I congratulate Mr. Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago on his election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-eighth session.
I extend my sincere condolences to the victims and families of the natural disasters that hit Morocco and Libya in recent days. We stand in solidarity with our Moroccan and Libyan friends during this difficult time.
“Rebuilding trust and reigniting solidarity” is an appropriate point of departure not only for reflecting on the challenges before the multilateral system today, but also for reviewing developments in my own country. Sri Lanka, over the past year. At this time last year, amidst multiple global crises. Sri Lanka was experiencing its most challenging period in recent times, socially, economically and politically, which had a devastating impact on people’s lives. Even our democratic traditions were threatened by attempts to occupy our Parliament and bring it to a halt. Nevertheless, we succeeded in bringing about a democratic political transition, due to our deeply entrenched and resilient democratic traditions. The restoration of Sri Lanka’s economy, coupled with a gift of fertilizer from the United States Government that led to a bumper harvest, assisted us in ensuring stability during that period.
The reforms I have since initiated in the economic, financial, institutional and reconciliation fronts have been directed, on the one hand, towards rebuilding trust and confidence between the people and the Government and. on the other, towards laying the foundation for economic stabilization and recovery. Sri Lankans are already witnessing the positive outcomes of those measures in their daily lives and the revival of confidence internally and externally in the progress of the country.
It is my intention to lead the country towards sustainable and stable recovery and growth, which will benefit all segments of Sri Lankan society in all parts of the country, ensuring a future of peace, prosperity and reconciliation for present and future generations of women and men. In reaching that goal, we will be accompanied by the support, trust and solidarity of our own people and of the international community.
As we turn the corner towards the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations and prepare for the Summit of the Future in 2024. we see the fragmented geopolitical landscape of a multipolar world where new centres of global power have emerged. Accompanying that systemic change are. on the one hand, great expectations of development and human progress, with millions of people rising out of poverty to prosperity. On the other hand, we see a world where former big- Power rivalries and geopolitical tensions have reignited in open war. overlapping with new theatres of conflict and tension on land and in the oceans. Security alliances have expanded, and recent arrangements have been formed to deal with strategic threat perceptions in old and new theatres of conflict. North-South divisions are widening with the digital divide, the financial and debt crisis and the energy transition. Contrary to the promise of 2030. today we are seeing levels of poverty and hunger not witnessed in decades.
Neutral, non-aligned countries of the global South such as Sri Lanka are once again constrained between new global power configurations, facing those who do not respect the sovereignty of our nations. In numerous recent declarations at the United Nations and beyond — including at the Group of 20 (G20) in Delhi, at the Pretoria meeting of the BRICS countries Brazil. Russia. India. China and South Africa, and at the Group of Seven in Hiroshima — we have agreed that our challenges are interconnected across borders and all other divides. We must grasp the opportunity to unite in order to build an inclusive future for future generations. It is an appropriate reflection of the current global predicament that the theme of this year’s general debate is “Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability for all” .
This year, in parallel with the General Assembly, we have participated in three interrelated summits dealing with accelerating the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). financing for development and climate ambition, at which we agreed that international solidarity and collective action are needed to address those simultaneously. The cross-border financial impacts of crises, such as climate change and the pandemic, are impeding the ability of smaller indebted countries, such as mine, to make progress on the SDGs and climate adaptation and mitigation. Conflicts and tensions among big Powers are complicating the policy environment for the rest by adding uncertainty to economic and macro-financial stability, disrupting supply chains and causing inflation, as well as food and energy insecurity.
Long before the SDGs. Sri Lanka had achieved high human and social development indicators that ranked us in a category well above other middle-income countries. Sri Lanka has not shirked its responsibility to the planet. Last year, at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, we outlined our climate ambition plan. We said that by 2030. we would have 70 per cent renewable energy in electricity generation, increase forest cover by 32 per cent and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 14.5 per cent. We will phase out coal by 2040 and reach net zero by 2050. Our low- carbon development trajectory has given us one of the lowest per capita carbon emission rates of any lower middle-income country.
This year, as a result of exogenous shocks and debt, the incremental progress we were proud to have achieved has been reversed. Food inflation costs put significant pressure on food security amongst vulnerable communities. At the same time, children’s education and nutrition have suffered due to the pandemic and the economic crisis. In parallel, last month in Sri Lanka we were grappling with the driest weather spell seen in recent years, followed by torrential rainfalls.
