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Well, Yoni said it simply. We have no other choice. And throughout this long war, our goal never wavered. To win. To win with unwavering resolve. To win with unrelenting courage. Because this is Israel. One nation fighting for one future left and right, young and old, religious and secular. Do we have our differences? Of course we do. Who doesn't? But in critical moments, those moments that shape our destiny, we stand together because what unites us is so much stronger. Our history, our values, our courage, the courage, the courage of our brave people who withstood 1000 massive ballistic missiles that Iran rained down on our cities, on our civilians. Ladies and gentlemen, you're sitting here in the General Assembly Hall of the UN. Do you know what? Just 1 ton ballistic missile would do if it hit this place. It would obliterate the entire compound. In fact, two such missiles would obliterate the U.N.. So you can imagine think about 1000 gigantic missiles falling from the skies on your cities, on your homes. I salute the courage of the people of Israel. I salute the courage of our brave soldiers, Jews, Christians, Druze, Muslim, the most moral army in the world, the IDF. For three years our brave soldiers have been valiantly fighting a seven front war. But there's an eighth front to this war. It's the war for truth. It is waged in the world's media and most perniciously in social media. Several foreign countries have spent untold billions to spread lies about my country. The first to do so was Qatar. Decades ago. It started massively funding American universities and toxic media outlets like Al Jazeera. They did the same in Europe, by the way, and their goal was clear brainwash young minds to hate Israel, hate America, hate the West. This is the same Qatar that hosts the Hamas butchers of October 7th, now the latest country to become a super spreader of anti-Semitic lies is Turkey.
And I thought it's a good idea to share with you my thoughts. Gunpowder changed the battlefield. Nuclear fission changed the meaning of human survival. Artificial intelligence is changing something even more intimate: who can enter the minds of a citizen, imitate a trusted voice, manufacture a reality calibrated to one person's fears, and do so millions and millions of times at once. Albania is not a developer of frontier models, but we are a nation that has already lived the future others are still debating, and I think a simple message is what we owe to all of you. The greatest immediate danger is not that artificial intelligence will stop obeying humanity. The greatest danger is that it will obey the wrong human beings perfectly. The challenge comes in three layers. What artificial intelligence does instead of us, what it does to us. And who gains the power to reach us? First, what it does instead of us. The public debate imagines machines that awaken, acquire ambitions and turn against their creators. But the systems confronting us today do not wake up with hatred in their hearts. They multiply ours. They have no ambition of their own. They serve the ambition of others. They carry no flag. But they can be deployed by a state. They tell no lie for their own benefit. But they can tell a billion lies on others behalf. The machine has no conscience. But it can borrow the reach of a government, the precision of a weapon and the intimacy of a friend. At the same time, the economic incentives surrounding artificial intelligence increasingly reward the replacement of human effort, rather than the enlargement of human capacity. Write the code so that I do not have to understand it. Draft the report so that I do not have to think through it. Make the judgment so that I do not have to assume responsibility for it. When success is measured only by how much work the machine removes from the human being, we may create more efficient institutions, but will have less capable people. A civilization that outsources effort may eventually outsource knowledge. A civilization that outsources knowledge may eventually outsource judgment, and the civilization that outsources judgment may discover that it also outsources responsibility. This is not inevitable. It is a choice. We can build artificial intelligence that teaches rather than merely answers, guides rather than commands, and strengthens the human being instead of making the human being dependent upon it. The question cannot be only how quickly did the machine complete the task? We must also ask, what did the human being learn? Who understood the decision? Who can challenge the decision and who answers for the decision when it is wrong? Albania became the first country to bring an artificial intelligence instrument into the architecture of government through Diella, our worldwide known artificial intelligence minister. We did not do this to transfer sovereignty from people to a machine. We did it to make public services more accessible, procedures more transparent, and the state more accountable. No machine possesses democratic legitimacy. No algorithm inherits constitutional responsibility. Behind every consequential public decision, there must remain a legal mandate, a human institution, and a name that can be called to give answers. The second layer is what artificial intelligence can do to us. Artificial intelligence inside an accountable state can reduce the distance between citizens and public services. Artificial intelligence outside accountability can eliminate the distance between a lie and the human mind. Albania experienced this directly. I am sure you must have followed or just known the so-called Flamingo Revolution, a fabricated narrative of an Israeli invasion of the Albanian coast, an invasion that never occurred, was manufactured, was personalized and delivered through voices, pages and channels citizens already trusted. One citizen received a story of national betrayal. Another received a story of religious provocation. Another received a conspiracy of foreign occupation. Different fabrications entered different emotional worlds, all serving the same strategic lie. The consequences were real. Citizens had their own reasons to protest. Don't take me wrong. But suddenly they started to protest also against a phantom enemy. Antisemitic tropes entered our public discourse for the first time ever. Don't forget, Albania is the only country in Europe that ended World War Two with more Jews than it started it. Fear became anger. Anger became mobilization and fabrication became political reality. And this is not and was not a laboratory experiment. I'm not talking to you about a science fiction movie. It was a Tuesday in Tirana, our capital city. The algorithm did not invent the objective. A human actor did.
It opens extraordinary opportunities for scientific progress, medicine, education, and the fight against climate change. Yet it also compels us to ask a question that no previous generation has had to face with such urgency: how can we ensure that technological progress remains human progress? This is the debate that truly lies before us. It is not a debate about machines; it is a debate about ourselves. We must ensure that artificial intelligence expands opportunities rather than inequalities, that it protects human rights rather than putting them at risk, that it strengthens our democracies rather than weakening them, and that it preserves the cultural and linguistic diversity that is one of humanity's most valuable heritages. For a country such as Andorra, this last aspect is particularly relevant. The digital revolution must not lead to cultural homogenization that condemns languages with fewer speakers to invisibility. That is why we advocate for a global digital governance that fully incorporates respect for multilingualism, cultural diversity, and equal access to knowledge.
(BRIEF PAUSE) Turning to human rights, we should acknowledge that these are central to the other two pillars: they can promote peace and security and advance sustainable development. And we recognize one of the most urgent assaults on human dignity today: hate speech that incites violence. It is a growing threat to regional and global peace, and it is on the rise. Hateful narratives are spreading like wildfire across borders and into homes at unprecedented speed and scale. They target women and girls, minorities, migrants, refugees and persons with disabilities, often for political gain. New and emerging technologies are used to amplify lies, manipulate public debate, spread hatred and give incitement to violence faster and farther than ever before. We must choose dialogue and tolerance and foster a culture in which human rights are respected not only in law, but in our daily interactions. And we must stop the cherry picking of those rights that fit our respective cultures or the politics of the day. Whether it is islamophobia, antisemitism, homophobia, or misogyny, it’s all the same... hatred, repackaged and relabelled. Let us use the tools of our age not to deepen fear, but to widen understanding and advance human dignity, for everyone, everywhere. (BRIEF PAUSE) My second point: making the United Nations fit for the future, which requires a more foundational approach to reform.
