A/78/PV.54 General Assembly

Before proceeding, as I stated in my letter dated 12 January 2024, the Secretary-General will make a statement to brief the General Assembly on his priorities for 2024, after which the formal meeting will be suspended for an informal meeting to hear interventions from the membership. Thereafter, the formal meeting will resume for delegations to deliver statements under agenda item 110. After his departure, the Secretary-General’s seat at the podium may be occupied by his representative. If I hear no objection, we shall proceed accordingly.

I now give the floor to the Secretary-General to brief the General Assembly on his priorities for 2024.

Let me begin by extending to the members of the General Assembly my very best wishes for 2024. I wish them and their families health and happiness, and I wish peace for our world. Our Organization was founded on the pursuit of peace. Peace is our raison d’être. Yet as I scan the landscape of today’s world, the one thing missing most dramatically is peace. And by that I mean peace in all its dimensions. As conflicts rage and geopolitical divisions grow, peace in our world is threatened. As polarization deepens and human rights are trampled, peace within communities is undermined. As inequalities explode, peace with justice is shattered. And as we continue our addiction to fossil fuels, we make a mockery of any notion of peace with nature. Around the globe and across the range of issues, peace is the missing piece. People want peace and security. People want peace and dignity. And frankly, people want peace and quiet. There is so much anger, hate and noise in our world today. Every day, and at every turn, it seems there is war: terrible conflicts that are killing and maiming civilians in record numbers, wars of words, turf wars and culture wars. So many are peddling the perverse myth that multiplying support is done by way of dividing people. And that is especially troubling during this year, when half of humankind will go to the polls. Meanwhile, more and more families are falling behind. More and more countries are drowning in debt. More and more people are losing trust in institutions and faith in the political process. Peace is the way out of those interlinked crises. Peace is more than a noble vision. Peace is a rallying cry. It is a call to action. And our obligation is to act together for peace in all its dimensions. Despite the turbulence of our times, there are reasons for hope. At the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, world leaders endorsed the next stimulus and the need for far-reaching reforms of the international financial architecture. Countries also reached agreement last year on the High Seas Treaty, to protect precious marine biodiversity from pollution and overfishing. We are making some headway on climate justice. The loss-and-damage fund, provided it is well-funded, will help vulnerable countries to recover from the impacts of extreme weather. The Security Council agreed to our years-long call to back peace enforcement and counter-terrorism operations led by regional partners, notably the African Union, with mandates from the Council and supported by assessed contributions. The new High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence launched a global conversation on how that all-pervading technology can benefit us all. Looking ahead to the Summit of the Future in September, we have a chance to shape multilateralism for years to come. Indeed, our world badly needs reform of the Security Council, reform of the international financial system, the meaningful engagement of youth in decision-making, a global digital compact to maximize the benefits of new technologies and minimize their risks and an emergency platform to improve the international response to complex global shocks. I see a truly dynamic effort to build a more effective, inclusive and renewed multilateralism attuned to the twenty-first century and our increasingly multipolar world. The Members of the United Nations are at the heart of that essential effort, and peace is at the heart of all we do. For the millions of people caught up in conflict around the world, life is a deadly daily hungry hell. Record numbers of people are fleeing their homes in search of safety. They are crying out for peace, and we must hear them and act. In the immediate term, we must continue to push for peace across the globe. The situation in Gaza is a festering wound on our collective conscience that threatens the entire region. Nothing justifies the horrific terror attacks launched by Hamas against Israel on 7 October. Neither is there any justification for the collective punishment of the Palestinian people. Nonetheless, Israeli military operations have resulted in destruction and death in Gaza at a scale and speed without parallel since I became Secretary-General. I am especially alarmed by reports that the Israeli military intends to focus next on Rafah, wherein hundreds of thousands of Palestinians have been squeezed in a desperate search for safety. Such an action would exponentially increase what is already a humanitarian nightmare, with untold regional consequences. It is time for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. And that must rapidly lead to irreversible actions towards the two-State