Monsieur le président de l'Assemblée. President of the General Assembly. Secretary General, heads of State and Government ministers, permanent representatives, distinguished delegates. Haitian people.

And taking the floor at this General Assembly, I feel the weight of history. More than 80 years ago, in the wake of a war that plunged the world into chaos, Haiti, a founding member of the United Nations, joined the nations of the world to make a pledge for peace, for dialogue and respect for human dignity. Today, while deadly crises and conflicts have proliferated and the climate emergency is intensifying and new divisions are threatening stability in Haiti and throughout the world, this founding endeavor is being put to the test. It is imperative that, given the crises that Haiti is grappling with and given those that are causing so much upheaval throughout the world, it is imperative for nations to close ranks around what is essential.

That is peace, security and the well-being of all peoples. This is the whole point of the topic that brings us together this year. Mr. president, I congratulate you on your election as president of the General Assembly. I also wish to hail the Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, for his unwavering commitment to peace. I still remember fondly his visit to Port-au-Prince on the 16th of June 2026, which bore witness to his solidarity toward the Haitian people. In these difficult times that our country is undergoing, Haiti wishes to extend its gratitude to all of its partners and friends that have continued to stand by its side. In this regard, I would like to hail the commitment of the United Nations system, and especially the commitment of the Security Council and that of the Organization of American States, Caricom and the European Union, whose support remains essential. More than ever, I want to pay a particular tribute to the kindred peoples who, by contributing to the gang suppression force and supporting its full rollout, have chosen to share with us the burden of fighting for peace and security. Haiti will never forget the solidarity nor their sacrifices. I also want to underscore the privileged partnership with the United States of America and the steadfast support of Canada and the invaluable assistance of our partners such as France, Chile and Mexico in the modernization of our national security capacity. Also, the opening of the Dominican Republic to dialogue and its advocacy for a sustainable resolution to the Haitian crisis. I express my gratitude for that. Finally, we wish to recognize the Integrated Office in Haiti, the funds and programs present on the ground, as well as all of our multilateral partners.

We thank them all for their staunch commitment side by side with the Haitian people. President, before this august Assembly, I am bringing to you the voice of a people that has etched its name in the annals of history by daring to do what was unthinkable, breaking the chains of slavery and bringing to life, on a land conquered by sacrifice, blood and sweat, the first free black republic of the world. This epic story is the eternal proof that no empire can be more powerful than the thirst for freedom of a people. How can we forget the destiny and the hidden tears of Toussaint Louverture, torn violently away from the land of his birth, cast into icy solitude and a dungeon in Fort de Joux, made to suffer hardship and humiliation. This all brought down Toussaint Louverture, but his fight for freedom remained alive through Dessalines, Christophe, Pétion and all of our other founding fathers and mothers. Toussaint Louverture predicted it. He said, in overthrowing me, you have done no more than cut down the trunk of the Tree of Liberty in Saint-Domingue. It will spring back from the roots, for they are numerous and deep. The tree did grow back. It got larger. It has gone through the centuries and is continuing. And even though today criminal violence is threatening its roots and trying to strip our children of the fruits of this liberty so dearly won, Haiti will resist. Haiti is standing tall. It is standing tall because the peoples born in light have never given in to the forces of chaos. Haiti is standing tall because the people born of sacrifice know the price of liberty, peace, and security. Haiti knows because it felt it in its own flesh, that these gains are never definitively won, and that when they are under threat, one must have the courage to defend them. This is the struggle that Haiti is undergoing today, and that's why we call upon the world not to save it, but to stand side by side with it while it takes its own destiny into its own hands. Mr. president, I am bringing to you the voice of Haiti, but also the voice of those peoples who our world too often asks to bear the weight of crises that they did not create. For small states such as Haiti, the cost of climate change has become unsustainable. This is a deep injustice. The fact that those who historically contributed the least are among those who are paying the heaviest price, often to the detriment of their own development. Resources devoted to adaptation and resilience need to be commensurate with these challenges. No people must have to choose between responding to an emergency and financing its development. Access to capital, to markets, and to technologies need to be more fair. Our international financial architecture must evolve to better respond to the needs and realities of the most vulnerable countries. Artificial intelligence offers up colossal opportunities, but without regulations or ethical guardrails, it risks deepening existing rifts. Technology must remain a tool for shared progress, and it must serve humanity. We need to be the masters of technology and never its subjects, and no people should ever be left behind.