Second, Japan is devoted to enhancing cooperation towards peace and stability. Since the end of the Second World War, Japan has consistently and seriously pursued efforts towards nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. At the very heart of our aspiration for a world without nuclear weapons lies the earnest plea of the hibakusha. The catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons must never be repeated. It is Japan's mission as the only country to have ever suffered atomic bombings during war, to lead the efforts of the international community towards a world without nuclear weapons. Japan strongly calls for solidarity within the international community to maintain and strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty NPT regime, to which both nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states are parties. Further, Japan will persistently advance realistic and practical efforts, including enhancing the transparency of nuclear forces and promoting a deeper understanding of the realities of atomic bombings. The situations in Ukraine and North Korea have reminded the world of growing risks and threats posed by nuclear weapons. There are also concerns regarding the proliferation of nuclear and missile related technologies through the strengthening of military cooperation between Russia and North Korea. The security of the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic is inseparable. The advancement of North Korea's nuclear and missile programs, as well as its use of malicious cyber activities, including cryptocurrency thefts as a source of funding, are clear violations of relevant Security Council resolutions and pose a serious threat to international peace and security. The full implementation of Security Council resolutions under the principle of the complete denuclearization of North Korea is essential. Moreover, the issue of abductions by North Korea is an ongoing matter with lives at stake. The abductees are still denied their freedoms and their families continue to suffer. This is a matter of grave concern not only for Japan, but for the international community. As the abductees and their families are aging, the abductions issue must be resolved immediately.
Madam President, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, as the new British Prime Minister, I am here today to tell you how Britain will deliver leadership in a changing world for the decade that lies ahead, learning from our experience of the last one.
But the real motivation of which lies elsewhere: in a covetousness for the significant resources that God has placed in our land. Niger's uranium, Mali and Burkina Faso's gold, lithium, gas, oil and so many other riches still make the former colonial powers salivate. They want to make us believe that we are incapable of governing, of governing ourselves, incapable of producing, of thinking, and of defending ourselves. They want to make us believe and convince us that we do not have the science, the intelligence, or the sovereignty needed to build something precious by and for ourselves, and that as a consequence, therefore, we should accept the tutelage of Emmanuel Macron's France and his allies. A France which very often acts through its local proxies, networks and complicity. For centuries they have instilled self-deprecation, fear and resignation. They continue to want to introduce permanent conflict in communities which since time immemorial, have been living in harmony in the same space and which have created peaceful mechanisms for settling disputes, such as joking kinship. For example, this perfidious attempt to destabilize the central Sahel conducted by France with the active complicity of Ukraine, is now documented, widely documented. This criminal enterprise has been dismissed, has been unmasked now that the military, political and media elites that justify it in the name of their own country's interests have themselves removed their veils and remove their masks. I say solemnly from this rostrum: the Sahel sees, the Sahel hears, the Sahel remembers, and the Sahel understands things very well. Our Sahel is determined to defend its liberty, its resources and its dignity at any cost. A people that has decided to be free cannot be recolonised through fear, through deceit, nor even through savage violence. Ladies and gentlemen, as I speak to you, on our northeastern border there are proxies led by that France, supported by Ukraine and two other countries. And you know which countries I'm alluding to. Those proxies are armed, managed and led, and they are about to attack our military positions and our oil installations. But inshallah, they will find what they deserve if they do so. The AES, the result of a long and historic struggle of our peoples against colonization and neocolonialism, is now an irreversible process towards our country's sovereignty. Make no mistake, the century that we are living in marks the end of old Hegemonies and the awakening of thus far suppressed forces. The AES is to Africa and its historic and contemporary diasporas as light is to darkness. It is for this human community that is present around the world, a source of hope and of dignity. And I say this before the world so that the world can understand: the AES is the result of a movement that dates from the dawn of time. It is a profound, lasting, irrepressible and irreversible change. Inshallah. A change which, by trimming the sharp claws of imperialism, abolishing the trade in black persons and slavery, overthrowing colonialism and neocolonialism, is bringing the peoples of Africa towards independence, sovereignty and liberty. I affirm that our Refoundation in Niger
Thank you so much for your hard work for the United Nations Organization and for the Republic of Poland. Distinguished Excellencies, distinguished guests, the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly begins at one of the most difficult, in my view, moments since the organization's founding. Poland was, in fact, a founding member of the United Nations. From the very beginning of the UN's existence, we have been faced with a question about the foundations of the international order that we are shaping within our organization. Despite many achievements, we must not forget that at the very root of its creation lies a fundamental flaw, an original flaw, that continues to undermine the system's credibility to this day. The UN was established in response to the greatest tragedy in human history, World War II, but it was not funded on a simple and fundamental principle: that every wrongdoing must be met with accountability, and sometimes with just punishment. For Poland, this is not an abstract issue. At the very moment the foundations of the UN were being laid, my nation, a victim of two totalitarian regimes, was under the domination of one of them, Soviet Russia, and, after several years of devastating occupation, of the other, Germany. Thousands of Polish heroes who fought for the freedom of Europe and the entire world were, at that time, imprisoned, tortured, and sentenced to death. The UN already existed at that time. At the same time, the state responsible for those crimes had a say in shaping the postwar order, as a permanent member of the Security Council. Poland has never received redress for that period and those wrongs. The failure to hold anyone accountable for these crimes was not merely historical oversight; it sent a signal that violations of international law, aggression, and imperialist policies could go unpunished in reality. It is precisely this lack of justice, this sort of original sin of the postwar order, that creates space for the return of old aggressive ambitions and methods of operation. The aggressive policies of certain states today are, therefore, not a phenomenon detached from history. These policies are a direct consequence of it. A state that has not been held accountable for its actions is more likely to resort to the same tools again. That is why it is so important that today, as the international community would install the full meaning of the principle of accountability. Without it, there will not be a lasting peace, and international law will remain nothing more than a declaration devoid of real power. Ladies and gentlemen, today we must show courage while remembering that sometimes courage alone is not enough, that without prudence, courage can lead to disaster.
Fourth, we must jointly build a new paradigm that offers solutions to the increasingly deepening income inequalities around the world. We believe that the path to this lies in joint development, solidarity and connectivity. Societies connected to one another through roads, trade with energy networks and joint production will eventually be united in peace and stability as well. And lastly, by promoting a human centered approach to technology, we must prevent new barriers from being built between those who possess technology and those who do not. It must be understood that techno polarization and digital hegemony serve neither the interests of the UN-centered system, nor the interests of those of the states that constitute the United Nations core. Esteemed delegates.
