 to strengthen the United Nations for future generations. Mr. President, amidst the Ukraine-Russia conflict, the international community must relentlessly pursue peaceful dialogue. We commend African nations and other mediators for their vital role in this regard. Mr. President, it is now four years since the International Court of Justice gave its advisory opinion on the legal consequences on the separation of the Shagos Archipelago from Mauritius prior to its independence. The ICJ made it clear that the Shagos Archipelago is an integral part of the territory of Mauritius and invited the colonial power to withdraw its administration from the archipelago as rapidly as possible. Ever since, the government of Mauritius made a strong commitment to implement a program of resettlement in the Shagos Archipelago for Mauritian nationals, in particular those of Shagosian origin who have suffered historic injustice by being forcibly removed from their birthplace. We are hopeful that soon they will be able to resettle in the Shagos Archipelago. Indeed, Mauritius and the United Kingdom have started negotiations on the exercise of sovereignty over the Shagos Archipelago on the basis of international law. We hope that these talks will lead to the completion of the decolonization process of Mauritius and enable Mauritius to implement its resettlement program. We also appeal to France to resolve the dispute over Tromelin, which forms an integral part of the territory of Mauritius in the spirit of friendship that characterizes the relations between the two countries. Mr. President, we are at a crossroads. We do not want to be judged by the next generation for having been complacent. Let us seize this opportunity to recommit to forge ahead the future we want for us and for our future generations. I remain confident that we will discover the common purpose needed to restore trust in our shared future. I thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister, Minister for Defence, Home Affairs and External Communications, Minister for Rodriguez, Outer Islands and Territorial Integrity of the Republic of Mauritius for the statement just made. And I request protocol to escort His Excellency. The Assembly will now hear and address by His Excellency Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister and the Minister of Finance of Malaysia. I request protocol to escort His Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Anwar Ibrahim, Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Malaysia. I invite him to address the Assembly. Peace be upon you. And peace be upon you. Let me go to the country and the Malaysian people to face security and security measures. It was established almost 80 years ago. The world was still reeling from the horrors of a catastrophic bloodletting that our nation's reserves should never be repeated. A decision profound in wisdom, magnanimous in intent and bold in ambition was made so that the General Assembly would become the main deliberative policymaking and representative organ of the United Nations. A decision that manifested no less than the very strength and courage of our convictions. By giving equal voice to the sovereign nations of the world, the founders of the United Nations, pursued a vision of a more democratic world predicated on the dictates of equity and justice. This was a vision that consigned to the past the predations of the strong of the weak, the strong over the weak, of the rich and powerful, over the poor and the marginalized and of the big powers over the rest. That vision, in my opinion, has been utterly shattered to pieces. Today, we find that the major powers and those that aspire to greater international status are increasingly casting the United Nations aside for smaller, supposedly more efficacious platforms. As the powers that we continue to pay lip service to the imperative of multilateralism, we see the emergence of mini-lateralism instead, effectively becoming fragmented configurations of power. Mr. President, we are living in a deeply polarized world. We are seeing major power rivalry unfolding with consequences that will negatively impact nations, especially the smaller ones in the regions of conflict. The upshot is that we are confronted with a geopolitical and geo-strategic dilemma while the major powers continue to assure that a binary choice is not being imposed. The reality for many is that it is the only choice offered. Unchecked, this will ultimately lead, once again, to a world where the masses are unrepresented, where the few rule over the many and the many resent the few. The lofty ideals and principles enshrined in the UN charter call upon nations to resolve their disputes through peaceful means and refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and sovereignty or political independence of any state. We condemn unequivocally the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This conflict in Ukraine, for example, underscores the imperative to make peace and subtle differences amicably through negotiations. Nevertheless, time is not on our side and owing to the protected failure to deal with this Russian-Ukraine crisis, I urge for a concerted multilateral effort led by the United Nations to resolve this. We cannot choose our neighbors, but we can choose to live in peace with them and peace cannot happen without the cessation of hostilities by all parties. It is imperative for all parties to return to dialogue and resolve their differences through their negotiation table. The extent of the Ukraine conflict has radiated throughout the world as food prices have scarocated, leading to shortages and the hunger for the malnutrition and despair. As in other conflicts as well, whether it be in the Middle East or Southeast Asia, forced migration takes place, piling on the problems of refugees and statelessness. Mr. President, in the Middle East, the politics of dispossession continues with a vengeance, with more illegal settlements being built, stripping Palestinians of land that rightly belongs to them. This constitutes a gross violation of international law. It also poses an insurmountable obstacle to a two-state solution not to mention the continued killings. There is also flagrant hypocrisy in dealing with the issue of Palestine. The international community must pick up against atrocities committed towards the Palestinians even as they so vehemently speak out against human rights, violations, injustice, and abusive regimes. On Afghanistan, Malaysia remains deeply concerned with the dire humanitarian situation in the country. This is especially so, given that the country is grappling with its third consecutive year of drought and devastating locust infestation that severely undermined wheat harvest. On our part, Malaysia has committed to continue its existing people-to-people relations with Afghanistan, including through the provision of humanitarian aid. However, we remain resolute and firm in our call on the authority of Afghanistan to reverse their exclusionary and discriminatory policies against women and girls. Denying their right to go to school is a violation of the teachings of Islam, not to mention the UN Charter and the multilateral framework of human rights. They are also profoundly detrimental to the future of Afghanistan. Mr. President, we are deeply horrified by the continued post-coup violence and instability in Myanmar. This is currently among South Asia's and ASEAN's biggest strategic and humanitarian challenges in recent years. The barbarism and the poverty inflicted upon the people of Myanmar is indefensible and goes against the values of principles shared by the peoples in the region and globally. The support of the international community, including the United Nations, is crucial to urge continuously and maintain the necessary pressure on the military authorities to reverse their cause. Inasmuch as the principle of ASEAN centrality dictates the continued atrocities must end Malaysia's calls on Myanmar to immediately implement the ASEAN five-point consensus towards achieving peace and stability in the country. ASEAN is navigating the rivalry between the major powers in the Asia Pacific. Malaysia believes that any strategy undertaken should neither start nor exacerbate a race for dominance. Instead, such strategies should contribute to peace and stability, security and prosperity in the region. Mr. President, scientists have confirmed that the world has just experienced its hottest summer in history. We have heard Secretary General Guterres gravely declare that climate breakdown has begun. Even Malaysia is seeing an increase in adverse impacts of climate change with increasing temperature, rising sea levels, intensified monsoons and erratic weather patterns disrupting livelihood and degrading local ecosystems. As such, we have not a moment to lose. Malaysia is doing its part by developing low-carbon and renewable energy roadmaps to implement mitigating and adaptation strategies. The newly launched National Energy Transition Roadmap should aid us in achieving our end-deceased as well as lighting the path towards our net-zero aspirations. Discussions on climate change and the absence of equity, justice and the necessary means to assist and empower countries to undertake greater climate action is an exercise in fertility. We also urge the developed countries to fulfil their commitment of mobilising $100 billion a year to support climate ambition endeavours of developing countries while recognising that millions of dollars per annum will be needed in the near future. Mr. President, the 2023 SDG report has confirmed that we are falling behind with nearly a third of the targets either at the state of inertia or worse, regressing. The global economy is also projected to continue to be weighed down by geopolitical uncertainties, supply chain disruptions, increase in commodity prices as well as challenging financial conditions. This has widened the gap between economic growth and income leading to a continuous disparity. As the growth in income fails to match economic growth, households become burdened with debt. We now have the super-rich living side-by-side with the ultra-poor. The contrast lies starkly in the things that matter. Food on the table, shelter, access to quality education, healthcare. These factors cry out for drastic systemic reform, a total reset of global institutions that impact our lives or else we will continue to face widening inequality, setting apart nations and peoples. Mr. President, we are concerned over the emergence of a new form of racism characterized by xenophobia, negative profiling and stereotyping of Muslims. This is manifested in an alarming trend of hatred, intolerance and acts of violence against Muslims and their sanctities. We are pulled by the legitimization of these acts under the feeble defence of human rights. Quran burnings are nothing but a clear Islamophobic act intended to incite hatred in action in the face of such Britain provocation to a religion is simply irresponsible and sends a dangerous message to humanity. We must embody the values of acceptance, tolerance and mutual respect. We must promote intercultural, inter-realization and inter-religious understanding and cooperation. We must unite our faith in common cause to promote understanding and goodwill among our peoples and strengthen peace and harmony among nations. Mr. President, these are indeed tall orders but that is the very reason we are here. I truly believe that no challenge, however formidable, is insurmountable if we secure the collective commitment of this global community, the member states of this August institution. What we need is trust and the conviction to make the world a better place. And the will to work together on a platform of consensus and solidarity. Early this year, I introduced Malaysia Madani, a vision built on the pillars of core values that we believe are indispensable in any harmonious, thriving and peaceful society. Compassion, ahsan and rahma, respect, trust and amana, innovation, prosperity and sustainability. These basic principles and moral values also apply in the context of our relations with other countries. Whether it is G7 or G20 or G77 or APEC or the world's largest FTA, there is no denying that multilateral collaboration is the silicone on for any effective and sustainable resolution to the crises that the world is beset with. In this regard, it bears stressing that Malaysia's commitment to the UN and the multilateral system is born out of the strong conviction that all countries, no matter how big or small, rich or poor, strong or weak, have a common responsibility towards creating a better world for tomorrow. The world and our future in it is what we envision and construct it to be. Malaysia believes we can achieve this through greater trust and strengthened multilateralism. The United Nations can be the vessel to take us from despondency to a brighter future, from uncertainty to optimism and from vulnerability to resilience. Thank you. Peace be upon you. Thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Malaysia for the statement just made. I request protocol to escort His Excellency. The Assembly will hear and address by His Excellency Robert Abela, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta. I request protocol to escort His Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Robert Abela, Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta. I invite him to address the Assembly. Thank you, Mr. President. I welcome all the beloved witnesses, distinguished guests, dear friends. It is indeed a privilege to be once again addressing you on behalf of the people of Malta and as I was preparing my remarks, I was reminded of those timeless lines by the poet John Dunn. No man is an island and tire of itself. Every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. Moulta is a proud island nation, but we are most definitely not an island entire of ourselves. Quite the reverse. Throughout our history, we have looked outward to the world, conscious of our unique geographic position at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, consciously stepping up into a unique role, building bridges and building understanding between different traditions. Indeed, earlier this very month, we were very proud to be such a bridge, trusted by both sides to host private talks between the United States National Security Advisor and the Chinese Foreign Minister. Moulta providing a safe space for vital discussions between the world's