We are meeting at a critical moment. Political, economic and cultural divisions are deepening before our eyes. Conflicts, instability and civil unrest are erupting around the globe. Disruption of the rules-based international order threatens the world we all know and cherish. The time for decisive action is now. We must rise to the challenges and work together to preserve peace, prosperity and stability, to safeguard the rules-based order, democracy and the universality of human rights, to save our home, planet Earth, from the effects of disastrous climate change and to fight hard against global poverty and inequality. That will certainly not be easy. Global trust will have to be restored, the Sustainable Development Goals implemented, and a meaningful Pact for the Future negotiated and signed.
I am standing here to express my great concern about the devastating impact of climate change and to share the Lithuanian experience. Today green transformation is no longer a matter of choice. We need decisive action to keep the goals and spirit of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change alive. Lithuania is resolutely committed to preventing, minimizing and addressing climate change. We aim to achieve a 70 per cent reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 and become climate-neutral in 2050. Renewable energy will play the central role in our strategy. Our ambition is to turn Lithuania from a net importer of electricity into a self-sufficient green-energy producer by 2030. The development of solar energy, as well as onshore and offshore wind parks, should substantially increase our installed capacity for renewable electricity generation.
There can be no sustainable development in the midst of a war. Wherever we look — Europe. Asia. Africa or the Americas — peace is an all-important condition for humankind to thrive and to create. An old-style colonial war is back in Europe. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine is aggravating the global situation across many areas, such as food and energy security, climate, finance, global health and migration. Established international norms and the entire vision of an open and cooperative world order are currently being held hostage to Russia’s imperialist ambitions. The very framework of the multilateral cooperation that sustained peace, stability and prosperity in the post-Cold War era is being threatened. The integrity of
the Charter of the United Nations and the rules-based international system is being put at serious risk.
The international community can no longer allow Russia to manipulate and abuse global rules. Its numerous crimes, such as the wholesale destruction of Ukrainian cities and towns, the murder of thousands of innocent civilians and the displacement of millions more, have brought disgrace on the Security Council, where Russia still sits as a permanent member with the power of the veto. The international community should put more pressure on Russia to stop its deliberate attacks on Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure. The unprecedented ecological catastrophe caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam should not be replicated in new and even more dangerous forms.
That war of aggression must stop, with an immediate, complete and unconditional withdrawal of troops and military equipment from Ukrainian territory. And what I mean by that is Ukraine’s entire territory, within its internationally recognized borders and territorial waters as of 1991. Lithuania strongly endorses President Zelenskyy’s peace formula. It is a robust foundation for achieving peace, aligned with the universal principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence. Meanwhile. Lithuania calls on all the States Members of the United Nations to provide substantial humanitarian, military, economic and diplomatic assistance to Ukraine.
As we work for sustainable peace, we should ensure the accountability of those responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity. While contemplating the issue of justice, we should also address the actions of the regime in Belarus, which is participating in this war of aggression by providing military assistance and facilitating the offensive from its territory. Specifically, we should all support Ukraine’s efforts in the International Court of Justice and endorse the Court’s provisional measures ordering Russia to immediately cease its military action in the territory of Ukraine.
Another institution, the International Criminal Court (ICC), is playing a crucial role in prosecuting war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity in Ukraine. Lithuania supports the arrest warrants issued by the ICC for Russia’s President and Children’s Rights Commissioner, which represent a promising step towards accountability for targeting children in military conflict. Bringing back the Ukrainian children forcibly deported to Russia and Belarus is a necessary next step. The initiative to persecute sexual crimes perpetrated by Russian forces in Ukraine also deserves our united support. Lithuania commends the unwavering dedication of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict in addressing that critical issue. What is still lacking is a tribunal specifically designed to prosecute the very crime of aggression committed by Russia’s top political and military leadership. Lithuania calls for the establishment of such an international tribunal, supported by a General Assembly resolution. Failure to do so will mean further damage to the credibility of the entire global justice system.
From the very beginning. Russia’s aggression against Ukraine has been a truly global issue. It affects global food security as well as nuclear safety. Russia is currently holding the world hostage by blocking Ukrainian grain exports, looting the occupied Ukrainian territories and devastating local agricultural infrastructure. Unilateral actions such as Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, endangering at least 82 countries, with 350 million people currently on the food-insecurity front lines, should be universally condemned. But the solution is not lifting the sanctions on Russia. To reinforce vulnerable economies, we must search for geopolitical solutions. One possibility could be the opening of more solidarity lanes by offering alternative transportation for Ukrainian food products, for example, through trusted Baltic Sea ports. The availability of local food production and fertilizer in vulnerable regions could also be boosted by international support.
Looking into the issue of nuclear safety. Lithuania expects more active cooperation from Russia in protecting the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, in accordance with the recommendations of the International Atomic Energy Agency. We are also following Russia’s recent decisions on arms control with the greatest concern. Last year Russia broke the emerging consensus at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Later. Belarus announced an agreement to deploy Russia’s nuclear weapons on its territory, which goes against the international commitments under the Treaty. Finally. Russia officially announced its withdrawal from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. That means it is preparing for more war — not to settle for peace.
The only way for us to turn back the tide of destabilization that threatens us all is to join forces in building a better world. We need a collective effort to rebuild trust among nations. Violations of international law and universal human rights cannot be normalized. Neither justice nor peace is free. We must stand for peace. We must stand for justice. Accountability and the rules-based international order will be vital to forging a world that is fair and secure. That is our responsibility to future generations.
Today I expect the Assembly to remain steadfast in its condemnation of all kinds of aggression that clearly violate the Charter of the United Nations. However, condemning them is not enough. Decisive action must be taken. The politics of fear and coercion on a global scale must be stopped once and for all. We must resolutely defend the equality of sovereign nations, both large and small. We must remain true to the Charter’s fundamental principles, including respect for international law and arms control. Those principles must guide our path forward. Each and every nation is important. We must stand together against the power of fear. Together we can change the world.