The victims of the genocide and the employees of the Memorial Centre, Srebrenica, are facing unacceptable pressures from the police of the Republika Srpska. We must not allow that the police and other institutions of Republika Srpska, which committed the genocide against Bosniaks, today threaten the survivors and those that are preserving the memory of the victims of the genocide. Those seeking to destroy the Dayton Peace Agreement are attempting to create the conditions for the secession of the Bosnian entity, Republika Srpska. In the period ahead, they will intensify their activities primarily with the aim of weakening and abolishing the mandate of the High Representative of the international community, which is also envisaged by the Dayton Peace Agreement, weakening the institution of the Constitutional Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina and seizing the state property of Bosnia and Herzegovina, contrary to the national and international law. Ladies and gentlemen, Bosnia and Herzegovina is an unconquerable state. There is not a single map of Southeast Europe from the past 1000 years on which Bosnia or Bosnia and Herzegovina does not appear. Bosnia and Herzegovina is home to people who love freedom more than their own lives. Finally, as the chairman of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, I wish to emphasize that I am proud of the brave people of Bosnia and Herzegovina. These are people who have suffered injustice, yet they continue to fight for justice. These are people who have been victims of lies, yet they continue to fight for the truth. These are people who support the struggle for justice, freedom and human dignity throughout the world. These are the honorable and proud people of my homeland, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Thank you for your attention.
I also wish to express my sincere appreciation to your predecessor, Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock, for her leadership during our 80th Session. Mr. President, we assemble at a historic moment for humanity. Sixty-three years ago, in 1963, Emperor Haile Selassie famously cautioned this global community by stating:" Lasting peace can be achieved only when nations recognize that their true strength lies not in the domination of others, but in cooperation anchored upon genuine equality." As a founding member of the United Nations, Ethiopia bears both the scars of historical betrayal and the unyielding conviction of a survivor. When the League of Nations abandoned our appeal against Fashist aggression in the 1930s, we did not surrender to despair and desolation. We resolutely stood firm as champions of collective security, helping the birth of the very organization in which we stand for. Today, we call upon the Community of Nations to summon that same foundational courage to actively reinforce the very ideals that help prevent global conflict and the scourge of war. The question, therefore, is: how much longer shall we wait before the pillars of collective security fractured beyond repair? This is exactly what drives the significance of multilateralism, not as a diplomatic convenience, but as a living shield rooted in sovereign equality to address the shifting tides of power politics. Mr. President, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for placing before us the defining imperatives of our era, namely artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and deepening global inequalities. These are not only policy choices; they are the pivots upon which human destiny is determined. The United Nations has achieved remarkable victories against extreme poverty, but it has never been enough.
And the same is true for every country represented in this hall. When one state believes it can redraw the borders of another by force, every border, on every continent, becomes negotiable. These principles now are being tested in Ukraine. Russia's war against Ukraine strikes at the very heart of the United Nations Charter. Borders changed by force. Territory sized by force. Children taken by force. Ukrainian civilians targeted by Russia. Schools, hospitals, homes, markets, energy infrastructure. Russia's attacks reach far beyond the battlefield. They are directed against the people of Ukraine and their foundations of daily lives. Drones are used to hunt civilians. Human lives are treated like targets in a safari. These are not policy disagreements. These are grave violations of international law. And where crimes are committed, there must be accountability. Let us not look away. Russia is a permanent member of the Security Council. With that comes a special responsibility for international peace and security. Instead, Russia is violating the very principles it is entrusted to uphold. Russia started this brutal war. Russia can end it. It can stop its attacks. It can withdraw its forces. It can leave Ukraine's sovereign territory. Latvia continues to call for an immediate and full ceasefire. Ukraine deserves just peace. Members of the United Nations, not every attack on the international order looks like war. Drones carrying explosives at airports. Drones crashing into homes. Airspace violated. Critical infrastructure damaged. Power stations suddenly in flames. Cyber attacks. We sometimes call them hybrid threats. But it sounds as innocent as hybrid cars. In reality, those threats to international peace and security are as dangerous as conventional wars. Guarding the eastern border of NATO and the European Union, Latvia faces these threats every day. Illegal migrants are deliberately exploited and pushed toward our border with Belarus. Cyber attacks target our critical networks. Acts of sabotage seek to create fear and instability in our societies. Russia's shadow fleet exploits legal gray zones and puts our security and environment at risk. Even in this very building, at the Security Council table, we have heard Russia spread blatant lies and make threats against Latvia and other free and democratic countries. Distinguished delegates, that brings us back to a fundamental question: what is the United Nations' role if its members are threatened and if its principles are violated?
We have committed fully. Now let me tell you why GMC is built to succeed. Begin with location. GMC sits directly on the border with India, our closest friend and neighbour. The vision enjoys the support of Prime Minister Narendra Modi the government of India and our neighbours across the border in Assam. Beyond that border lies the world's most populous country and one of its largest and fastest growing economies. GMC is also a gateway to the markets of South Asia and Southeast Asia. So GMC begins with what many new cities spend decades trying to acquire access to vast and growing markets, connectivity and in India, a trusted friend. Bhutan brings another advantage one that cannot be bought. Trust. Trust built through peace, political stability, the rule of law and a record for honouring our commitments. For long term investors, trust creates something invaluable. Predictability. Bhutan has spent generations building that trust. GMC puts it to work.
This is the goal of our National Development Plan 2024-2028, which has five pillars: security and governance; human capital; resilient infrastructure; economic production; and environmental sustainability. These pillars are not only a planning framework, but are also a renewed social contract with our population. At the heart of this ambition lies our youth. Our youth is our greatest asset, our greatest responsibility. A well-trained and employed youth, involved in decision-making, is the best guarantee against recruitment by armed groups. The same is true for women, whose role in peacebuilding is not a bonus but a prerequisite. Mr. President, my country, like so many others, is experiencing the impact of crises surrounding it, from refugee movements to pressure on our borders. The war in neighboring Sudan has pushed more than 27,000 refugees to settle around the city of Biro alone.
Progress towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals remains insufficient. While financing needs remain considerable in many developing countries. The fourth International Conference on Financing Financing for development rightly recalled that the necessary resources exist. The challenge now lies in our collective ability to mobilize them and to channel them with greater equity, solidarity and effectiveness in the service of sustainable development. Cote d'Ivoire, therefore, calls for an ambitious reform of the international financial architecture and a renewed global partnership to ensure that developing countries have more equitable, equitable access to the resources needed to finance infrastructure, health, education, energy. Industrial transformation and the creation of decent jobs for young people. Climate challenges require a similar degree of mobilization. Africa contributes the least to global greenhouse greenhouse gas emissions, yet remains among the regions most hit the hardest by their consequences droughts, floods, land degradation and the disruption of food systems. Directly threaten the ways of life and the livelihoods of millions of people. In this context, honouring international commitments on climate finance, adaptation and technology transfer is an imperative of justice and solidarity. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. The transformation that our world is experiencing is also a technological one.