two biggest powers. And it is to build bridges just like that that almost 60 years ago, the Republic of Moulta was admitted as a full member of the United Nations. It is a sign of confidence our fellow members have in Moulta's commitment to working together for the coming good that they have elected our nation to serve on the Security Council for this year and next. It is why embedded at the heart of our constitution is the active pursuit of peace, security and social progress among all nations. Moulta will always be open to the world. Moulta will never turn its back on its neighbors. Moulta will continue to work relentlessly with our partners in Europe and beyond to stand up for peace and the rule of law. Sadly, the need to stand up for those values has rarely been more urgent or more important than it is today. We witness Russia's violation of international law with its continued assault on Ukraine. Moulta's response to the situation in Ukraine and other crisis across the world is guided by the value of neutrality which is enshrined in our constitution. Moulta's neutrality does mean that we will continue to be directly opposed to military aggression and unilateral action against members of the global community and the rule-based order. But Moulta's neutrality does not mean that we are indifferent to what happens around us. We will never, and we can never be neutral when we see pain and suffering caused by an illegal invasion. And in the spirit of peace, we call on Russia to withdraw its forces from the sovereign territory of Ukraine and we urge all nations gathered here to unite to deliver an end to the war. The tragedy of war is not just that those directly involved suffer, but that the consequences reverberate around the world. The already precarious situation of global food security has been made much worse by the invasion of Ukraine. An estimated extra 122 million people across the world pushed into hunger since 2019. Moulta urges Russia to rejoin the Black Sea Grain Initiative and to stop standing in the way of vital food supplies leaving Ukraine to feed the world's most needy. Being neutral has never meant Moulta ignoring the problems faced by our neighbors. We are acutely aware that many of the challenges which we face at home are best-tackled together with our Mediterranean neighbors, which is why I am very proud that our capital Valletta will host the next summit of the EU's Medline members in a week's time. The most pressing issue in the Mediterranean is definitely Libya. The whole piece, the full piece of our whole region depends on a lasting settlement there. Moulta wishes to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Libya. And this through a Libyan-led political process. It is vital that the entire international community encourages this process and gives the Libyan people the support they need to overcome the instability for which they have already paid such a high price. The need to recover and also rebuild after the tragic devastation of Storm Daniel underlies the urgency and the importance of a lasting settlement that gives all Libyans the effective government they deserve. For Moulta, being a good neighbor means offering practical help. Within hours of the disaster hitting, a team from our army and our civil protection department was on the way to Libya to play their part in the rescue effort. Multis officers also remain on active service within the United Nations forces in Lebanon, proudly wearing blueberries as part of the interim force, underlining the importance which Moulta attaches to peacekeeping as well as peacebuilding across the Mediterranean. And as the nation at the crossroads of Europe and Africa, our extended neighborhood stretches beyond the Mediterranean coast. Our objective is to be a true bridge between the continents. My government has underlined Moulta's commitment to Africa by opening new diplomatic missions in Ghana and also in Ethiopia and putting into action our first national strategy for Africa. But strengthening connections doesn't just mean strengthening diplomatic ties. We have already concluded agreements with countries like Ethiopia to facilitate connectivity for businesses and people between the continents. Moulta remains deeply disturbed by the dire situation in Disahel, political turmoil, irregular migration, the jihadist attacks on the civilian population and food insecurity. We are also particularly concerned about the current situation in Niger and underline the urgency of a peaceful resolution to the crisis. From Ukraine to Mali, Libya to Niger, it can all too often seem like we are living in an era of despair. And the problems which the world faces are indeed deep and profound. It would be all too easy and all too understandable to fall into despondency, to think that nothing can be done. But in the rest of my remarks today, I want to show that things can be done, that we can make a difference, that if a small nation like Moulta can play its part in addressing the most urgent issues our world faces, then these United Nations can put in place real and effective solutions globally. I began with that famous quotation that no man is an island and leaders cannot be an island either. Our fine words to this August assembly must not stand alone. They must be directly connected to our actions at home and to the priorities of our people. We must show through deeds and not just words that we can address the fears as well as the hopes and aspirations of the people that we represent. One of the advantages of being Prime Minister of a small country is that you are very close to the people that you represent. You hear loud and clear what is worrying them. And one of the persistent worries that I hear is that people feel an eagling sense of insecurity. Post pandemic, they feel that the world is a less stable and increasingly scary place. And which with such big global forces at play too often, citizens can feel like they don't have their hands on the levers which control their future. I understand where those concerns are coming from. Addressing them is why I am into politics. It is why I am adamant that every global policy that we put in place must make a difference locally that we can show that by working together internationally, we can deliver solutions nationally. That way, we can address what pessimists call the new age of insecurity by building a new age of security. Yet, we must be realistic. There is no magic wand. I am also realistic about what any individual nation can do. And I am also acutely aware that there is only so much a small nation can do. But if we all play our part, we can all make a difference. In short, we are stronger together. No one can feel secure about their family's future unless they feel secure about the future of the planet on which we all live. And the natural world on which we all depend. The biggest threat to our planet is clearly climate change. And climate change isn't some sort of abstract problem. This is a very real emergency. The consequences of which are being felt in every part across the world. Current pledges and the current targets are not sufficient to keep the 1.5 degrees objective of the Paris Agreement with the Reach. Moulta wholeheartedly commands the Secretary General's initiative to help states accelerate efforts at the global level. We must all play our part and we must all work together. The time for excuses is long over. Moulta is a proud maritime nation. The sea plays a profound part in Moulta's national life and has a special place in the hearts of the Maltese people. Rising sea levels are a severe threat to the security, the livelihood and indeed the very existence of island countries like ours. Securing the future of our seas and oceans is an urgent imperative of the government of Moulta, which is why we have made climate and oceans the number one priority during our term on the United Nations Security Council. And to give the debate new momentum, we made a high level meeting on the implications of rising sea levels for peace and security, the signature event of our presidency of the Security Council last February. And we enthusiastically extend our support for the newly created coalition on addressing sea level rise and existential threats. It is not just the direct consequences of rising sea levels that we need to be concerned about. As land is degraded, fresher shortages, displacement of people and food insecurity all risk undermining global security. Generating new conflicts and exacerbating existing ones. Rising sea levels also threaten the very territorial integrity of states as a result of coastal inundation with a consequent danger of disputes and conflict. So I wish to reiterate in the strongest of terms, as I already did at COP 27, that no coastal state should lose any of its existing rights over its maritime zones due to rising sea levels. As a United Nations, we must preserve the sovereignty of coastal states no matter what the ravages of the sea. As island nations, we turn to the world but we don't turn our backs on each other. Solidarity between small island countries is a key value for Malta and the value that we turn into practical support. Like the majority of nations in the EU, in the UN, Malta was late to develop and we have experienced many of the same challenges which are currently being faced by developing countries. That's why we have made raising awareness of the unique vulnerabilities of small island developing states a top priority. And why supporting sustainable development for small island developing states is a cornerstone of our foreign policy. To do this, we are committed to our island for islands initiative, delivering concrete, practical support for those small island nations, the nations which are most exposed to the impacts of climate change. We share best practice and help build capacity and we were indeed delighted that Malta's scholarship program for students from small island developing states has been recognized with a UN partnerships award. Protecting our planet is indeed a memet task but by taking visible, measurable action, we can and we must show our citizens that they have reason to believe in the security of the Earth's future. There are those who state that securing the planet can only be achieved at the expense of economic growth. I firmly reject that thinking. In fact, I believe that the opposite is true. Environmental security can only be achieved if citizens feel economic security. Only if you feel secure about your family's economic well-being, can you turn your attention to the well-being of the Earth and only by delivering sustainable economic growth can we deliver sustainable environmental protection. From the perspective of an outward facing trading nation like Malta, there is one overwhelming clear and present danger to economic security. The prospect of a new era of protectionism. If protectionism grows unchecked, it could do untold damage to an export-orientated island economy like ours. The Maltese people have benefited it hugely from the opening up of the world economy. As vested interests have given way to innovation, they have seized the new opportunities. And like many young economies, Malta has harnessed digital technology and the breaking down of trade and tariff barriers to expand into sectors that were previously off limits to small nations like ours. What the world economy and the world's citizens need is not a new era of protectionism. Instead, we need a new age of social protection, not putting up barriers to trade, but putting in place standards and rights for our workers. I understand and also appreciate how some people feel left behind by the sheer pace of economic change this century. The pandemic showed the need to think through the geopolitical risks of supply chains. But the answer isn't to turn back the clock. The answer is to get the future right. One of the themes of this year's General Assembly is rebuilding trust to achieve sustainability for all. And this is exactly what we must do. Too often, smaller and developing countries have been excluded from the decision-making process and have suffered as a result. Malta's clear, trust on trade can only be achieved if genuine solidarity is maintained with all member states. Often, and open trading should be fair trading. Open economies should be fair economies. Only with fairness will citizens' sense of security be rebuilt. I came into politics passionate about building a country where decision-making is based on fairness and opportunity, with a commitment to equality, which is also a commitment to competitiveness. Take gender equality. Empowering women powers economic growth. One of our government's proudest moments and achievements is the introduction of free childcare that has enabled more parents to reenter the workforce, increasing women's economic power and increasing growth for the economy as a whole. I am also proud to be speaking to you in the same month that Malta hosted a hugely successful Europe ride, crowning recognition for the transformation in our nation's approach to LGBTIQ-plus rights that has taken place since my party was returned to government and a huge boost for our island's profile and also our island's economy. And take closing the digital divide, equipping more citizens of all ages and from all backgrounds with the digital skills that they need, which both increases their individual learning and adds to the nation's productivity, which is why we've extended ICTI as a compulsory subject in all our upper secondary schools. So Malta calls on the international community to work harder to ensure that the digital divide is narrowed, not just within each nation, but also globally. Similarly, upholding the rights of the child as enshrined in the UN Convention is of paramount importance to Malta. We work very hard to ensure that each and every child has the opportunities they deserve, no matter what the circumstances of their birth, by tackling child poverty and ensuring equal access to education and healthcare. We aim to ensure no child is left behind. Rightly, it is a moral imperative, but it is also an economic one. Leaving any of the next generation of workers without the skills they need isn't just damaging to the individuals excluded from prosperity. It is also damaging to economic growth. None of us can feel secure unless each and every child in our societies is safe and secure. One significant manifestation of the feeling of insecurity has been the number of people facing mental health difficulties. None of us