I warmly congratulate the President of the General Assembly on his election and wish him every success. I also pay tribute to and congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Abdullah Shahid, for his commitment during the seventy-sixth session. I reiterate my country’s full support to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as he serves our Organization.
I am delighted once again to speak in earnest, for the situation demands just that. Indeed, the international system is at a critical juncture as the world struggles to recover from a pandemic and remains in the clutches of a multidimensional crisis. The emergence of new centres of influence results in entrenched positions and demands that we prioritize ongoing dialogue, instead of power struggles, to reach global consensus in addressing controversial issues within the multilateral system.
In the light of the rivalry among Powers and the multifaceted challenges that affect us all, it would be dangerously naive to continue focusing on power struggles or unilateral positions. The interconnected nature of global issues and national economies compels us to engage in dialogue in order to respond appropriately and above all collectively to the most serious threats to international peace and security.
We are in the last quarter of a year of increasingly difficult global challenges that have thwarted common and individual efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. With fewer than eight years left until the deadline for reaching those goals, it is crucial that we assess our progress in the light of the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus disease pandemic to our economies.
A threat just as insidious now looms over our economies: inflation. Around the world, it is reaching tragic record levels. No one is spared — neither businesses nor households, neither the North nor the South. Its effects are devastating. As such, we must take action. Of course, we must take individual action, which is precisely what Gabon is doing by subsidizing certain commodities and controlling the price of others. Nonetheless, it that regard too, we will be successful in overcoming that problem only if we take collective action in a coordinated manner and in solidarity with each other. It is yet another challenge the world must face. We must all meet that challenge together.
This year marks many new beginnings for Gabon, as we arise from the tragedy and forced inertia of the coronavirus disease pandemic and reopen to the world. We are the newest member of the Commonwealth of Nations, which is home to 2.5 billion people — one third of the world’s population — with shared values of respect for democracy, human rights and the rule of law. My country is broadening the horizons of its citizens and seizing the chance for our young people to benefit by studying, travelling and building business relationships far beyond our own borders.
At the same time, Gabon takes its place on the world stage — not alone but as a proud African nation. However, the problems that our world faces today are global, as are the solutions. We must all be outward-facing, not inward-looking, as we confront the difficulties of a world in which resources are finite and populations are growing.
This month, our Commonwealth family lost its leader — Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Through the union that she loved so deeply, the Queen offered respect, friendship and wise counsel to many independent nations around the world, small or large. She promoted peace, liberty and shared values and fostered a spirit of cooperation.
As the new Head of the Commonwealth, His Majesty King Charles III can be assured of my full support and that of the Gabonese people. As a dear friend of Gabon for many years, King Charles III shares my enthusiasm for protecting our natural environment and biodiversity and my concerns about global climate and sustainability.
Fifty years after the Stockholm Conference, humankind faces an unprecedented triple environmental crisis — climate change, the biodiversity extinction crisis and pollution, notably by plastics.
First, with regard to climate change, thanks to its 88 per cent forest cover and a rate of deforestation well below 0.1 per cent, Gabon is an exemplary high- forest, low-deforestation country. Since the fifteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was held in Copenhagen in 2009, Gabon has net absorbed more than 1 billion tons of carbon dioxide. We absorb more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere every year. In other words, we have already achieved and indeed have exceeded the Paris Agreement on Climate Change objective of carbon neutrality. We are counting on the creation of a net carbon sequestration market to enable us to maintain that performance through 2050 and beyond.
Secondly, I find the biodiversity crisis extremely alarming. The fifteenth COP to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Montreal, will be a decisive moment for humankind, and it is critical that we adopt an ambitious global biodiversity framework. The time has come to transition from billions to trillions by mobilizing 1 per cent of global gross domestic product to benefit the natural environment.
Thirdly, pollution has become a chronic problem for our cities, rivers and oceans. We must waste no time in adopting a binding international agreement on plastic pollution, as well as a treaty of the high seas. To achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, our international agreements and national policies must address the interdependence of those crises.
Threats to international peace and security continue to increase exponentially. Faced with the proliferation of armed groups, restricting their access to arms will be at the heart of my country’s priorities during its presidency of the Security Council in October. In that regard, I would like to reiterate my country’s call for a robust partnership to ensure greater security in the Gulf of Guinea.
Many countries face humanitarian crises that are exacerbated by armed conflict. That is the case in Ukraine, where the war has led to a worsening of the situation in countries and regions that were already experiencing food shortages. That is why my country has clearly expressed its opposition not only to that bloody war but to any form of war. Gabon, which has never experienced armed conflict, will continue to advocate and favour dialogue and negotiation over confrontation.
Access to education for children should be considered sacred. Therefore, I would like to express my country’s resolute support for the sanctuarization of schools and places of education, particularly during armed conflicts. To compromise education is to place a mortgage on future generations. It is in that vein that I have made the promotion of women and young people a key priority. In 2015, I launched the Decade of the Gabonese Woman, which aims to reserve a place of choice for women and children in all aspects of governance in Gabon.
Internationalism is at a turning point. We need to reform the United Nations to ensure better consideration of the aspirations of Africa. That is particularly applicable to the Security Council, where Africa’s role needs to be consolidated. Africa has waited long enough, and we will not wait any longer.
In the light of the strong interdependence of nations, it is crucial that we put an end to the use of sanctions, while working instead to build bridges of prosperity. As such, I call once again for the total lifting of the embargo that has affected the Government and the people of Cuba for several decades. Inevitably, the principal victims of any embargo are the weak and the vulnerable.
In the Middle East, Gabon has always believed that the two-State solution is the only way to achieve peace and security. It is the responsibility of our generation to resolve that problem.
In conclusion, I would like to reiterate Gabon’s commitment to the principles and values of solidarity at the heart of the Charter of the United Nations. To that end, I reiterate my country’s solemn appeal to all members of the international community to live up to their shared commitments in order to ensure peace, security and dignity for the peoples of the world.