We also need to keep the promise of a world where no one is condemned to suffer hunger, to be deprived of care, or to be displaced by war, or to fall victim to exclusion or discrimination. This same requirement for dignity needs to guide our approach to migrations as well. Because behind statistics and debates there are women, children and men who carry with them a history, talents, hopes and sometimes the burden of exile. For generations, Haitians settled abroad have contributed to the societies that welcomed them. From this rostrum, I wish to express my thanks to the countries that have opened their doors and have encouraged their integration. Haiti was a land of welcome, refuge and hope, and we are working to make sure it becomes that again. We want it to be a country where one can stay, return and live and build one's future in dignity. But I also want to recall forcefully that respect for dignity and fundamental rights of all migrants must be upheld, no matter their situation. No circumstance can justify trampling their dignity underfoot. The protection of a border and respect for human dignity are not incompatible. These must go hand in hand. A border can and must be protected without sacrificing human dignity. The destiny of migrants calls upon us to shoulder a shared responsibility and ensure sustainable responses. Because crises that are left to fester will breed displacement and forced migration. That is the case with the security crisis in Haiti, which led to the exodus of thousands of Haitians. The response to this crisis in Haiti will mean reestablishing security, stability and economic recovery. These are the three priorities of my government.

Mr. president, the Republic of Haiti remains deeply committed to multilateralism and to the capacity of nations to unite their forces when urgent situations call for them to do so. At a time when the United Nations must produce tangible results for everyone, Haiti can become a model of success, of international cooperation. It can be the proof of what we can accomplish, together with respect for the will of nations and around a vision conveyed by the countries themselves. Because no matter how complex it may be, the Haitian crisis is not insurmountable.

We are at a watershed moment. The time is not a time for any half measures or partially honored commitments, or to a too tepid response. given the scale of the threat. Massacres, bereaved families, women that have fallen victim to despicable violence, children deprived of their innocence and communities chased away from their homes need to compel us to act. And here I want to pay tribute to all of the victims of this violence. Their loss compels us to ensure that justice is done. I want to pay tribute as well to the police officers and the soldiers, Haitians, Kenyans and the residents of other nations who fell while serving Haiti. Through their courage, they have written with their blood as ink a page in the book of our struggle for security and peace. Haiti will never forget their sacrifice. For them, for their families, for these 12 million women, men and children, for children that are asking only to grow up, to dream and to live in peace. We cannot resign ourselves to seeing deaths and wounded people be mere numbers in our reports. We need to act because in Haiti today, one more victim is too many victims and Haiti is already acting. We've made the choice to strengthen the operational capacity of our national security forces, because the security of Haiti must ultimately be based on the capacity of the Haitian state. We are recruiting, we are training, and we are becoming stronger. Through the P4000 program, we are continuing to train 4000 police officers. Over 2000 have already been trained, and a new cohort is set to graduate from the Police Academy next November. In parallel with this, over 1500 new soldiers have already been trained and we are putting in place a program aiming to train 15,000 new soldiers over the next three years. What's more, we've stepped up our budget to invest in our two security forces. Our goal is not only to respond to the crisis of today, it is to build capacity that will allow Haiti to ensure itself fully and sustainably its own security. It is regrettable that the force that was supposed to temporarily support these efforts, that this force is not yet fully operational and it still hasn't reached on the ground the planned force of 5500 members. That is why from this rostrum, we emphasize the need to renew the mandate of the gang suppression force. And we want to see its full implementation with the forces, the equipment and the resources that are needed for it to discharge its mission. The experience from the Multinational Security support mission should serve as a lesson. A mandate is not enough. There's a need for forces.

Equipment is needed, and one needs to resolve to see the effort through. However, there is another security challenge that should compel us all collectively to act. The illicit trafficking in weapons and ammunition. These are weapons that are killing Haitians, that are sowing terror in our neighborhoods and cutting down innocent lives, and they're not being produced in Haiti. They are arriving here through transnational criminal networks that are fueling insecurity and strengthening the capacity of gangs to act, while threatening stability of our entire region. For as long as this traffic prospers, violence will find ways to perpetuate. Dismantling this traffic is a shared responsibility. We therefore need to move beyond advocating for Haiti.