can feel secure unless we know that mental health is taken as seriously as physical health by our healthcare systems, even if we don't have mental health issues ourselves. Knowing that care and support is there, should we or those we care for needed, is part of the reassurance that an active state should provide. To help provide that reassurance in Malta, we have implemented a comprehensive mental health strategy to build capacity, address causes, and offering continuing support to individuals with mental health needs and also to their families. Through initiatives like the National Mental Health Helpline launched last year offering a one-stop 24-7 resource to connect patients with the services that they need. And one of the biggest drivers of mental health worries is the fear of the future. Indeed, none of us can feel secure about our lives if we don't feel secure about what is coming tomorrow. Right now, one of the biggest fears many have is of technology. We have lived through two decades of unprecedented change from the basic mobile phone and text messaging to smartphones and face recognition. It can often seem like society has lost control, that the technology itself is in charge. And now, with the advent of generative artificial intelligence, the risk is that that seems truer than ever. How we feel about our future is, unfortunately, not helped by lurid media headlines about the machines taking over, spreading fear about AI taking jobs and rendering human effort obsolete. Let's be clear. AI will have a huge impact on all aspects of society. But let us also be clear that if we, as leaders, take the right decisions, that impact can be a positive one on our societies. Again, as with trade, the answer isn't to try and turn the clock back to close our eyes to the inevitable and hope that it will go away. Indeed, the answer is to get the future right, to take the decisions now so that we can harness the power of AI for the public and the common good, not fear it as a coming catastrophe. In Motown, we are already doing just that. We are already seeing and experiencing how AI can enhance public service, improving lives for all our citizens. We have six currently, six pilot projects covering areas from healthcare to traffic management, taking ownership, true leadership, and not trying to ignore the future. Though, yes, naturally, there is a limit to what any one country, especially a small one, can do. To make AI a global good, we need global action. Motown stands resolutely behind efforts to increase and enhance international cooperation on AI. Technology is changing too fast. It's potential so vast that failing to work together isn't really an option anymore. Of course, it is not just in the tech field that we need to work together. Working together is not only a key value for Malta. It is at the very center of the political tradition I proudly represent. But simply, that standing together, we can achieve so much more than working alone. That, yes, none of us, nations, leaders, societies stand as islands isolated from each other. We are all connected in even more ways. We live in a new age, in an age where you can send a video to the other side of the world faster than you can walk to the other side of the room that you're sitting in. In an age when the decisions about how to generate energy in one country can impact the very survival of another country oceans away. In an age where the aggression of one country against another can lead to hunger across a different continent. In such an age, the importance of working together will only become stronger. The word for it, multilateralism, may not trip off the tongue, but it is more important than ever to make multilateralism work in the sage of insecurity. We need to ensure that a much wider group of voices are heard in this United Nations and around the globe. The voices of all countries, large and small, rich and poor, developed and developing. The voices of all sections of civil society, women, not just men, young as well as old, gay and not just straight, all backgrounds, all ethnicities, I refuse to believe. Malta refuses to believe that a new age of insecurity is inevitable. I know, Malta knows that we must build a new age of security, not by trying to turn the clock back but by getting the future right. If we work together, if we listen to and learn from each other, if we understand and appreciate the desire of our citizens to take back control of their lives, we can and we will get the future right. Thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister of the Republic of Malta for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort his Excellency. The Assembly will hear and address by his Excellency Mark Rooter, Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I request protocol to escort his Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming his Excellency Mark Rooter, Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I invite him to address the Assembly. Mr. President, your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, in 1864, Abraham Lincoln wrote a letter to Edwin Stanton, his Secretary of War. He observed that you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. It was a different time with different problems and different ways of solving them. A lot has changed since then. And yet, Lincoln's words remain as relevant as ever. They show that responsibility has always been a word word because our very future depends on whether we choose or refuse to take responsibility. Today, there's no time to be lost. There's never been so much at stake at one time. We must combat climate change, fight hunger and poverty, and protect peace and security in many places all over the world. It's human nature to prioritize the issues that affect us most directly. Let's be honest, that goes for all of us here today. Every one of us has come here to discuss the issues we face in our own countries. But if you look beyond our borders, we see that none of those issues stand alone. All the big issues of our time intersect. Their impact is global. We take climate change, our poverty, our conflict. These issues are all related, and we are all affected by them, though perhaps not always in the same way. In Europe, peace has been shattered by Russian aggression. And yes, I am asking once again for your support in ending this terrible war. And at the same time, I realize that some of you are thinking, what about our own challenges? What about our own security? Will you support us there as well? I understand how you feel. And you're right. As the late Secretary General Kofi Annan put it, if the United Nations is not as united as it should be, that is because it is a reflection of the world we live in. And he was also right. For too long at the UN, some interests have weighed more heavily than others. United Nations is structured as if it were still 1945. But the world has changed. It's taken a long time for that realization to sink in. But once you see it, you can't unsee it. In this world, in this time, we all need each other, all 193 countries, because we all face a common task. Consider the global distribution of wealth. The Netherlands is not only one of the UN's most loyal development donors. We also support the reform plans of institutions, such as the World Bank. And consider climate change. We need to reduce our footprint. A footprint that leaves its mark on countries far beyond our borders. So that's what we are doing. By building a circular economy by 2050. By making our financial sector more sustainable. And by combating deforestation and loss of biodiversity. In each of these areas, partnerships are essential. Above all, partnerships with the countries hit hardest by climate change. Today, I will speak with several small island development states about climate adaptation. About ways of exchanging knowledge, expertise, and innovative solutions. And yes, such partnerships begin with talking. But they must go beyond words and promises. The Netherlands is increasing its annual contribution to international climate finance to 1.8 billion euros by 2025. And over half of that will go to climate adaptation. You all understand how important this is. In two months' time, we will gather in Dubai to take stock of our progress towards the Paris climate goals. But we already know that we are way off track. So something has to be done right now. The Netherlands will fulfill its responsibility by providing 100 million people in developing countries with access to renewable energy by 2030. By massively scaling up our renewable energy investment. And by helping to set up and scale up green hydrogen corridors together with South Africa, Egypt, Morocco, Namibia, and others. Currently, only 2% of global investment goes to Africa, despite the huge potential there. We have a collective interest in making sure that potential can be tapped. Because if we don't help Africa to grow sustainably, we will all miss our climate goals. COP28 must mark a course correction. There we must agree and explain how the world will get on track to meet the 1.5 degree goal. If not, the consequences will be disastrous. The examples I've offered of Dutch action together with our kingdom partners in the Caribbean show that we are willing to fulfill our responsibility. That we are willing to pick up the phone to answer the knock at the door. The most striking of truth is also the most obvious. We aren't as different as we might think. What unites us is bigger and stronger than what divides us. I see that in my bilateral discussions. I see it in the European Union. And I see it here at the UN. However different our backgrounds are, however different our countries, we share the same universal values. Peace, freedom, justice. On the 70s of July 2014, those values, which the Netherlands holds so dear, were trampled under foot. It was the day that Flight MH17 was downed by Russia. The day, the Dutch people and people everywhere were reminded in such a painful manner that peace, freedom and justice are not givens but require our constant efforts. Those values, those collective aims form the basis of the United Nations. They are the reason we are here today. With that in mind, let me talk about Ukraine every day. Millions of people feel the effects of Russia's aggression. Above all, the Ukrainian people, who are the victims of terrible crimes. Every day they live in fear. Am I still safe in my own home, in my city? Will I ever see my family alive again? These are questions no one should ever have to ask. In Europe we thought we'd never need to ask them again. But we were wrong. And so now it's up to us to respond, to pick up the phone, to answer the knock at the door. We can't leave one country to fend for itself. I know, some countries are hesitating, asking themselves why they should get involved in someone else's war. To them, I say, it's your war too. Because even if there is no shooting in your towns and your cities aren't being bombed, this war affects everyone. People in vulnerable countries know exactly what I'm talking about. The global food supply is being used as a weapon of war and food prices are soaring. Millions of people are being pushed back into poverty and hunger. And it's precisely the most vulnerable countries that are being hit the hardest. You won't find them on the official casualty list. But those countries and the people who live there are also the victims of Putin's aggression. Russia's conduct goes against everything that we in the UN stand for. That alone is region enough to take action. The Charter of the UN, our common foundation, is very clear on this. When push comes to shove, we can't neglect our duty because it's not convenient, because we have other things on our minds, or because it seems too hard. No, no, no. The Charter is intended for moments like these, for a time and a place like this, the General Assembly of the United Nations is the ultimate time and place to hold each other to account, to remind each other of our responsibilities. That goes for all of you, and it goes for me, too. I've explained how the Netherlands will fulfill its responsibility. You can hold us to that, and you can call us to account for our actions. And in the same way, I'm calling on you. Speak out against Putin and Russia's violation of the UN Charter. Support the peace plan, support Ukraine, even if it takes time, even if there are setbacks, especially if it takes time and there are setbacks. And tell Russia to give back the stolen children of Ukraine. Some countries feel they are supporting peace in Ukraine simply by calling for an immediate ceasefire. They think that this will help end the war, that peace, freedom and security will return automatically. They see it as an expression of nuance. They want to see the good in others. They don't want to point the finger of blame. In the case of the war in Ukraine, there is no shared blame. There is no doubt about who the perpetrator is and who the victim. Russia attacks Ukraine, a sovereign nation, not the other way around. So there can be no shared solution. Russia is the aggressor here, and it is not Ukraine's supporters that are prolonging the war. It is Russia. Putin has occupied 20% of Ukraine. An immediate ceasefire now would mean victory for Russia. That is the reality. And a just and lasting peace can be achieved only if we recognize that reality. Ladies and gentlemen, there is a lot at stake here. Putin is counting us being divided. He is counting on us ending our support as the war drags on longer and costs more than we thought. He is counting on us losing interest and returning to our own problems. This is Putin's strategy. And now that push has come to shove, we must show that we have learned from the past that we will all pick up the phone, that we will all answer the knock at the door, that we will all fulfill our responsibility. Thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for General Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the statement just made, and I request protocol to escort his Excellency. The Assembly will hear and address by his Excellency Anwar Ul Haqqaqar, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I request protocol to escort his Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming his Excellency Anwar Ul Haqqaqar, Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. I invite him to address the Assembly. Bismillahir Rahmanir Rahim. Mr. President, Excellencies, Head of State, Government and Delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen, On