopts resolutions, but Algeria votes against them. The representative of Algeria speaks about General Assembly resolutions, but the resolutions have not mentioned referendums for decades. Algeria is misleading or lying to the General Assembly and lying to the international community, just as it lied to the people it forcibly transported to the Tindouf camps to offer them the mirage of independence — an illusion of independence to create a puppet entity that answers only to Algeria’s intelligence services. That is Algeria — a country that pretends, offering its condolences to and expressing its solidarity with Morocco, while at the same time undermining the unity of my country. That is the Algeria that for 50 years has done nothing but arm, finance and direct a separatist movement, an armed group that also has connections with international terrorism. I wish that my Algerian brother had shown a little more decency and respect — not just for the victims of the recent earthquake but for the Moroccans who shed their blood for the sake of his country’s independence. But he has a short memory. And we understand that, because there are no principles in his country: neither the principle of good neighbourliness, nor the principle of respect, nor the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes, nor the principle — or rather the courage — to take responsibility for its actions and policies and for its destructive and destabilizing agenda in the region. If we look around Algeria, all that is happening is total destabilization, instability. The only stable border is Morocco. The only stable country is Morocco. The towns he talks about — he makes it seem like Western Sahara is a paradise. Yes, it is a better paradise than the towns in Algeria, where people queue up for wheat, bananas, milk and flour. That is Algeria, which spends billions of dollars to arm a separatist group yet starves its own people. I encourage the General Assembly to read the preliminary remarks of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, published a week ago following his visit to Algeria, in which he describes the restrictions on freedom of movement, the imprisonments and the false accusations against activists of the Hirak movement. That is Algeria. That is the freedom its authorities speak of and that is the self-determination it desires. It should let its own people enjoy self-determination before demanding it of others. As for Morocco, Morocco is in its Sahara, and there it will remain until the end of time. Look at the Sahara and the progress and development that has been made. We are building there. We are consolidating the rule of law. We welcome all Sahrawis, even those who came from Algeria. They — former members of the Frente POLISARIO — now manage regions, participate in the management of resources, adhere to the rule of law and engage in the political, economic and cultural life of the region. I hope that the next time the representative of Algeria takes the floor to speak about Morocco, he thinks twice beforehand, because its approach has quite simply undermined the future of the Maghreb for the past 50 years.

I ask the representative of Morocco to wind up his statement.

I could have spoken for another hour or more, but I shall conclude my remarks there.

I take the floor in response to the statement delivered by Azerbaijan in response to the statement delivered by the Foreign Minister of Armenia (see A/78/PV.13). Last week, our region was once again engulfed in a new wave of violence, with a catastrophic humanitarian toll, as a result of yet another aggression by Azerbaijan, which is now trying to justify its use of force. On 19 September, right before the start of the general debate at the General Assembly, Azerbaijan launched an all- out attack against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in hundreds of casualties, including among civilians and children. As a result of the actions of Azerbaijan, tens of thousands of people have been displaced — left without a roof over their heads and without food, water and sanitation. The attack was premeditated and well planned and was preceded by a massive build-up of the Azerbaijani armed forces along the entirety of Nagorno-Karabakh, as well as on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. That is in addition to a heavy disinformation campaign, just like those we witnessed before Azerbaijan’s aggression against Nagorno-Karabakh in 2020 and against Armenia in 2022. We heard the main narratives of that disinformation campaign just now, and also in the statement by the Foreign Minister of Azerbaijan (see A/78/PV.12). Against the backdrop of the brutal, senseless and completely unjustifiable use of force that the indigenous Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh has had to withstand yet again, Azerbaijan is using the platform of the General Assembly to frame its aggression as a so-called counter-terror operation. The images of thousands of displaced civilians, including women and children, who were forced to leave their homeland, have come to prove the level of cynicism of Azerbaijani propaganda. For all its talk about provocation, threats or any other pretexts that Azerbaijan has been fabricating in order to justify its use of force, the fact remains that Azerbaijan has been a serial violator of all the norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. As for the distorted and manipulative comments by Azerbaijan with regard to the legally binding orders of the International Court of Justice, I must point out that on 6 July 2023, the International Court of Justice unanimously reaffirmed the provisional measure indicated in its order of 22 February 2023, recalling Azerbaijan’s international legal obligation to take all measures at its disposal to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions. That provisional measure regarding the Lachin corridor was added to the earlier order indicating provisional measures issued by the International Court of Justice against Azerbaijan in December 2021, which related to the protection of the Armenians held in captivity by Azerbaijan, the preservation of Armenian cultural heritage, and the prevention of the incitement of racial hatred and discrimination, including at the level of officials and public institutions in Azerbaijan. After a 10-month-long blockade of the Lachin corridor and the forced starvation of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh, the latest full-scale aggression carried out by Azerbaijan — including the indiscriminate shelling of civilians and the encirclement of civilian settlements — clearly demonstrates that Azerbaijan’s tactics are intended to terrorize the Nagorno-Karabakh population and deprive them of the right to live freely and in dignity in their own homeland. Indeed, the actions of Azerbaijan leave no doubt that there is an acute risk of atrocity crimes being committed against the population of Nagorno-Karabakh. That risk has been stressed before, including in a statement issued last week by the Special Adviser to the Secretary- General on the Prevention of Genocide. Now that Azerbaijan has once again resorted to the use of force against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh — as civilians have been forcibly displaced from their homes and as we witness not an intent but clear and irrefutable evidence of a policy of ethnic cleansing and mass atrocities — the United Nations and the international community must act to hold the perpetrator to account.