solution based on the resolutions of the United Nations, international law and previous agreements. In Ukraine, I repeat my call for a just and sustainable peace in line with the Charter of the United Nations and international law for Ukraine, for Russia and for the world. In a swath of countries across the Sahel, terrorism is spiking, and civilians are paying a terrible price. We will not relent in supporting the people of the Sahel in these troubling times. Collective action is essential in the Horn of Africa to consolidate the hard-won gains against Al-Shabaab and to preserve the fundamental principle of territorial integrity, while avoiding new crises. The fighting must stop in the Sudan before it destroys even more lives and spreads. In Libya, while a ceasefire holds, the Libyan people deserve sustained peace and stability, starting with a commitment to free and fair elections. In eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, I call on all armed groups to lay down their weapons, and I urge regional leaders to prioritize dialogue over conflict. In Yemen, I appeal to all parties to focus on the path to peace and to de-escalate tensions in the Red Sea, based on the principle of the freedom of navigation. In Myanmar, we need sustained international and regional attention to help urgently forge a path towards a democratic transition and a return to civilian rule. In Haiti, lawlessness is surging, and millions face acute food insecurity. The Multinational Security Support Mission must be deployed without delay. I hope that all obstacles will be removed, but I also urge Member States to provide the necessary financial support. In the Western Balkans, some leaders continue to stoke tensions and ethno-nationalistic rhetoric. I call for action for reconciliation, stability and economic prosperity across the region. If countries fulfil their obligations under the Charter, every person’s right to a life of peace and dignity would be guaranteed. But Governments are ignoring and undermining the very tenets of multilateralism with zero accountability. The Security Council, the primary platform for questions of global peace, is deadlocked by geopolitical fissures. It is not the first time that the Council has been divided, but it is the worst. Today’s dysfunction is deeper and more dangerous. During the Cold War, well-established mechanisms helped to manage super-Power relations. In today’s multipolar world, such mechanisms are missing. Our world is entering an age of chaos, and we are seeing the results: a dangerous, unpredictable free-for-all with total impunity. Meanwhile, after decades of nuclear disarmament, States are competing to make their nuclear arsenals faster, stealthier and more accurate. New potential domains of conflict and weapons of war are being developed without guardrails, creating new ways to kill one another and for humankind to annihilate itself. As conflicts proliferate, global humanitarian needs are at an all-time high, but funding is not keeping pace. Humanitarian workers are saving lives and easing suffering around the world. I pay tribute to their heroic efforts and to those aid workers who have paid the ultimate price, most recently and tragically in Gaza. We need to strengthen and renew global peace and security frameworks to deal with the complexities of today’s multipolar world. That is the rationale of our New Agenda for Peace. First and foremost, the Security Council must be able to take decisions and implement them, and it must become more representative. It is totally unacceptable that the African continent is still waiting for a permanent seat. The Council’s working methods must also be updated so that it can make progress even when members are sharply divided. The New Agenda for Peace addresses strategic risks through a recommitment to eliminating nuclear weapons and stepping up efforts to prevent conflicts. It proposes measures to mitigate the impact of geopolitical competition on people and prevent the fragmentation of global trade rules, supply chains, currencies and the Internet. It presents a view of prevention that addresses violence in all its forms and at all levels. It recognizes the links between sustainable development, climate action and peace, and it calls for the transformation of gendered power dynamics, as well as the meaningful inclusion of women and young people in all peace processes and respect for all human rights — civil, political, economic, social and cultural. It underscores the need for peacekeeping missions with realistic mandates and well-defined transition and exit strategies. It encourages the development of norms and frameworks to regulate the use of new technologies, including artificial intelligence, in the military domain. (spoke in French) We also need peace within communities. Across the world, we are seeing populations divided by rising hate speech, discrimination, extremism and human rights abuses. Antisemitism, anti-Muslim bigotry, the persecution of Christian minorities and white supremacist ideology are on the rise. Authoritarianism is spreading. Civic space is shrinking. And the media are under attack. Discrimination against women and girls and sexual and gender-based violence are the most widespread human rights abuses worldwide. I see two fundamental reasons for that widespread