I am very honoured to speak to the General Assembly on behalf of the Government of Canada. I recognize that I am doing so on the traditional territory of the Lenape people.
I would first like to congratulate you. Mr. President, on your election as President of the General Assembly. If I may say so. it is wonderful to see a member of the community of Permanent Representatives to the United Nations taking charge. It has been a pleasure working with you. Sir. and I look forward to working together in the time ahead.
I would like to offer our sincere condolences to all those who have lost loved ones in the terrible floods in Libya, and to our dear friends in Morocco, who are mourning the many lives that were taken by the devastating earthquake. Let me assure the Assembly that Canada stands ready to assist in whatever way we can in the face of those challenging situations. We are also thinking today — as we see the very tragic photographs and videos — of the Armenians who are leaving Nagorno-Karabakh after such a challenging experience over the past several months and indeed years.
Just before I came to New York. I had the opportunity to work with an indigenous council of leaders in Northern Ontario. Canada. They had what I thought was a very effective slogan, which was quite simple. It talked about the power of unity and the dignity of difference. I believe that is a theme we should perhaps think about. Sometimes people talk about the failure of the United Nations, and I point out to them that. no. it is actually the divided nations that are failing. When we are united, we succeed. It is when we are divided that we fail. I therefore suggest that we seize this time and all the times we have to make a difference. But we will only succeed if we come together.
We are at the halfway point in trying to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, which we all agreed we would work on eight years ago. We recently adopted 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. We are also approaching the first global stocktaking of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. However, in listening to the speeches over the past week, it has been very clear that there is a profound consensus that we are very far behind where we need to be to meet the commitments that we have all made to our populations and to one another. The health of our planet, our people and our institutions, the well-being of all our populations and indeed our global economy are all at serious risk.
I met earlier last week with Wilton Littlechild, a former Grand Chief of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations and a member of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in addition to being a negotiator of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He talked to me very directly about how it is so critical that we not look at the issues in isolation. As we speak here, we go from topic to topic and from things we have to cover to the next thing we have to cover. But it is important we see them all as a whole. We need to recognize how things are connected.
I can assure everyone that, like many people in the countries of our Organization. Canadians, too. are worried about the cost of living. They are also concerned about artificial intelligence, foreign interference, misinformation and disinformation.
As we all know full well—and as the citizens of New York know full well — Canadians are also experiencing climate and environmental crises. This summer.
Canadians witnessed the most destructive forest fires in our country’s history. We had never seen anything like that before this summer, and it demonstrated the extent to which we are all interconnected. Those fires were on a never-before-seen scale. They were burning at the same time, everywhere. And that was not unique to Canada. Fires raged on an unprecedented scale around the world. That was not a glimpse into our future, but a testament to our present.
Our response to these challenges must not be complacency, division or nostalgia for the past. This is not about pointing the finger or of looking for panaceas. What is important is taking concrete measures to help address — both in Canada and around the world — the challenges we all face together.
We are taking steps at the national level, of course. And it is entirely right and normal that all of us would be taking steps at home to deal with the crisis that we face.
For example, in Canada, we made a decision to admit more people into our country than ever before because we have found and discovered that immigration has made us a better country and it has made us a better place to live. We have also decided to put a price on carbon because we know that we must do everything we can to curb climate change, even as we know that we have to do more ourselves.
We believe strongly that reducing emissions is a duty that is shared, but so is the need to ensure something else — the access to capital on longer terms and with more favourable rates in order to help in the green transformation of the global economy. That is why we recently agreed to donate more of our special drawing rights at the International Monetary Fund, as the Prime Minister announced last week. We made the decision to grant 48 per cent of our own drawing rights to other countries. That is the highest number among those that have special drawing rights, and we encourage others to follow that example.
