They are what we allowed, what we still allow, and what we will answer for. There is a painful cry for a better world order as we witness the weakening into irrelevance of multilateral institutions. No country, regardless of size or power, can address today's interconnected challenges alone. Excellencies, leadership is not merely discovering the angriest instinct of the electorate and amplifying it. Leadership is sometimes telling our own supporters that they are wrong. It is explaining complexity when a slogan would be easier. It is asking people to consider tomorrow when they are angry about today. It is persuading citizens that humanity of others who may worship differently, speak another language, or vote for another party does not diminish their own freedoms. Statesmanship requires patience, persuasion, courage to compromise. And above all, it requires an understanding that power brings responsibility, not exemption. The Charter of the United Nations was not written to make the strong weak. It was written to prevent the strong from making the world unlivable. Soon we will elect a new Secretary-General. The regional rotation precedent must be preserved. Africa had an unprecedented continuous three terms: Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 1992-1996, Kofi Annan, 1997-2006. Now the Security Council will elect a Latin American as our Secretary-General for 2027-2032. And after more than 80 years of men at the helm of our organization, needless to say, we ought to have enough wisdom and elect a woman with unquestionable integrity, unblemished record, and in defense of human rights, a strong advocacy of gender equality and inclusion, rule of law, democracy, solid experience in senior management in national and multilateral institutions. Mr. President, Excellencies, for developing countries, particularly small island developing states and least developed countries, efficiency must translate into stronger delivery on the ground, not reduced essential support. Timor-Leste urges comprehensive reform, expansion in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, so that developing countries and historically underrepresented regions have a stronger voice in decisions concerning international peace and security. The veto is inconsistent with the sovereign equality of member states. President, Timor-Leste reaffirms the principles of climate justice, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in the light of different national circumstances. Greater climate ambition must be accompanied by accessible, predictable finance: adaptation support, technology transfer, and capacity building. Artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies reshape our societies. Developing countries must actively participate in their governance and development.

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Excellencies ladies and gentlemen. This summer, the Republic of Moldova turned 35. For much of that time, the world described us as a country caught between East and West, a place where others decided. I stand here as the new Prime Minister of a country that has decided. Small countries do not choose their geography or their size. But small does not mean powerless. Nations like people, are shaped by the choices they make, whom they trust, whom they elect, whom they call friends, and how they respond when things turn against them. For a long time, others made many of those choices for us. Soviet authorities deported our families to Siberia, forced our Romanian language into another alphabet, and told us it had another name. After independence, Moscow used gas and trade restrictions as leverage over our country. Step by step, we began choosing for ourselves. Romanian is again written in Latin and spoken freely. Governments change peacefully at the ballot box and when our democracy was threatened, Moldovans have defended it through elections and civic action. We also reduced Russia's economic leverage on us. We diversified our gas purchases. In just five years, renewables grew from nothing to around 30% of our energy supply. Our electricity system is increasingly integrated with Romania and the European grid, and our companies sell on some of the most demanding markets in Europe and the world. But the Kremlin kept trying. Moldova faced illicit financing, disinformation, cyber attacks and vote buying. Russia spent the equivalent of nearly 2% of our GDP trying to influence last year's elections. Moldovans answered that their home is not for sale. Each of these choices carried a cost, but each taught us the same lesson. We cannot control everything around us, but what we do still matters. That is the source of our optimism. Our future remains in our hands, and nowhere is that choice clearer today than in our European path.

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Malawi remains firmly committed to the rule of law, accountability and the peaceful resolution of disputes as indispensable foundation of an effective multilateral system. It is in this spirit that Malawi has presented the candidature of Lady Justice Tujilane Chizumila for election as a judge of the International Criminal Court for the term 2027 to 2036. Justice Chizumila is a distinguished jurist with extensive judicial and legal experience at the national, regional and international levels, including her service as a judge of the African Court on Human and Peoples Rights. Her candidature reflects Malawi commitment to strengthening international justice through experienced, independent and highly qualified judicial leadership. As states parties prepare to elect six judges to the International Criminal Court in December 2026, Malawi respectfully seeks the valued support of state parties for the candidature of Lady Justice Tujilane Chizumila. We are confident that her extensive judicial experience, commitment to the rule of law and demonstrated service to justice and human rights would enable her to make a meaningful contribution to the work of the court. Malawi looks forward to the support of fellow states parties for her election, and to continuing our collective efforts to strengthen the institutions of international justice. Mr. president, the fourth opportunity for restoring trust managing transformation and thereby ensuring a United Nations that delivers for all lies in strengthening global health security.

