On behalf of Mexico, please accept our warmest congratulations. Sir. on your election as President. Latin America and the Caribbean feel wholly represented under your presidency, which is a sign of the commitment of our region to the aims of this Organization.
Today the United Nations faces a challenge of huge proportions in order to fulfil the essence of its mandate: to protect humankind from the scourge of war. promote and uphold all human rights, ensure the effectiveness of international law and promote human well-being through environmental sustainability.
I am deeply moved to return to the Headquarters of the United Nations, which I served with pride for decades, this time as the representative of the Government of my country. Mexico. It is a great honour. Today Mexico is going through a process of profound and forward-looking changes. I am honoured to speak on behalf of Mexico and to represent it at the global level. I deliver the greetings of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.
Our peoples are facing grave threats to international peace and security. Those threats include the more than 50 active armed conflicts in the world; the proliferation of nuclear weapons; the escalation of multiple crises, ranging from humanitarian to climatic; the forced migration of millions of people; the highest increase in inequality and poverty, with 165 million people falling into poverty in the past three years; and the challenge posed by health and the risk of new pandemics, all against a backdrop of growing scepticism about the relevance of multilateralism and its institutions.
However, there is no doubt that our international action loses legitimacy when our resolutions do not translate into tangible benefits for people, for the planet or for prosperity. According to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, urgent action is required in order to rescue the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The pandemic has inhibited progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). But the pre-pandemic trajectory was not encouraging, and the current context of macroeconomic and geopolitical uncertainty calls for ambitious and immediate action. Indeed, the stagnation in achieving
the SDGs is not an abstract metric. We are talking about hundreds of millions of people who live in poverty, children facing food insecurity and an environment in crisis.
The future of people and the planet does not depend on chance; it depends on the political decisions and actions we take, guided by the 2030 Agenda. Inequality is the great challenge, because poverty reduction is not enough. What is required is a different development paradigm that redistributes power and wealth and closes the unacceptable gaps and asymmetries that exist between rich and poor people and among countries. Equality is not just about being rights holders; inequality is economically inefficient — hence the need to level the playing field in order to grow and the need to grow in order to level the playing field. We are no longer in an era of change; we are in a veritable change of eras, and that requires rethinking development and making equality central. At both the national and international levels, the achievement of the SDGs hinges on a vision of social justice and solidarity, which certainly includes the mobilization of the necessary financial resources and the urgent reform of the international financial system.
In that complex context. Mexico will continue to draw strength and inspiration from the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations; because in the institutional framework that we built nearly 80 years ago. we have harnessed international cooperation, and Mexico has spearheaded and will continue to propose initiatives that aim to improve the lives of present and future generations, advocating for genuine and lasting peace and security, and a sustainable development that is egalitarian, resilient and inclusive, with full and unconditional respect for human rights.
The desire for transformation and the work of our Government has focused precisely on transforming the development model to build more and better public goods, and on guaranteeing rights with fiscal responsibility, anchored in a basic premise: “for the common good, the poor must come first”. Our Government has demonstrated that it is urgent to restore the role of the State, to regulate the relations among the market, the State and society, and to implement transformative structural policies. The aim is to give our people hope again, the hope of a fairer, more egalitarian country so that no one is left behind and no one is left out. In that connection. 5.1 million people have been lifted out of poverty in recent years. We witnessed the largest increase in the minimum wage in our history and developed an elaborate network of social programmes that extend rights to the entire population. However, we aspire to a vision of equality among all nations, in which the gaps and asymmetries among countries are bridged. We are committed to eliminating the culture of privileges — privileges that deny rights.
Mexico reiterates the importance of environmental sustainability as a strategic part of development and not as an afterthought, as well as the relevance of moving towards green and blue industrial and production policies that create jobs and reduce the environmental footprint, but that also incorporate the contribution and complexity of ecosystems and their services into the economy and well-being. We are taking decisive steps to implement the Regional Agreement on Access to Information. Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean and the defence of the defenders of the environment, those who are willing to give their lives for life. We signed the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction and hope that it will enter into force soon.
In the words of Nicholas Stern, climate change is a result of the greatest market failure the world has seen, and today it is one of the greatest global risks. Estimates of the costs incurred by its effects show that it will affect not only economic growth but also the most vulnerable sectors. We reiterate our commitment to moving forward with the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, but underscore the importance of financing to address climate change and prioritize adaptation, especially with a view to supporting the most vulnerable nations, starting with the Caribbean in our region.
In addition to the current session of the General Assembly. Mexico has participated in the SDG Summit, the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development, the Climate Action Summit and the preparatory meeting for the Summit of the Future. We advocate a thorough reform of the international financial architecture, which should address the profound inequalities between countries and prioritize the provision of assistance to highly indebted countries with new instruments, redistributing special drawing rights to expand the fiscal space of developing countries or debt relief in
exchange for environmental services. We join the Bridgetown 2.0 initiative proposed by Barbados.
