Mr. President, Secretary General, excellencies, distinguished delegates, I bring to you greetings from Papua New Guinea. A nation of extraordinary diversity with more than 800 languages and cultures, but united under one flag.

Mr. president, Papua New Guinea comes to this assembly with profound respect for the charter of the United Nations and for the principles and purposes upon which this great institution was founded. The United Nations reminds us that whether we are big or small nations, rich or poor nations developed or developing, powerful or less powerful, we are all members of one international community. The challenges confronting humanity do not recognise the size of our economies, the strength of our militaries, or the boundaries on our map. No nation can address them alone. We must therefore continue to work together, respecting the sovereignty of all nations, upholding the international law and the United Nations Charter, resolving our differences peacefully and recognising that every nation, regardless of its size or economic strength or military might, has a voice and a place in this assembly. For Papua New Guinea and all the nations of the Pacific, multilateralism matters. The United Nations place provides a place rather, where small nations can sit alongside the largest, where voice can be heard and where we can work together on the common challenges facing humanity. And with this, I want to place on record Papua New Guinea's fullest acknowledgement on all speakers from the Pacific who have spoken, all leaders who spoke. We are fully, on behalf of Papua New Guinea, affirm all their points, the points that was raised. I also wish to acknowledge the Secretary General of United Nations, His Excellency Antonio Guterres as he approaches the completion of his tenure on behalf of the government and people of Papua New Guinea. I want to thank the Secretary General for his strong and consistent advocacy for humanity. At a time when our world has confronted war, displacement, poverty, inequality, climate change and many other challenges. He has consistently called for peace, human dignity, international cooperation and respect for the principles of United Nations. He has demonstrated the qualities of a global statesman. If there is anyone befitting of a Nobel Peace Award and label a global statesman, His Excellency Guterres is perhaps the leading person at this time. He has used his office to speak for humanity, including those voices that are often too dim and seemingly unheard. Secretary-General Guterres, on behalf of my 11 million people, Papua New Guinea, thank you for your service to the United Nations and to humanity. We remember fondly your three nights you stayed with us in the mountains and islands of Papua New Guinea. Thank you for being a strong voice of not just Papua New Guinea, but small nations, especially my small Pacific island nations. Your advocacy reminds us that beyond our national borders and political differences, cultures and beliefs, we belong to one human family. And we share one planet called the planet earth. Mr. president, it is in the spirit of common humanity that I wish to speak about human rights, human freedoms, and particularly freedom of conscience, thought, belief, and religion.

At the heart of human rights is a simple truth. Every human being has inherent dignity and is entitled to fundamental freedoms. From a Christian perspective, these freedoms are not gifts bestowed upon humanity by governments or institutions or powerful nations. They are God given rights inherent in every human life. And because this right belongs equally to every person we have a responsibility to respect and protect the rights of others, including those who may not look like us or speak like us, or worship like us, or believe what we believe. The strength of a nation, a government or an economy or a technology, or a religion should never be used to suppress the fundamental human rights of another human being. The might of military power must not suppress the weak. The might of economic power must not suppress the poor. The might of technology must not be used to diminish human dignity or freedom, and the might of a religious majority must never be used to suppress those who belong to religious minority. Human rights have the greatest meaning when they protect those with less power: minorities, the vulnerable communities, and individuals whose beliefs may differ from those of the majority. We must therefore learn to live together with mutual respect. We do not have to agree on everything. We do not have to share the same religion, same culture, same political system or worldview. But we must respect humanity and the fundamental freedoms of one another. Mr. president, this principle is especially important when we speak about religion. Papua New Guinea, for instance, is a Christian nation believing that Jesus Christ is our Lord, Savior and soon coming King. Christian principles profoundly have influenced our country, our communities, and our institutions. But let me make one point clear: our Christianity must and will never be an excuse to deny another human being the freedom of conscience. And we have embedded this the fathers of my Constitution, the fathers of my country's constitution. In 1975 in fact, are right from the foundation of our Constitution. Section 45 of our Constitution guarantees every person freedom of conscience, thought, and religion. And that practice or he that person can practice his or her beliefs and religion according to his own conscience or his own conscience. Our Constitution also protects people against being compelled to participate in religious observance, and against attempts to force religion or irreligion upon another person. Mr. president, faith that is forced is no longer faith. I believe freedom is a choice, a God given right, implanted in the conscience of every human beings. Our moral conscience comes from God. God does not compel worship. He calls worship through love, allowing every person to exercise the freedom of choice he has given them. True faith, therefore, cannot be imposed by force, fear, law, or persecution. A person must be free to believe. A person must be free to worship. A person must be free to change his or her belief. A person must be also free not to profess religion if he or her chooses. So. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes this principle in article 18 the right to freedom of thought, conscience, and religion. Mr. president, history teaches us what happens when government or institutions or majority use religion to suppress those who believe differently. Human beings have been persecuted, expelled, imprisoned, or killed because of their faith. Humanity must learn from this history. A Christian majority nation must protect people of other religions. A Muslim majority nation must protect people of other religions. A Hindu majority nation must protect people of other religions. A Buddhist majority nation must protect people of other religions. And every society must respect the rights of those who choose not to profess a religion. The size of a majority does not diminish the rights of a minority. The United States, for instance, this country where we stand on, where the Assembly meets, expressed the principle more than two centuries ago through its First Amendment, which prohibits laws respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. Government should neither impose faith upon its people nor prevent people from practicing their faith. Papua New Guinea supports this principle. We are proudly Christian, but the strength of our Christianity should not be demonstrated by suppressing other persons' beliefs. It should be demonstrated by having confidence in every human to allow their own exercise of free choice or free conscience. Humanity can be diverse in culture, religion, and thought.