My delegation is compelled to take the floor to exercise its right of reply in response to the outrageous remarks of the representative of South Korea. We categorically reject his absurd and even provocative remarks, which remind us of a burglar triggering an alarm. At present, owing to the increasingly undisguised hostile policy of the United States and the confrontation mania of the Republic of Korea’s ruling forces, the situation on the Korean peninsula is coming closer to the possible outbreak of a thermonuclear war. In April, the United States and the Republic of Korea codified their choices and actions through their announcement of the Washington Declaration, which is aimed at enhancing the operability of extended nuclear deterrence against my country. The United States and the Republic of Korea have been frequently staging joint military exercises of an aggressive nature by mobilizing all sorts of nuclear assets, such as nuclear aircraft carriers, submarines and nuclear strategic bombers, under the pretext of offering extended deterrence. In addition, they put into operation the Nuclear Consultative Group and deployed a nuclear submarine loaded with strategic nuclear weapons for the first time in 40 years. Such military provocations by the United States and the Republic of Korea constitute a very direct threat to the security of not only the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea but also all other North-East Asian countries. It is utterly deceptive to argue that massive joint military drills involving all possible war resources are annual and defence-oriented. Would any country on Earth believe that the scaled-up joint drills taking place as part of the war plans for the occupation, annihilation and decapitation of a capital city, are defence-oriented? Would any country on Earth sit idle in the face of an aggressive nuclear strike and outposts calling for the so-called end of a regime? Can aggressive war drills and the deployment of nuclear strategic assets be compatible with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development? Falsehoods cannot be compelled to become truths, and a wrong formula will not make a correct answer. On the other hand, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s launch of a military reconnaissance satellite is a corresponding countermeasure in response to the military threats of the United States and its vassal forces, which have already overstepped the limit. It is also a justified exercise of the right to self-defence to defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. Peace and security on the Korean peninsula are not guaranteed by any resolution devised by the political machinery of the United States and its vassal forces, but by the powerful self-defence capabilities of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The international community should take a microscopic-level look at the situation on the Korean peninsula. It must categorically oppose and reject the destabilizing actions of the United States and its vassal forces. We are closely listening to the provocative rhetoric and watching the demonstrative military actions of the United States and Republic of Korea military hooligans. The warmongers of the United States and the Republic of Korea must bear in mind that their alleged security alliance will become an insecurity alliance if they continue to commit provocations that infringe on our sovereignty and territorial integrity and undermine peace and stability on the Korean peninsula. The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea reserves its inherent right to self-defence under the Charter of the United Nations and international law. We will resolutely and decisively respond to any threat to our national security, and we will proceed with what we have to do without interruption until the United States and its vassal forces admit their wrong choice. On a separate note, Japan’s discharge of nuclear- contaminated water is a crime against humanity and will bring about a nuclear disaster. At this time, neighbouring countries and the international community are keeping a serious eye on Japan’s nefarious actions and the hostile behaviour of its supporting forces. It clearly shows the two-faced nature of Japan, which cries wolf about alleged nuclear threats from neighbouring countries while trumpeting its support for a nuclear- free world. If the water in question has been treated for nuclear contamination, why will Japan not use it for industrial and agricultural purposes? Japan should stop its the dangerous discharge of nuclear-contaminated water, which is seriously jeopardizing the security and safety of humankind, once and for all.