Latin America and the Caribbean learned a very hard lesson during the pandemic owing to the lack of global solidarity, and today our most urgent need is to promote, through the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). such initiatives as the Plan for Self-sufficiency on Health Matters for Latin America and the Caribbean, the Regional Medicines Agency for Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Fund for Climate Adaptation. In that regard, we support Ralph Gonsalves as President of CELAC. Mexico is seeking to reach agreements on all issues on the multilateral agenda, because we are interested in bringing positions closer together without excluding anyone. However, we live in unprecedented times that require the sum total of more wills to give a voice to all the peoples of the global South, to which Mexico belongs by virtue of its history and its convictions. Mexico is therefore considering participation in the discussions and endeavours of the Group of 77 and China, on issues and in forums in which we can help strengthen the negotiating position of the global South. We will soon submit a proposal to the Group of 77 and China for their consideration.
I would like to reaffirm before the General Assembly Mexico’s long-standing commitment to prioritizing dialogue and understanding in order to promote peace and the peaceful settlement of disputes. It is a commitment that is informed by our deepest convictions concerning the resolute defence of humankind’s most important causes. In our region, we serve as a guarantor country for the panel for peace talks between the Government of the Republic of Colombia and the Ejercito de Liberacion Nacional. We are also working to seek solutions for political dialogue in Venezuela, while always adhering to our constitutional principles of respect for the self-determination of peoples, the peaceful settlement of disputes and non-intervention. Mexico is hosting negotiations between the Venezuelan Government and the Plataforma Unitaria de Venezuela, facilitated by Norway. We support the implementation of the agreements signed in November 2022 in Mexico City and keep our doors open to resume the process in order to reach a solution that benefits the entire Venezuelan people.
With regard to the conflict between Ukraine and Russia, our position is clear: we condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine because it is in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and international law and because of the unspeakable suffering of millions of people, especially children. We recognize that every sovereign State has the right to have the means to regain its territorial integrity, but it is equally true that, with each passing day. the arms race is taking us farther away from a peaceful solution. We must stop speaking of war and start speaking of peace.
Mexico will continue to fight for disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as set forth in the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, essential for preventing and eliminating catastrophic humanitarian consequences.
We and the General Assembly have spoken out against a major threat that runs counter to international law. We emphatically reject the illicit trafficking of firearms. Allow me simply to share a statistic — each year 200.000 firearms are trafficked into Mexico from our neighbour to the north, which then fall into the hands of organized crime, claiming countless lives. That is the other side of the drug issue.
Mexico is fulfilling its commitments to combat drug trafficking in good faith, but any effort will be limited if the countries of manufacture and origin of such weapons do not assume their responsibility to combat this scourge. We need strong measures to reduce the widespread availability of firearms. Companies, manufacturers and distributors must act responsibly and take diligent measures to prevent arms from being diverted to the illicit market.
In our region. Latin America and the Caribbean, we are devastated by the situation in Haiti, a country drowning in gang violence that thrives, in large measure, because of illicit arms trafficking, despite the sanctions regime established by the Security Council in resolution 2653 (2022). facilitated by Mexico. We hope that the Security Council will very soon adopt the relevant resolution so that the international community can act decisively to help Haiti regain its stability.
We take this opportunity to renew Mexico’s commitment to the two-State solution — Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and with secure borders. We also recognize the right of the people of Israel, but not at the expense of the Palestinian people.
Let us put an end to aberrant situations, such as Cuba’s suffering under the continuing economic
embargo, which is totally unjustified, contrary to international law and foreign to the prevailing values and peaceful coexistence among the countries of Latin America. We demand that Cuba cease to be considered as a country that sponsors or encourages terrorism.
Sixty-four years ago. the General Assembly was presided over by one of Mexico’s greatest diplomats. Luis Padilla Nervo. who said:
“Victory will not be decided on the battlefields, but in the consciences of men and women because of the nature of this struggle. The best weapons of democracies are moral principles, scrupulous respect for treaties and the principle that the difficulties and controversies of countries should not be resolved by arms, but by negotiation.”
Mexico aspires to be an actor that promotes peace through law. We will do everything in our power to support the genuine efforts of parties to conflict to engage in dialogue that leads to a peaceful solution, because, as our famous diplomat Genaro Estrada once said, “foreign policy is based on renouncing war as an instrument of international policy”, which is the basis for Mexico’s foreign policy.
That is why. in the entrance hall to the General Assembly, there is a piece of obsidian — a sacred stone that the Aztecs called “Itztli”. convinced that its origin was the result of lightning striking the rocks of volcanoes, a synthesis of the celestial and the terrestrial. That piece bears an engraved plaque that defines the foundation of our diplomacy. That phrase was pronounced 156 years ago by the first indigenous president of Latin America. Benito Juarez:
“Among individuals, as among nations, respect for the rights of others is peace”.
