I would like to begin by saying that Portugal fully supports the priorities outlined by President Dennis Francis for his term. Allow me also to say a word of gratitude to former President Csaba Korosi. whose term has ended.
I applaud Mr. Antonio Guterres. Secretary-General of the United Nations, on behalf of Portugal, for his inexhaustible dedication to the values of the Charter of the United Nations. I support Our Common Agenda (A/75/982) and the reform proposals contained therein for global governance, including those of a financial nature, as well as the priorities that we have never abandoned on climate change, human rights, migrants, refugees and gender equality. Portugal supports the success of the Summit of the Future in 2024; the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations Global Forum, which we will host in Lisbon next year; and the World Social Summit in 2025. which are hallmarks of the Secretary- General’s ongoing clear thinking and dynamism at this demanding juncture for the world in terms of building peace and international cooperation.
The President returned to the Chair.
We heard today from the Secretary-General as he presented his report (A/78/1). We then heard from
President Lula da Silva and President Biden who. despite their different positions, agreed on that which is essential. It is urgent that we respect the Charter of the United Nations in order to maintain peace in the world. It is urgent to accelerate the fight against climate change, to achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and to protect our oceans and biodiversity. In order to guarantee peace, it is urgent that we reform the institutions established in the past century — some of which were established in the first half of the past century — that are so far removed from the reality of the world today. It is urgent that we reform the international financial institutions. As the Secretary-General said, it is time to approve a new Bretton Woods system.
Those three matters of urgency are connected. There is no peace and sustainable development nor institutional reform without respect for the Charter of the United Nations. There is no sustainable development nor respect for the Charter of the United Nations without the reform of international institutions. There is no reform of international institutions without respect for the Charter and without achieving the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and our climate change goals.
But that is not the problem. The problem lies elsewhere. Where is the urgency in our urgency? Where is the credibility in us coming here every year to state what is urgent when it is in fact not treated with the appropriate urgency? That has been the appeal of the Secretary-General for many years. It is urgent that we respect the Charter of the United Nations because, without it. and without respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and for human rights, there can be no peace.
In Ukraine, peace is the struggle of the Ukrainian people, as it is for many peoples throughout the world in regions such as the Sahel and many other parts of Africa, in the Near and Middle East and in Asia. The problem is respect for the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. Therefore, we cannot differentiate the struggle of the Ukrainian people from the fight for respect for the United Nations Charter.
It is also not possible to build peace without accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. We are behind — and continued to lag behind — in achieving the Goals. thereby prolonging inequalities among States and among peoples. We cannot achieve the Goals without reforming our international institutions, not least the Security Council. The Security Council corresponds to a world that no longer exists. Portugal has long held that countries such as Brazil and India should be granted permanent membership. The Common African Position should be taken into account, and small countries cannot be ignored. Likewise, the existing financial institutions are incapable of financing sustainable development with equity and justice. They favour the richest and disfavour the poorest.
The three matters of urgency are connected and remain so year after year. Portugal defends respect for the United Nations Charter as a path to peace. Portugal defends the intensification of the fight against climate change, trying to move forward with decarbonization, the promotion of clean energy and the protection of our oceans and biodiversity. Portugal defends the reform of institutions such as the United Nations itself and the international financial institutions.
We have never ceased and will never cease in our support for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, no matter the cost, because it is easy to come here every year and make the same promises but never deliver on them — not contributing to peace with respect for international law and the United Nations Charter, not contributing to justice and sustainable development and delaying the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. It is easy to come here and promise a new global governance but postpone concrete solutions for institutional reform, talking about providing financing for those who need it without providing examples of such financing.
Portugal has just signed an agreement with Cabo Verde — a country home to some of the world’s 300 million Portuguese speakers — to convert State debt into an environmental and climate fund, converting the debtor’s debt into a contribution by the creditor to that State’s sustainable economic development. That should happen systematically with existing debts and financing for sustainable development. It is our goal to extend that initiative to other countries in the Portuguese-speaking community.
Year after year, we lose time. But the time has come for us to deliver on respect for international law. on peace-building and on international cooperation. It is time to deliver on correcting global inequalities and on the fight against climate change. It is time to deliver on the reform of the United Nations and of international financial institutions. Without it. multilateralism is not possible. There can be no lasting cooperation nor peace throughout the world.
Every day lost is another day of inequality, selfishness, conflict and war. Every day gained is another day of justice, solidarity and peace.
I hope that, when we meet a year from now. it will be possible to say that there is more peace than war. and not more war than peace, more justice than injustice, more equality than inequality, more climate action than climate inaction, more reform of the United Nations than less reform and further reform of financial institutions than disregard for. or a reduction in. such reform. If that is the case, it will be worth it. Otherwise, we will always continue to hear all the same very influential people promising and not delivering. We realize why people believe less and less in those who govern them.