We also continue to search for ways to break down gender barriers and to end systemic racism — to not be afraid to describe it as such and to say it is something we have to continue to deal with. We continue to strive to protect and promote the rights of two-spirit, lesbian, gay. bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual individuals and communities, in all their diversity. And let me say from this platform why we do that and why I describe it in this way. It is because it is so fundamental to human nature itself to let people be themselves, to let people be who they are and to have the right to celebrate their own identity, without repression, without division and without discrimination. It is foundational for us.
And yes. so is walking the path towards reconciliation with Indigenous peoples because, with full humility and in recognition of our own faults, we have found strength in diversity, purpose in equity and unity in inclusion. And like many others, we have found greater peace in finally admitting the truth of who we are.
Late last month, at the invitation of the Government of Panama. I had the opportunity to visit the Darien Gap — the jungle that serves as the border between Colombia and Panama. I saw the irregular migration crisis unfolding there, as we call it. where, in real terms, it is hundreds of thousands of men. women and especially children who are risking their lives to cross the Gap. The sheer number of people who are crossing and on this journey is shocking, and it has to be seen in a much broader light.
I had the chance to speak with individuals from many different countries, of course from the region, but also from Afghanistan. China and Syria. And this regional crisis, which is now very much in the Americas, is part of a global crisis.
There are today more than 108 million people that are forcibly displaced around the world. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya remain displaced in Bangladesh and in their native Rakhine. as the military junta continues its brutal and illegal crackdown in Myanmar. In Afghanistan, where the de facto authorities are repressing the rights of women and girls, more than 5 million people are displaced or refugees. After more than 12 years of war. more than 12 million Syrians are internally displaced or refugees in neighbouring countries. Two million have now been displaced by the conflict in the Sudan, including those already scarred by the genocidal violence in Darfur.
Conflicts are one of the main drivers of this global crisis, as are climate change, natural disasters and economic insecurity. Those who are seeking to cross the Darien Gap are fleeing all of those factors for displacement. The numerous people who are trying to
cross the Gap showed me the consequences of our action or our inaction here, at the United Nations. And my visit strengthened my deep conviction that what we say and what we do here at the United Nations is of crucial importance to the lives of the people we represent.
We must remember our collective power. As I said earlier, power lies in unity, not in division. We must also remember our responsibility to do as much good as possible for as many people as possible. To be honest. I was moved by the remarkable work done by the United Nations and all the humanitarian organizations that I visited.
We see around the world that humanitarian needs have reached historical levels. However, funding is clearly insufficient. We all know that the most sustainable solutions are political ones. They must address the underlying causes of humanitarian crises, while finding lasting solutions that respect human dignity and human rights and that create sustainable frameworks for economic development and prosperity. That is just as true in Afghanistan as it is in Myanmar. Syria and the Sudan.
We are also at a crossroads, as the President of the General Assembly said in his opening address. We are at a crossroads in history on two issues that are closely linked — gender equality and democracy.
I was in the Hall when the President of South Africa was speaking, and he eloquently reminded us in his speech that the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on the empowerment of women in all spheres of life. He called for the provision of adequate health services to every woman, child and adolescent — every kid—and made a passionate plea for the equal representation of women in decision-making.
President Ramaphosa is absolutely right. Yet sometimes today we are told at the United Nations, when we are in our negotiations, that gender is too divisive an issue. We are told that to seek ambition in this area is insensitive — I have heard those words myself— that it should be put aside for compromise. Well. I could not disagree more. For us. gender equality is a not an issue to be bartered against perceptions of progress, nor is it just something nice to have or something that can be said but always has to be qualified.
Gender equality — the equality between men and women, the equality among all human beings — is core to our dignity. It is the foundation of freedom; it is the foundation of justice; and it is the foundation of peace. If we cannot treat ourselves as equals, we will never achieve the things we want to achieve. It is also essential in our work on financing for development and in the reform of the global financial architecture.
And we are committed to responding to the calls of developing countries in those discussions. As I mentioned before, it is not just what I say. it is what we do. And what we have done, is to indicate and to take the decision that we are moving forward in respect to the special drawing rights, as we have been asked to do. Sustainable economic growth cannot be realized if the opportunities for women, who represent half the population, are suppressed.