The solution to Haiti lies in Haiti itself, and the obligation of the international community is to make it possible there, in their country, for children to be able to go back to school and for Haitian youth to be able to have a future in their own country, and as soon as the conditions allow it, for the Haitians to be able to vote for the first time in a decade. Mr. President, the Dominican Republic has worked to fulfill the essential commitments for our people, and we have been able to show results. We've reduced monetary poverty by 25.8% from 25.8% in 2019 to 14.6% in the first 6 months of this year. And just two months ago, the FAO confirmed that my country was taken off the hunger map, being the fifth country in Latin America to achieve this. We have committed to achieving the zero hunger goal by 2028, but we managed to achieve this before that. For 4 consecutive years, we've received more than $4 billion per year in foreign direct investment, and in 2025, for the first time, more than $5 billion. And we are forecasting to receive more this year. Our exports reached a record of close to $16 billion. These results are a reflection of our legal certainty, institutional stability, and trust, inspired by the trust that different actors have in the Dominican Republic. Peace, investment in new infrastructure, as well as the hospitality of our people, have led us to receive 7.5 million visitors in 2019, and this year is projected to exceed 12 million, and this figure is only rivaled by Mexico in Latin America. However, a country's progress shouldn't— progress in a country should not mean that a country is penalized. Middle-income countries host 3 in every 4 people on the planet and 2 in every 3 people in extreme poverty, and nevertheless, GDP continues to be used exclusively for concessional financing.
Our world shaped by uncertainty, disruption and rapid change, but also by hope, innovation and opportunity. For Samoa, the theme is a promise the world must keep. Can trust be restored? Can transformation protect the vulnerable? The answer lies in the first words of our UN charter we the peoples. We must always put people at the centre of our decisions. For us, this is underpinned by the core values of our Samoan culture. The first Samoa and our faith such as respect, dignity, love, protection and service. Excellencies, every decision in this hall shapes the world that every child inherits. We meet at a pivotal moment in history. Profound and transformative changes are not only necessary, but inevitable. Across many societies, people are increasingly asking whether global institutions are delivering on the promises made to them. We must prepare ourselves to face the challenges ahead with resolve, and use the opportunity to herald in much needed reforms for the benefit of all, and leaving no one behind. For Samoa, multilateralism remains the cornerstone of our international engagement. Only through genuine cooperation and mutual trust can we craft solutions that no single nation could achieve alone. The UN initiative has merits, but also its risk, if not fully assessed and understood. Any reform must strengthen delivery on the ground by eliminating duplication, improving coherence and accelerating impact. Critically, such reforms must not weaken the operation of the UN Multi Country Offices or the Resident Coordinator system. We also are more reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the United Nations as the premier forum to address global crisis. We also caution against premature decision taken without the full consideration and endorsement by Member States.
This is why we have profound gratitude to President Trump for his invitation to Trinidad and Tobago earlier this year to be part of the newly formed shield of the Americas and America's Counter Cartel Coalition. We remain confident that this partnership will continue to promote freedom, security and prosperity prosperity in our region. Trinidad and Tobago appreciates and recognizes the responsibility bestowed on the Security Council in this regard We extend our deepest appreciation to the 181 member states that entrusted Trinidad and Tobago with responsibility of serving on the Security Council for 2027 2028. Can we say thank you to all 181 states We regard that overwhelming expression of confidence not simply as an achievement, but we see it as a very solemn responsibility on the part of Trinidad and Tobago. We return to the council for only the second time in the history of our nation, and this is for the first time in more than four decades. We will carry to the council the commitment on which we sought your support. We did so, and we committed to building consensus for realization of sustainable peace and security. The Republic of Trinidad and Tobago intends to bring the perspective and experience of a small island developing state to the Council. Whilst we remain guided by the UN charter by international law and the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes. We will bring those principles to every matter before the Council, whether the crisis lies within our region or far beyond it. We will approach our tenure with an independent and practical outlook, working constructively with all members of the Council and seeking common ground wherever possible. We intend to place particular emphasis on the curbing of the illicit trafficking of small arms and light weapons, another pillar on which he had campaigned, and we intend to commit to is women and children, as well as peace and security.
But our future is certainly not predetermined. Therefore, of course, war is a choice, but peace is also a far better choice. And sometimes the greater courage lies not in starting a war, but in preventing one. Pakistan has made its choice. We have chosen dialogue over confrontation. We have chosen cooperation over coercion. We have chosen peace over war. Mr. president, let this 81st Assembly make it a unanimous choice for ourselves, for our children, and for generations yet unborn. Let us therefore restore trust. Let us therefore preserve peace, and let us prove that even in a divided world, humanity can still choose to stand together.
This was all achieved over many years without any imposition, so this means that it happened naturally. I'm convinced that the United Nations has immense potential in a world with so much volatility and such strong asymmetries. But it needs to take up, again, its leadership in order to engage in preventive actions and corrective actions. I am a person who believes in and defends multilateralism, and I am convinced that peace and prosperity of nations must be grounded in international law as a guiding principle of relationships between nations. And these theoretical arguments must also be expressed with palpable results. We must recognize now that citizens do not believe that these types of meetings are that beneficial for them. And herein lies one of the reasons why we must restore trust. I want to give you a concrete example just to illustrate what I'm saying.
Our perspective has always been that the way to resolve disputes is through dialogue and negotiations to reach just fair solutions grounded in international law, grounded in respect for the sovereignty of states and the rights of peoples. This remains our position in the aftermath of the wars we've been witnessing. The state of Qatar through its role as a trusted mediator and peace facilitator, has consistently warned that time does not resolve lingering conflicts in the absence of a just settlement. Rather, it doubles their costs. Ladies and gentlemen, at the heart of the dangerous situation we are witnessing lies the absence of a regional system of collective security, one that respects the sovereignty, security and territorial integrity of states one that promotes the peaceful settlement of disputes and the non-interference in the internal affairs of states. We have previously called from this very podium for the establishment of such a system, and we reiterate that call after recent events have demonstrated the urgent need for it. In the absence of such a system, it has become possible for a war to erupt owing to considerations unrelated to the interests of the countries of the region. It has become possible for one party to drag its neighbors into a war that is not theirs, targeting their vital assets and installations despite their strenuous efforts to avert escalation.
Migration is as old as human civilization. In many countries around the world, migrants make important contributions to the economies of both their countries of origin and their countries of destination. The government of Bangladesh is committed to ensuring regular, safe and orderly migration. Bangladesh expects stronger global cooperation to ensure the rights, dignity and well-being of migrants. Mr. president, for more than nine years, Bangladesh has been sheltering more than 1.2 million forcibly displaced Rohingya from Myanmar This has placed immense pressure on our resources, environment, security and local communities. As a densely populated country, Bangladesh believes that the source and origin of the Rohingya crisis lie in Myanmar. Therefore, its solution also lies there. The only solution to this problem is the early safe return of the displaced Rohingya people to their homeland, Myanmar. For a lasting solution to this crisis Bangladesh expects firm and effective support from the United Nations and the international community. At the same time, I call upon the United Nations and the international community to continue life saving assistance programmes for the displaced Rohingya people until they can be repatriated to their own country, Myanmar. If the international community fails to ensure justice for the displaced Rohingya people, this could turn into a humanitarian crisis in the near future. Mr. president, Bangladesh is one of the countries most vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Climate action must go hand in hand with development, poverty reduction and job creation. Adaptation, water security and food security must receive the priority they deserve, especially in Africa and the countries most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Drawing on Egypt's experience and hosting the climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh and the decision it adopted, we can affirm that the gap no longer lies in diagnosing the problem, but in implementation, especially in translating commitments into financing flows, projects and technologies that reach the countries and communities most in need. In a world where geopolitical and technological transformations are accelerating, this must not lead us into more dangerous arms races.