Just like Papua New Guinea. Yet we must be united in respecting and tolerating the differences we all have. Mr. president, Papua New Guinea knows something about diversity. We have more than 800 languages and many different cultures and traditions. Yet for 51 years as an independent nation, we have remained together as one Papua New Guinea. We have disagreements and challenges. We do not claim perfection, but our own experience demonstrates something important. Diversity does not mean division. People can speak different languages and still belong to one nation. People can come from different cultures and live, but still live under one constitution. And people can worship differently and still be neighbors, colleagues, and fellow citizens. Mr. president, Papua New Guinea therefore calls upon all member states to defend freedom of conscience, thought, religion and belief.

I respectfully extend this call to every nation that calls Papua New Guinea a friend. Every nation which we have bilateral partnership and every nation that seeks friendship and engagement with us. Look within your borders. Ensure that religious minorities are not persecuted, suppressed, intimidated, or discriminated because they practice religion that is different from majority. Whether a country is predominantly Christian or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or follows other religion, religious tradition doesn't matter. The faith of the majority must never become an instrument for the persecution of minority. This message is not directed at one country or one religion or one region. It is a principle that must apply equally to all of us, because human rights cannot be selective. We cannot demand respect for our own rights while denying those same rights to others. We cannot ask the world to respect our beliefs while refusing to respect the freedom of conscience of another human being. Mr. president, there is a wider principle here also. This ultimately is also about human dignity. If we recognise the dignity of every human being, then we must consider the conditions in which people live and the earth which we will leave behind for our children.

The United Nations General Assembly has recognised the human right to a clean, healthy sustainable environment. We value its freedom. What? What is. I beg your pardon? What value is freedom if a child has no water to drink? What value is development if we destroy the environment that sustains life? And what inheritance are we leaving behind for our children if the forest disappears, our oceans become polluted and our climate becomes increasingly unstable. There is one reality that transcends every political, economic, and religious differences between us. And that is, we have one planet, one earth. There is no other known habitable planet presently within reach of humanity. You can be the most powerful capitalist, or you can be the most powerful technocrat. You can reach out to the observable universe billions and billions of light years into the observable universe. You find no planet like our planet earth. USA scientists, Russian scientists, big nations sets the world. Big industrialist sets the world. You cannot bring your population to another planet. This earth is our common home. Whatever our religion, nationality, political system, we breathe the same atmosphere. We share the same ocean. We depend upon the same global climate. And ultimately, we share the consequence of what humanity does to this planet. Mr. president, think about the children of the world. A child born today did not create climate change. The child did not choose the wars of this generation. The child did not create pollution or the environmental destruction. Yet the child will inherit the consequence of the decisions we make today. We must therefore be custodians not only of the present but also of the future. Future generations cannot stand before this assembly today and argue for themselves. We must consider them when we make decisions about war and peace, development, energy, forests, oceans, minerals and global economy. Papua New Guinea understands this responsibility. We are custodians of great tropical forests, extraordinary biodiversity and vast ocean space. For us, environment is not an abstract for international discussion. It is where we live. It is where we grow our food. It is where we fish. It is the inheritance we will pass on to our children. Mr. president, in our interconnected world, decisions made in one country can affect people thousands of kilometres away. Greenhouse gases do not recognise national borders. Pollution carried by ocean does not stop at immigration checkpoints.

