First of all. I would like to reiterate my warmest congratulations to Mr. Dennis Francis on his election as President of the General Assembly and to express our deep gratitude to his predecessor for the work he accomplished.
We are meeting at a time when the consequences of multiple security, economic and climate crises continue to strike our countries. Poverty persists and is worsening in some parts of the world, while ecological disasters are proliferating, leaving countless victims in their wake. We reiterate our condolences to the Governments and peoples of the Kingdom of Morocco and Libya regarding the recent earthquake and floods in their countries and reaffirm our full solidarity with them.
Technological innovations bring hope, but also legitimate fears about their potential destructive uses. If we are to meet all those challenges together, more trust, more international cooperation and more solidarity are needed.
The theme chosen for the seventh-eighth session. “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”, while noble, requires tacit recognition that the trajectory we appear to be on is going in the opposite direction. A lack of trust and mutual suspicion are omnipresent and negatively impact international cooperation.
The inclusive, integrated multilateralism called for by the Secretary-General is running up against the tendency to form clubs and groups — what one analyst has called minilateralism. That erosion of confidence did not happen overnight. It is the result of a slow
deterioration due. on the one hand, to implacable resistance to change global institutions established at the end of the Second World War. and. on the other hand, to a deepening and fossilizing inequality and the heightened geopolitical competition of recent years. However, in our view, this is not irreversible. Therefore, it is essential that we make a massive investment in multilateral efforts to strengthen confidence and solidarity among States. We see the United Nations at the heart of that effort.
Let us imagine together a multilateral system that takes into account the geopolitical realities of the time, including the proliferation of those groups, not in a context of institutional competition but of reinforced complementarity and close coordination, in which we can all commit, without reservation or hesitation, to renewing strong and indissoluble bonds of solidarity. We must relearn to trust each other. We need to build a reformed, fair and representative multilateral system in which everyone — the powerful and those less powerful — benefits. Together, we must be able to send an unequivocal and unambiguous message that we are determined to build a strong Organization that responds in a credible manner to the enormous challenges of the moment.
Urgency must guide our action. Delays in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are damaging the credibility of the system. We are halfway from where we need to be and a long way from reaching the Goals. According to some estimates, if the pace remains the same and the volume of finance remains unchanged, it will take another 63 years to get there.
Almost a decade has passed since the adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda. Many commitments have been made since then, but unfortunately, we are in a worse situation today in which our countries have more needs now than they did a decade ago.
To that end. the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared that a third of the world economy will be in recession by 2023. and for the first time, the United Nations Development Programme has also noted that the human development index is falling in nine out of ten countries.
In that regard, our country remains fully and constructively committed to intergovernmental negotiations for the Summit of the Future, which should accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In addition, it is important to stress the crucial importance of reforming the international financial architecture and putting in place measures that go beyond gross domestic product so that we can close the gap in financing for development.
The increasing vulnerability of developing countries with regard to debt also calls for urgent additional measures to reform the international debt architecture. Indeed, the high cost of borrowing, combined with declining public revenues, is preventing developing and least-developed countries from investing in the SDGs and is also increasing their risk of defaulting on their debt payments.
We must redouble our efforts to achieve our objectives by 2030. This plan represents hope for humankind: we cannot give in to the temptation to give up. We are aware that the difficulties are real, but they are not insurmountable. The means to achieve our objectives are clearly set out in the Secretary-General’s SDGs stimulus package. The urgent actions identified therein, namely, improving debt sustainability; reforming multilateral development banks, whose support is crucial to increase the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals; strengthening the global financial security net; reducing the systemic risk that weighs on the financial stability system; the international monetary system and strengthening global governance and policy consistency form the basis of a rescue plan for the Sustainable Development Goals.
If the Secretary-General’s rescue plan has not been sufficiently heeded up to now. it must be taken into account more in future discussions on a possible reform of the international financial architecture. In that regard, we are encouraged by the statements of support that we heard during the general debate.
Reform of the international financial architecture, especially the IMF and World Bank, cannot wait. We need to strengthen the participation of developing countries in international economic decision-making and in establishing new standards, so that we can adapt to changes in the global economy. Together, we must accelerate the Bretton Woods moment which the Secretary-General referred to. We must step up the dialogue on reforming the international financial architecture between multilateral financial institutions and the United Nations, while respecting the mandate of each organization.
Despite the global economic deterioration and the aforementioned challenges. Djibouti has worked tirelessly to achieve the SDGs and has made notable progress in reducing malnutrition and undernutrition and has effectively managed the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Djibouti has integrated the SDGs into its national development plans and strategies, such as the Djibouti 2035 Vision. Therefore, our Government has taken steps to align its policies and programmes with the targets and indicators of the SDGs. We have also identified priority areas that correspond to specific SDGs. such as poverty reduction, access to drinking water and sanitation and sustainable economic growth. In fact, our country is facing many challenges related to poverty, unemployment and infrastructure development, which are at the heart of the SDGs. In addition, we have successfully collaborated with international organizations, donors and other countries to mobilize resources and expertise for the implementation of the SDGs. Those partnerships are helping to strengthen support for achieving the Goals. We have also been working to improve our data infrastructure to measure and report on the SDG indicators.