Freedom of navigation and uninhibited passage through international straits, as guaranteed by international law must be championed globally, and it is our collective responsibility to uphold these principles in practice and to safeguard commercial shipping. And as a leading maritime nation, Greece actively contributes to maritime security through the operation of the European Union that speeds in the Red sea, and this topic will remain a high priority when Greece assumes the presidency of the Security Council next month. We intend to place particular attention to the challenges posed by emerging technologies. Ladies and gentlemen, Greece's geography grants it the natural role of serving as a bridge between Europe and its wider neighbourhood to the east and the south. We literally sit at the intersection of the shrinking space between the east and the West. My country is a pillar of stability, connectivity and peace across the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East and the Gulf region Greece has developed strong strategic partnerships with key countries in the region, including Israel, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar. We are a bridge builder. We are not a troublemaker. Yet putting this vision into practice is rarely simple. At a time of tectonic geopolitical changes in the Middle East, the Gaza peace plan agreed last year must be effectively implemented. It is of paramount concern to ensure that Hamas surrenders its arms. It can have no role, I repeat, no role in Gaza's future. At the same time, reconstruction needs to move forward, with Palestinians themselves taking ownership of Gaza's future. Greece will continue to advocate for a two state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security. However, developments in the West Bank remain a source of deep concern Actions that are illegal under international law and undermine the viability of a future Palestinian state cannot be allowed to continue. We strongly argue that this is also to the benefit of the long term security of Israel itself. Greece has established a durable and deep strategic partnership with Israel, while at the same time maintaining strong ties with the Arab world And it is precisely. It is precisely the strength of this partnership that allows us to engage in an open and candid dialogue. In Lebanon, there is now a real opportunity to lay the foundations for a lasting peace. The US facilitated negotiations with Israel are an important step forward and should be sustained. Greece strongly supports a sovereign, resilient and united Lebanon and the government's efforts to restore the state's monopoly over arms. Ultimately, a stronger Lebanese state will serve both domestic security and regional stability. Therefore, we will continue to deliver concrete assistance to the country, including to the Lebanese armed forces with a unifil's mandate. Ending joint action is crucial to avoid a security vacuum and maintain an effective international and European presence. Syria is another key player in the region. Lasting stability in the Middle East requires a stable Syria, a Syria that is inclusive, a Syria that is free from foreign interference and regional rivalries. A Syria where every citizen can and should feel secure. The new Syrian authorities have taken steps in this direction. Get. Further concrete progress must be demonstrated, particularly when it comes to protecting the rights and security of all religious and ethnic communities. And this, of course, includes the Orthodox Christian minority, which unfortunately continues to face the violence of Islamist extremists. The search for stability extends to Libya, a neighbour with whom we share many common interests. We praise all reunification efforts. A stable Libya free from foreign interference, would benefit not only the Libyan people, but our entire region. And Greece is ready to support Libyan institutions in border protection and migration management. And we remain fully committed to reaching an agreement on the delimitation of our maritime zones. Ladies and gentlemen, let me now turn to our relations with our neighbour, Turkey. Over the past three years, we have made a sustained effort to improve our relationship, rebuild trust and keep channels of communication open in order to prevent the escalation of tensions that could lead to unwanted crises. It is a delicate relationship. It's a relationship that carries the weight of history. And indeed, given broader and regional challenges, the situation calls urgently calls for a common understanding on how we move forward and understanding grounded in full respect for international law and the principles of good neighbourly relations. After all, as I've said repeatedly, we cannot change our geography. We are destined to live side by side. And I repeat that the UN convention on the law of the sea provides the only institutional framework to solve our only long lasting dispute concerning the delimitation of our continental shelf and our exclusive economic zones. Dialogue is essential for peace and prosperity, but meaningful dialogue cannot coexist with unilateral actions. The challenge the international legal order. Nor can meaningful progress be made when faced with threats of war in response to the exercise of lawful rights, according to international law. Such actions do not resolve differences. They end up by only deepening them, and they risk undermining the stability of our wider region, a region which we should not forget, still bears an open wound. The unresolved Cyprus issue 52 years, 52 years have passed since Turkey illegally invaded Cyprus and continued to occupy it, a flagrant violation of international law whose consequences persist to this day for the United Nations. Cyprus remains a litmus test of its credibility, of its ability to uphold its own resolutions and the principles of the charter, and Greece fully supports the recent efforts of Secretary General Gutierrez to create the appropriate conditions for the resumption of substantive negotiations, and we sincerely hope that progress can be achieved during his remaining time in office. And we expect we expect these efforts to continue under his successor with the same objective the reunification of Cyprus, free of occupation forces in accordance with the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. The principles at stake in Cyprus are being tested elsewhere to today. Two other major conflicts continue to challenge our ability to defend the values upon which this organization was founded. The war in Ukraine is now in its fifth year, five years since Russia's full scale aggression brought back war to European soil, the Ukrainian people have shown extraordinary courage defending their freedom and Greece continuously stands with them. We strongly, strongly condemn attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure. Diplomacy must now deliver an immediate cease fire and a lasting peace anchored in the principles of the United Nations Charter. Ukraine must have a decisive say in its own future, and Europe cannot be absent from these negotiations. Against this backdrop, another devastating war demands our urgent attention. In Sudan, the nearly four year conflict has resulted in a staggering humanitarian catastrophe. Reports of atrocious war crimes continue to emerge, while the conflict is fuelling instability way beyond far beyond Sudan's borders. We should not permit this tragedy to endure. Foreign interference must also cease with no impunity for war crimes. Ultimately, the way forward lies in a credible, Sudanese led political process that reflects the aspirations of the citizens Sudan. The European Union ought to leverage its capacity to play a more active role in supporting that process and assisting in bringing this destructive conflict to an end. After all, it has real skill in the game. Should the devastating war continue, our continent will be the first to suffer from a possible massive new migratory wave. Ladies and gentlemen, Greece has confidence abroad, rests on a profound transformation at home At a time when the effectiveness of governments all over the world is being challenged by populists and extremists, and public trust is being eroded in the echo chambers of social media, Greece serves as an example that sound reform oriented policies can deliver real results for people and improve their lives.