situation. First, the speed and scope of misinformation and hatred have increased exponentially in the digital age. The pursuit of profit has helped extremists to sow division. Secondly, inequalities, whether real or perceived, and economic deprivation, as well as rapid social and economic changes, are fuelling people’s fears. Although overall living standards around the world are higher than ever, six out of seven people report feeling worried and fearful for their future. The United Nations supports efforts to increase investments in social cohesion and prioritize the security of every person. That is why we are calling for the renewal of the social contract based on trust, justice and inclusion and anchored in human rights. We are advancing my Call to Action for Human Rights. We are working towards the full and equal participation and leadership of women in all sectors of society as a matter of urgency. We are putting pressure on technology companies to take responsibility by stopping amplifying and profiting from the spread of toxic misinformation and other harmful content. Our upcoming code of conduct for information integrity, which will be published ahead of the Summit of the Future, will help decision-makers render the digital space an inclusive and safer place for all, while upholding the right to the freedom of speech. All leaders have a responsibility to ensure that people feel included and represented, that diversity is fully recognized as a strength and that every community feels valued and has a full place in society. (spoke in English) Beyond tensions in the world and within communities, we need peace with justice. Inequalities and injustice are fuel for a world at war with itself. Conflicts are stoking further inequalities and injustice. Take the tale of two canals: trade via the Suez Canal is down 42 per cent since the start of Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea more than three months ago; and trade via the Panama Canal has gone down 36 per cent in the past month because of low water levels — a byproduct of the climate crisis. Whether the cause is conflict or climate, the result is the same: disruption to global supply chains and increased costs for everyone. Developing economies are particularly vulnerable to those disruptions. Sustainable, inclusive development hinges on peace, and delivering the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is our most effective way of building peace and prosperity. Yet we face a development emergency. The seismic shock of the coronavirus disease pandemic was followed by a sharp acceleration in global tensions — and global prices — when Russia invaded Ukraine. Developing economies were sent reeling. Many still are. Today’s global economic outlook largely ignores the elephant in the room: developing countries are experiencing their worst half-decade since the early 1990s. Many face unpayable debt-service costs, which are now at record levels. The world’s poorest countries will owe more in debt service this year than their public spending on health, education and infrastructure combined. Meanwhile, Governments are being forced to cut back on investments and essential services. All those issues will be on the agenda at the fourth International Conference on Small Island Developing States in May, and the third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries in June. To keep the promise of the SDGs, we need progress in two crucial areas. The first area is finance. We are pushing for an SDG stimulus of $500 billion annually in affordable long-term financing for developing countries. The SDG stimulus calls for urgent action on debt, including breathing space for countries facing impossible repayment schedules. I have invited a small number of Heads of State to work with me to make the stimulus a reality. With the support of States, we can significantly and immediately increase the capital and capacity of multilateral development banks and help get developing economies back on track. Positive steps have been taken by the leadership of the banks, but there is still a long way to go. Secondly, we must keep working to usher in a new Bretton Woods moment, with an international financial architecture that responds to the needs of all countries. Today’s architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair. It favours the rich countries that designed it nearly 80 years ago. It fails to offer countries the affordable financing required to meet our shared goals. And it does not fulfil the basic foundational function of providing a financial safety net for all developing countries. The Summit of the Future will consider the need for deep reforms to make financial institutions and frameworks truly universal and inclusive. We must also harness the power of technology to advance the Sustainable Development Goals. From health care to education, from climate action to food systems, generative artificial intelligence (AI) is the most important potential tool to build inclusive, green, sustainable economies and societies. But AI is already creating risks around disinformation, privacy and bias. It is concentrated in very few companies, and even fewer countries. Technology must reduce inequalities, not reproduce them — or pit people against each other. AI will affect all of humankind, so we need a