Togo

Mr. President of the General Assembly, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of State and Government, Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ladies and Gentlemen, I would like to extend my warm congratulations and best wishes to you on the occasion of the seventy-sixth regular session of the General Assembly of the Organization. I would also like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, who, with his team, has reinvented the administrative apparatus of the United Nations to adapt it to the context of the coronavirus disease pandemic (COVID-19), thus avoiding any functional paralysis of the Organization. Mr President, Ladies and Gentlemen, The theme we are meeting around this year is in fact a call to action. It compels us to take immediate action in the health field to end the COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted too long. It calls on us to tackle the many social and economic dimensions of the health crisis. Mr. President, Like the year before it, 2021 has also been deeply marked by the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. A few months ago, while hopes were raised for the gradual eradication of the pandemic, thanks in particular to the scientific prowess that has allowed the world to be provided with vaccines, the multiple rebounds are concerning and the Delta variant is finally forcing us to raise our level of vigilance once again. Indeed, the pandemic has led to a significant rebound in poverty and has contributed to further widening social inequalities and the gap between developed and developing countries. According to the World Bank, the pandemic has triggered the first recession in sub-Saharan Africa for 25 years. The situation is particularly worrying in countries with fragile economies, especially the least developed countries (LDCs). In order to overcome the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic, we need to seriously address the issue of developing countries’ debt. While welcoming the G-20’s decision to approve the Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI) last year, I would like to reiterate the call by the African Union and United Nations agencies to see the debt burden of our countries cancelled or at least relieved. It is therefore important that the international community endeavour to respond to the conclusions of the Paris Summit on the Financing of African Economies to enable our countries to overcome the effects of the pandemic and ensure a sustainable post-COVID-19 economic recovery. In addition, my country supports the ACT Accelerator, co-led by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and the World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with UNICEF and the World Bank. The Coalition’s COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility workstream is now accelerating the development and manufacture of COVID-19 vaccines. Although that initiative has helped to facilitate access to vaccines for the most disadvantaged populations, the vaccine gap remains very pronounced and the results fall far short of expectations for the programme. Indeed, while in the countries of the Global North, more than 50 per cent of the population has already been vaccinated, in Africa, for example, only approximately 1 per cent has received the vaccine. Our efforts to eradicate the pandemic cannot be done exclusively or without an equal distribution of available vaccines to enable mass vaccination among the populations of African countries. To that end, we encourage and support ongoing efforts to provide equitable access to vaccines in order to effectively ensure global herd immunity. Mr. President, Just as there is disparity in the enjoyment of the right to a vaccine, global recovery also risks splitting the world into two blocs. On the one hand, most advanced economies have access to the vaccine and can expect a rapid normalization of activities, whereas, on the other, countries with little or no access to vaccines will continue to face a resurgence of infections and increased deaths. That picture of a polarized world facing a common adversity is not the one we want. It is therefore our responsibility to ensure that the global recovery benefits all. In light of the challenges faced by our world today, multilateralism can no longer be just another diplomatic mechanism to address those issues. It must serve to shape a global order and an innovative way of organizing international relations based on cooperation, the rule of law, collective action and the principles of shared global prosperity. Mr. President, The current emergency is not only a health emergency, but also an environmental one. The climate is currently showing alarming symptoms. Climate change is the greatest challenge that humankind has faced in recent decades. The threat to human societies and ecosystems from global warming is growing. The disastrous effects of climate change on all continents are evident, including melting glaciers, hurricanes, rising sea levels and droughts that fuel fires across entire regions, leaving our peoples deeply vulnerable. More worryingly, the annual report on the gap between needs and prospects for reducing greenhouse gas emissions indicates that, even if all the current unconditional commitments under the Paris Agreement on Climate Change were implemented, temperatures would still rise by 3.2°C, with even more widespread and destructive climate consequences. Current collective efforts will therefore have to be multiplied fivefold to reach the 1.5°C emissions reduction target, as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its special report on Climate Change and Land. We must take action and we must do so now. That is why my country encourages Governments, businesses, cities and all financial institutions to join the global Carbon Neutrality Coalition. We also welcome the fact that, in the run-up to COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland, countries representing more than 65 per cent of global carbon