Adverse climate outcomes are spilling over into our tight fiscal space just as we begin to stabilize from last year’s economic crisis. As Sri Lanka is a climate-vulnerable developing country in debt crisis, the urgent need to mobilize climate finance is greater today than it ever was before. However, despite promises made to which we were all witness, the rich countries are not delivering to expectation. Developed countries must do their part and fulfil what they have agreed to. assume their share of the common but differentiated responsibility, and provide assistance for mitigation, adaptation and compensation for loss and damage.
National efforts alone will not suffice to ensure the success of the SDGs and reverse climate change. The need for global solidarity to restructure the international financial architecture is paramount. That is articulated loud and clear in multiple global forums, including at the G20 and the BRICS. The Secretary-General’s SDG stimulus highlights the interconnections between the achievement of the SDGs. combatting climate change and the concrete interventions required by creditors sovereign and private, as well as by the international financial institutions, including to mitigate the debt crisis.
It is an accepted estimate that the 2008 financial crisis cost the United States economy $4 trillion. Recent studies in the United States have stated that the impact of the pandemic on the United States economy from 2020 to 2024 would reach $14 trillion. Those numbers would more than double if the rest of the global economy were added. We have not faced an economic crisis of this magnitude any time before in our modern history. The cost of the Second World War in today’s United States dollars would amount to only $4 trillion and the Marshall Plan would cost $150 billion. That illustrates the magnitude of the challenge before us. If we are unable to restructure the global fiscal order, then certainly we will fail in the struggle to reverse climate change and achieve the SDG goals.
There is still time for course correction, as the crisis has not reached its peak. At the same time, the Paris Summit for a New Global Financing Pact will come up with the funding requirements. Therefore, the Summit of the Future should not craft new programmes, but restructure the present financial architecture to suit the needs created by climate change and sustainable development.
That must be the priority of the General Assembly. We cannot afford to allow divisions to drive focus away from the crisis. While key issues such as the Bridgetown Initiative and the necessity to address the debt of low-income countries are being discussed in the Assembly, it is not commanding the attention it deserves. Unfortunately, the Security Council has failed to give priority to the connected issues of climate change, debt relief and sustainable development. That impacts the future of humankind. The survival of the planet must be our priority; we cannot afford to go into this war with a divided high command. The future of all species on the globe is dependent on our ability to set aside our rivalries until the crisis is resolved.
The multilateral machinery, which reflects the world of the past century, needs to be reformed to meet the challenges of the present and the future. That machinery has failed to find a solution to the longstanding Palestine question. The composition of the Security Council must be expanded to be representative of current global diversity and decision-making. In parallel, the role of the General Assembly must be strengthened. We are asking that the permanent members engage in a credible dialogue that would lead to a unified approach to combat those threats ahead of the coming sessions. I repeat — we are asking that the permanent members engage in a credible dialogue that would lead to a unified approach to combat those threats ahead of the coming sessions.
While we seek solidarity and financing to alleviate poverty and climate challenges, global military expenditures have risen today to record levels reaching $2.24 trillion. That reflects the strategic trust deficit among the powerful. Key arms control frameworks that were instrumental in maintaining system stability in the past have collapsed, and nuclear conflict is once again under open discussion, potentially and apocalyptically triggered by autonomous control. We urge restraint in the increase of military expenditure, which leads to escalation of conflict.
Developing countries have been the voice of sanity and reason in that regard for decades. In keeping with Sri Lanka’s long-standing position in support of the disarmament of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons, this year Sri Lanka ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Yesterday we acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The war in Ukraine has far-reaching and severe financial and humanitarian repercussions on food, hunger and debt in all parts of the world, including Sri Lanka. It is recalled that the Charter of the United Nations vests powerful States in the Security Council with the responsibility to maintain international peace and security and to de-escalate rather than ignite conflict. We need to halt the momentum whereby this and other big-Power tensions are spilling over into established areas of international rules-based cooperation forged over decades of multilateral negotiation, ranging from international trade to ocean governance.
The international system is today undergoing vast changes. At the same time, it is being confronted with unprecedented challenges. We come to the United Nations to demonstrate solidarity in arriving at common solutions. What is at stake is not the future of the United Nations, but the future of our planet as a whole. Member States will need to find new ways of working together despite the increasing mistrust that has permeated international relations.
We who have not been able to find a solution to the Palestinian question must now be able at least to find a solution to the questions that threaten the existence of the global community. That can be achieved through the willingness of the permanent members to work together in solidarity with the developing world. They must show the way.