His place in the history of this institution is assured not merely by the office he has occupied, but by the principles he has steadfastly upheld, the courage and profundity with which he has spoken. When silence would have been easier, and his rare ability to hold before the world a clear mirror of the perils that confront our age and the possibilities that still beckon beyond them. Mr. president, one year ago I stood at this very podium and reminded this Assembly that if the United Nations is to remain humanity's surest hope for a just and peaceful world, it must have the courage to confront aggression and the will and the will to engage fully with the defining question of our age. I also argued that we must be bold enough to undertake the institutional reforms necessary to strengthen the organisation, enhance its credibility and enable it to meet the challenges of a changing world. Indeed, I am pleased that the theme of this year's assembly, and I quote, Restoring Trust, Managing transformation, a United Nations that delivers for all. End of quote. Acknowledges the need for this organisation to be fit for purpose, to respond to the challenges, and to seize the possibilities of our time. Today, we confront a climate catastrophe, an energy crisis, food insecurity, biodiversity loss, armed conflicts, and geopolitical tensions. The horror of genocide, a spiralling cost of living crisis, a mounting debt crisis, widening inequalities within and among nations. And, perhaps most troubling of all, a weakening of multilateralism itself. Yet if history has taught us anything, it is that when it is that even when the world seemed to stand at the precipice, humanity has never been entirely without the means to draw it back from the brink. We have ended wars that seem without end. We have confronted economic calamities that threaten the foundations of societies. We have overcome dangers that presented existential threats time and again. It has been our inventiveness, our courage, and above all, our willingness to act together that have opened a path where none seemed to exist This is why I do not wish to linger or lament further upon the difficulties before us. I wish instead to turn our gaze toward the possibilities that lie beyond them. For within every crisis lies a summons to solutions. Within every disruption and opportunity. For renewal. And within every uncertainty, the possibility of shaping a better future.
Ladies and gentlemen. We meet today as the world undergoes a profound transformation, not only in the balance of power but in the very concept of power, and the ethics of its use. This transformation is reshaping the meaning of security, the nature of alliances, and the capacity of the international order to uphold the foundations and principles upon which and for which it was established. At the heart of these transformations lies a question that transcends the borders of states and continents: how can we build an international order in which the rule of law is an equal right, not a privilege of the most powerful?
For us, the European Union is not simply a destination we wish to reach, but a value-based journey that we have embarked on. When the European perspective of the Balkans was reaffirmed at the Thessaloniki Summit in 2003, the world looked very different. Multilateralism and international cooperation were expanding back then. The European Union was one of the most attractive political projects in the world and would welcome 13 new member states over the following decade. At the same time, the Balkans was still emerging from the devastation and divisions of the '90s. More than two decades later, we live in a profoundly different international environment. The international order is entering a new and uncertain phase, and this is why enlargement of the European Union is an act of strategic foresight. It is one of the best investments Europe can make in peace, security, and long-term stability. And Montenegro is proud to stand today at the forefront of that process, ready to serve as an example for the other countries, not because our journey has been without difficulties, but because our journey demonstrates something essential: that progress is possible, that reforms matter, and that democratic political culture pays off. Earlier this year, leaders from across Europe gathered in Montenegro for the European Union-Western Balkans Summit. For Montenegro, that gathering carried a meaning far beyond the protocol. It demonstrated how far our country has traveled and how close our European future has become. And it also sent an important message about our region: that the future of the entire Balkan region lies within the European Union. Our region has carried the weight of division for too long, and a new chapter is being written through cooperation, connectivity, economic opportunity, and economic integration. And my generation has a responsibility to help complete that chapter. These responsibilities are not important because of the titles they carry. They are important because of what they allow us to contribute: to reconciliation, connectivity, democratic resilience, and the European future of our region.
Peace requires deeds, not words. 12 years of an incomplete peace have left millions. Millions of people enduring hunger, injuries, displacement. Every statistic in Yemen's tragedy carries a human story. The world must not become accustomed to the suffering. Yemen as a great country, with its strategic location, its ports, its resources, its human capital. The challenge lies in unleashing those capabilities from the grip of war and transforming these capabilities into an engine for development. Today, the heroes of the Yemeni armed forces and all military formations, legitimate military formations are on the ground confronting these Houthi terrorist militias. In defense of our people, our land, our sovereignty, and our future. Here, from this very podium, I salute them. I salute their struggle. They stand today to prevent much greater harm from reaching this world. I also address a message to our people, to our people, in particular in Sana'a and Saada and Hajjah and Hodeidah and ibn Dhamar in every governorate, city and village under. Houthi control. We tell them from here you are our people. Your suffering is our suffering. Your rights are our responsibility. You will never be outside the national project of a Yemeni state, nor outside its future. Our struggle is not against any Yemeni citizen, nor against the sons of any region, governorate, any sect or social group. Our struggle is against an armed coup that has taken hostages, state and institutions that deepened the suffering of Yemen and Yemenis to serve Iran and its schemes. Restoring the state is not a victory for one Yemeni party over another. It is the restoration of the rights of all Yemenis to their state and institutions, the Yemen through which we struggle belongs to all Yemenis. The state we seek to restore is your state. The future of Yemen will not be built by excluding any of its sons. Our cause is not merely about how to end the war, but to build what comes after it. We seek a safe, stable, prosperous Yemen that safeguards the dignity of its citizens, rebuilds its economy, provides education for its children, jobs for its youth, security for its families. Yemen. That's a partner for its neighbors, a responsible guardian of its strategic location, a bridge for trade and cooperation between the Arabian Peninsula, the Horn of Africa and the wider world. That is the Yemen that we wish for the world to see. Not a man of war, but a Yemen of statehood, of humanity of opportunity, Yemen of the future. Ladies and gentlemen, the Yemeni people do not ask the world to fight their battle on their behalf. They are determined to restore their state, rebuild its institutions and confront terrorism in all its forms.
Generations move on. But the institutions and powers created on the pretext of those alleged emergencies remain. And if for a moment we allow ourselves to believe that the lesson had been learned after so many failures, the arrival of artificial intelligence demonstrates quite something else. The printing press, the steam engine, electricity, the internet— every great technological revolution has been accompanied by fears about what it would destroy, particularly jobs. There is no doubt that this is one of the most effective ways of instilling fear in human beings, given the role of work as a means of subsistence. Take the Industrial Revolution as an example. When it began, the world was home to some 800 million human beings. If, in keeping with the Luddites and the perennial pessimists, employment had at best remained constant, then, given that the world's population has since increased more than tenfold, the global employment rate today would be at 90%. That is absurd, something that few of us few seem to have stopped to consider, perhaps except perhaps those of us with a passion for reading Borges, who love his approach for testing an idea by taking it to its logical extreme. Ultimately, these technological advances have not only failed to produce any of the catastrophes, but in addition, all of these ended up bringing an end to what human beings were able to do. Today, we have built machines that are able to carry out tasks that only a few months ago seemed out of our reach. Where we many see a threat, we see a new frontier: artificial intelligence, or superintelligence, as Donald Trump said, can double our productivity in a way that we do not yet comprehend. To invoke Adam Smith, artificial intelligence will be the pin factory of the 21st century, and much more besides. It can transform our economies, our medicine, our education, even the way we govern. That calls for prudence, yes. But prudence doesn't mean fear. Moreover, under no circumstances should fear automatically translate into obedience. Indeed, the dystopian scenarios commonly invoked to instill fear and justify state control make no sense from an economic standpoint. The answer lies with Adam Smith. Artificial intelligence, like the division of labor in the case of the pin factory, is an accelerator of productivity growth. Smith noted, however, that the division of labor is limited by the extent of the market. Growth will therefore be constrained by its counterpart in genuine demand, without fiscal deficits or spurious money creation. But that's not all. Those projects must also be financed, and that should be done with the resources of human beings. That is, their initial endowments and level of wealth, which correspond to the side of the market. Moreover, the purpose of producing more is to achieve a higher level of consumption. Yet the satisfaction generated by consumption increases at a decreasing rate, while the loss of satisfaction involved in surrendering leisure in order to produce more rises disproportionately. Consequently, the point at which the gain from greater consumption is equal to the loss of leisure brings the system to an equilibrium, leaving no room for dystopian terror. That is why, when we hear that the state should control artificial intelligence, we should remember something basic. The state is not an abstract creature. It is made up of people, officials, and bureaucrats. Granting it control over innovation means granting some people, in the best and most naive of cases, the power to limit what everyone else can create. History gives us reason to scrutinize such power carefully. For centuries, fear over tomorrow has been used as an argument for restricting freedoms today, always with the same promise: give us a part of your freedom and we will protect you from this new threat. We will apply a different principle. In the face of uncertainty, we propose determination. In the face of fear, courage. In the face of decline, ambition. And in the face of resignation, we propose optimism. That is why I tell you that when it comes to artificial intelligence, Argentina will stand at the forefront of freedom. We have the critical minerals, the energy, the talent, and the capacity to compete at every link in that value chain. And we want to become the most competitive place in the world in which to develop it, with a cutting-edge legal framework, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, a commitment not to regulate preemptively, limited liability for companies operating with AI agents, and tax incentives. Because artificial intelligence is not geopolitically neutral. The West must lead the development of this technology to ensure that it is consistent with our fundamental libertarian values, namely respect for life, liberty, private property, and the notion of human dignity.
