Kotahi ano te kdhao o te ngira e kuhii ai te miro ma, te miro whero, te miro pango, Kia man Kia te ture, te whakapono ko te mea nui ko te aroha.
There is only one eye of the needle, through which the white, the red and black threads must pass. Hold fast to the lore, faith and. above all else. love.
These opening words, taken from my ancestors, remind me that no matter where we are from around the world, we are bound by a shared spirit of humanity.
I acknowledge the Lenape people, on whose tribal lands we stand. Tena koutou katoa.
I have been encouraged by the commitment I have witnessed in this great Hall to find transformative solutions to the interlocking challenges we face. At the same time. I am deeply concerned that the sum of our collective efforts to meet those challenges is falling well short of what is required.
We meet at a time of sharply increasing danger for people and the planet. As we emerge from the worst health emergency in the past 100 years, our efforts to build back better have faltered in the face of accelerating ecological and planetary crises, deepening conflict and instability. We are failing to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We must rise to meet these challenges. We owe it to our citizens and to the generations that follow us.
Mounting distrust and division are eroding the foundation of international cooperation and steering the multilateral system towards deadlock and dysfunction. We have no hope of meeting our shared challenges by going it alone. We live in an interconnected and
interdependent world, in which we will thrive — or perish — together.
For the first time in several generations, we face the very real possibility of conflict between major Powers. We cannot let that happen. The stakes for all of us are simply too high. The international rule of law and the Charter of the United Nations must mean something to a growing generation that is becoming increasingly sceptical.
We are not on track to keep global warming at 1.5°C. Conflict and crises continue to impact, most harshly on women and children. The fabric of democratic principles is being challenged and weakened by misinformation and disinformation, and the list continues.
Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine last year was a direct attack on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a United Nations Member State. But it was much more than that. To witness a permanent member of the Security Council launch an unprovoked attack on a sovereign State, attempting to annex its territory and waging war on its civilian population remains shocking. Russia’s actions violate the most fundamental tenets of international law. How can younger generations have confidence in the United Nations when a permanent member of the Security Council acts in a manner so fundamentally contrary to the United Nations Charter?
The consequences of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression are stark. The suffering of Ukrainians is immense. Ukraine’s neighbours are bearing a heavy burden. Sadly, we are seeing children being weaponized in this unjust war. That is wrong in every way. Aotearoa New Zealand strongly supports efforts to hold Russia to account in both the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
This war has also highlighted geostrategic tensions and heightened nuclear risks. Nuclear weapons must never be used. We must be unequivocal in our determination to reduce nuclear threats and do so immediately. The dangers of nuclear weapons and their toxic legacy, which are visible in our own blue Pacific region, have been with us for decades.
Other, newer technological developments also pose profound challenges in balancing the potential of their peaceful use with the threat of catastrophic harm if their development and military use is left unchecked. We must commit to international rules and limits on autonomous weapon systems and establish clear norms to address responsible use of other new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, as well as the continued peaceful use of outer space. We must also confront digital challenges, including cyberthreats and online extremism through smart coalitions, in which Governments work effectively with civil society and industry.
That is our approach with the Christchurch Call to Action to Eliminate Terrorist and Violent Extremist Content Online. The Christchurch Call is a global multi-stakeholder coalition that extends beyond traditional statecraft and governmental institutions. It has successfully galvanized significant policy change, improved the crisis readiness of technology companies and built strong, collaborative relationships across sectors.
Conflict and crisis is placing incredible pressure on the humanitarian system. Food insecurity is threatening the lives of hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Let me be clear — food is not a weapon and hunger is not a tool. Pervasive drought in the Horn of Africa and instability and violence in the Sahel. Afghanistan. Syria and Myanmar have left many millions in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
Playing politics with innocent lives is cruel and immoral. As we mark the halfway point in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, it is time to move beyond divisive narratives and polemics. Now is the time to act to achieve meaningful progress against the Sustainable Development Goals. The call to action is urgent.
In December, we will celebrate the seventy-fifth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Last December, we reaffirmed our unwavering commitment to speak out against violations of human rights, wherever they occur. There is no hierarchy when it comes to human rights abuses. We need to resist attempts to undermine or hollow out existing commitments. Aotearoa New Zealand will continue to fiercely protect the rights of women and girls.
New Zealand has long and deep connections to the Pacific through language, peoples, ocean, history, culture, politics and shared interests. We also have a strong connection to the wider Indo-Pacific region. We are concerned that the order that has underpinned prosperity and security in our region for most of the past seven decades is increasingly fraying. We do not believe that recent events witnessed in other parts of
the world need become the inevitable trajectory of our blue Pacific region.
Diplomacy is our strongest tool. Peace and stability is our goal. Our regional architecture must be inclusive and provide space for all those who wish to contribute positively to our region. And those who engage in our region must understand Pacific values and norms. We are committed to promoting the centrality of the Pacific Islands Forum in addressing regional challenges through the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, which is our road map.
International partners are encouraged to listen, engage and contribute to the sustainable development of our Pacific region in a manner that puts the priorities of the Pacific first and recognizes the independence of those for whom the region is home. The message to the partners of the Pacific is commitment with consistency. Recent global shocks have reminded us that building resilient communities and societies requires a broad and holistic approach to development. Strengthening resilience requires us to value progress across all dimensions of well-being. Social, economic and environmental development are interlinked and interdependent.
