Let me begin by congratulating the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Maldives, Mr. Abdulla Shahid, on taking up the honourable position of President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. I can assure him of Latvia’s full cooperation.
I also warmly welcome the appointment of Antonio Guterres, as Secretary-General, for another term. The Secretary-General has made considerable efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations system. The new report by the Secretary-General, Our Common Agenda, provides us with a vision and choices for the future.
The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has not yet been overcome. The current global challenge is to achieve the widest possible vaccination, as soon as possible. Latvia is providing support to increase the availability of vaccines worldwide. Latvia has sent vaccines to its closest neighbours as well as to friends in Africa and Asia. We plan to continue to share vaccines, including through the COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access Facility mechanism.
The COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the need to continuously strengthen the resilience of countries and societies, as well as the vulnerability of our societies to all kinds of disinformation. Latvia’s response to combating disinformation is based on strengthening public resilience by raising awareness on disinformation, strengthening independent and pluralistic media, involving civil society and teaching media literacy. Combating disinformation, which causes serious harm to society, while protecting and strengthening the freedom of expression and data privacy in the digital world is an extremely complex challenge.
The lines between the freedom of speech, accountability and censorship are thin and fragile. The freedom of expression, as a universal human right, can be limited only in extreme cases. Such limitations should not be managed by global Internet platforms. Instead, in democratic societies, that function should be exercised only by democratically mandated institutions.
At the global level, combating disinformation effectively requires even closer understanding and cooperation in international organizations. Latvia was one of the initiators of the General Assembly resolution on the promotion of media and information literacy at the global level adopted during the previous session (resolution 75/267). We will continue to use our expertise in combating disinformation to provide support to partners. Efforts at the United Nations level need to be strengthened.
Latvia was one of the first countries in the world to develop several digital solutions that were important in elaborating a sustainable response to the pandemic. Due to the fact that almost every corner of Latvia has access to high-speed Internet, many people have used those solutions during the pandemic to change their habits and shape their daily lives. They contribute, inter alia, to the convergence of quality-of-life and income levels between urban and rural areas. In many cases, digital solutions have reduced the need to commute, which helps to limit emissions.
At the same time, we must bear in mind that digital transformation and artificial intelligence pose new risks. Also, security threats in cyberspace are increasing. Therefore, in parallel with technological developments, we must work actively to define new legal principles. On the one hand, those principles should help us make the best use of opportunities and, on the other, avoid risks and damage to human rights and freedoms.
In recent years, we have seen innovations that, through global social platforms and increasing use of artificial intelligence, make it possible to influence and manipulate human thoughts and actions more effectively. Human autonomy and the free will of people are thereby endangered. The main challenge for the democratic world in the coming decades will be whether artificial intelligence or humans control decisions.
When individual scientists and environmental activists began to express concerns about climate issues in the 1990s, few listened to them. It takes time
for public opinion and legal consciousness to mature. Today we are grateful to them for raising the alarm early.
Looking ahead, I consider protecting the autonomy of human thought to be the most important task for legal policy in the coming decades. We must also ensure that the digital transformation is inclusive of all countries and all people, while bridging the current digital divide.
Another important aspect for Latvia is the preservation of linguistic diversity and the use of small languages in the digital age. Latvian digital technology companies are developing a high-quality machine translation programme for small languages using artificial intelligence. That will help to safeguard linguistic diversity in the digital age.
Latvia is also proud of its Riga TechGirls project, which offers women a chance to improve their digital skills and more opportunities in the digital sphere. We are happy to share that experience with others through the United Nations system.
Latvia supports the Technology Facilitation Mechanism to identify how science, technology and innovation can best contribute to delivering on the Sustainable Development Goals.
There is an urgent need to reach our common goals on the environment, climate change and renewable energy. The twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Glasgow later this year, will be an important milestone. Latvia is committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and has adopted an ambitious development strategy that aims to minimize carbon production. There is a need to make greater use of innovative technologies for the prudent and sustainable use of natural resources. Latvia continues to expand its experience in sustainable forest management using digital technologies.