emissions have made ambitious commitments on the issue and are calling on others to join them. Mr. President, In my country, Togo, although the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on public investment in social sectors is greatly slowing down our efforts to promote human development in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), human security and the well-being of the population remain at the heart of the Government’s general policy. That need guides the daily work of sector-led initiatives, giving priority to the most vulnerable groups, namely women, children and young people. The Government’s road map, adopted in the aftermath of the pandemic in conjunction with our national development plan, reflects our shared vision of making Togo a country of cohesion and peace — a modern nation with inclusive and sustainable economic growth. Achieving our goals requires concrete actions that guarantee, inter alia, access to drinking water, access to quality education and health care, access to energy, rural entrepreneurship and agricultural business, productivity and wealth creation, employment, the empowerment of women and young people and social protection. More specifically, while maintaining consistency in the progress already made in terms of economic growth and poverty reduction, Togo will spare no effort to ensure true social harmony for its population, which is a guarantor of inclusive development. Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, On 26 July, the General Assembly decided to convene a high-level meeting on universal health coverage, under the auspices of its President, for 2023. In the same vein, and in order to guarantee access to quality health care for all strata of the population through a risk-pooling mechanism, the Government adopted a law providing for universal health insurance to enable the Togolese people to lead healthy lives and enjoy well-being throughout. The same applies to the national programme for medical and financial support for pregnant women and newborns, known as “Wezou”, which was officially launched on 26 August 2021 and is intended to contribute to a significant reduction in maternal and neonatal mortality. Such health coverage will contribute to improving maternal and child health indicators through free prenatal and maternal care for all pregnant women. In the field of education, it should be noted that after the eradication of school fees at the pre-school and primary levels, the gradual extension of school canteens for all pupils in public primary schools and the establishment of a social and medical coverage system, the Government has recently decided, for the year 2021-2022, to exempt pupils in Togo’s public secondary schools from all fees. That latest measure, which aims to relieve parents by enabling them to prepare for the resumption of classes with peace of mind, is one to add to the list of numerous decisions taken by the Government to curb the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the Togolese population. In terms of the fight for gender equity and equality and the advancement of women’s and girls’ rights, my country has made significant progress in recent years. The representation of women in decision-making bodies has evolved from 23 per cent in 2019 to 35 per cent in 2021. It is in that context that Togo has joined the global solidarity movement for greater gender equality and equity, “HeForShe”, which was launched by UN-Women and the national campaign for which was officially launched in Lome on 23 July. In the field of business, Togo remains committed to improving the climate for the development and competitiveness of Togolese companies and to attracting investment. The efforts made to date have not been in vain, as evidenced by Togo’s ranking in the 2021 World Investment Report, published by UNCTAD, as the country of choice for foreign direct investment in 2020 with an 85 per cent increase compared to 2019. The results achieved so far only reinforce our ambition to make Togo an industrial hub with a strong emphasis on public-private partnerships. That is reflected in the launch of the Adetikope Industrial Platform (PIA) — one of the major milestones of our development policy. The purpose of that new industrial park is to make up for the shortfall in local earnings due to the export of raw materials. In concrete terms, it will create high value-added chains through the promotion of local industry in agro-industrial sectors such as cotton, soy, sesame, coffee, cocoa and poultry. Mr. President, Ladies and gentlemen, For more than 75 years, our Organization has worked tirelessly to promote international peace and security, including through early warning and conflict prevention, electoral assistance and observation and peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Nevertheless, the threats we face are growing and diversifying. All over the world, religious intolerance and extremism are claiming many victims. Africa is paying the highest price. A global response is therefore urgently needed to support the efforts of African countries and regional organizations to combat that scourge, which threatens to take root on the continent. To do so, the funding challenges faced by the G5 Sahel and even MINUSMA must be diligently overcome. Indeed, it is incomprehensible that, to date, nearly 50 per cent of the pledged contributions have not been disbursed and that MINUSMA is facing budgetary constraints to ensure it can provide logistical support to the G-5 Sahel. Mr. President of the General Assembly, Ladies and gentlemen, Global prosperity depends on peace and stability in regions affected by conflict. Togo therefore reiterates the joint appeal of the G7+ member States for a global ceasefire across the planet. I remain convinced that, by pooling our efforts, this session of the General Assembly will contribute significantly to strengthening the determination of our States to make our world a safer place, fully committed to the well-being of our peoples. I thank you.