In response to the representative of Belize’s comments today, I want to stress the peaceful vocation of the people of Guatemala, whose foreign policy is based on good faith and strict respect for international law. The reports of the observation mission of the Organization of American States on the boundary zone consistently show that both Governments are working to promote a culture of peace by supporting education, culture, health and biodiversity preservation programmes, as well as the joint efforts of both countries’ armed forces to combat drug trafficking and other scourges affecting our region, which are responsibilities of every nation. Guatemala has been acknowledged as a regional leader in the fight against drug trafficking. Guatemala has been the systematic victim of radical pro-independence Belizean social groups that year after year attempt to foment instability in the Sarstoon River area, violating our country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. Throughout our history we have seen Guatemalan nationals perish at the hands of Belizean armed forces. But despite systematic provocations by such groups, there has never been a documented case in which Guatemalan soldiers violated the human rights of our Belizean brothers or disturbed the peace. Guatemala reaffirms its commitment to continuing to collaborate closely with the Belizean Government in developing the boundary zone and working together to ensure the security of both countries. Guatemala honours its commitments and submits to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice to settle any differences between our nations. Guatemala believes and is investing in Belize. Today Guatemala is one of Belize’s main investors, in a demonstration of our belief that together we can achieve a prosperous and peaceful future for generations to come.

I want to assure you, Mr. President, that I will be much briefer than my colleague from the Kingdom of Morocco. He talked for a very long time because he spoke mainly about Algeria. I would have liked to hear him speak about the issue of Western Sahara, a territory that has now been under occupation for more than 50 years. Algeria has always done its duty, which is also an honour, in supporting many African peoples in their fight for freedom from colonial domination, and many of them are represented in this Hall today. Resolution 1514 (XV) still remains relevant for the people of Western Sahara, which is the last remaining colony in Africa. We need only look at the agenda of the General Assembly and of the Fourth Committee to prove that. I would like to exercise my right of reply with regard to two specific points. First, concerning the partition of Western Sahara, I urge the Assembly to look at the Convention concerning the State frontier line established between the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Kingdom of Morocco, signed on 14 April 1976 and registered with the Secretariat on 9 February 1977. The agreement, which defined new borders between Morocco and Mauritania, simply divides the territory of Western Sahara between the two States. I will not dwell any further on that fact, which anyone can verify at the United Nations Library. Secondly, with regard to what should be done next, and concerning the allegations and accusations of terrorism concerning the Frente POLISARIO — which unfortunately is not represented in this Hall and is unable to defend itself  — as we all know, liberation movements throughout history have always been accused of terrorism. Algeria’s National Liberation Front was treated as a terrorist organization for a very long time. But that has never deceived anyone, because all the hegemonic Powers have always tried to demonize resisters and freedom fighters, and it has certainly not deceived the Secretary-General, who just met once again with the Secretary-General of Frente POLISARIO, Mr. Brahim Ghali, only 10 days ago.

I would like to ask the representative of Algeria to wrap up, as he has exceeded the time limit.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm Algeria’s support for the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy in the efforts to address this question of decolonization and to find a solution through a referendum consulting the people in Western Sahara on their future.

