In 1945, representatives from 51 countries met in San Francisco to found the United Nations. They made a commitment to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and “save succeeding generations the scourge of war”. Seventy-seven years later, we have still not achieved those goals. Around the world, many children, and even many adults, have never known peace.
In Europe today we are confronted with the unjustified and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in flagrant violation of international law, in particular the Charter of the United Nations. It is a war with devastating effects for the Ukrainian people, brutally affecting the civilian population. The gravity of the acts committed makes an independent, impartial and transparent investigation imperative so that the crimes committed do not go unpunished.
Therefore, we cannot fail to once again condemn the Russian aggression and emphasize Portugal’s support for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Ukraine. Russia must cease hostilities and allow for a serious and sustained dialogue towards a ceasefire and peace. This is not the time for Russia to escalate the conflict or to make irresponsible threats to resort to nuclear weapons.
We welcome the efforts of the entire United Nations system, in particular its Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, to resolve the conflict and to mitigate its damaging effects, such as the food crisis. It has once again been the most vulnerable who have felt the impact of the energy and food crisis the most, after being buffeted by almost three years of the pandemic.
That is why we reiterate our solidarity with all those around the world, particularly in Africa, who are suffering from the impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That is also why it is important to make it clear and unequivocal that the necessary sanctions applied to Russia cannot affect, directly or indirectly, the production, transportation and payment of cereals and fertilizers.
Peace was not definitively won in 1945, but the world has changed radically since then. We need a representative, agile and functioning Security Council that is able to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century without becoming paralysed, and whose actions are scrutinized by the other Members of the United Nations. We need a Security Council that incorporates a comprehensive view of security, recognizing, inter alia, the role of climate change as an accelerator of conflict — a Security Council where the African continent, and at least Brazil and India, have seats and where small countries are more fairly represented.
A global vision of security is essential, based on the New Agenda for Peace advocated by Secretary-General Guterres — an agenda focused on conflict prevention and capable of ensuring adequate, predictable and sustainable funding for peacebuilding.
As the international community, it is our duty to support the efforts of African nations for the stability of their continent, seeking African solutions to African problems. The worsening security and humanitarian context in the Sahel also requires a concerted and multidimensional effort, ensuring humanitarian assistance to populations affected by the multiple crises that plague the region.
The evolving terrorist threat around the world, particularly in Mozambique, the Sahel and the Gulf of Guinea, requires a targeted and effective response from the international community.
Over the past decades, my country has established itself as a reliable partner for global peace and stability. At the service of the United Nations, we are currently present in four theatres of peacekeeping operations, including in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in the Central African Republic. I am very proud of the recognition that our military and security forces have received for their contribution to crisis and conflict management on all continents under the aegis of the United Nations, NATO or the European Union.
It is undeniable that there is a link between climate and security. Today more than ever, we are feeling the effects of climate change — heat waves or intense cold, droughts, fires, floods and storms. Countries, such as Portugal, that suffer from coastal erosion, increased droughts and the tragedy of forest fires clearly understand the urgency of climate action. Neither is it necessary to explain it to countries like Pakistan, which today is suffering the truly devastating consequences of the rest of the world’s climate inaction, or to coastal countries, particularly small island nations, which see their livelihoods threatened year after year by rising sea waters.
We hope that the twenty-seventh Conference of the States Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, can be a time that leads to an inclusive transition, ensuring a more balanced allocation of climate financing between mitigation and adaptation.
Portugal has been at the forefront of the decarbonization process, having been the first to commit to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 as early as the twenty-second Conference of the States Parties to the UNFCCC, held in Marrakesh. We believe that that goal is feasible from an economic and technological point of view and will promote employment and generate social justice.
We will seek to accelerate those commitments, as we already did with our goal of ending electricity production from coal, which we achieved last year. By 2026, we want to increase the percentage of renewables in the electricity consumed in Portugal from 60 per cent to 80 per cent. To that end, we will continue our strong investment in solar, wind and ocean energies, and we will invest in the use of renewable gases, such as green hydrogen.
The President took the Chair.
The sea is one of the platforms where climate is projected. We welcome the active participation of all States in the second Ocean Conference, which we had the honour of co-organizing with Kenya. The Lisbon Declaration represents a genuine action plan for achieving Sustainable Development Goal 14, on the conservation and sustainable use of ocean resources.
As part of the commitments made by the various countries and entities present, Portugal also reiterated its commitment to protecting at least 30 per cent of
marine areas by 2030. We went further; by the end of the decade, we want 100 per cent of the maritime space under Portuguese sovereignty or jurisdiction to be assessed as being in a good environmental status.
After Lisbon, there remains much work to be done on the ocean agenda. I am sure that France and Costa Rica will continue the work undertaken by Portugal and Kenya in recent years with redoubled energy. We therefore call for the conclusion of negotiations on a post-2020 global biodiversity framework that enshrines the 30-by-30 target. We also support progress in the negotiations of the treaty on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdictions by the end of this year.
The transition to a prosperous future — a green and digital future — can leave no one behind. Social policies must be at the heart of our action, the development of our economies and the fight against climate change. We therefore support the preparatory process for the Social Summit, proposed by the Secretary-General.
We must also continue to work to ensure effective and equitable immunization worldwide, improve the global health architecture and find ways to respond more quickly, in a coordinated and decisive manner, to future crises by adopting a genuine pandemic treaty.
The successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development plays mainly on the most vulnerable countries and populations.
All those challenges further highlight the universal, indivisible and independent nature of all human rights, whose respect, protection and promotion are a top priority of Portugal’s external and internal action. Imbued with the humanist spirit that our historical responsibility as forerunners of the abolition of the death penalty instils in us, we will continue to fight for its universal abolition.
No future will be truly transformative without pluralist, inclusive societies that promote gender equality and combat racial discrimination, racism, xenophobia and all forms of intolerance. In that regard, the fight for gender equality and women’s empowerment is absolutely crucial. If we do not achieve that, it will not be possible to meet our human rights obligations or the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
It is also crucial that we pay particular attention to the impact of conflict situations on the rights of women and girls and the fundamental role that they can play in processes to build and consolidate peace. I therefore want to reiterate Portugal’s support for the United Nations women and peace and security agenda.
As a country of emigration and immigration, we will continue to participate constructively in discussions on the global governance of migration. We will continue the good path that we have been following in our national territory, from the integration of migrants to the promotion of regular pathways for labour mobility. We have played an active role in welcoming migrants and refugees in a clear expression of solidarity, having welcomed refugees from Ukraine and Afghanistan, among other places.
The transformative potential of the United Nations is immense, but it must be given the tools to realize the high expectations placed on it by people around the world, particularly young people. One third of the world’s population is under 20 years old. It is therefore essential to ensure that young people participate in decision-making processes and that their voices be effectively heard. We will therefore continue to take a leading role in the youth agenda and support the work of the United Nations Youth Office.
The United Nations is the global forum for consultation among peoples. The challenges that we face today require that we continue to adapt our common home, making it more efficient, fairer and more representative. Portugal is ready to make its contribution. We are therefore candidates to the Security Council for the two-year term from 2027 to 2028. We once again hope to merit the trust of Member States, because only together can we build a more peaceful, more sustainable, more inclusive and more prosperous future.
The strengthening of multilateralism is not an option. It is an absolute necessity in order to deal with global challenges. Today it is time to move from words to action, with more cooperation, more solidarity and more multilateralism. Portugal, as always, will not miss that call.