The security of our island also requires effective border control. Mr. president, impunity is the other face of insecurity. We need to combat it with the same resolve. This is why we have established two specialized judicial hubs to strengthen the struggle against impunity, financial crimes, mass crimes and sexual violence. The 1st of January 2027 will see the entry into force of our new Criminal Code and Code of Criminal Procedure, and in so doing, Haiti will pass an historic milestone in the modernization of its judiciary. But because it's not enough to arrest those who are terrorizing the population, they need to be judged and justice needs to be done. At the same time, we've reactivated our National Commission for disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration, and we've launched the Peace Dividend Fund in Haiti, and I invite all of our partners to support it. It is imperative to take away from violent actors their capacity to recruit by offering our young people credible alternatives and genuine opportunities. For this, security and development must come together and must progress together. Neither one can be sustainable without the other. Mr. president, emergency aid has saved lives. Haiti is grateful for that. However, the long term well-being of a people cannot remain indefinitely dependent on aid and on charity.

We cannot call upon security in and of itself to bear the burden of peace. Economic recovery needs to be the other pillar. This is why we welcome the decision taken by the administration of President Donald Trump to extend through 2028 the trade preference known as HOPE/HELP. We are deeply grateful for this gesture of friendship, which is an important step for our economic recovery, and we call for it to be extended by ten years. We also want to extend our gratitude to the United Kingdom for the Developing Countries Trading Scheme, and we call upon more countries to put in place similar mechanisms that are capable of transforming access to markets and to opportunities for trade and investment. Haiti needs investment to craft its future. This is why today Haiti is calling for a paradigm shift. We need to move from aid to investment, from assistance to production, from dependency to partnership, and we must gradually transform resources mobilized in order to manage the crisis into investments that can create jobs and sustainable opportunities, in particular for our young people and our women. Because when you no longer hear the sound of the guns, you need to hear the sounds of peace: engines that are starting, construction sites that are beginning work again, bustling markets, women that are running businesses, young people that are working, the laughter of children that are playing, and our streets that again, are rediscovering the rhythm of our music and our life. Those who have had the privilege of knowing Haiti know that this country exists behind the images of crises. There's a people that is welcoming and has a vibrant culture with unique knowledge, with stunning beaches and heritage, and exceptional richness. We need to recreate the conditions so that the world can come to Haiti again to discover it, invest in it, do business there and stay there and come back.

This is what peace will look like, the peace we want and that we must build. President. The security for which the international community must remain fully mobilized side by side with us, should also allow us to honor the second major commitment of the government, which I lead, and that is give the Haitian people a voice through elections. I belong to a generation that knew the dictatorship that placed so much hope in democracy after 1987, but too often saw these hopes collide with political instability and recurrent transitions. In order to break this cycle, I agreed to serve my country with the conviction that this transition needs to come to an end. It needs to come to an end through the ballot box and through the ballot. This is why we have committed to the electoral process with respect for the National Pact for Stability and the Organization of Elections, which is the fruit of a broad consensus among the political class today. The required resources have been mobilized, the enrollment centers are open, citizens are registering, political parties and groups have been accredited, and candidates are undertaking the formalities needed for them to participate in the elections. We want free, credible, inclusive and honest elections. The participation of women is encouraged and young people are called upon to take their full place in that election as voters, candidates and stakeholders for our democracy. Furthermore, measures have been taken to preserve the integrity of the process. Violence, criminal networks, illicit financing and those that are supporting them must find no path to access the ballot box. Because it's not just the next government that's at stake in these elections. It is the future of Haiti. And this future bears the face of our youth. Mr. president, the Haitian crisis is also one of the most painful expressions of the divides of our age. This chaos is no accident of history. Its roots run through centuries of injustice, and the debt of independence remains the heaviest burden to bear. This is why we welcome the work of the mixed commission of Haitian and French historians, and we are very eagerly awaiting the publication of its report.

Mr. president, yesterday our ancestors won their freedom from the shadows of servitude. Today, our generation will win peace from the shadows of violence. We will bring security back to our communities. We will give our people a voice again, and we will return hope to our young people. The challenges are colossal, but our willpower is even greater. We've proven to the world that freedom was possible. We will prove to them tomorrow that peace can be built, can be defended, and can triumph over fatalism. More than two centuries ago, Haiti told the world that a people can cast off its chains. Today, from this high rostrum, Haiti is telling the world that a people can also break the cycle of violence, of transition and of dependency. Our security will be rooted in the long term, on our own institutions, and our development will move from aid to investment, from dependency to partnership, from emergency to prosperity. The tree of liberty that Toussaint spoke of still stands tall, and our generation now needs to let it bear the fruit of peace. This is our responsibility. It is our duty. It is our promise to our children. It is our rendezvous with history.

May God bless the Republic of Haiti and may God bless the world. Thank you.