behalf of the Government and people of Pakistan, I convey to you, Mr. President, our warm congratulations on your elections to guide the work of this historic session of the UN General Assembly. I'm confident that your vast diplomatic experience and the sunny disposition of your beautiful island country will enable you to stare this Assembly to a most successful conclusion. Mr. President, we are meeting at a tense and pivotal moment in modern history. Conflicts rage in Ukraine and in 50 other places around the world. Tensions between the global powers have continued to escalate. We see the rise of new and old military and political blocks. Geopolitics is resurging when geoeconomics should have primacy in the world. The world cannot afford Cold War 20. There are far greater challenges confronting humankind which demand global cooperation and collective action. The world's economic prospects also appear gloomy. Global growth is slow. High interest rates could trigger a recession. A succession of exogenous shocks, COVID, conflict and climate change have devastated the economies of many developing countries. Many countries of the global south have barely managed to stave off defaults. Poverty and hunger have grown, reversing the development gains of three decades. At yesterday's SDG summit, far-reaching commitments were made to implement the sustainable development goals. We must ensure implementation of the SDG stimulus, the re-channeling of unused special drawing rights for development, development banks and the resolution of the debt problems of the 59 countries in debt distress. Pakistan also looks forward to the fulfilment of the climate change commitments made at COP28 by the developed world to provide over 100 billion US dollars in annual climate finance, allocate at least half of such finance for adaptation in developing countries, operationalize the fund and funding arrangements for loss and damage and accelerate the carbon emission. Medication targets to keep alive the goal of resisting, restricting global warming to 1.5 degrees centigrade. Attempts to selectively provide these funds on the basis of geopolitical considerations should be resisted. Mr. President, Pakistan's triple food, fuel and finance challenge is a prime illustration of the impacts of COVID, conflicts and climate on developing countries. Pakistan is one of the worst affected countries from the impacts of climate change. The epic floods of last summer submerged a third of our country, killed 1,700 and displaced over 8 million people, destroyed vital infrastructure and caused over 30 billion dollars in damage to Pakistan's economy. Pakistan is gratified by the commitment of over 10.5 billion dollars for Pakistan's comprehensive plan for recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction with resilience. The 4RF plan at the Geneva conference last January. Specific projects are being submitted to ensure timely funding and execution of the 4RF plan. I hope our development partners will accord priority to allocation of funds for our resilient recovery plan which has been costed at 13 billion dollars. Mr. President, Pakistan government is committed to rapid economic recovery. We will stabilize our fund exchange reserves in our currency, expand domestic revenues and most importantly, mobilize significant domestic and external investment. Facilitation Council, SIFC, to expedite investment decisions. 28 projects have been identified in priority sectors. Agriculture, mining, energy and IT for implementation and collaboration with Pakistan's partners. Pakistan's long-term shift to geo-economics is well underway. The second phase of the China-Pakistan economic corridor has been initiated covering railway, infrastructure and manufacturing projects. Pakistan also looks forward to the early implementation of the connectivity projects with Central Asia. Mr. President, development depends on peace. Pakistan is situated in one of the least economically integrated region in the world. Pakistan believes that region develops together. Therefore, Pakistan desires peaceful and productive relations with all our neighbors, including India. Kashmir is the key to peace between Pakistan and India. The Jammu and Kashmir dispute is one of the oldest issues on the agenda of the Security Council. India has evaded implementation of the Security Council's resolutions, which call for the final disposition of Jammu and Kashmir to be decided by its people through UN-supervised plebiscite. Since 5th August, 2019, India has deployed 900,000 troops in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir to impose the final solution for Kashmir. To this end, India has imposed extended lockdowns and curfews, jailed all genuine Kashmiri leaders, violently suppressed peaceful protests, resorted to extrajudicial killings of innocent Kashmiris in fake encounters, and so-called cordon and search operations, and imposed collective punishments destroying entire villages. Access to occupied Kashmir, demanded by the UN High Commission for Human Rights, and over a dozen special rapporteurs has been denied by New Delhi. Mr. President, the UN Security Council must secure the implementation of its resolution on Kashmir. The UN military observer group for India and Pakistan should be reinforced. Global powers should convince New Delhi to accept Pakistan's offer of mutual restraint on strategic and conventional weapons. Mr. President, peace in Afghanistan is a strategic imperative for Pakistan. Pakistan shares the concern of international community with respect to Afghanistan, particularly the rights of women and girls. Yet we advocate continued humanitarian assistance to a destitute Afghan population in which Afghan girls and women are the most vulnerable, as well as revival of the Afghan economy and implementation of the connectivity projects with Central Asia. Pakistan's first priority is to prevent and counter all terrorism from and within Afghanistan. Pakistan condemns the cross-border terrorist attacks against Pakistan by the TTP, Daesh, and other groups operating from Afghanistan. We have sought Kabul's support and cooperation to prevent these attacks. However, we are also taking necessary measures to end this externally-encouraged terrorism. Mr. President, Pakistan welcomes the progress made towards ending the conflicts in Syria and Yemen, in particular, we warmly welcome the normalization of relations between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran. Unfortunately, the tragedy of Palestine continues. With Israeli military raids, airstrikes, expansion of settlements, and eviction of Palestinians, durable peace can be established only through a two-state solution. And the establishment of a viable and contiguous Palestinian state within the pre-June 1967 borders, with al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. Mr. President, UN peacekeeping has been a success story. Over more than six decades, Pakistan has contributed 230,000 peacekeepers in 47 missions across the world. Today, UN peacekeepers face complex and unprecedented challenges, especially from criminal and terrorist groups, as in the Sahel. We must ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers. Pakistan shall continue to work with the UN to develop the capabilities and more robust mandates required for successful enforcement actions by UN and international forces where needed. Mr. President, we must counter all terrorists without discrimination, including the rising threat posed by far-right extremist and fascist groups, such as Hindutva-inspired extremists threatening genocide against India's Muslims and Christians alike. We also need to oppose state terrorism, address the root cause of terrorism, such as poverty, injustice, and foreign occupation, and distinguish genuine freedom struggles from terrorism. Pakistan prosperous the creation of a committee of the General Assembly to oversee the balanced implementation of all four pillars of the global counter-terrorism strategy. Mr. President, our progress based on rich history of cooperation, understanding, exchange, and synthesis of ideas among civilization is imperiled today. The narratives advocating a clash of civilization have done considerable harm to humanity's progress. Such ideas have done considerable harm to humanity's progress. Such ideas have bred extremism, hatred, and religious intolerance, including Islamophobia. Make no mistake, it's a latent threat that undermines millennia of progress. We need to cherish and celebrate our diversity and different ways of life. Mutual respect, sanctity of religious symbols, scriptures, and personages should be ensured. While Islamophobia is an age-old phenomenon, however, after the 9-11 terrorist attacks, it has assumed epidemic proportions as manifested in the negative profiling of Muslims and attacks on Islamic sites and symbols, such as the recent public burnings of the Holy Quran. Last year, this assembly adopted a resolution proposed by Pakistan on behalf of the OIC, declaring 15th March as the International Day to Combat Islamophobia. Earlier this year, the Human Rights Council adopted an OIC resolution submitted by Pakistan, urging states to outlaw the burning of the Holy Quran and similar provocations. We welcome the legislation initiated by Denmark and contemplated by Sweden towards this end. Pakistan and the OIC countries will propose further steps to combat Islamophobia, including the appointment of a special envoy, creation of an Islamophobia data center, legal assistance to victims and an accountability process to punish Islamophobic crimes. Mr. President, the complex global and regional challenges that the world faces today can be best addressed through effective multilateralism within the framework of the United Nations. However, multilateralism is being eschewed due to the unilateral policies of and strategic rivalry and tensions between global powers. Pakistan will continue to work actively to strengthen multilateral institutions and enhance global cooperation. Pakistan looks forward to continuing negotiation on the scope and elements of the Summit of the Future and the pact for the future, building on the convergence that emerged in earlier consultations. The Summit's preparatory process must not disrupt existing negotiating processes such as the intergovernmental negotiations on the reform of the Security Council. Mr. President, Pakistan does not believe in elitism with the Committee of Nations. The UN Charter principles of equality and sovereignty must be preserved in the interest of global peace and prosperity. Pakistan believes that additional permanent members for the Security Council will further erode its credibility and legitimacy. The widest possible agreement can be best achieved on the basis of the uniting for consensus groups proposal for expansion of the Council only in the non-permanent category with provision for a limited number of long-term seats. Mr. President, Pakistan believes that to build, preserve and promote peace and prosperity today and in the future, it is vital to reduce great power, rivalry and tensions. Ensure strict adherence to the UN Charter, consistently implement Security Council resolutions, eliminate the root cause of conflicts and respect the principles of non-user force, self-determination, sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of the states and peaceful coexistence. Pakistan will work diligently and actively with all member states to realise these vital elements of a new, equitable and peaceful world order. I thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort his Excellency. The Assembly will hear and address by her Excellency Mia Amour Motley, Prime Minister, Minister for National Security and the Public Service and Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment of Barbados. I request protocol to escort her Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming her Excellency, Mia Amour Motley, Prime Minister, Minister for National Security and the Public Service and Minister for Finance, Economic Affairs and Investment of Barbados. I invite her to address the Assembly. Thank you very much, Mr President, and I'd like at the outset to congratulate my dear brother from Trinidad and Tobago for his assumption of the Office of the Presidency of this General Assembly. I'd also like at the outset to thank the Honourable Secretary-General for his continued determination and holding us and the rest of the world to the principles that are sacred to this August institution. The truth is, the speech which he delivered at the beginning of this General Assembly can be adopted wholesale by the government and people of Barbados because it reflects our aspirations and it reflects our view of the current status of the world. I asked myself on Monday night as we met to determine the halfway point of the SDG goals, how many roads we have to walk just to make it to the door, only to be told that the door is closed. Those are not my words. Those are the words of Rocky Davuni, a famous reggae artist from Ghana, nominated by M4 for awards multiple times, but his words ring because in a very real sense, are we going to trod the roads only to be told that it's too late, too late for us to save as many as we can from the climate crisis, too late for us to save as many as we can from the conflicts of war, too late for us to be able to provide the food that so many need as we reflect on the fact that more people are likely to be hungry in this world in 2030 than in 2015 or as we get to the basic numbers that 735 million people suffered chronic hunger last year at a time when so many others had so much to throw away and to use. Are we going to be too late for the SDGs that are really the promise of development and the promise of the conferral of dignity on our people? We have today to determine what is the will of this body comprised of the member states to make the fundamental governance changes that will deliver in the third decade of the 21st century. Our world, as you know, is replete with issues and I don't need to stand here and recount them in detail for you have heard them in almost every speech delivered from this podium. But what is the issue is whether we can summon the determination that is required of us to make the changes that are appropriate to the age in which we live. Our democracy cannot survive if we do not have the same facts. But yet we live in a world where the generation of fake news is almost a daily occurrence and where