The governance of strategic resources ought to be an issue of peace, development, and global security from now on. The energy transition, the electrification of transport, energy storage, as well as the expansion of digital and AI infrastructure are accelerating demand for copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other critical minerals. As the largest global producer of cobalt and a major copper-producing power, the DRC is at the heart of this transformation. Congolese cobalt is already being used in batteries, power grids, digital equipment, and technologies that are crucial for the decarbonization of the global economy. It would be both unjust and dangerous for added value, jobs, know-how, and technologies to remain concentrated far away from the communities that are making these changes possible. We cannot build a decarbonized economy through blood-stained minerals. And we will not bring about a just transition by reproducing a greenwashed version of our past dependencies. The DRC, therefore, rejects the old model that limits producer countries to crude extraction while processing, research, technology, and the bulk of the profits are concentrated elsewhere. Our ambition is clear. We no longer wish to be simply the basement of the world's economy. We plan to become a workshop, a laboratory, and a sovereign partner. Nous voulons transformer. We'd like to further transform cobalt and copper, process more cobalt and copper on our territory, develop precursors for batteries and industrial components, train our engineers, support our researchers, and include our enterprises in global value chains. We'd like to build, together with our African and international partners, competitive regional businesses that create jobs, skills, and shared prosperity. This ambition, first and foremost, entails taking up our own responsibilities. The DRC is pursuing the modernization of mining governance through the transparency of contracts, extractive revenue, and effective beneficiaries, improving mining registries, the deployment of traceability mechanisms, and the fight against fraud. We're also accelerating the formalization of small-scale mining, the regulation of traders, organization of cooperatives, and by securing exploitation zones. The battle against child labor in mines, in this regard, is a moral and national obligation. Together with the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and our other partners, we are strengthening our identification, monitoring, and remediation mechanisms, as well as the training of our inspectors, school attendance of children, and economic solutions for their families. Our goal is unambiguous. We need to achieve zero children in the mines. This responsibility is one that lies with the Congolese state, but it also involves businesses, traders, refiners, manufacturers, financial institutions, and destination markets. The real proof of a responsible supply chain is not the electric vehicle sold downstream. It is the child who no longer descends into the mines upstream. That is why the DRC proposes creating, under UN auspices and together with the African Union, as well as producer, processor, and consumer countries, a global framework for just, traceable, and resilient critical mineral value chains. Based upon the sovereignty of producer states, it ought to guarantee traceability of minerals, responsibility of economic actors, protection of workers and communities, as well as a more equitable sharing of added value thanks to local processing and technology transfer. The corridor of Lobito ought to become one of the tools to further this ambition. We commend the commitment of Angola, Zambia, the USA, the European Union, the African Development Bank, financial institutions, and the private sector to promote its implementation. The rehabilitation of railway links, the modernization of infrastructure, the facilitation of exchange and energy investments can connect our territories, reduce logistical costs, and stimulate regional trade. But our vision goes far beyond accelerating the export of our raw materials. A corridor that only shortens the path from the mine to the port only reproduces the past. The corridor of Lobito ought to become a real backbone for regional industrialization, with the support of investors, with the help of whom we hope to build transparent, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnerships for the well-being of future generations.
The test of equality does not end with the institutions that govern peace. It extends to the institutions that shape prosperity. The same question confronts us there: Does the international financial system give every nation a fair opportunity to secure the well-being of its citizens? The charter did not conceive development as charity. It pledged social progress, better standards of life, and economic and social advancement for all people. Yet, for too many countries, the resources required to fulfill that promise are being consumed before they can reach their people. Global public debt reached a record $102 trillion in 2024. Developing countries accounted for less than a third of that debt, yet paid about a trillion dollars in interest on debt in that year alone. Put it differently: 46 developing countries now spend more on interest on debt than on classrooms and medicine. Behind these numbers lies a simple reality. The hospital competes with a creditor. The classroom competes with debt service. And too often, the creditor. Debt service is paid fast. And it is our children who inherit the consequences. Today, 251 million children and young people remain out of school. Millions more enter classrooms without teachers, books, meals, and facilities they need to learn. When debt service displaces investment in education, we are not merely balancing budgets. We are transferring the cost of today's financial burden to the next generation of citizens. Kenya has chosen to invest in the next generation. Over the last four years, we have spent an additional $5.3 billion in education, recruited 100,000 additional teachers, built more than 23,000 new classrooms, and we are developing another 1,600 laboratories while expanding support for universities and technical institutions. We do this because education is not consumption. It is the infrastructure of opportunity, productivity, and national transformation that supports global advancement. But national effort can only go so far when the international financial system makes development more expensive. The countries that most need capital frequently pay the highest price to obtain it. Developing countries have recently borrowed at rates two to four times higher on average than developed nations. The question, therefore, is not simply whether finance is available. It is who can access it, at what price, for how long, and under whose assessment of risk. Africa knows the cost of that assessment. Sovereign credit rating shapes perceptions of risk. The interest countries pay, and even the volume of finance available to them. UNDP estimates that subjectivities in credit ratings have cost African countries approximately $75 billion through excessive interest and foregone lending. Risk, ladies and gentlemen, must be measured, but it must also be measured fairly. We cannot build a fair global economy if the nations with the greatest development needs face the highest cost of development finance. A road that is commercially viable should not become unviable merely because it crosses an African border. A power project should not cost more simply because of the passport of the country it is building. Capital must price risk. It must not price prejudice. Reform of the international financial architecture must therefore begin with the cost and availability of capital. The UN charter envisaged multilateral development banks that lend more, lend longer, and mobilize private capital at scale. It further contemplated guarantees and risk-sharing instruments that reduce the cost of viable investments. And we need greater access to long-term and local currency finance so that countries are not forced to build long-term infrastructure with short-term expensive money. And by the way, this is not an argument against responsibility. Governments must also do their part to manage debt prudently, strengthen institutions, prepare pipelines of credible projects, deepen domestic capital markets, honor contracts, and confront corruption without equivocation. A fairer international system requires responsibility on both sides. Reform abroad cannot substitute for accountability at home. Distinguished delegates, Africa does not come to plead. We come with a proposal.