We must urgently achieve reform that contributes to the intergenerational well-being of developing States. We acknowledge the Secretary-General’s call to find systemic solutions to the shortcomings of the international financial architecture. International financial institutions need to evolve to better serve the demands of the current era. We are encouraged to see a growing recognition of the broader measures of development that go beyond gross national income. Tools such as the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index offer opportunities to respond to the realities of those who are most vulnerable to external shocks, such as small island developing States. Sustainable development will be achieved only if the international community delivers on its commitments to those who are experiencing the violent realities of climate change.
Climate change is the greatest existential threat facing our planet. A stable climate is essential to a stable future. New Zealand is committed to playing its part in the global efforts to combat the triple planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. No country is immune to the impacts of climate change, which are real and happening now. The countries of the Pacific are on the front lines and are already experiencing irreversible loss and damage. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has sent a very clear message that the world is not on track to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The first global stocktake of the Paris Agreement, which will take place at the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to be held later this year, is an opportunity for a course correction.
Limiting warming to 1.5°C is vital to achieve our shared development goals. Every increment of a degree and every ton of emissions matters. We have a narrow and rapidly closing window to secure a sustainable and liveable future for all of us and our children. We call on all countries, especially major emitters, to align their actions with limiting the temperature increase to 1.5°C. That means committing to a global phase-out of fossil fuels.
Aotearoa New Zealand is taking ambitious action to support the transition to low-emission economies, climate-resilient agriculture and sustainable trade policies. Domestically, we are transitioning to a low- emission and climate-resilient future and working to meet our 1.5°C-aligned nationally determined contribution. We have committed to reducing our emissions by 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. Our first emissions-reduction plan sets out the actions we will take to achieve our first emissions budgets on a pathway to our 2050 target. We are investing in Pacific resilience, mobilizing climate financing and supporting Pacific partners to prepare and respond to climate-driven events. At least half of our quadrupled $1.3 billion climate-finance commitment will go to the Pacific. At COP 27. we stood with the Pacific on the priority issue of loss and damage. New Zealand supports Australia’s bid to host COP 31 in 2026. in partnership with the Pacific region.
We were delighted by the consensus adoption of General Assembly resolution 77/276. on requesting an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the obligations of States with respect to climate change. We acknowledge Vanuatu’s leadership in that regard. New Zealand was a proud member of the core group that drove that initiative, which was an example of effective, cross-regional multilateral diplomacy. Going forward, we will work with a diverse coalition to address the adverse impacts of sea level rise, including preserving the heritage, statehood and sovereignty of
countries facing existential threats as a result of the climate crisis.
Aotearoa New Zealand welcomed the adoption in March of 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 (BBNJ). which represents the most significant upgrade of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea framework in 40 years. We celebrate the fact that more than 70 States have signed the BBNJ Agreement this week. It reminds us of what we can achieve when we focus on our interests in the planet we share and work long and hard to bridge divides between States. We also applauded the United Nations Environment Assembly’s agreement last year to launch negotiations on an international legally binding instrument to end plastic pollution. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed last year, marked a welcome step forward in halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Those significant successes show that the stakes are too high for us to leave the triple planetary crisis solely in the hands of Governments. We need indigenous peoples, businesses, financial institutions, local Governments, young people, communities and individuals to play their crucial roles.
Contemporizing our multilateral institutions to ensure they are inclusive and fit for today’s challenges must be a high priority. There has never been a greater need for innovation and creativity to secure the central place of the United Nations in addressing the collective challenges we face. That is why New Zealand actively supports initiatives to revitalize and reform the United Nations, its organs and the wider multilateral system. As a founding Member of the United Nations and an unwavering supporter of the international rules-based system, it is difficult to admit that our multilateral institutions are imperfect. They have — and they will — fail us. But Aotearoa New Zealand’s response will always be to find ways to make them stronger. Fiercely independent but global in our outlook, we are driven by a strong sense of our responsibility to help to uphold the key tenets of the international rules-based system — respect for State sovereignty and respect for human rights and gender equality, and the will to achieve progress in addressing climate change and nuclear weapons.
It is clear that the norms and rules established by the Charter, including exercising tolerance and uniting in our strengths, are under considerable strain. Aotearoa acknowledges the legitimacy of distinct political systems, histories and cultures. At home, we choose to embrace difference as a source of strength for resolving challenges rather than as a wedge to divide. We hold onto the hope of our forebears and the promise of the sense of nationhood set out in our founding document, the Treaty of Waitangi. The people we serve deserve our vigilance to achieve that goal.
Ours is an Organization made up primarily of small States. To deliver on the needs of small States and to achieve truly effective and inclusive multilateralism, we need to find ways to all pull in the same direction — yes. on our own terms, but in the same direction. Next year’s Summit of the Future, which has its origins in the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda (A/75/982). provides an opportunity to rebuild trust among nations and contemporize the way we work. We can — and should — take full advantage of that opportunity. New Zealand stands ready to work with partners to ensure a robust outcome that best serves present and future generations.
Never in recent history has there been a greater need for transformative solutions to interlocking global challenges. I for one do not believe in inevitabilities. We must be purposeful. In fact, the disruptions we are enduring provide an opportunity for a reset. We need to rise above polarization and draw strength from our differences, rather than allowing them to create division.
Let me end by saying, whirl a te tangata — we must weave all our aspirations and our common and shared humanity together. Nd reira, tend koutou katoa.
Te aroha
Te whakapono
Me te rangimarie
Ta ton tatou e
Te aroha
Te whakapono
Me te rangimarie
Tatou tatou e
With love, faith and hope, we can all unite ourselves amid the sheer desperation.