people act on those premises without consideration for whether the news is true or not. The role that artificial intelligence, generative artificial intelligence would play in our world must be for good purposes and not evil. But if we are to ensure that is the case, then an appropriate framework for regulatory action must be put in place. We therefore support the actions of the Secretary-General recognizing that the question will come one day from some as to whether you sought to preserve our democracy or whether you allowed it to crumble and whether you have failed us as individual citizens of the world. We ask that question recognizing that AI is not in the immediate focal point of many because the drama and the crises that surround climate is taken out all of the oxygen literally in the world. Those people who died in Libya recently were going about their business. They had aspirations. They had business that they were hoping to do, families that they were trying to protect. And in the flash of an eye, all of that came to an end. And not because we didn't expect it or anticipate it. The records of the multinational companies who are engaged in fossil fuels will show that they have always known for a considerable period of time the consequences of their actions. And while they themselves are not the immediate cause, the absence of technology to be able to limit what they are emitting is the cause. And by extension, therefore, they must take responsibility. We can go no further without an engagement of the oil and gas companies that is meaningful and credible. And we need to stop talking about it and just simply ensure that that kind of conversation can happen. But it is not just the oil and gas companies and we have nothing against them. We do not want to bankrupt them. But their actions continue to have implications for too many of our people. Their actions are equally bolstered by what I call the fit group, the financial institutions, the insurance companies and the transport companies. They get a buy or a pass because they are invisible to the transactions and to the activity that lead to the problems that the world is facing. But they too are as responsible and need to step up to the plate. The notion that we can preserve global public goods only with public money ignores the fact that we have seen for the last 50 years the absolute dominance of the capitalist markets leading to a consolidation of wealth and hence the ability to be able to play their role must, must be summoned by the rest of us. We cannot continue to put the interests of a few before the lives, the lives of many. I ask us today, I ask us today truly to pause because what keeps ringing in my head is that simple phrase, don't fail us now. Don't fail us now. And that phrase can come from that little boy or girl who is a victim of hunger, one of the 575 million people last year. That plea can equally come from those who lost families in the multiple crises across the world in the last few years. That plea can come from small states that may not exist in the future. I ask us therefore, my friends, to ensure that we summon the will. We listen to the Prime Minister of the Netherlands just now and he reminded us, ably, that time is not on our side. And if time is not on our side, what must we do? The truth is, we have made some progress. Two years ago, the International Monetary Fund did not have a mechanism to focus on cause of the problems that led to massive macroeconomic instability. We now have the establishment of the Resilience and Sustainability Trust that for the first time will make funds available to middle-income countries that are vulnerable. Twenty-year money with a ten-and-a-half-year moratorium. A year ago, the President of the World Bank was questioning whether there was a climate crisis. Today, we have a World Bank that for the first time acknowledges that there should be debt clauses that are suspended, debt pause clauses as they call it. Our battle now is to ensure that those debt pause clauses are not just for future instruments, but for existing instruments. If not, it will not help many. So we have made progress, but there is still much to be done. The issues of debt sustainability cannot be left on the sidelines, particularly with the number of countries more than 60 countries facing debt row today as we speak because of the poly crises. Countries being forced to choose between development and building of resilience to fight climate. In our small island states, we value education and healthcare and the dignity of life, and therefore it will be a natima for us to tell our citizens that we do not have the space to provide for you those things that were the promise of independence. It is compounded by the failure of the developed world to accept that Reparatory Justice is a solemn obligation which we must confront. The conversation King Charles told us at the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government when he was Prince Charles, was a conversation whose time had come that of Reparatory Justice. But it can't be a slow, slow conversation taken up when people feel like it has to be a conversation in which equal partners discuss. It cannot be an act of charity as those who simply feel that their conscience must be cleansed. We were about to write the leaders of the European Union last year on this issue of Reparatory Justice and we paused because of the Russian incursion into Ukraine. But it seems as though there are not those who want to make peace there or elsewhere in the world and therefore we have to lift our finger off the pause button and resume the discussions because the development deficit caused by centuries of exploitation is now affecting our capacity to build the resilience that is necessary in our nations. Similarly, I want to thank because a year ago we did not have the Paris Agenda for People and Planet. We had the Bridgetown Initiative and the Bridgetown Initiative has allowed us to keep the debate going because we need to change, as I said Monday morning in this hall, the belief that we can have short-term money financing development and building resilience. I shan't go into all of the details because we don't have the time, but suffice it to say that we are committed to the twin battle of saving people and planet and to ask us to do anything else is a false construct that does not work. The markets have to be educated as to why long-term capital is the only salvation for developing countries and ultimately for people and planning. And my friends, year after year we talk about the need for global moral strategic leadership. I shan't go into all of the details, but in my own region, in Africa, in Latin America, in the Pacific, there are too many examples where we fall short. And I speak specifically now first and foremost about Haiti. The world owes Haiti a resolution. Not, it is not a matter of options. The world owes Haiti a resolution. A year ago we knew that the gas riots had led to serious instability and 12 months later we cannot get out of this building and into the support that the people of Haiti need. There is no doubt a need for legitimacy with respect to the government of Haiti and therefore a national unity government may well be the only bridge that can carry us to safety. The Caribbean community has appointed three former prime ministers as an eminent persons group. And as we heard the secretary-general say in this hall, politics is the art of compromise. Diplomacy is the art of compromise. I say simply to those who act in the name of the people of Haiti, there must be compromise in constituting that government of national unity if we are to provide the bridge, to provide the security, to stop women from being raped, stop people from being killed, stop people from being affected by cholera and other public health diseases. But even when we put in the institutional support that Haiti may need, and I want to thank the governments of Kenya and Rwanda, who from as far back as 12 months ago committed to being able to provide the kind of institutional support and leadership that the Haitian police need. But as they did that commitment, what they have not necessarily accounted for is the continued reduction in the numbers of the police largely because of persons fleeing to lands of greater opportunity. And being facilitated in so doing. This cannot wait much longer. And I hope that those who constitute the members of the Security Council will recognize that they cannot use Haiti as a pawn because they have suffered for too long and by the hands of too many. I return now to the issue of Cuba. That Cuba can help so many in this world and yet be the continued victim of a blockade of over 60 years but worse than that. A designation as a state sponsor of terrorism is wrong, wrong, wrong. We left Cuba last week and what the people of Cuba are being asked to face on a daily basis because of a designation by a dying presidency is wrong. And the voices of the global community, many of whom have been the beneficiaries of Cuban assistance need to stand united and to be able to say that we cannot fight these battles when we need all hands on deck to save the planet. The artificial division of who is right and who is wrong and who is good and who is bad in the eyes of those who are powerful cannot continue to be the way in which this world functions. And let us go to Venezuela. Oil is likely oil prices to go over $100 and those small countries who do not produce oil will be the victims of it as will be our people including in large countries like the United States of America. We must, we must bring resolution to these issues and it is not incapable of resolution when the United States of America and many countries in Europe determined that they were recognizing President Guaido without there being a presidency for him to assume because he faced no election. The members of the Caribbean community came to this August institution and met with the secretary general and met with a number of countries. And little by little we saw people apply their hearts to wisdom and to recognize that the Charter of the United Nations did not allow for that kind of unconstitutional conferral of presidency on anyone. I say today that there must be transparency. It cannot be that the Caribbean community that needs a mechanism for stabilization in an energy crisis cannot have access to the concessionary prices that the government and people of Venezuela are prepared to make available to its neighbors to minimize the suffering. How is it possible for Chevron and the European Union to access the oil and gas of Venezuela but the people of the Caribbean cannot access it at the 35% discount offered by the people of Venezuela? How is it possible that we should have to carry a cost of an additional 4% of GDP in my own country simply because the rules that allow for one do not allow for the other? There must be transparency and there must be moral strategic leadership if we are to build the team to save the planet and to save and attain the SDGs in today's world. My friends, there are many other things that we can discuss. We support the United Nations accepting the responsibility for tax. Why? Because as quickly as the world has been able to find a mechanism for global minimum corporate tax is as long as it has not found a mechanism to be able to inflate the financing opportunities available to developing countries. It cannot be. We know how to run fast in one set of circumstances when it suits one set of people but yet we run very slow when it matters to billions of people and their access to life and livelihood. I do not want to pray on your time anymore but suffice it to say that we have reached a point where we must give thanks for the progress made but recommit ourselves for the mission was never simply to make progress. The mission is to be able to save the planet and to give the people of the world the best opportunity for life that is necessary for them as human beings to be able to save the biodiversity of this world to be able to save the soils of this world that must nurture the food that we eat to be able to allow us to have access to safe water and if we don't change how we do our business if we don't recognize that the security council needs to put itself in a position not to speak to climate change but to protect us against the climate crisis because it is as much of a crisis as the war in Ukraine or the wars in Africa or the instability and conflict elsewhere in the world and if we don't take a proactive approach then we truly shall be victims of it. I believe that reform is critical at this point but what I believe doesn't matter what matters is the action of each and every country in this and will we always be in a position of flux? No. There is hope because human beings want to survive but the problem is that those whose actions we most need may be so confident in their survival that they do not act early enough for us and that is why I say will we trod the road to be able to get to the gates only to find that we are too late and the gates have closed? It will be open for some but it will be closed for many. You know, vision without action Nelson Mandela told us is just a dream and action without vision just passes the time but vision with action can change the world. Our citizens believe that we come into a talk shop when we come here. You and I know that it's potentially different but it will only be different when those of you who have the responsibility to act on behalf of governments can ask your governments to come to the point of the decisions that we need to make to provide the funding, the tools and the solidarity rebuilding the trust that this debate calls for and if we can do that then we will not save all but we can save the majority of people who are currently on the front line. We for those of us who work on the SDGs believe that as we work to save the planet we have to redouble our efforts and I leave you with one thing the efforts to provide education and to save people from hunger and to remove gender discrimination are not simply the actions of governments they have now equally to be the actions of individual citizens but governments must help personalize those SDG goals for their citizens. If we can do that and we can continue to make the case for finance and we can continue to stay focused on the climate crisis then yes we shall see a better world and we can shine the light on the future of many. I thank you. On behalf of the assembly I wish to thank