Our country is located in a region that is vulnerable to climate change, which is why we have made significant efforts in the area of climate action, in keeping with SDG 13 on action to combat climate change. Those efforts include renewable energy projects and adaptation measures. In addition to the large-scale geothermal projects currently under way. Djibouti is proud to inform the friendly countries present in this Hall that we have inaugurated the very first wind farm, which will provide 60 megawatts of clean energy. That project has been undertaken through a public private partnership and an additional capacity of 45 megawatts of renewable energy is expected through a consortium of investors and with the participation of the Port Authority and tax-free zones and the Djibouti Sovereign Fund. The project will be the first significant international investment in the energy sector in Djibouti, in the amount of $122 million, establishing the country’s first independent power producer and serving as a model for future private investment.
The health and education systems are also priorities, and we are striving to improve health services and educational opportunities, in particular in remote and underserved areas.
Infrastructure development is also crucial for economic growth and sustainability, and Djibouti has invested in transport and logistics infrastructure to strengthen regional connectivity and trade, with a view to becoming an international and regional logistics hub.
Finally, in the area of peace and security. Djibouti has played a major role in regional peacekeeping efforts and seeks to maintain stability throughout the Horn of Africa region.
All those commitments aimed at achieving the SDGs reflect our country’s efforts to address pressing challenges and improve the well-being of our people, while contributing to global sustainable development.
Climate change remains an existential threat to our countries. It is a particularly acute reality in the Horn of Africa, but everywhere else in the world too.
The earthquake that led to the loss of several thousand lives in Morocco and the enormous amount of devastation caused by Cyclone Daniel in Libya serve as reminders for us all. hence the urgency of honouring the commitments undertaken in the Paris Agreement. If nothing is done, the negative impact of climate change will continue to lead to significant disturbances, including many more extreme weather events, the scarcity of resources, sea level rise, an increase in the number of displaced people and the exacerbation of hunger and poverty.
We are deeply disappointed that the pledge to mobilize $100 billion each year has never been fulfilled, and we strongly urge developed countries to live up to that commitment.
We welcome the crucial decision taken at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Sharm El-Sheikh, to create a loss and damage fund. We call for its rapid operationalization and express the hope that the Transitional Committee’s recommendations on how the fund should operate can be adopted at the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties, to be held shortly in the United Arab Emirates.
We are encouraged by the determination of the Somali Government to implement key national priorities on the basis of dialogue, including federal taxation and amendments to the national security architecture. We urge it to continue that dialogue, in particular on the constitutional review process and all other outstanding issues.
The fight to liberate Somali territory from Al-Shabaab forces is critical. The mobilization of all Somali forces, under the leadership of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, deserves our full support until the ultimate goal is achieved. However, we fear that the gains made on this front will be jeopardized by the decline in the number of soldiers in the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, whose courage and self-sacrifice we salute. While we understand the constraints linked to the financial resources available, the consequences of our decisions deserve to be carefully considered. At this critical stage. Somalia needs maximum support, commensurate with the threat it faces.
We remain concerned about the deteriorating security situation in the Sudan and call for the rapid establishment of a ceasefire and the immediate resumption of talks aimed at ending hostilities and undertaking political negotiations to resolve the crisis. As current Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development and under the leadership of President Ismael Omar Guelleh. Djibouti is determined to work for lasting peace in this brotherly country with which we share close political, historical and cultural ties.
In South Sudan, we welcome the signing, in 2018. of the Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in the Republic of South Sudan and call for the accelerated implementation of its pending provisions in order to bring the transition period to a close.
With regard to neighbouring Yemen, we agree with the members of the Security Council that the sustainable way out of the crisis is the conclusion of an inclusive peace agreement.
We welcome the transfer of oil from the decaying supertanker FSO Safer, moored off the Red Sea coast of Yemen, to a new vessel. From the outset, the Republic of Djibouti has been committed at the highest level to lobbying the international community for a coordinated solution under the auspices of the United Nations.
If our region and the world had failed to act. the coasts of the Horn of Africa and the Arabian peninsula would have been polluted, thereby exposing communities to deadly toxins and contaminating drinking water supplies throughout the region. Shipping through the Suez Canal would have been disrupted, cutting off food, fuel and vital supplies and exacerbating the already dire humanitarian conditions in Yemen.
In addition to its role as a rear base for withdrawing and coordinating sensitive and crucial activities, the Republic of Djibouti served the United Nations as part of the rescue operations of the FSO Safer, as a platform for securing and storing crude oil — more than 1 million barrels, which was transferred from that vessel to a tanker, the Nautica. Through that collaboration. Djibouti and the United Nations have saved the region from an ecological disaster that would have had extremely harmful effects on the environment, the economy and the health of all the populations of the countries bordering the Red Sea. The international community was also spared an oil slick estimated to cost $20 billion to clean up.
At a time when the world is facing a multitude of urgent crises, this is a positive reference point and a model of international cooperation. Now we need to finish the job by removing the FSO Safer from the Red Sea.
We are gravely concerned by the escalation of violence and the resumption of hostilities in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We are appalled by Israel’s continued illegal construction and expansion of settlements. The resumption of hostilities and continued settlement activity jeopardizes the viability of the two- State solution. In the face of rising despair, growing uncertainty and the absence of a political horizon, we must act. The initiative to revitalize the Arab Peace Initiative, led jointly by Saudi Arabia. Egypt and Jordan, the League of Arab States and the European Union, deserves our full support.
We have said this several times from this rostrum, and we will repeat it again today — we are a peace-loving nation, and we remain fully committed to completing the process of normalization with Eritrea and finding a lasting and peaceful settlement to the border dispute that continues to oppose us. as well as the other outstanding issues.
In conclusion. I would like once again to urge the States Members of the United Nations to work together to build a safer, more prosperous and more united future in which war. hunger and poverty are no more.