On behalf of the African Union, I would like to express my thanks to your predecessor, Mr. President, and to wish you every success in presiding over this session. I reiterate our support to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in carrying out his delicate mission in the service of Member States.
Since the previous session, the world has become more dangerous and uncertain, under the combined grip of global warming, security and health perils and the war in Ukraine. The theme of this session reflects the urgent need to act together to ease tensions, heal our planet, reduce persistent North-South inequalities and reinstate the importance of multilateralism.
The Security Council is called upon, first and foremost, to address all threats to international peace and security, including in Africa, in the same way. Terrorism, which is gaining ground on the continent, is not just an African matter. It is a global threat that falls under the primary responsibility of the Council, as guarantor of the collective security mechanism under the Charter of the United Nations. We therefore urge the Council to engage more with us in the fight against terrorism in Africa, with more appropriate mandates and more substantial resources.
Furthermore, the African Union once again calls for the lifting of foreign sanctions against Zimbabwe. Those harsh measures continue to fuel a sense of injustice against an entire people and to aggravate their suffering in these times of deep crisis.
In the Middle East, we reiterate the right of the Palestinian people to a viable State, living side by side in peace with the State of Israel, each within secure and internationally recognized borders.
We call for de-escalation and a cessation of hostilities in Ukraine with a view to achieving a negotiated solution in order to avoid the catastrophic risk of a potentially global conflict. Negotiation and discussion are our most effective weapons in the promotion of peace. I call for a high-level mediation mission, to which the African Union stands ready to contribute.
Nearly 80 years after the birth of the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions, it is time for a fairer, and more inclusive global governance that is better adapted to the realities of our time. It is time to overcome reluctance and deconstruct the narratives that persist in confining Africa to the margins of decision-making circles. It is time to do justice to Africa’s just and legitimate demand for Security Council reform, as reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus.
In the same vein, I recall our request for the African Union to be granted a seat in the Group of 20 (G-20) so that Africa can finally be represented where decisions that affect 1.4 billion Africans are being taken. I would like to extend my sincerest thanks to the partners who have already expressed their support and invite others to give favourable consideration to our candidacy.
With respect to economic and financial governance, I draw the attention of the General Assembly to the Financing for Sustainable Development Report 2022, produced by some 60 multilateral institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and the Financial Stability Board. The report highlights shortcomings in the assessment processes of credit rating agencies and underlines the importance of transparent methodologies so as not to undermine confidence in ratings.
We are concerned that the perception of risk in Africa continues to be higher than the actual risk, which increases the cost of insurance premiums and undermines the competitiveness of our economies. That is why Africa is renewing its proposal to the
Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance to engage, in conjunction with the G-20, the IMF and the World Bank, in a constructive dialogue with the rating agencies on improving their working and assessment methods.
In the same spirit, in view of the unprecedented scale of the global economic crisis, the African Union reiterates its call for the partial reallocation of special drawing rights, which are critical for developing countries, and the implementation of the G-20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative. This unprecedented shock further destabilizes the weakest economies and makes their need for liquidity even more pressing in order to mitigate the effects of widespread inflation and to support the most vulnerable households and social strata, especially young people and women.
In addition, there is the need to address new and old health emergencies, including cancer, a silent killer that continues to claim millions of lives across the world. I call for general mobilization for the Rays of Hope campaign of the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to strengthen the capacities of Member States, particularly in Africa, in the fight against cancer using nuclear technologies, such as medical imaging, nuclear medicine and radiotherapy.
With the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Sharm El-Sheikh only a few weeks away, Africa reiterates its commitment to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
At the same time, we hope to reach a consensus for a fair and equitable energy transition, as called for at the African Union-European Union Summit in February at the expanded session of the Group of Seven Summit in June and, recently, at the Africa Adaptation Finance Forum, in Rotterdam.
It is legitimate, fair and equitable that Africa, the continent that is the furthest behind in the industrialization process and is the least polluting, should exploit its available resources to provide basic energy, improve the competitiveness of its economy and achieve universal access to electricity. I recall that today more than 600 million Africans still live without electricity.
Let us also work towards the goal of mobilizing $100 billion per year to support developing countries’ adaptation efforts and to finance the African Adaptation Acceleration Programme under the auspices of the African Development Bank and the Global Center on Adaptation. Moreover, we see adaptation funding not as aid but as a contribution by industrialized countries to a global partnership of solidarity in return for efforts by developing countries to avoid the polluting patterns that have plunged the planet into the current climate emergency.
Beyond the current emergencies, I have come to convey the message of a continent that is committed to working with all its partners in a spirit of trusting dialogue and mutual respect. I have come to say that Africa has suffered enough from the burden of history and that it does not want to be the breeding ground for a new Cold War, but rather a centre of stability and opportunity open to all its partners on a mutually beneficial basis. I have come to say that we are not blind to an Africa faced with challenges where it is necessary to bring about peace and stability.
But I have also come to say that we also see Africa as a provider of solutions, with its 30 million square kilometres, its human resources, more than 60 per cent of the world’s arable land and its mineral, forest, water and energy wealth. We have an Africa of solutions, with Governments daily on the job, a dynamic youth who innovate, take the initiative and succeed and millions of men and women who work hard to feed, educate and care for their families and who invest, create wealth and generate jobs. This Africa of solutions wants to engage with all its partners in a reinvented relationship that transcends the prejudice that whoever is not with me is against me. We want a multilateralism that is open and respectful of our differences, because the United Nations system, born out of the ashes of war, can win the support of all only on the basis of shared ideals, not home-grown values established as universal norms. It is by working together, while respecting our differences, that we will restore strength and vitality to the raison d’etre of the United Nations, namely, to save present and future generations from the scourge of war, to advance the peaceful coexistence of peoples and to foster progress by creating better living conditions for all. I wish the seventy-seventh session of the General Assembly every success.