the prime minister minister for national security and the public service and minister of finance economic affairs and investment of Barbados for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort her excellency. The assembly will hear and address by his excellency Seta Tavisin prime minister and minister for finance of the Kingdom of Thailand I request protocol to escort his excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming his excellency Seta Tavisin prime minister and minister for finance of the Kingdom of Thailand I invite him to address the assembly. Mr President Excellencies disinquist delegates on behalf of the delegation of Kingdom of Thailand allow me to congratulate you Mr President upon your election to preside over the grand assembly at its 78th session. Thailand has marked a new chapter in our democracy I have only assumed an office for a few days ago with the mandate of the people to strengthen democracy institutions and values in Thailand and to uplift the well-being of the Thai people who have been through difficult times over the past several years. In our foreign relations we will play a proactive and a constructive role in partnership with international communities. My government will also be reaching out to friends and partners all over the world to forge closer ties of partnership through commerce investment and trade agreements. Today we meet at a time of multiple global challenges including fragile global fears declining human development and the sustainability of our planet. These challenges require multilateralism and the spirit of international cooperation. And Thailand intends to work closely with all nations to meet these challenges head on. Mr President it is our it is the pursuit of peace that the United Nations was founded almost eight decades ago. Now more than ever we must continue to lay a strong foundation for the prosperity of our people by striving for sustainable peace. In this regard Thailand welcomes the Secretary General's effort to establish a new agenda for peace. We believe that this will spearhead the effort to revive multiple lateralism and enhance the UN role as a platform for the achievement of global peace. Thailand's vision for effective multilateralism is one that is inclusive resilient and resolve oriented. In the world of increasing international conflicts violence and shifting global order we reaffirm our commitment to maintaining peace and inclusivity. Thailand will pursue peaceful and collaborative relations with all members of international community. We believe that long lasting peace can be achieved. If we can strengthen our multilateral relations that is based on mutual trust understanding and respect. Mr President sustainable peace and development are linked with respect for human rights. Human dignity and freedoms. To this end the Thai government is working to advance equality and justice especially for the most vulnerable and the marginalized. We plan to strengthen the rule of law and increase transparency within the government. We will ensure that the law is fair strictly enforced and applied to everyone equally. Thailand is the archian candidate for Human Rights Council for the term 2025 to 2027. This reaffirms our sincere commitment to the advancement of human rights at home and abroad. We will ensure that Human Rights Council is well equipped to address new and emerging human rights challenges and contribute positively to the international community. Since its inception in 2002 Thailand's universal health coverage has ensured that all Thai citizens are entitled to essential preventive and curative health services at all life stages. In the coming years we plan to further invest to upgrade our universal health coverage to improve the quality of the program and to give all patients the freedom to choose the health care provider best suited for them. This will ensure that access to high quality health services will continue to be a universal right for all. If the recent global pandemic has taught us anything it is that access to health care is one of the most essential services a government can provide to its people. Dealing with contagious disease is not one's country problem but the world's chair responsibility. The global health architecture should be reformed and strengthened. We hope that the pandemic treaty can be established so that we can have a more resilient responsive and future-ready global public health infrastructures. Mr. President Thailand welcomed the SDG summit which reaffirmed that sustainability is the only way forward to protect our planet and the well-being of our people. Yet achieving the sustainability development goals by most benchmarks still prove elusive. As only 12% of the goals are on track. This is why we must accelerate the implementation of the 2030 for sustainable development agenda. To achieve the sustainable development we must first take care of our people. My government plans to enact policies to stimulate job creation and provide financial support for low-income families and other vulnerable groups. This will help level the playing field and aid in the creation of a more just society. For many years Thailand has been a strong advocate for a more balanced people-centered and sustainable path to growth. The sufficiency economy philosophy or SEP our long-standing locally driven development approach has consistently been applied to promote balance of all respects. Building on the SEP is the bio-circulate green economy model which leverages science, technology and innovation to advance economic growth while conserving the environment and ecosystems. These are not merely concepts but they are being implemented in Thailand. For example, we have piloted the sustainable economy model which reimagines the way farmers cultivate their lands and manage their water supply. This will not only reduce the impact on the environment but also reduce vulnerability to climate change and enhance the well-being of farmers nationwide. Thailand is ready to reform regional and global partnerships for sustainable development and including through South and South and triangular cooperation. As an ASEAN coordinator on sustainable development cooperation we are committed to forging closer partnership among ASEAN countries and beyond to drive forward sustainable development and build resilience. Mr. President July this year was the hottest month ever recorded in the human history. This is in line with the Secretary General's statement that the era of global warming has ended and the era of global boiling point has arrived. The climate crisis is one of the most urgent threats that require our collective and immediate action. To this end Thailand welcomed the Climate Ambition Summit to accelerate climate action that will mitigate the destructive impacts of the ongoing climate crisis. Together we must devise the means to adapt and enhance climate resilience. As the global climate change crisis continues to worsen so too will the issue of food insecurity and malnutrition. As a leading exporter of food and agricultural products Thailand is suffering from the effect of global climate change and the effect of El Nino. To ensure food security for the world we are working hard to improve our water management systems and farming techniques. We are doing our part to make sure that food security can become a reality. To achieve a more sustainable future we must invest in the planet. Thailand is implementing green finance mechanism including the issuance of sustainability link bonds and the Thailand green taxonomy to both growth and investments in environmental and social projects. While contributing to the effort to address the challenge of climate change. To do our part Thailand is determined to deliver on our pledge 40% of greenhouse gas emission reduction by 2040, carbon neutrality by 2050 and net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2065 by mainstreaming climate actions in all economic activities. Our national energy plan has integrated our climate targets by enhancing energy efficiency, increasing the share of renewable energy making a model shift of transport to domestic electric vehicles production. Mr. President, the United Nations represents the common aspiration of the global community. We must redouble our efforts to ensure that the organization continues to be the best representation of our collective humanity and solidarity. As such, Thailand has great expectation for the summit of the future to foster better future for all. Based on the spirit of multilateralism with the UN at the helm in the global push towards sustainable peace and sustainable development. Thailand believe now is the time to pursue our common agenda for peace, prosperity and sustainability for all. We invite every nation to be more ambitious in our goals, accelerate our actions and work harder together to address these challenges. Only together can we build our better future. Thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance of the Kingdom of Thailand for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort His Excellency. The Assembly will hear and address by His Excellency Xavier Esport Zamora, head of government of the Principality of Andorra. I request protocol to escort His Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Xavier Esport Zamora, head of the government of the Principality of Andorra. I invite him to address the Assembly. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to start my statement by congratulating His Excellency Ambassador of Trinity and Tobago, Dennis Francis for his election to the Presidency of the General Assembly and His Excellency Xabah Korobi of Hungary, who in an international context, which is difficult, has maintained the effectiveness and the rigor of the activity of the Assembly since the 77th session. We thank you, Mr. President, for the late motif that you chose, which is rebuilding trust and reigning global solidarity, accelerating action in the 2030 agenda and a sustainable development, goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all. We make it our own because it fully corresponds to the principles with which Andorra works, both from a political point of view domestically and from the point of view of international policy. And you can count, Mr. President, on the loyal support of our country, Andorra, for this 78th session, and we wish you many successes. Just a few weeks before the holding of this general debate, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, launched a new appeal to countries for them to take radical and urgent action because, as he warned us, and I quote, the era of global warming has ended. The era of global boiling has arrived. Climate change is here. It is terrifying and it is just beginning. There is no rationalizing nor denying the evidence. Greenhouse gas emissions have caused by unrestrained consumption of natural resources and led our planet to exhaustion, which was never more obvious than this summer. Extreme temperatures led to more than 61,000 deaths in Europe in 2022. The wave of fires on the North American continent and the Mediterranean continent or the phenomenon El Nino are all habitual phenomena, which drive the world, make the land less arable, and push the people to abandon their place of origin because the degradation of the environment have made them climate refugees and condemned them to living far from their homes. We humans are guilty of climate change and that is why the solutions to stop it will not come from nature itself, which we are degrading, but from our capacity to change our production model and organization of our societies. It's late to avoid the consequence, which is unfortunately, they are already irreversible. But to slow them and to prevent global temperatures from increasing more than 1.5 degrees between now and the end of the century and to that end, indeed, we need huge transformations economically and socially because fighting climate change and becoming aware of what is needed is not just a scientific matter or a technocratic matter anymore to be left in the hand of experts. It's rather a political issue, social, economic in nature, even ethical or philosophical, which allows us to see the enormous inequalities in our world. And thus, it is our conviction that solutions are to be found in a new form of multilateralism that is more geared towards collective action and stronger than ever. And these solutions must strengthen and contribute to reconstructing international cooperation with the view to providing adequate resources in those regions that need them and promoting inclusive governance and coordinated and solidarity-based policies. And it is here, ladies and gentlemen, in the United Nations, that we must identify the crises and take positions, take action and undertake clear commitments in favor of the common good. We must, more than ever, support and remember the original values of this body and its organization born of the ruins of war, which was the most devastating in history. This is an organization in the service of peace, dialogue and multilateralism, which was destined to prevent the scourge of war. And yet, war is here. Europe is worried about a conflict which ended up becoming a war that is unending and with enormous consequences for the Ukrainian civilian population. From our country, we energetically condemn this violation of territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. We have supported, amongst other things, the decorations of this General Assembly, the positions set forth by various bodies such as the Council of Europe, international sanctions, and especially those of the European Union. Yemen, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Sahel and other territories are no longer on the news as front-line stories. And yet, these areas are areas of frozen conflicts where people are more than ever fragile and are the main victims. And Dora contributes to supporting the most vulnerable, especially women and children, through UNICEF programs, the International Red Cross, and their courageous work in the field. Throughout all of these years, the African continent has never stopped being a source of concern with breaks in democracy in many states from east to west, often under a terrorist threat. In the month of last July, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute Act, which was the founding act of the International Criminal Court. This event serves as a powerful reminder of the imperious need to promote