At the same time, as we put great emphasis on the importance of equality, we also have to uphold the values of free and democratic societies. We cannot bend the rules of State-to-State relations for political expediency, because we have seen and continue to see the extent to which democracies are under threat through various means of foreign interference. But the truth is. if we do not adhere to the rules that we have agreed to. the very fabric of our open and free societies may start to tear.
We also have to protect and promote the principles of equality and universality of access to health care for all. including sexual and reproductive health rights for all women. By building open, inclusive societies and by promoting and protecting human rights for all. everyone benefits. That is how we get closer to equality and to justice.
I turn now to the situation in Haiti. We must also work together to address the urgent humanitarian, political and civil crisis in Haiti. Last week. Prime Minister Trudeau convened a meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Group on Haiti, which Canada is proud to chair. We are grateful for the participation of leaders from Haiti, from Caribbean countries and from many others. If I may say so. I very much appreciated the statement delivered here earlier this morning by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Jamaica.
We have heard it loud and clear: the security situation in Haiti is dire. Rape is being systematically used as a weapon, while violence, corruption and impunity are the norm. We therefore unreservedly support the
intensification of efforts deployed by the Security Council to address the situation as a priority. The offer from Kenya to lead a security support assistance mission in Haiti is a testimony to its leadership and solidarity. We also welcome the contributions pledged by Jamaica, the Bahamas and other countries.
We commend those countries and international organizations that have joined the international joint security coordination cell that was announced in June by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada. Ms. Melanie Joly. Canada has made significant investments in the Haitian security sector and will continue to do so. We encourage others to join us in that effort.
At the same time, we reiterate our appeal for an inclusive political dialogue. We once again encourage all stakeholders to work together in a spirit of compromise for the benefit of the Haitian people. It is essential to re-establish constitutional order, pave the way for free and fair elections, and ultimately address the root causes of the violence. But above all. a comprehensive approach that supports Haitian-led solutions and includes urgent measures in the fields of security, humanitarian assistance and development is absolutely essential.
Security for everyone living in Haiti is a precondition for all else that we must do. But in doing so. we must reinforce that security by working on the humanitarian, development and political crises. We have to show what we can do in that joined-up effort.
Over the past decades, the Middle East and the wider world have struggled with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was an issue in 1945 and it remains an issue today. Today Canadians are greatly concerned by the trajectory of the conflict, noting in particular the rising levels of violence in the West Bank and in Israel, the continued risk of escalation between Israel and Gaza and groups in Lebanon and the continued growth of Israeli settlements that do not have a foundation in international law. The measures and rhetoric that make two States impossible has to stop.
We are committed to the goal of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East, which includes the creation of a Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security with Israel. We urge both parties to return to the negotiating table and make the difficult compromises that will be required to achieve that result.
We firmly oppose the unilateral actions that jeopardize efforts for peace and the failure to embrace all that is entailed in creating two States that are not bickering or at war and fighting each other, or threatening each other, but live in peace, in mutual recognition and with that concept of the dignity of difference. Unless we get there, we will have only deeper conflict. That has to be avoided.
The path that we take together at this crossroads in history will determine the future of our Organization. It will also have an impact on the lives of all of our citizens. We have seen the power of the veto of the permanent members of the Security Council used to prevent the Council from reacting to atrocities and aggression. We support voluntary restraint on the use of the veto by all permanent members in situations in which civilians are at risk of atrocity crimes.
We also support efforts that seek to increase the number of elected members of the Council in order to guarantee more equitable representation of a larger number of developing countries around the world. We challenge all permanent members of the Council to accept, more fully and more publicly, the need to become more effective, more inclusive and more transparent. Now is the time for reform. That appeal does not stop at the Security Council. All of our intergovernmental processes, within all organs of the United Nations, must become more efficient. We must be open to making the necessary changes. It is up to us to decide.