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We believe that the new Secretary-General, who we will elect before the end of the year, will meticulously uphold its mandate as well as the principles of impartiality and equidistance enshrined in the charter, that the new SG will represent the entire international community instead of serving the interests of some states that the new SG will not undermine the intergovernmental nature of the UN system, nor dilute the prerogatives of the Security Council and its permanent members. Our principled approach is the following UN Security Council reform can not, can not involve any additional seats being allocated to Western countries, especially to Germany and Japan who are now on the path to militarism and revanchism. We are in favour of broadening the representation of Asia, Africa and Latin America. We support Brazil's and India's candidature for a permanent seat, and at the same time, I wish to emphasize this we must satisfy the interests of the African continent, in keeping with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. Ladies and gentlemen, through its foreign policy, Russia is trying to fix the situation in the world, working together with our allies and strategic partners BRICS, the SCO, the Eurasian Economic Union, the CIS and the CSTO.

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If small sized states are expected to comply with the rules, then the rules must also provide them with predictability. If candidates for membership in an organisation are required to meet certain criteria, then meeting those criteria must lead to progress. If we ask citizens to trust institutions, then institutions must demonstrate that their word has value and that their commitments endure. The rule that applies today cannot be different tomorrow, simply because the balance of powers has changed, and a commitment undertaken cannot be a temporary political convenience. It must be a foundation on which people can plan their future. We ask our citizens to believe in cooperation, in good neighbourly relations, in compromises and in mutual respect. We tell them that lasting peace is worth more than a short term political victory, that respecting agreements is a sign of strength and wisdom, and that it is the right thing to do, not a sign of weakness. The European and Euro-Atlantic integration means accepting rules that apply equally to all. But that argument becomes much harder to sustain when citizens see that in international relations, principle sometimes gives way to power, that criteria can change while the process is already underway, or that some are expected to demonstrate consistency that others do not always demand of themselves. We cannot tell people trust the rules when they can see that the rules do not apply equally. We cannot convince them that compromise is a virtue if every compromise produces a new demand, and we cannot expect trust in international institutions if citizens come to believe that their fate is created more often by the political weight of their state than by the strength of an agreed principle. This is a question of legitimacy, because our authority as elected leaders does not derive from the office itself. It derives from the people who elect us, who hold us to account, and who every day compare what we tell them with what they see. And today they see more than ever before.

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These are the five key areas. I could have been more exhaustive in my comments, but I'll leave it there. This is what France will be defending across these five areas. My message is to stand firm. Do not yield to the situation which is developing. The world is slowly becoming more divided. The rhetoric of defeat that is giving way to empires, abusing their powers, threatening the sovereignty of some nations, abuse of power by some who are monopolizing productive capacity, those who are monopolizing the ability to make calculations, abuses of power by those who wish to concentrate wealth in their own hands. In the face of such abuses of power, we must go back to the very spirit of this organization, which is multilateralism, the defense of common interests, of justice for all, something that through unity, justice and cooperation is the way to take effective action, the way to restore just and lasting peace in all of our nations, a way to once again achieve unity between the North and the South. A way of crafting an agenda for taking proactive measures on technology, on the climate. We will not yield. Today, more than ever, we need the United Nations as we elect a new Secretary General. And I'd like to pay tribute to the efforts of António Guterres over all these years under such testing conditions. He never gave in. We must address old crises, tackle new challenges. Against this backdrop, we must continue taking action. Today, more than ever, we must be courageous in our optimism. We must mobilize to take useful steps not to yield for the benefit of each and every one of us.

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