justice for all victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and violations of human rights. And it is armed with this conviction that Dora was amongst other European micro-states and with civil society standing firm with NGOs and was key in creating the International Criminal Court and would like to continue to do so in order to further strengthen that body. Mr. President, this year representing my country within the General Assembly is more important and unique than ever. On the 28th of July last, Andorra celebrated the 30th anniversary of its accession to the United Nations as the 184th member state. The adoption of the Andorran Constitution in 1993 made it possible to obtain international recognition and to make our voice heard beyond our borders and to align ourselves with international law. And if I may, in the context of commemorating that very event, a very important event for all citizens of Andorra, I'd like to recall the words of the head of state of our government, Oscar Rubiz Rait, that he said from this very rostrum now three decades ago about the way a small country can contribute to improving this world. And he said, we are a small state, but we are aware of the value of what is authentic and in a world that is out of dimension and proportion, the small size can mean something in terms of contributing balance and coexistence. What should the ideal size of a state be? Obviously, it's neither the economy nor the political science that can bring a response to this question. Aristotle noted in his work Politics and in his volume Cities, that policy needs to allow the world to understand the nature of others. The territory, as he said, should be contemplated completely from the very summit of a mountain all the way through. Andorra responds to these human and geographic characteristics that he mentioned. And it is from this human perspective of value, of what is authentic, of freedom that it's worthwhile being preserved and benefiting the 750 years of our history being recognized. And it is in that context that we can contribute our knowledge and our commitment to meet the common challenges of our world in the context of multilateralism. Ladies and gentlemen, in the schools and spaces reserved for the children of the Principality of Andorra, there are posters that recall the 17 objectives of sustainable development goals of the 2030 agenda. And they are in view of all adults, the metaphor of our society, an appeal to children and adults, a reminder that the time is passing and the future is in our hands. It's a last warning of our responsibility and credibility vis-a-vis accelerating the process to go further, to reformulate current structures and make progress towards creating financial governance, technology, environmental governments, based on sustainability, cooperation and equality for our young people in the future. The agenda 2030 is a roadmap. It's a universal one that leads us to the future of the planet for our more sustainable societies that are more resistant. The commitment of Andorra in accomplishing these goals is firm as seen in the presentation of our voluntary reports in follow-up of the SDGs. And this is why Andorra adopted a national strategic plan for implementing the 2030 agenda, whereby our government's involvement was demonstrated from institutions all the way to Andorran society as a whole in order to work towards the sustainable development of our planet because that is the only way to achieve our goals and leave no one behind to construct more fair societies. And from that point of view, we recognize and applaud the work, the untiring work of the Secretary-General, Mr. Gutierrez, and the presidency of the General Assembly to unite our efforts because we all have a window of opportunity here to ensure a viable future that's sustainable for everyone. And specifically and concretely, the organization these recent days of the SDG summit whereby Andorra participated actively. To achieve these goals, education is necessary as a tool, it's the basis of progress, and it's an accelerator for societies and a fundamental element of personal growth, collective growth, and a guarantee of equality of opportunity, respect, civics, democracy, and the future. Andorra took an active part in the summit on transforming education summit last year with the conviction that we can make a contribution by sharing our experience, working with UNESCO, UNESCO, and the International Organization of Francophonia in order to implement SDG4 to guarantee quality education, which is inclusive, equitable, and multilingual, and promote the possibilities of learning throughout life for all young people because education is one of the greatest advantages for everyone. Andorra attaches specific importance to education, which allows us to propose an elementary formula of excellence for children and young people. 65 different nationalities are involved, all growing in a context of learning, fundamental values in democracy, human rights, with a high degree of social cohesion and diversity, and a strong feeling of belonging. Along with education, access to healthcare is a pillar of any society. And the COVID pandemic was a test of our resistance and we were able to overcome it in Andorra. We have a sound system due to professionals in healthcare that make it up, that honor the profession by making a considerable effort to save the people. We must also underscore the World Health Organization's role this year, celebrating its 75th anniversary, 74 years devoted to fighting disease that threatens the very existence of some countries. Not all epidemics have the name of COVID-19 and to grapple with structural inequalities in terms of access to healthcare or physical or mental health, that the people must deal with. Gender equality is a subject of historical social injustice. We cannot, of course, change the past, but we can take action to progress towards a more egalitarian society because if we want to achieve the necessary transformation for the sustainability of our planet, we cannot leave anyone behind in humanity. And in that regard, in recent years, our country has made gender equality and non-discrimination one of its key values and has created pioneer legislation which is bold and ambitious to defend gender equality and it is being taught in our schools. Education of girls and training of women is a major priority for us and also is very important context of our international cooperation. Andorra is a country of high mountains, especially sensitive to climate change, which unfortunately is threatening our biodiversity, our water cycle, and even means our way of life. Given the geographic specificity of our territory in the Pyrenees, we are very active members of the Mountain Partnership and we have advocated for the Aspen Declaration to be included, to include a specific mention of the Pyrenees, as has happened for other mountainous regions. We have advocated for the particular vulnerability of mountainous regions throughout the world that they should enjoy specific attention in international fora and fighting climate change. This is a battle that can only be one if we focus specifically on energy transition and meet the challenges of the world that each country needs to meet, responding clearly to international and national commitments towards our citizens in order to achieve carbon neutrality. Andorra's accession as a member of the Coalition for Carbon Neutrality allows us to learn and to share our experiences with other member states. We were pioneering in establishing a green tax of 30 euros per tonne of carbon or coal, which allows us to make progress towards a more sustainable world. We adopted a circular economic law, which sets the year 2035 as our goal in order to achieve a production model for dealing with most of the waste and transform it into subproducts that can be reintroduced in the chain of production with a special mention for fighting against waste of resources and specifically food waste. And we've also set up a system of generalized ratuity for public transportation to aid families with fewer resources. Mr. President, we are a state which seeks to adapt to the European Union because we cannot get around this one certainty. Geographic interdependence and demographic interdependence of our country with Europe is complete. Europeanization of our values, of values of our society, our legislation are a strong inspiration of community law and professional aspiration for our young people who every day in the labor market, which is more and more demanding are all reasons which are sufficient to push us to not turn our backs on Europe. Similarly, it is key to continue working to defend the values of multilateralism such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. They have helped us to promote peace and security throughout the European continent and in the rest of the world. Excellencies. We have subjected this planet to a number of different kinds of pressure. And as I said earlier, there is a window of opportunity open right now. But what's also more and more certain is it could close suddenly and brutally. We must take advantage of this era of scientific knowledge. And in that regard, I'd like to hear highlight the importance of science in helping us to improve our living conditions due to medicine or artificial intelligence. Today we know a great deal more about the behavior of the atmosphere of Earth on our interaction with Earth and oceans and the consequences of water resources and the survival of the species thereof. Now this scenario to be followed cannot be a monologue, but needs to be a dialogue amongst all people and for all people. And that's why from our country, we are prepared to seek more than ever points of convergence as necessary to rebuild trust and the reigning global security, social solidarity, accelerating action for the 2030 agenda, as I mentioned earlier. The summit of the future that will take place in 2024 for peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all is all the more important in that regard. After almost eight decades of existence, the United Nations allows us to draw a number of lessons in a number of areas in terms of peacekeeping, fighting climate change are just a couple of examples. And there are other lessons about common denominators here. And that is that the great challenges for humanity require the participation of all countries and all peoples because the international community only makes progress by becoming aware of its interdependency and the fact that no country is big enough to grapple with these challenges alone. And we also learned that these solutions to be fair and sustainable need to include everyone. They need to lay a sound foundation for the future where no one is left behind or alone. And there is the requirement of sharing responsibility fully. And this is how we and Doran's believe that efforts must be focused on achieving the sustainable development goals, strengthening economic institutions and all aspirations of the international community which have resounded throughout this General Assembly. You know that you can count on Andorra to continue making headway together. Thank you very much. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the head of the government of the Principality of Andorra for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort his Excellency. The Assembly will now hear an address by his Excellency, Philippe, Joseph, Pierre, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development and Youth Economy of St. Lucia. I request protocol to escort his Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming his Excellency, Philippe, Joseph, Pierre, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development and Youth Economy of St. Lucia. I invite him to address the Assembly. Mr. President, distinguished Heads of State and Government, other distinguished Heads of Delegations and Delegates, let me join in the congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your election as President of this August body. This is the first time that the national of your country, Trinidad and Tobago, has assumed this office and only the fourth occasion that the representative of the Caribbean Community State has been so elected. Let me, therefore, not only wish to exercise as you preside over our deliberations, but also, Mr. President, let me assure you of the fullest levels of respectful cooperation from St. Lucia as we work together to advance the collective interests of our common civilization. Mr. President, there are many amongst us the small and marginalized islands of our globe surrounded by rising seas and scorched by rising temperatures who are beginning to question this annual parade of flowery speeches and public pretense of brotherhood otherwise known as the UN Annual General Assembly. What is the point we are beginning to ask of meeting here every year when every time that the national community is called upon to take their grid collective actions on the critical issues affecting the poor and the powerless, there is always some hesitation, some delay. Once we forget this historic building. And so, with just seven years left to the target year of 2040, we are guarded at the 70th session of the General Assembly to discuss accelerating action towards the 2040 agenda because its sustainable development goals, SDGs are in peril. We have been summoned here to rebuild trust and to reignite global solidarity for the 2023 agenda when trust and hope are the devalued currency of global dialogue. Despite our greatest efforts to maintain faith and belief in the principles of global engagement, our entire post-independence experience has been one of dashed expectations and institutional frustration. In the 1990s, we watch helplessly as powerful countries utilize the World Trade Organization to dismantle St. Lucia's marketing arrangements for bananas in Europe, forcing hundreds of our farmers into poverty while these already rich countries provided huge subsidies to their own farmers. When some of our Caribbean countries successfully developed our financial services industries, we were blacklisted and graylisted like lepers and global undesirables. However, the Russia-Ukraine War has now clearly revealed to us which metropolitan capitals are the real tax havens and which are the true pipelines of illicit money. And now today, our citizenship by investment programs which we have successfully pursued for decades have been undermined while the