Trust is not a sentiment that can be created by adopting a resolution. It is an outcome. It is built when an institution delivers on the purpose for which it was established. That is why reform of the United Nations is necessary, so that the organisation can become more capable, so that it can deliver greater results, and certainly not to replace the responsibility of national states, but to act where collective action is needed. Multilateralism does not begin in New York. It begins with the quality of the states that come to New York. Excellencies, we are a small sized country, but we refuse to let the smallness of our territory define the scale of our ambition. Our ambition is to become a serious state, a state that its allies can trust, a state in which young people can plan their future. A state that respects the diversity and multicultural character of its society, a state confident enough to defend its own identity without denying the identity of the others. A state that knows its history but is not imprisoned by it, and a state that does not expect others to build it in its place. That, to me, is modern sovereignty. Not isolation. Capability. This year Secretary General Antonio Guterres reminded us that the Charter begins with the words: We, the peoples. And he added, not we, the powerful, not we, the victors. In those words lies the reason why a small sized European country continues to believe in this organization, even when it is disappointed by it. Because the alternative to a world governed by rules is not a world in which everyone is free. It is a world in which the strongest are the freest, and everyone else depends on their goodwill. Such a world may appear effective for a moment, but it is never stable. Some decades ago, the United Nations came to our country with a new idea that the international community does not have to wait for a violence to begin before it acts. Today, we once again need that same political wisdom. We must not wait for a technology to create new inequalities before we establish rules. We must not wait for young people to leave before we build societies in which they see a future worth staying for. We must not wait for institutions to lose all public trust before we reform them. And we must not wait for the world to become fully divided into opposing blocs before we rediscover the values of a dialogue. That child with whom I began will be 14 years older when the world enters 2040. None of us today can promise that child a peaceful world, nor a world without crisis, nor a world without competition. But we can leave that child something else. A world in which power is not the only argument, a world in which knowledge is not the privilege of the few, a world in which alliances create security rather than new lines of fear. A world in which technology serves humanity, a world in which a small state has the right to the same dignity, to the same rules, and the same voice as the great powers.
Solomon Islands therefore recognises the need for an inclusive and transparent international governance framework on AI. Mr. president, year after year, Pacific leaders have stood at this podium and urged the world to act on climate change. And yet, global action continues to fall short of what the science demands. For every passing COP, the impacts grow more severe. Our islands are being lost to the sea. Disasters are more frequent and more devastating. Food and water security is under threat and communities are being forced from their ancestral lands. Solomon Islands knows this reality firsthand. This year, Tropical Cyclone Maila, a category five storm, tore through our communities, destroying homes, schools, infrastructure and livelihoods. My government has just approved US$9.38 million for shelter recovery. That is money our essential services urgently need now diverted to deal with the impacts of this climate extreme. Like many Pacific Island countries, we are trapped in a relentless cycle of response, recovery and rebuilding. This is not sustainable, nor is it just. My people did the least to cause this crisis, yet they pay its earliest and heaviest price. That is the moral ledger that lies before this assembly. Last year, the International Court of Justice confirmed in its landmark advisory opinion that states have legal obligations to protect the climate system. Major emitters must make deep emission cuts and transition away from fossil fuels. Climate finance, including support for loss and damage, must be grant based and channelled through our national budget systems. Project based financing of climate action is unsustainable and out of step with the scale of a crisis we did the least to cause. Vulnerable countries should not have to choose between climate action and educating our children, caring for the sick or securing food and water. Yet that is the choice we face with every dollar we spend. We therefore call for the full capitalisation of the Pacific Resilience Facility, and an ambitious and timely third replenishment of the Green Climate Fund. Our region has long led on climate action, and we will continue to lead. The Pre-COP31 meeting, to be hosted in the Pacific by Australia in partnership with Fiji and Tuvalu, will bring the reality of climate change directly into the heart of the global process. I call on all parties and partners to come to that meeting and to COP31 with stronger commitments and concrete action. The communities on the frontline of the climate crisis deserve nothing less. Mr. president, Solomon Islands welcomes the convening of the second high level meeting on sea level rise and the adoption of the first political declaration on sea level rise. Every day our people are defending their coastlines, strengthening their resilience, protecting their food and water security and their cultural heritage, and, where there is no other choice, relocating. But we cannot do this alone. I call on this assembly to match the courage of our Pacific communities with collective international resolve to scale up adaptation and resilience finance, and to support communities facing climate mobility needs.
Mr. president, excellencies, my friends, we meet at a time when the obstacles confronting human progress are multiplying, obstacles to peace, obstacles to food and clean water, obstacles to finance, medicine and education, obstacles to movement and opportunity. Obstacles to technology, to the knowledge and infrastructure needed to use it, and increasingly, obstacles between nations, between communities, and between people who no longer agree on the same facts or trust the same institutions. War continues to destroy lives and communities. Even though the international community possesses more tools than ever, ever before to prevent conflict and to facilitate dialogue. The climate crisis is accelerating. Even though the science is clear enough for us to act, and many of the solutions are already known. And despite unprecedented global wealth, millions remain without reliable access to food, water, health or shelter. These challenges, my friends, are creating the crises of which we constantly speak, and at the same time, new challenges are emerging. Artificial intelligence is opening extraordinary possibilities in health, education, science, and productivity while also creating new risk of exclusion, exploitation, surveillance and the distortion of truth. And yet, the cooperation needed to confront these challenges is under strain. It is why I believe the theme this year is so apt. Restoring trust. Managing transformation. A united nation that delivers for all. The theme reminds us that we have institutions created to preserve peace, to advance development, and yes, to protect human dignity. The institutions are these very United Nations. We have shared principles grounded in sovereign equality, and in the recognition that our responsibilities extend beyond borders. The reality is that we understand that there is, regrettably enough, for us to be able to invest in prevention rather than waiting to finance reconstruction. We understand enough about the climate crisis to reduce the emissions that are warming our planet, and take the necessary steps for our populations to adapt. We equally now understand enough about the rapid development of AI to know that as we welcome its promise, we must anchor its development in a universal, humanizing framework that does not imperil our existence as human beings. The failure, my friends, to address these challenges, therefore, is not one simply of knowledge or capacity. It is a repeated failure to convert what we know into what we do. To turn principle into practice and global capacity into solidarity So beneath our many crises lies yet another one. And yes, it is a crisis of responsibility. Mr. president, that responsibility begins here in these halls.