universal approach to deal with it. Our High-Level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence reflects the central convening role of the United Nations  — bringing together Governments, private companies, academia and civil society. The Body’s recommendations will feed into the Global Digital Compact, proposed for adoption at the Summit of the Future. We must move fast, be creative and work together to ensure adequate guardrails and ethical standards, promote transparency and build capacities in developing countries. Artificial intelligence must not replace human agency. It was created by humans and must always be under human control. We must also make peace with the planet. Humankind has waged a war we can only lose: our war with nature. It is a crazy fight to pick. We are destroying systems that sustain us, spewing out emissions that cause our climate to implode, poisoning land, sea and air with pollution, and decimating biodiversity, causing ecosystems to collapse. We have many important milestones, including October’s United Nations Biodiversity Conference, November’s twenty- ninth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP) and December’s Conference of the Parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification. The climate crisis remains the defining challenge of our time. The coming years will largely determine whether we can limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. To stay within that limit, we must cut emissions 45 per cent by 2030, as compared to 2010 levels. And we need emissions to have peaked by 2025. The good news is that we have never been better equipped to prevent climate breakdown. And the benefits of renewables are clearer every year. We must seize the momentum by taking action in three areas: nationally determined contributions, phasing out fossil fuels, and finance. By 2025, every country must commit to new national climate plans aligned with the 1.5°C limit. I am mobilizing the entire United Nations system to assist countries to do so. New national plans should cover all emissions and sectors. They should map a just transition to clean energy. And they must be backed up by robust policies and regulations  — from an effective carbon price, to ending fossil fuel subsidies. For developing countries, this is a chance to create national climate plans that double as national transition plans and national investment plans to attract capital and investments, chart a just transition to a net-zero future and to underpin sustainable development for generations to come. For the Group of 20 (G20), this is an opportunity to show true leadership on the global stage by accelerating a just, equitable fossil fuel phase-out. The fossil fuel era is on its last legs. The renewable energy revolution is unstoppable. But we must act this year to ensure that the transition is just for people and planet, and that it will be fast enough to prevent full-on climate catastrophe. That requires tripling global renewable energy capacity and doubling energy efficiency by 2030, as agreed at COP28. It also means working to ensure that the production and trade of minerals critical to the energy transitions are just, sustainable and provide maximum added value in the countries supplying the raw materials in the first place. Developing countries must not be only producers of raw materials; they must be much higher in the level and capacity to transform them. The Panel on Critical Energy Transition Minerals will develop voluntary principles by the end of the year. A just transition means urgent action to unlock the financing developing countries need to leapfrog fossil fuel dependence while bringing clean power to all. Our Climate Solidarity Pact urges big emitters to make extra efforts to cut emissions, and wealthier countries to support emerging economies to do so. I urge countries to put it into effect. I welcome Brazil’s commitment to bring climate and finance discussions together as G20 President. At a minimum, developed countries must clarify the delivery of the $100 billion per year and explain how they will double adaptation funding to at least $40 billion a year by 2025. At COP29, all countries must agree on an ambitious new climate finance goal. We should explore innovative sources of climate financing. And the loss and damage fund must be up and running as quickly as possible — and with significant contributions. Countries on the front line of climate chaos are entitled to far-greater support. This is a full agenda. In one form or another, every element connects to the most essential of all human endeavours: the pursuit of peace. Peace can achieve wonders that wars never will. Wars destroy. Peace builds. But in today’s troubled world, building peace is a conscious, bold and even radical act. It is humankind’s greatest responsibility. That responsibility belongs to us all, individually and collectively. In this difficult and divided moment, let us meet that obligation for today and future generations, starting here and now. For my part, I can guarantee that I will never give up fighting for peace.

I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. As mentioned earlier, I will now suspend the meeting for an informal meeting. The formal meeting will then resume for delegations to deliver statements under agenda item 110.