Golden Passport and Golden Visa programs of some OECD countries remain unquestioned, untouched, and unmolested. We nonetheless remain committed to keeping our programs transparent even whilst we strengthen our due diligence regime. Mr. President, St. Lucia has come to this sensitive session to say there must be justice in the relations between developed and developing countries and that we are no longer willing to come to this annual parade, merely to lend our voice to support of this or that global conflict or to condemn whoever from year to year is the new global enemy. No powerful nation's global agenda is more important than our own. And we insist that our legitimate concerns be listened and be acted upon. Mr. President, the people of the Caribbean and St. Lucia have been designated by the African Union as part of its sixth region which comprises people of African origin residing outside the continent. We feel ourselves obliged to seek justice for reparations, for the crimes against humanity that tore our ancestors from our African homeland and enslaved them in the lands of the Western Hemisphere. It is laudable that for the last decade and a half, the United Nations has been observing the 24th August as an international remembrance of the victims of slavery and the slave trade. The UN is also to be commended for proclaiming international decade for people of African descent, which ends in 2024 and we look forward to the proclamation of a second decade. However, the time has now come for the issue of reparations for the transatlantic slave trade and slavery in the Western Hemisphere to become a more central part of the global agenda and work of the United Nations and not an issue only to be whispered about in the corridors and at the margins. It was the 400 years of the enslavement of Africans and colonialism that has led to the need today for action to achieve the UN's sustainable development goals. The Secretary General of the United Nations made this unambiguously clear in his message this year to mark the International Day of Remembrance of Slavery and the Slave Trade. He said, we can draw a straight line from the centuries of colonial exploitation to the social and economic inequalities today. Reparations for slavery, Mr. President, therefore mean that the countries which benefited and developed from 400 years of free labor from enslaved humans should now pay back for that free labor. We urge that the UN embraces its principle as a central part of its work in the coming years with set goals, timelines, and programs of action. In the same way, Mr. President, we cannot speak of accelerated action for the sustainable development goals for developing countries when developed countries do not treat the climate challenges facing developing countries with the urgency and importance they deserve. These challenges not only negatively impact our economic growth, but they threaten our very existence. Yet developed countries behave as though they are blameless and not responsible to repair and compensate for the damage they have inflicted on our planet. Have they not understood that climate change is a danger not only to the existence of small island states, but to the survival of all countries today and not tomorrow? In just about two months, we shall be traveling yet again to another conference on climate change, COP 28 in Dubai. We'll be doing so with the current extreme and extraordinary weather events graphically demonstrating the gravity of the climate crisis. On behalf of the people and government of St. Lucia, I extend sincere sympathies to the people and governments of the Kingdom of Morocco, Libya, and the other countries that have recently suffered the obvious ravages of climate change. The new manifestations of the crisis are signalling to us that the goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius to stay alive is now very much at risk. It is said that the Roman Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome boned. We cannot continue to be like Nero-like, talking away while the planet is literally burning and sometimes drowning. If COP 28 is to be transformational and not another disappointing Nero-like conference, then it must deliver an ambitious global climate action plan to 2030. If it is to answer to the necessity for climate justice for developing countries like St. Lucia. Having said this, Mr. President, wish to reiterate, however, that what is critically needed is a complete reform of the global financial system to make development financing truly developmental and climate financing truly just. As has been said so many times before and in so many different fora and by so many small island developing states, the negotiations and the agreements for developmental assistance for these states must take into account their peculiar vulnerabilities. Consequently, one area where accelerated action is certainly necessary is that of the adaptation of multi-dimensional vulnerability index, MVI for small island development states in order to replace the gross national income per capita as a primary measure for concessory financing. Another measure that should be considered is the recovery duration adjuster RDE as proposed by the Caribbean Development Bank which measures the internal resilience capacity of a country after a shock or natural disaster. It is past time for the multilateral development banks and international financial institutions to introduce these reforms. But global financial reform has to be comprehensive and radical as put forward in two recent proposals which I commend to this august body and to international financial institutions. The first is the digital initiative presented last year by my carry-com colleague, Prime Minister Mia Motley of Barbados which argues for resilient finance mechanisms that will adjust both the climate and developmental crisis facing developing countries. The second is the UN Secretary General's SDG stimulus to deliver agenda 2040 table in February this year. Both plans are an appeal for immediate action and they provide a practical pathway to sustainable development and climate justice. There is therefore no deficit of ideas for reform of the international financial architecture. There is simply a doof of good will. Mr. President, in the declaration issued in 2015 on the adoption of a 2040 agenda for the sustainable development goals, it was said that there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development. Today, 15 years later, we are in a world without peace and the sustainable development goals are in jeopardy. How can trust and global solidarity for sustainable development be rebuilt when the unwarranted Russian war in Ukraine rages on? With this collateral economic damage other countries, they won't over. Of biting inflation, particularly on high food prices, high oil prices and shortage of food. If trust and global solidarity for sustainable development are to be rebuilt, the unjust, unilateral and inhumane economic embargo against the people of Cuba must be immediately withdrawn. The unmerited and cruel sanctions against the government and people of Venezuela should cease. The Palestinian people should have their own state alongside Israel in accordance with relevant United Nations resolutions. The people of the Republic of China on Taiwan should be allowed the continued enjoyment of their right to self-determination and the exercise of their democratic freedoms without threats to their autonomy and with a place in the national forum. There must be an end to the conflicts in Africa and a hold to all forms whether old or new of new colonial exploitation of the continent's resources so that the African people can fully benefit from the riches of their lands and from the greater unity among African nations. In a Caribbean region, the member states of the Caricom community, Caricom, remain gravely concerned over the deteriorating political, social, humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti, their sister member states. Haiti needs the urgent and dependable support of the international community. The response to that has been underwhelming. UN efforts of a few months ago to raise $780 million for humanitarian purposes have received low pledges. The need for robust security assistance to counter the murderous armed gangs is clear. Yet the decision to enable this is meandering slowly through the security council. The Caribbean community hopes that the establishment of the multinational force will be given full endorsement by the United Nations Security Council as a demonstration of the commitment of the international community to support the restoration of law and order and improve the humanitarian conditions of the people of Haiti. Caricom welcomes the government of Kenya's willingness to lead such a multinational force. Member states of the Caribbean community will contribute personnel as well. The community will also continue its good efforts through its eminent persons group to assist the Haitians stakeholders find a solution to the political crisis, a critical necessity to pave the way towards an improved future for the people of Haiti. I urge the various Haitian stakeholders to cooperate with Caricom to find a political compromise for the sake of the Haitian people and in honor of the heroic and fabled ancestors whom they reverse so much for daring to break the chains of slavery 200 years ago and bring freedom to the black people of the Caribbean. Mr. President, the immorality of the suffering, the destruction, and death that these conflicts are bringing to the world are not the only reasons for our appeals to end them. The immorality is only matched by the absurdity of the expenditure on arms that sustain these wars and inhibit peace. This should be of grave concern to all of us. What is of equal concern to states like St. Lucia is illicit trading small arms and light weapons which ran into billions of dollars in 2022. Not only do these arms and light weapons fewer lesser conflicts all over the world, but illegal arms facilitate criminal activities in St. Lucia and other Caricom member states. Illegal firearms were responsible for 70% of the homicides in the Caribbean community in 2022. And in St. Lucia, the majority of homicides are firearms related and involve young people as both as victims. And yet, Mr. President, neither St. Lucia nor his fellow Caricom member states manufacture small arms, light weapons, and ammunition. Their sources are our continental neighbors to the north and south of the Caribbean. St. Lucia therefore continues to strongly support the international instruments aimed at preventing and curbing illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons. Mr. President, I welcome the announcement by United States administration earlier this year to provide technical assistance to support and to combat illegal weapons smuggling into the Caribbean and in solving gun-related cases. Let us be reminded that SDG 16.4 aims at significantly reducing illicit arms flows. There is however hope for global solidarity. In June this year, the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction adopted a historic marine diversity treaty. For St. Lucia, a small island development state, the protection of the oceans is an imperative since the oceans and their resources do not belong to one country but are the heritage of all mankind. St. Lucia signed the treaty this week and we will move towards its ratification in the shortest possible time. Mr. President, I offer my congratulations on the opening of the UN Youth Office. As I said in my address last year, the importance accorded to the youth by the UN is in harmony with my government's policy of giving priority to youth affairs for the creation of a youth economy in which young people with state assistance can turn their talents, skills and hobbies into businesses that will provide sustainable self-employment. I'm therefore pleased to report that our youth economy was formally launched in March this year and has been met with enthusiasm and success. To date, about 300 young people in St. Lucia have benefited from funding and training from the government to assist them with starting or supporting their businesses and the numbers continue to grow. Once again, I invite the international community to engage with us on mutually beneficial relationships and projects to promote the youth economy. Through the youth economy, we are responding to the SDGs and if my government's policy of putting people first, we are addressing the other SDGs. Mr. President, after the destruction and ruin of the 20th century world wars and the Cold War, one of the thoughts that the start of the 21st century would have ushered in a new era of global solidarity. It has not. In conclusion, I ask these questions for which we must all provide urgent responses as the fate of Agenda 2040 depends on our answers. Is there the political will and commitment to divert financial resources away from destructive activities like wars and other conflicts? Is there the political will to place these financial resources instead into the productive action of responding to the climate crisis? Is there the political will to use these trillions of dollars to end starvation and underdevelopment in the world and provide justice for reparations? Is there the political will to put people first and not weapons first? Is there the political will to develop trust and build a lasting peace that will rekindle our sustainable development goals and lead to its prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all? For the sake of us all and for future generations, we must find it. Mr. President, to court St. Lucian-born Nobel laureate, Hon. Derek Walcott, hope is not a thing to be deferred, but a thing to be pursued with all hungry passion of our existence. I thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Economic Development, and Youth Economy of St. Lucia for the statement just made and I request protocol to escort his Excellency. The Assembly will now hear an address by his Excellency, Sitiveni Liga Mamada Rabuka, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Climate Change and Environment, Civil Service, Information and Public Enterprise of the Republic of Fiji. I request protocol to escort his Excellency. I have great pleasure in welcoming his Excellency, Sitiveni Liga Mamada Rabuka, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Climate Change and Environment, Civil Service, Information and Public Enterprise of the Republic of Fiji.