We flatly reject the statement just made by the representative of Armenia, which is merely another clear manifestation of his country’s policy of slander, deception, hatred and territorial claims. His statement was full of obvious fabrications and distortions, typical of Armenia’s hate-driven disinformation policies, and awash in unfounded accusations and unacceptable rhetoric about Azerbaijan. There is nothing in such fabrications and distortions that makes them a source of proof of the imaginary acts and their consequences that Armenia unsuccessfully tries to attribute to Azerbaijan. There is no evidence to support Armenia’s claims of atrocity crimes and ethnic cleansing. Azerbaijan is determined to reintegrate the ethnic Armenian residents of its Garabagh region as equal citizens, and Azerbaijan’s Constitution, national legislation and international commitments provide a solid foundation for that. Our Government is implementing the necessary humanitarian support measures and every effort has been mobilized to address the local residents’ immediate needs. The people who are now living in the region are not facing violence or intimidation. It is their free choice. Most of them are citizens of Armenia and holders of Armenian national passports. The Russian peacekeeping contingent and the local residents themselves have confirmed that there have been no reprisals against civilians. In a statement earlier today, a representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross attested that families can decide whether to stay or leave. Azerbaijan respects its international obligations, including those relating to freedom of movement and residence. There is nothing surprising in the groundless and unethical allegations that we heard from the Armenian representative, which at their core are an evident attempt to conceal all of the Government of Armenia’s misdeeds, hate crimes and undisguised racist policies. The consequences of Armenia’s aggression against Azerbaijan speak for themselves. Thousands of Azerbaijani civilians were executed in acts of mass murder while many captives were subjected to severe torture. More than 200,000 Azerbaijanis were expelled from their historical homeland in Armenia and are still prevented from returning to it. In addition, all the occupied territories were ethnically cleansed of more than 700,000 Azerbaijanis. Hundreds of cities, towns and villages in my country were razed to the ground and Azerbaijani cultural heritage was looted, vandalized, desecrated and destroyed, both throughout Armenia and in the formerly occupied territory. The perpetrators of those serious crimes continue to enjoy impunity, as Armenia is unwilling to prosecute and punish them to redress its breaches. Armenia’s policies of aggression, occupation, ethnic cleansing and violent racist separatism have failed once and for all. There will be no return to the past, and Armenia will not benefit from further denying and obstructing the prospects for peace, development and cooperation. Azerbaijan is firm in its determination to advance post-conflict peacebuilding, reconciliation, reintegration, peaceful coexistence and development in the region, as well as to ensure justice and invest in national capabilities for early detection, early warning, prevention and response to any threats to the safety and well-being of its people and the State’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

I thank the President for giving me the floor for the second time. In response to the statement made in exercise of the right of reply by the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I will not repeat all my remarks and will not address every point that was raised. What I would like to reiterate is that the Government of Japan will continue to explain its efforts to the international community in a transparent manner and is willing to discuss the details based on the scientific evidence and in the appropriate forums with relevant expertise.

I apologize for taking the floor again but find myself obliged to do so given my Algerian colleague’s predilection for engaging in polemics and responding every time I take the floor. I will try to be as brief as he was. My Algerian brother reproached me on two counts. First, I did not talk about the Sahara. I invite him to the round table. It is at the round tables that we discuss the question of the Sahara and Algeria is invited to those round tables. Unfortunately, Algeria continues to reject the invitation to participate in discussing the quest for a resolution of the issue as well as the Security Council resolutions on the matter. If he is so interested in having Morocco and Algeria talk about the Sahara, then we can continue what we started in the first two round tables. His second reproach is that I spoke only about Algeria. That is true, and for a simple reason. It is because Algeria is the source of all the misfortune in our region. I would now like to make three points. First, Algeria rejects the Security Council’s resolutions on the issue, and my question is about what Algeria will be able to do in the Security Council when it rejects the Council’s own resolutions. There is no place in the Security Council for countries that reject, violate or do not respect Security Council resolutions. We look forward to Algeria’s approach when it joins the Security Council. Secondly, my Algerian colleague unfortunately seems to be ignorant of United Nations texts, resolutions and decisions. The Security Council does not treat the issue of the Sahara as one of decolonization but rather as a peace and security issue. And it is in that context and with that in mind that Algeria, which has been a member of the Council a number of times, has voted on resolutions on the Moroccan Sahara. He therefore cannot be unaware of that. Thirdly, Algeria is fortunate that we have the rotation principle, because without it Algeria would never have become a member of the Security Council. It is North Africa’s turn and that is an egalitarian principle that we support. However, it is not because Algeria has done anything for the United Nations, and the proof is that Algeria does not have a single soldier in any peacekeeping forces. The proof is that it harbours and arms a separatist terrorist group. And speaking of armed groups, I regret that Algeria is comparing itself to a terrorist group. We greatly esteem Algeria’s National Liberation Front and the chouhadas, for whom Moroccan soldiers and volunteers have spilled their blood. The Algerian Ambassador defends terrorist groups’ links with Al-Qaida and Da’esh, as demonstrated by the fact that Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi came to the Tindouf camps for treatment when he was wounded by French forces. He took refuge in the Tindouf camps on three occasions. Another relevant piece of information is that Da’esh is not in the habit of mourning publicly when it loses one of its prominent members or leaders. But it did for Abu Walid Al-Sahrawi, a native of Tindouf, trained and educated by Algeria, and financed by Algeria when he was in charge of the Frente POLISARIO. I will conclude by making the same point I did when I began my remarks. The Sahara issue is being discussed at the round tables, and we would be very happy to listen to what our Algerian brothers have to say, even if there is disagreement. But the most important thing is for us to sit at the table and discuss peace  — not criticize each other  — and respect one another, as we did during the past two round tables.