I have the honour of delivering this statement on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), consisting of 55 Member States and the European Union, and this year co-chaired by Croatia, Morocco and my country, Guatemala. We thank the Secretary-General for his report on the work of the Organization (A/78/1) and briefing on his priorities for 2024. We were pleased to see that prevention and addressing the risks of atrocity crimes are recognized under key objectives in the report. We remain strongly committed to combating impunity and promoting justice and accountability as those are key components of R2P. To that end, in 2023, the Group of Friends participated in various debates in the Security Council, during the special meeting of the Economic and Social Council on “Social and economic measures to prevent genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity”, and at the annual debate on the Responsibility to Protect in the General Assembly. We firmly believe that atrocity prevention and the effective implementation of the responsibility to protect agenda contributes to fulfilling the Secretary- General’s Our Common Agenda (A/75/982), as well as the New Agenda for Peace. In that context, the United Nations has an important role to play in conflict and atrocity prevention and the peaceful settlement of disputes, including by using preventive diplomacy, fact-finding and reporting and the provision of good offices, mediation and dialogue facilitation in response to risks of conflicts and atrocity crimes. The Secretary-General’s annual thematic reports on R2P have been incredibly important to broadening our collective understanding of R2P. The international community would benefit from receiving from the United Nations information on current trends of risks of genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing and their prevention. It is for that reason that the Group of Friends of R2P and some additional Member States have called for the inclusion of such information in future reports of the Secretary- General, as well as recommendations for responses on national, regional and global levels. We also encourage the Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide and the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, once appointed, to continue to raise situations where there are risks of atrocities through their joint public statements. Furthermore, the Group of Friends would like to reiterate its call to consider following up on the implementation of recommendations contained in previous reports more regularly and systematically and possibly in the form of an annex to the yearly reports. We strongly believe that will strengthen the reports and enhance the protection of vulnerable populations at risk of atrocity crimes. Lastly, we reiterate that it is critical that the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect  be able to operate at full strength with the conceptual and practical guidance of a Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. Therefore, we look forward to the appointment of a new Special Adviser on R2P, as soon as possible. In the same vein, the Group highlights the need to ensure that existing resources, particularly appropriate allocation of funds related to administrative support, travel and staffing, are dedicated to the new Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect. The Group of Friends looks forward to working closely with the next Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, with expectations that they will be able to perform their mandates with ease and appropriate professional support that will enable a longer tenure than that of their predecessors. The Group of Friends also looks forward to continuing to engage with and to support the work of the Office on Genocide Prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.

I speak on behalf of the Peacebuilding Commission. Let me thank, through you, Mr. President, the Secretary-General for presenting his report on the work of the Organization and his priorities for 2024 (A/78/1). The report of the Secretary-General contains references to the work of the Commission and underlines the broadening of its geographical scope and inclusion. In that regard, in 2023, it may be noted that meetings were held on Canada, Honduras, Nepal, Norway and Mozambique at their request, and the Commission also engaged in support of country- and region-specific settings. The Commission has also made efforts to improve the timeliness and focus of its advice to the Security Council. It has also advised the General Assembly and has made submissions and provided briefings to the Economic and Social Council and its meetings, focusing on thematic, country and regional issues. The Commission also engaged with a wide range of United Nations humanitarian, development and peace actors, especially peacekeeping operations, special political missions, as well as United Nations country teams. The PBC also strengthened its ties with regional organizations, in particular the Afri­ can Union. To strengthen the universality of peace­ building and broaden its scope and themes, the Com­ mission engaged both with developed and develop­ ing countries, to discuss, inter alia, transitional jus­ tice, development challenges and Indigenous issues. The Commission also advocated for sustainable and predictable financing. The adoption of the resolution 78/257, entitled “Investing in prevention and peacebuilding”, is a positive outcome, whose provisions should be fully implemented with closer coordination between the PBC and the Peacebuilding Fund. It aims at strengthening the work of the Organization on peacebuilding throughout the entire peace continuum. We congratulate the Chair of the Fifth Committee, the Permanent Representative of Egypt, and all Member States for their tireless efforts to reach agreement on this important issue. All this work testifies to the increasing relevance of the PBC in the peacebuilding architecture of the United Nations and the importance that Member States lend the Commission. We hope that we will continue to work on strengthening the Commission’s role in peacebuilding and sustaining peace, improving its advisory, bridging and convening role and strengthening ties with regional organizations and international and regional financial institutions. For that to happen, we also need stronger ties between the Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund. We look forward to further discussing the role of the Commission in the context of the 2025 review of the peacebuilding architecture.