Wars can disrupt food, fuel, energy, trade, supply chains far from the battlefield. Economic decisions made in the world's largest economy can reach an ordinary family in a small developing country. A mother buying food can feel the consequences. A farmer buying fuel can feel the consequences. Our small businesses facing higher transport costs can feel the consequences. And the developing countries trying to build roads, schools and hospitals can feel the consequences. This is why leadership in powerful nations carry responsibilities beyond your national borders. With great power comes great responsibility. Papua New Guinea respectfully asks leaders of the world's major powers to remember the ordinary people whose lives can be affected by decisions made far away from them. When wars disrupt food, fuel and trade, families far from the battlefield can experience higher prices and economic uncertainty. When climate changes, communities that have contributed little to global greenhouse gas emissions can nevertheless face rising seas, extreme weather, threats to food security, and damage to lives livelihoods. Mr. president, my appeal to leaders everywhere is really simple. Put human welfare ahead of war. Put humanity ahead of narrow geopolitical interests.

Choose dialogue and peaceful settlement wherever possible. Remember ordinary families when making major economic decisions. Balance commercial interests with the welfare of people. Use technology to advance human dignity and not diminish it. Protect our planet while pursuing development and place the interests of our children and future generations at the heart of decisions we make today. Leadership is not measured only by the power of a nation. I beg your pardon again. Leadership is not defined only by the power you possess as a leader of a powerful nation. Leadership is also measured by the responsibility that comes with how you exercise that power. Papua New Guinea does not claim to have all the answers. We still are developing nations. Just a few years ago, we became a middle income earning nation. We have our own challenges, but perhaps our position as a Pacific nation allows us to remind the larger powers of a simple reality. No nation is so powerful that it can live apart from the earth. No nation is so small that its people should be forgotten when decisions affecting humanity are made. Military strength of a nation does not make the rights of another nation less important. The size of an economy does not make the dignity of a poorer person less important. Technological advancement does not diminish our obligations to protect human freedom. The size of a religious majority does not reduce the rights of a minority. Power in all forms must be exercised with responsibility and care. Mr. president, in PNG we have many tribes. We have many languages. We have many churches. We have many cultures. But we are one nation. Perhaps this lesson can be taught to everyone. Papua New Guinea puts this to the assembly. You do not have to believe what I believe in for you to defend human rights of another person. Let governments govern for people. Let churches preach and preach love to each other. Let mosque pray faithfully. Let temples welcome the worshippers. Let people search their own conscience. Let the economy serve humanity. Let technology serve humanity. Let powerful nations exercise their power responsibly. Let nations resolve their differences peacefully, wherever possible. And I pause here, especially all Christian nations, all Christian nations, our Lord and Savior Jesus talks about peace and not war. Those who are promoting peace are sons of God. You don't promote peace, you are not sons of God. And may this be known to every Christian nation. Let no state compel the human soul. Mr. president, we may have different religions. We may have different political systems. We have different cultures and national interests. We may be. We may be big nations or small nations. We may be rich or poor. We may possess different levels of military, economic and technological power. But beneath those differences, we share something greater. We share our humanity. We share one earth. This is our home. We must protect it. We must protect each other. We must leave our children a better world than the one we are presently living in. Papua New Guinea will remain proudly, proudly Christian, but we will also remain committed to the freedom of conscience, thought and religion. For ultimately, faith cannot be governed or commanded by government. Faith must come from the heart. God has given humanity the capacity to choose that freedom, and that freedom must be respected. God has entrusted this earth to our generation for only a short time. Let us use it wisely and pass it to the next generation. Let us pursue peace. Let us uphold the charter of United Nations. Let us respect the rights and dignity of every human being. Let us work together. Big or small nations. Let us ensure that power, whether military, economic, technology, or religious, is never used to suppress the rights of others. Let us protect our common home.

Let us remember always the generation who will follow us. Follow us, Mr. President. And on this note I want to close by thanking United Nations and those who have stood with Papua New Guinea the last 51 years of our nationhood. We have faced many challenges as a country growing. But we are growing economy. We are working to make sure enabling infrastructures reaches all people. We are making sure quality education and health services covers all people. We are moving towards a cleaner, greener energy. We conserving our forests and our oceans. We are strengthening our independent jurists to make our judiciary stronger, robust and independent. We protecting our free market economy. We are opening doors for more foreign investments to grow. But all this comes at a backdrop of giving respect to every person in our country of so much diversity. The human right is respected. And I want to ask every one of us, let's respect human rights of every citizens of this planet. That is the least we can do. I want to assure this Assembly that my government is working to the best of our ability to protect the rights of the 11 million people of my country, giving them a better an equal opportunity to progress their own life, a life that God has planned for the God given homeland that I call,

and many of the 11 million of us call, Papua New Guinea. I want to pray. In conclusion, I want to thank every one of you who have supported Papua New Guinea. In closing, for those families right across the world who are facing issues in relation to climate change and natural calamities, or to those who are facing issues and pain in relation to man made crisis. May God give you all consolation, peace and comfort, and I pray for same blessing to not just my country, but every citizen of this planet. As we work to protect our planet, our planet must be protected. Until Jesus come. We must work to protect our planet. God bless everyone. Thank you for listening.