At this historic time marked by countless challenges, I am greatly honoured to address the General Assembly for the first time in my capacity as Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Communities of Sao Tome and Principe. The general debate of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session provides me with the opportunity to congratulate Mr. Abdulla Shahid on behalf of my country, Sao Tome and Principe, on his election as President of the
Assembly. He can count on our full support during his term, which we hope will enable the Organization to move towards resolving the most urgent issues that continue to affect our people and planet.
We also congratulate the outgoing President, Mr. Volkan Bozkir, for his commitment to conducting the work of the previous session, especially in the context of the upheaval caused by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. It also gives us great pleasure to commend Mr. Antonio Guterres on his reappointment as Secretary-General, which Sao Tome and Principe supported, and on his tireless efforts to strengthen the role of the United Nations in promoting peace, democracy and the protection of human life worldwide and combating poverty in all its forms.
As we are currently confronting multiple crises, we enthusiastically welcome this session’s theme — “Building resilience through hope — to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainably, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people and revitalize the United Nations”. Indeed, as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown, an effective multilateral system and solidarity among countries are key to resolving the enormous and challenging problems that continue to confront humankind. Our generation cannot avoid or procrastinate in fulfilling our responsibility to provide global responses that demand, frankly speaking, the adoption of mainstreamed and collective commitments.
The United Nations represents the hope of millions of people who are now intently looking to us with the belief that something new and better is about to unfold for the world. It is incumbent upon us to develop the capacities to formulate the solutions expected of us, which would bring light to the countless people whose lives are a journey of suffering and uncertainty.
Sao Tome and Principe, which is located in the Gulf of Guinea, enjoys a privileged position in international geopolitics and great potential owing to its geography. Despite such advantages, the country is undergoing an economic and financial transition, as it is in the complex process of transitioning to the status of a medium-income country in line with internationally accepted standards. In the light of the complexity of the situation and in addition to the new paradigm for international relations owing to COVID-19, which continues to take a toll on humankind, we believe that the economic situation of the most vulnerable countries in Africa, in particular in Sao Tome and Principe, will be overcome only if multilateralism and cooperation among countries, ranging from the most fortunate to the least developed, are strengthened.
As it fulfils its role to create hope for the world, we commend the United Nations for its decision to convene the high-level Food Systems Summit on 23 September. Sao Tome and Principe has made progress in the area of food systems, but a significant portion of its population continues to fall short in meeting its daily dietary needs. We are nevertheless pleased to acknowledge the support of various development partners, in particular the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, which, in cooperation with the Government of Sao Tome and Principe, has been working to raise the nutritional level of our most vulnerable populations.
Poverty is the greatest scourge facing humankind, and it is no mere coincidence that combating poverty figures foremost among the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We have recently witnessed remarkable progress in the most diverse areas, which should set the foundation for meaningfully improving the quality of life for all. However, the harsh reality is quite different. The eradication of poverty in all its forms and dimensions must be the top priority of political commitment in the concert of nations, particularly the United Nations.
It is well known that the direct consequences of poverty lead to tragic situations, such as hunger, soil degradation and the unchecked exploitation of natural resources. It also leads to armed conflicts, the displacement of populations, the overcrowding of many urban centres and migration flows from the South to the North. With regard to migration flows, especially from the South to the North, we believe that the status quo is unacceptable. Therefore, we believe that we must combine efforts among destination countries, coordinated policies on hosting refugees and adequate support for migrants’ countries of origin in order to bring the situation under control, or at least to mitigate its impact, thereby restoring dignity to the people who find themselves in such circumstances.
We believe that peaceful, equitable and sustainable societies are in the interest of us all. In particular, in our view the current session of General Assembly provides the members of the international community gathered here today with the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to the just aspirations of humankind and the purposes of the United Nations.
We also bring to this session our wish that the Organization create more binding mechanisms to ensure solidarity with the victims of war and terrorism and demonstrate the political capacities to develop lasting solutions to old and new conflicts, such as the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, the Syrian conflict, the Libyan conflict, the establishment of terrorist groups in the Sahel and the actions of the terrorist group Al-Shabaab in East Africa and Boko Haram in Central and West Africa. The persistent political and military instability in many African countries calls on and demands of us all to make a concerted effort to silence the weapons in order to enable a negotiated solution through permanent dialogue and end the suffering of all those concerned once and for all.
With regard to the situation in the Sahara, we welcome the United Nations appointment of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for West Africa and the Sahel to help the parties reach a political solution to their regional dispute, based on the relevant United Nations and African Union resolutions. We therefore call on the parties to commit themselves to that political process and see it through.
In addition to the consequences of violent extremism, the world is facing additional challenges as a result of the devastating effects of climate change, which are posing serious obstacles to the achievement of the SDGs, to which we all committed ourselves in this very Hall in 2015. We therefore commend the United Nations for its leadership role in combating climate change and call on everyone to show greater commitment to that common cause, which, like the COVID-19 pandemic, is of concern to all countries, without exception.
Natural disasters are occurring more frequently, on a larger scale and with greater intensity, while leading to the loss of life, especially in the least-developed regions of our planet. It is evident that global efforts must continue under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We must all share that responsibility, as it is incumbent upon all of us to safeguard the greatest good — the life of both our own and future generations.
We deeply believe in the Organization as the forum to address our causes — an entity whose role is to establish the foundation on which to structure and systematically address our shared challenges and to lead the harmonization of our world vis-a-vis cultural differences, Government models and systems and economic choices. In filling that role, it is fully able to establish the foundation for cooperation and exchanges to generate wealth, prosperity and lasting peace for all.
Sustainable development has become a prominent subject in the debates of the General Assembly at its recent sessions, which clearly demonstrates our spirit of inclusion. However, in order for the spirit of inclusion to become a tangible reality, we must ensure that the much-vaunted reform of the Organization become a reality through the inclusion of Africa in the Security Council, thereby including the continent in global decision-making.
As a small island developing State and with all the constraints that come with that status, the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe pursues policies that are adapted to its reality with respect to multicultural diversity, the dignity of people and human rights. With an economy highly vulnerable to external shocks, Sao Tome and Principe has faced enormous challenges in achieving the SDGs but has made efforts to meet their targets.
Nevertheless, we must acknowledge that, for those efforts to be effective, it is essential that we be able to count on the international community to provide the development-financing mechanisms announced at various international forums. We cannot make lasting democratic achievements without sustained economic growth. It is worth recalling that Sao Tome and Principe is scheduled to graduate to the middle-income country category by December 2024. That designation acknowledges the efforts and progress made but also opens the door to enormous challenges.
We therefore passionately appeal from this rostrum for the support of the international community to not only walk together with us on this arduous path of transition from the least developed country to the middle-income country category but also to provide the necessary support to fully achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
Access to development credit remains a necessary response to reopening the global economy, as it will mitigate the risk of illegal financial flows and contribute to good governance. The African continent continues to lag behind across all human development indices. However, Africa remains a continent of opportunities to attract partners that can leverage the enormous mineral resources, vast arable lands, forests and rivers for the
benefit of its populations, especially the vast number of young people, who represent the largest demographic of the population.
I conclude my remarks by reaffirming Sao Tome and Principe’s unequivocal commitment to contribute, as part of the international community and to the best of our ability, to strengthening the multilateral system and building a better world for all. May God bless us all.