Costa Rica aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Guatemala on behalf of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect. The Secretary-General’s report (A/78/1) presents us with a sad but realistic picture of our international community, which should encourage us to adopt collective and altruistic measures for the good of our planet. The climate emergency, armed conflicts, food insecurity, poverty, inequalities and the lack of trust and hope are complex and interrelated crises that are simply unsustainable. The unique position of the United Nations allows us to think with the conviction that if we care about the most vulnerable and marginalized, then we, the peoples of the United Nations, must address the systemic problems that created these cases of suffering, anguish and fear. As the Secretary-General rightly indicated, global crises are unfairly hitting the most vulnerable and marginalized. Women, girls, boys, minorities, indigenous communities and people of the global South are just some of those who always pay the harshest price of crises despite having had no role in triggering them. The survival and well-being of people can no longer depend on the geographical location or wealth of a State, as we clearly saw during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The systemic issues behind inequalities and injustice must be addressed collectively. The triple planetary crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic have shown us more than ever that human security can only be collective and necessarily driven by equity. In particular, the effects of such crises on women and girls are often overshadowed or ignored, but it is reassuring that the Organization is reportedly paying specific attention to their rights. Every child must be guaranteed the conditions to smile and dream honestly. The United Nations must also continue to invest efforts and resources to shed light on crises and needs that fall outside of geopolitical priorities or short-lived dynamics so as to leave no one behind. Similarly, international and non-international armed conflicts and armed violence connect the suffering of people and communities in one part of the planet with aspects of the lives of other people in other parts of the world. If we truly believe in community well-being, collective security and the universal enjoyment of human rights, all that should end. Unfortunately, armed conflicts remain a reality, and the principles and norms of relevant international law, especially humanitarian and human rights law, which used to be considered to be written in stone, are now being challenged by the daily actions or acquiescence of various actors around the world. The protection of civilians and other protected persons, the moderation of military operations and the prohibition of indiscriminate means and methods of warfare must remain central elements of the Organization’s practical and political efforts. We are therefore comforted to see the centrality of international law in the Secretary- General’s efforts to promote and maintain peace. Respect for international norms saves lives, prevents harm and builds trust from the local to the global level. The United Nations has a vital role to play in guaranteeing respect and application of all norms of international law beyond the contingencies of the moment. It is also comforting to note that the Organization has never stopped preventing conflicts and promoting and maintaining positive peace and the cessation of armed violence. Such prevention silences the weapons and also prevents the harmful effects of conflict and armed violence that persist far beyond the end of active hostilities. Trauma, fear, damage to essential infrastructure, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and their ammunition, contamination by explosive remnants resulting from conflict and armed violence freeze development and hinder the full enjoyment of human rights for people and communities. As stated in the New Agenda for Peace, we must all reduce the human costs of weapons. Humanitarian, development, peacebuilding and political actions must always be driven by their long-term impact on people’s lives and on the international system, which must always protect the most vulnerable and marginalized. Let me also remind the Assembly that any process  — from discussion in international forums, needs assessments and strategy development to the implementation of operations  — must meaningfully involve women, girls and youth, as well as currently and historically marginalized people and those who are directly affected by current crises. It is often from the lived experience of all these people that we can appreciate how to improve the international community. It is also critical to emphasize how important it is for the United Nations to partner and collaborate with civil society organizations at all levels, as they often have essential knowledge and experience that can complement and contextualize United Nations efforts. Now more than ever, we need collective and inclusive actions to address global challenges. While there is always room for improvement, the Secretary-General’s report points to significant steps driven by a genuine goodwill that is informed by the fundamental principles of the Charter. Peace and human security for all must remain our main priorities and the compass we use to navigate the current turbulent waters, remain loyal to our collective principles and standards and work to build a better world.