I apologize for taking the floor for a second time to respond to the statement just made by the representative of Azerbaijan. The reaction of the delegation of Azerbaijan is yet another example of that Member State’s open disrespect for international law, international humanitarian law and this very Hall, justifying the use of force against the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and normalizing the threat of the use of force in international relations. The fact that Azerbaijan claims to respect freedom of movement, after engaging for 10 months in an unlawful blockade designed to starve the population of Nagorno-Karabakh, reflects the highest degree of cynicism. The situation in Nagorno-Karabakh reminds us of the roots of the modern stage of the conflict, when the peaceful human rights aspirations of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh were met with mass violence and the Armenian population in Sumqayit was subjected to pogroms in February 1988 and the early 1990s in Baku, Kirovabad and other settlements in Azerbaijan. Hundreds of Armenians living in Azerbaijan were killed, tortured or maimed. Hundreds of thousands were deported. The lack of accountability for the crimes of the past created fertile ground for elevating the incitement of anti-Armenian sentiments to the level of State policy in Azerbaijan. Over the decades, the prominent historic, cultural and religious heritage of the Armenian communities in areas all over Azerbaijan has gradually been wiped out. The cultivation of racism and anti-Armenian hatred, along with continued incitements to violence on ethnic and religious grounds, has been well documented in many reports by international organizations, revealing systemic racial profiling and hateful and incendiary rhetoric, a prevailing sense of impunity and the glorification of perpetrators of hate crimes in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan has so far taken no steps to bring those responsible for anti-Armenian hate crimes to justice. We should bear that in mind when we hear Azerbaijan claim that it is determined to reintegrate ethnic Armenian residents as equal citizens. The world is well aware of how rights and freedoms are guaranteed in Azerbaijan, as well as of Azerbaijan’s human rights record. Moreover, the prevalence of hate speech in Azerbaijan about anyone and anything Armenian is fully acknowledged by one and all. By now, more than 28,000 forcibly displaced persons have already entered Armenia from Nagorno-Karabakh. And that mass displacement is continuing as we speak. What is happening now is nothing less than the final stage of Azerbaijan’s preplanned ethnic cleansing of Nagorno-Karabakh of its Armenian population, enabled by the international community’s failure to respond to the clearly visible warning signs or protect a vulnerable population. Armenia will continue to appeal to the United Nations and its relevant bodies, as well as the relevant international actors, to shoulder the responsibility to protect the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and uphold the norms of international law, the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the values of peace and humanity.

May I take it that it is the wish of the Assembly to conclude its consideration of agenda item 8?

Before adjourning the meeting, I should like to take the opportunity to thank the interpreters on behalf of the General Assembly for having worked beyond the stipulated time in order to facilitate the Assembly’s seamless conclusion of its work. We are in their debt.