Yes. we are halfway to 2030 and yes. we are falling behind. But we are also capable of rectifying the situation and forging ahead together. Canada is convinced that we can indeed do so. Multilateralism has always evolved — that has been the case in the past and it will be the case in the future — but we must act. Our institutions, including the international financial architecture, do not need to be static.
We have worked closely with our colleagues from Jamaica and Barbados and with the Secretary-General because we all believe in the possibility of change and the need to undertake efforts towards significant progress. We will continue to invest, as we have done in the past, because we believe in the United Nations. We believe that the Organization can build lasting peace.
(spoke in English)
I have to conclude on a sombre note. What remains the greatest threat to global peace and security today — and there is no getting around it. there is no avoiding it and not calling it what it is — is Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. We wake up every morning, our time, to the news of which city has been bombed, which children have been maimed and which communities have been destroyed. The Charter of the United Nations clearly commits us all to end the scourge of war. Those are the first words of what we were determined to do. The Russian Federation signed the Charter of the United Nations and yet. despite that signature, for 580 days the Russian Federation has waged an illegal and immoral war of aggression against a fellow Member of this Organization, namely. Ukraine.
The Russians went to the International Court of Justice and said that it was not an invasion, it was self-defence. They said that they were exercising their right under Article 51 of the Charter, and besides that, that it was a genocide caused by the Ukrainians. The only problem with those arguments was that the Court looked at them and said that they were not true. This is an invasion of one country by another. It is the most fundamental breach of the Charter one could imagine. The costs of the war are staggering. First of all. there is the unimaginable cost in lives — thousands upon thousands — with hospitals and schools bombed, people displaced and children abducted and forcibly deported. President Zelenskyy was right when he said that it was a global natural disaster. It has caused volatility in food and energy prices at a time when the global economy was already struggling.
And what has been Russia’s response? First, it has denied that it is happening and has called it a special military operation generated under Article 51. Those are just lies. They are not compatible with what we know and what we can see are the facts. Russia has also blocked the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It is holding the world’s food supply hostage. It is causing the cost of living to go up in every country in the world. It is putting millions of people out of work in countries all over the world. It is turning countries against each other. We have to realize that Russia does not have the best interests of any of us in mind. And we simply cannot allow President Putin and his enablers to pretend that the Charter does not exist and make a mockery of our foundational law in the relationships between us. The truth is that Russia has committed a terrible aggression and is committing a terrible aggression each and every day. We received a report earlier this week saying that torture is being committed as a matter of State policy. We believe that Russia has to be held accountable, and we are determined to see justice served.
Canada welcomes the International Criminal Court’s indictments of President Putin and his Commissioner for Children’s Rights because we believe that no one is above the law. But what have the Russians done even this week? This week they issued arrest warrants against three senior officials —judges of the International Criminal Court. The President of the International Criminal Court, who speaks from this rostrum every year describing the work of the Court, is under an arrest warrant issued by the Russians. Imagine what it would be like if we lived in a world where, in any of our countries, a criminal indicted for crimes could simply say. “Well. fine. I am just going to take out the chief justice”. These are terrible things. We will do everything we can to support Ukraine as it continues to defend itself and its people, identity, sovereignty and territorial integrity. We believe that is fully in line with our commitments under the Charter and international law. and we also believe that it is the war that is not legal. It is the war that is fundamentally immoral. It is a war that Russia started, and Russia can end it. Russia could end it right now by simply saying that it is over and pulling its troops back. That would be the end of the war. There would be no invasion of Russia. It would be over. Peace would come. People say that they want peace. Tell that to the Russians. They are the ones who can create peace, with the snap of their fingers.
Let me go back to where I started just to say that we have to seize the chance we have to make a difference.
We must seize all the opportunities before us to make a difference.
We have to find within ourselves the ability to create unity where there is division. We have to find inside ourselves the capacity to recognize the importance of accepting differences. If we can do that, we can create a United Nations that will be worthy of the name. That is our job and our obligation, and that is the work we have to do.