We thank the Secretary- General for his priorities and for his annual report (A/78/1). We share the concern about the ever-growing distrust and fragmentation in global affairs. Respect for the Charter of the United Nations and international law continues to be eroded, as we are witnessing in Gaza. Our failure to act decisively will only bring us closer to driving the final nail into the coffin of the United Nations. Trust and cooperation with a spirit of partnership and solidarity must be revived. We echo the call to restore trust by upholding respect for the rule of law, acting on our political commitment to reform and strengthen multilateralism and to ensuring that the United Nations is more effective, transparent, accountable and representative. The upcoming Summit of the Future presents us with a golden opportunity to transform the multilateral system to be fit for purpose. We must have the high ambition of transforming not only the multilateral institutions but also our working methods and ethics. We agree with the Secretary-General’s statement this morning that all actions must lead to peace and development. We must therefore devote adequate attention and resources to addressing conflicts in Gaza, Myanmar and other parts of the world. With six years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, we are undergoing a litmus test of how to safeguard the best interests of present and future generations. The General Assembly may rest assured of Indonesia’s constructive engagement throughout the process of rebuilding trust, restoring hope and reforming the United Nations in order to achieve the promise of the Charter.

We thank the Secretary-General for presenting the report on the work of the Organization (A/78/1) and highlighting the priorities for 2024. Armenia notes the reflections on the diverse and evolving threats and challenges affecting the maintenance of international peace, development and human rights, as well as on the ability of the United Nations to respond to the multitude of issues it has been facing. As ever, the Organization’s resilience and efficiency continue to be put to the test, particularly in situations of conflict and crisis. Timely and coherent actions to mobilize and deliver an adequate humanitarian response to people in need remain a major challenge, as do the mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution. While acknowledging the remarkable service and the contribution of United Nations personnel to protecting human life, human rights and dignity in various parts of the world, we are compelled to note with deep concern that, time and again, the Organization has not been able to deliver protection to vulnerable communities facing existential threats. The blockade and starvation of the population of Nagorno-Karabakh  — with the barbaric siege of its only transportation lifeline starting in December 2022 and culminating in September 2023 in the use of deadly military action against an innocent civilian population — is one explicit example of premeditated ethnic cleansing that was perpetrated gradually on the international community’s watch. It has resulted in the widespread forced displacement of the entire ethnic Armenian population, immense civilian suffering and, indeed, a most brazen and blatant violation of international law — including the very Charter of the Organization. Despite a multitude of clearly detectable early- warning signs and calls for intervention, the United Nations fell short in addressing the egregious violations committed in Nagorno-Karabakh. Not only does that failure constitute a breach of the fundamental principles upon which the Organization was established, but it also signifies in no uncertain terms a major departure from the internationally endorsed commitment of the responsibility to protect populations from atrocity crimes, including genocide and ethnic cleansing. As we address the annual report of the Secretary-General, we trust that, moving forward, the Organization will acknowledge the gravity of those violations and reflect on its failure to prevent them. The report refers to the promotion of justice and the settlement of disputes, notably, through the work of the International Court of Justice and its rulings, including through the indication of provisional measures. It should be recalled that, in the period from 2021 to 2023, the International Court of Justice issued eight provisional measures against Azerbaijan, including the legally binding obligation to ensure the unimpeded movement of persons, vehicles and cargo along the Lachin corridor in both directions, as well as the obligation to ensure that persons who were forced out of Nagorno-Karabakh after 19 September 2023 are able to return in a safe and unimpeded manner. Compliance with the decisions of the International Court of Justice is fundamental in ensuring that justice can be served and that breaches of international law can be essentially prevented in the future, whereas a failure to comply only serves the interests of those who seek to undermine the viability of international law and to challenge the integrity and credibility of the international legal system. The United Nations, through its respective actions and mandates, has a distinct responsibility to ensure that the rule of law prevails over violence and aggression and that justice and accountability remain essential in guiding the work of the Organization. Armenia is committed to promoting accountability and fighting impunity, as demonstrated by our recent accession to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, effective 1 February 2024. As ever, Armenia remains steadfast in supporting efforts to strengthen the efficiency of the Organization and its resilience and integrity in the face of the current and evolving challenges.

We have heard the last speaker in the debate on this item for this morning. We shall hear the remaining speakers this afternoon at 3 p.m. after the consideration of the other items announced in The Journal of the United Nations.