In the coming years, we will continue to pay special attention to the issue of clean water in a national, regional and global context. Latvia has a long coastline. We can share our accumulated knowledge about monitoring and combating marine pollution. Latvia is also actively involved in the Group of Friends to Combat Marine Plastic Pollution.
With regard to the Sustainable Development Goals, we are especially committed to promoting peace, justice and good governance. Good governance is crucial in terms of respect for all human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law. Therefore, in its development cooperation, Latvia is focusing on public administration, the rule of law, gender equality and environmental protection.
Now more than ever, human rights need to be a strategic priority for the United Nations. Over the past year, we have witnessed negative developments with regard to basic human rights and security issues — for example, in Myanmar and Tigray. New tragedies in Afghanistan are now unfolding before our eyes. Taking into account the latest developments, we are especially concerned about the security of Afghan women and girls. The rights of women and girls will be high on our agenda as Latvia serves as Vice-Chair on the Bureau of the Commission on the Status of Women for the next two sessions.
Over the past year, Latvia has also closely followed the dramatic developments in neighbouring Belarus, where public efforts to decide on the future of the country are still being brutally suppressed. Latvia strongly condemns the actions of the Lukashenko regime against Belarussian civil society, independent media and journalists. It has even gone so far as to hijack an international flight. Belarus exploits and puts vulnerable people from different regions of the world at great risk in an effort to create targeted, intensive migratory flows to Lithuania, Latvia and Poland in order to destabilize Europe. We have a duty and a right to protect our national borders. At the same time, Latvia, in cooperation with its non-governmental organizations, provides humanitarian assistance to people who have become hostages of the Lukashenko regime. The crisis in Belarus can be resolved only by new, free and fair presidential elections in the presence of international observers.
Meanwhile, Russia’s military intimidation campaign against Ukraine continues. That confirms the need for the international community to support Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. Latvia sees the newly established international Crimea Platform as a valuable format for keeping the issue of Crimean de-occupation on the international agenda. We call for the widest possible engagement of the international community in the Crimean Platform.
Furthermore, the frozen conflicts in the Moldovan territory of Transnistria and the Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia should be resolved in accordance with international law and with full
respect for the territorial integrity of Moldova and Georgia, respectively.
A few days ago, on 17 September, we marked 30 years since Latvia, together with Lithuania and Estonia, returned as full members of the international community and joined the United Nations. For 30 years, Latvia has clearly demonstrated its commitment to democratic values and respect for international law. Our experience in strengthening statehood, the rule of law and good governance allows us to better understand similar efforts elsewhere.
Latvia has also made a practical contribution to global peace by sending 158 experts to participate in eight international missions and operations around the world. We are determined to continue contributing to peacebuilding processes by actively participating in the Peacebuilding Commission in 2022. Latvia has shown that it can effectively contribute to solving global security challenges. Therefore, Latvia aims to become a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the 2026 to 2027 term.
A new generation has grown up in the past 30 years. In Latvia, like elsewhere, youth are deeply concerned about the climate crisis and disinformation. They want to build inclusive societies where people of all generations, backgrounds and communities can feel included not only formally, but also in practice.
In order to meet the challenges of the modern age, the United Nations and the Security Council must show willingness to change and implement long-overdue reforms. As a member of the Accountability, Coherence and Transparency group, Latvia advocates for greater openness in the Security Council. Latvia would strongly support the beginning of text-based negotiations on Security Council reform. The reform should ensure more equitable representation from African, Latin American and Eastern European countries.
It is in the interests of every State to defend an international system based on rules and rights in order to maintain global security and sustainable growth. The United Nations is at the heart of multilateralism and the rules-based international order. No State is big enough to solve the complex challenges we face today alone. The need for an effective United Nations is now greater than ever.