I confirm Latvia’s readiness to cooperate constructively with the President of the General Assembly. Our agenda is full and still growing. In the words of George Orwell, “Contrary to popular belief, the past was not more eventful than the present”. Let me focus today on a few fundamental themes.
My first theme is about upholding international law, which is the basis for world peace and the order established by the Charter of the United Nations. At the core of that order is respect for the sovereignty of States and a prohibition on the use of force. Starting a war of aggression is the gravest possible threat to our world peace order. Nevertheless, for seven months, Russia has been waging an unprovoked and unjustified war against a sovereign United Nations Member State, Ukraine. Let me stress that this is not just a regional security issue. Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine is a threat to global security and stability.
In the twenty-first century, Russia is maintaining a nineteenth-century ideology of imperialism, colonialism and racism. Russia invaded Georgia in 2008. It illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea in 2014. It has used increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards other neighbouring countries. Those are all manifestations of its imperialist and colonial ambitions. Denying another nation’s right to exist and promoting the idea of the supremacy of Russians and their special missionary role in the world are all contemporary expressions of racism, which is exactly the opposite of what the United Nations stands for.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused a humanitarian disaster. One third of the people of Ukraine have been forced to leave their homes. Russia is preventing Ukrainian-grown food from reaching the world market. Russia is also using its position in the energy market to exert pressure. High energy prices sustain high levels of global inflation, which most dramatically affects the world’s most vulnerable populations. Russia continues to spread false narratives about the causes of the global food, fuel and financial crisis. Those lies must be debunked. Russia alone is responsible for the crisis.
We, the law-abiding States Members of the United Nations, are responsible for supporting Ukraine’s self- defence and stopping the aggressor. Russia’s ability to finance its war on Ukraine must be limited. Global sanctions in the areas of finance, trade, transport and energy, as well as restrictive measures against individuals and legal entities, must be maintained and strengthened. Belarus, being equally responsible for enabling Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine, is also being sanctioned. Since the beginning of the war, Latvia has spent more than 0.8 per cent of its gross domestic product on military, economic, financial and humanitarian aid to Ukraine. We stand with the brave people of Ukraine, whose heroic defence is seeing success. Today we learned that a partial mobilization has been declared in Russia, as its once-mighty army is overwhelmed. The blitzkrieg envisioned by President Putin has turned into a long nightmare. In another sign of desperation, Russia plans to hold illegal referendums in the next few days on the annexation of the occupied territories to the Russian Federation, which is in blatant contravention of both Ukrainian and international law. Latvia will not recognize the legitimacy of those referendums, or their results, and I urge the international community to do the same.
Impunity translates into an invitation to commit further crimes, and the aggressor must therefore be held accountable. The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court have already started proceedings on particular aspects of Russia’s war against Ukraine. The European Court of Human Rights has also initiated proceedings. However, a legal gap remains. No international court has jurisdiction over the main issue — starting a war of aggression, the gravest possible violation of the Charter of the United
Nations and international law. I therefore call for the establishment of a special tribunal, whose main task would be to investigate the Russian State’s responsibility for the commission of the crime of aggression. After the war, Russia will have to pay reparations to Ukraine for damages. The tribunal could be part of an international reparations mechanism and could be established through the adoption of a resolution by the General Assembly, by another international organization or a group of like-minded States.
Let me now turn to the issues of sustainable development and climate change. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is our common road map for overcoming our challenges and creating future-oriented, sustainable and inclusive policies. This year Latvia submitted to the United Nations its second progress report for the Sustainable Development Goals, highlighting the areas of education, gender equality, youth participation and international cooperation. The implementation of the 2030 Agenda is also the overarching goal of Latvia’s development cooperation policy. Over the past 30 years, Latvia has developed expertise in democratic processes, good governance, socioeconomic change and gender equality. Good governance, especially strengthening the rule of law and democracy, accounts for more than 40 per cent of all the support provided by Latvia. As a member of the Peacebuilding Commission, we are sharing our expertise in societal resilience. Joint efforts must also be continued to address the consequences of climate change, including through development cooperation efforts. For example, in Central Asia, we have been working on the promotion of clean energy technologies. The problem of global justice is particularly related to climate protection. Latvia supports the view that the greatest polluters should bear a greater burden for that protection. We therefore advocate for greater justice and solidarity regarding the global agenda.
We are convinced that digitalization is one of the most important agents of change. Latvia supports innovative and proven digital solutions that promote the efficiency of public administration, public participation in decision-making and the creation of new economic opportunities. In that regard, I would like to highlight the areas of security and fundamental rights in the digital space, which is an integral part of our lives and has enormous potential to contribute to the sustainable development of nations. We must therefore resist attempts to turn it into a battlefield where international law is flouted and basic rights are ignored. The use of people’s data in ways that are incompatible with their human dignity, rights and security must be prevented. The Internet must be open, free, reliable and secure. We support the proposal made by the Secretary- General in Our Common Agenda (A/75/982) to agree on a global digital compact aimed at reducing the digital gap between developed and developing countries. Both the coronavirus disease pandemic and current geopolitical challenges highlight the need to strengthen society’s resilience by combating disinformation, promoting media literacy and strengthening media freedom. Accordingly, Latvia is actively preparing for the upcoming eleventh Global Media and Information Literacy Week. Critical thinking skills build up our immunity to disinformation.
The aggression by a permanent member of the Security Council against another Member State is undermining the basic principles of the multilateral system that we have been building for decades, a situation that once again confirms that meaningful reform of the Security Council is essential. As a firsttime candidate for membership in the Security Council in the 2025 elections, Latvia takes the responsibilities of membership very seriously. We will strive to make the Council more effective, accountable, coherent and transparent. Latvia supports a more just and equitable representation of Member States, especially those in Africa.
The Baltic States have much to contribute to the work of the United Nations. For us, the horrors of war, occupation and harsh rule by a colonial Power are within living memory, as is the fight for liberty and restored independence and a transition to a successful, sustainable economy and the rule of law. We have no wish to dominate or intimidate anyone. We reject the idea of spheres of influence. As smaller States, we have an existential interest in effective multilateralism. Latvia will therefore continue to contribute to the work of the United Nations in a spirit of optimism and determination.