With that humanist vision. Mexico faces the great challenge of human mobility. Geography has placed us. inescapably, in a very complicated place, but Mexico has a very clear compass — to humanize migration, which should be an option, not an obligation. When people migrate, they should do so in a safe, orderly and regular manner.
This unprecedented level of migration concerns the international community as a whole. Mexico therefore insists on the urgency of addressing the structural and deep-rooted causes of migration. We reaffirm the importance of supporting the communities of origin and to pool the necessary will and resources to do so. That requires the support and contribution of all countries, especially the host countries that benefit from the work and contributions of migrants. For example, here in the United States, our migrants contribute more than $500 million in taxes.
It is essential that we evolve towards models of migration management that offer safe and legal opportunities for work and financial integration that facilitate absorption into host societies. Those models must protect the human rights of migrants throughout the migration cycle.
As the Secretary-General rightly pointed out. now. 75 years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it is time to put an end to the persecution and demonization of migrants. In that regard, we cannot accept calling into question the progressive nature of international standards on gender equality and respect for sexual diversity, which we have worked so hard to build. We call for advancing gender equality and avoiding setbacks, through forceful and innovative actions — nothing about us without us.
Mexico was the first country in the South to announce a feminist foreign policy because we are determined to transform the structures that prevent women from advancing and fully enjoying their rights and autonomy. That implies promoting their substantive participation in decision-making and mainstreaming a gender perspective in all spaces, forums, organizations and international agreements. Every time we break a glass ceiling, our civilization progresses.
The theme of this seventy-eighth General Assembly is relevant and precise — to rebuild trust and to reignite global solidarity. That must be the focus of our efforts.
The majestic space in which we are gathered must not make us forget the crisis of confidence facing international institutions and. in particular, the United Nations. Our debates must be reflected in concrete results, which is critical because we must include the citizens we represent as active subjects.
And we must be very vigilant because multilateralism must not lose its way in polarization and geopolitical rivalries. If the United Nations fails to deliver on its peace and development mandate, we will fuel dissatisfaction and disarray, and the international institutions we have built will suffer.
We stand for a multilateralism that is close to the people, timely and effective and committed to providing
global public goods. We stand for the collective good, for the good of all. Multilateralism is a tool for development, and the work of the United Nations must create a just peace, expand freedoms, build equality, deepen democracy and ultimately, create hope.
Political commitment is key to moving towards a new multilateralism that enables us to restructure international economic and social power relations where development issues create spaces to counter the exclusive and excessive emphasis on mercantilist neoliberalism. We hope that this same vision will prevail among nations in order to achieve a fairer world, with fewer asymmetries.
We propose a multilateralism that is closer to the needs of the people, consistent with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, forceful, timely and effective. That is because the challenges we face are enormous. On the table is nothing less than uncertainty about our survival. There is no time for gradual measures, which are sometimes merely excuses for maintaining the status quo.
The current model of global development is unsustainable. The promise of inevitable and unlimited progress has run up against the unyielding wall of nature. Just around the corner is 2030. and the minimum essential targets that we set in 2015 are not being reached.
We must therefore spread rebellion and a sense of urgency amongst ourselves. It is on the shoulders of this generation and its leaders that the responsibility to stop the disaster that science has described falls squarely. And it will not be by taking baby steps that we will do it. it will not be with a modest timidity that tries, discreetly, not to upset the power structure that has brought us to this point. It will be with bold and courageous leaps. It will be with the courage to call for and make an egalitarian and just world in which rights are not commodities and nature is not the inevitable victim of our production and consumption patterns — because the obscene concentration of wealth and its destructive influence on the distribution of power are not compatible with the human enterprise. We established our Organization 78 years ago. terrified of the precipice confronting us as we contemplated the possibility of all of us succumbing to the flames of war. Today that same precipice is getting closer — frightening, real and possibly more ferocious. That is why our efforts must be equal to the moment.
In the mid-twentieth century, this Organization was just finding its feet, when the devastating impacts of the Second World War were still fresh. And a young Mexican diplomat was drafting the paragraphs of a landmark essay on my country’s national identity. Those paragraphs would be entitled The Labyrinth of Solitude, and its author would later win the Nobel Prize in Literature in recognition of his universal work. He was Octavio Paz. and I would like to conclude this statement by quoting his lines from that time. He said.
“We console ourselves by saying that everything has happened as it should not have happened. But it is we who are mistaken, not history. We must learn to look reality in the face; if necessary, we must invent new words and new ideas for these new and strange realities that have come our way ... We live, as the rest of the planet does, at a decisive and deadly juncture — orphans of the past and with a future to be invented. Universal history is now a common task, and our labyrinth is the labyrinth of all men [and women]”.
And for that task — to guarantee succeeding generations a possible world and a possible life, and to get out of the labyrinth together — the Assembly can count today and always on Mexico’s fraternal and committed will.