I would like to sincerely congratulate the President on assuming the presidency of the General Assembly at this session. I also value the efforts of Mr. Csaba Korosi during his presidency of the previous session.
I would like to reiterate our sincere condolences and sympathy to the Governments and the peoples of the Kingdom of Morocco and the State of Libya for the victims of the recent disasters that struck the two countries.
The United Arab Emirates declared this year as the Year of Sustainability, under the theme “Today for tomorrow”, to honour our shared responsibilities to current and future generations, who deserve to live in safe and prosperous environments. We also seek to honour previous generations, which spared no effort in advancing nations and their aspirations. We are committed to saving our planet and its resources and ancient heritage.
The United Arab Emirates believes in the importance of that approach amid the existential challenges facing our world today. That particularly applies to addressing armed conflicts, currently at their highest since the Second World War. and climate change and its disasters. We are steadfast in defending our common humanitarian values in a world dominated by the unrelenting waves of extremism, racism and hate speech.
Addressing those challenges has become possible now more than at any other time. We have reached the highest level of advancement. Today we possess the advanced technology required to find innovative solutions to complex challenges. We have put in place regional and international institutions to coordinate collective action, and we are equipped with the necessary legal frameworks to organize relations among States.
The United Arab Emirates has experienced that reality extensively during its term as a member of the Security Council since last year. Time and time again, geopolitical disagreements have prevented the Council from achieving the desired consensus regarding urgent issues, including purely humanitarian ones.
The time has come to engage in serious discussions on comprehensive and meaningful reform of the Security Council, particularly in terms of the challenges related to the use of the veto, the expansion of the permanent and elected memberships and the improvement of the Council’s approach and working methods and its ability to proactively address crises.
The United Arab Emirates emphasizes the importance of maintaining an international order that is based on respect for the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of States. International relations must be governed by international law. including United Nations resolutions.
Resorting to the use of force instead of relying on political solutions and dividing the world into an “us against them” mentality could yield nothing but chaos and the undermining of diplomatic efforts. No party will be a winner. We underscore the need to respect diversity, political differences and development disparities. We must give prominence to common values that ensure cooperation and integration across peoples and countries.
It is essential to enhance the effectiveness of international organizations, in particular the United Nations. Such institutions are crucial to building bridges, reducing tensions and establishing peaceful solutions. We depend on them as the first line of defence to prevent States from being drawn into divisive currents amid major political rifts. We also believe that regional organizations, such as the League of Arab States and the African Union, play a pivotal role in supporting faltering political endeavours and efforts because those organizations are familiar with local contexts.
My country believes that the best way to resolve crises is through peaceful means, particularly in our region, which is ravaged by weapons and extremist rhetoric. We spare no effort in reducing escalation and call for prioritizing dialogue and diplomacy to resolve differences. At the same time, we focus on strengthening economic integration among the countries of our region in order to create integration that would benefit the economies and peoples of the region and enhance regional stability and prosperity.
From this rostrum, the United Arab Emirates reiterates its request to Iran to end its occupation of our three islands, namely. Greater Tunb. Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. Our legitimate right to those islands has not diminished, and time will not lessen our sovereignty over the islands. We will continue to seek a resolution either through direct negotiation or through the International Court of Justice. That has been the firm stance of the United Arab Emirates for decades.
We stress the position of the Gulf Cooperation Council calling on Iraq to take serious and urgent steps to address the negative consequences of the ruling of its Federal Supreme Court regarding the agreement concluded between Kuwait and Iraq on the regulation of maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah. That needs to be done in a manner that serves good-neighbourly relations, in line with international law and the agreements signed between the two brotherly countries.
Our ultimate goal is to strive for applying the principle of zero problems. Regardless of how great the challenge, it is critical to restore the legitimate sovereignty of States and prevent extremist and armed groups from maintaining a presence in our region. We must move forward with a vision that promotes peace, openness, coexistence, cooperation and development.
We believe that achieving such a vision is not a farfetched goal. Our region is full of hope and resources, and our youth has great potential to lead our nations towards security, stability and prosperity. That can be achieved only with political will and determined efforts.
The United Arab Emirates therefore refuses to accept that conflicts in our region are inevitable. We believe that security, stability and prosperity will be restored in Yemen. Syria, the Sudan. Libya. Iraq and Lebanon. We also believe in the establishment of an independent Palestinian State within the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Without eradicating extremism, hatred and racism from our region and globally, such efforts will not succeed. It has become abundantly clear that hate speech and extremism are closely linked to the spread and escalation of conflict. Last June, the Security Council acknowledged that fact in its historic resolution 2686 (2023). concerning tolerance, international peace and security, as per a pioneer initiative in which the United Arab Emirates played a crucial role.
Although the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence have an impact on peoples globally, applying those values has a greater impact when established among communities. That means refraining from double standards, such as destroying a church in
Iraq, burning the Holy Qur’an in Sweden or attacking a Jewish cultural centre in Argentina. All those are unacceptable acts, which lead to chaos and discord. We must develop comprehensive and effective strategies that guarantee human rights, strengthen stability within communities and address racist practices. That also includes addressing exclusion and discrimination against women and girls in Afghanistan.
We call for concerted efforts to address grave developments that threaten global stability, foremost of which is the development of nuclear weapons and the undermining of the non-proliferation regime. We must never tolerate that kind of threat or accept the risk of a nuclear conflict, which would result in devastating consequences for all.
We also stress the importance of alleviating the suffering of people affected by conflict situations, particularly by granting humanitarian exceptions when sanctions measures are imposed. We should be mindful that civilians, especially children, are not responsible for those conflicts and have nothing to do with their outbreak or sustainability. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Syria this year, the Arab countries set an example through their humanitarian diplomacy and supported the brotherly Syrian people.
As part of the United Arab Emirates approach to support affected peoples and alleviate their suffering by all means, we plan to launch a digital platform that employs advanced technologies to enable affected States to better inform the international community of their humanitarian support needs in the wake of natural disasters. The digital platform will assist in providing an urgent, effective and coordinated humanitarian response.
I would emphasize that the interplay among those conflicts and other serious challenges, particularly climate change, food and energy security and water crises, can bring about significant consequences for future generations. The climate crisis is at a critical juncture in our world today. The result of the first global stocktaking only confirms how far off-track we are in implementing the objectives of the Paris Agreement. To keep the 1.5°C target within reach, we need to undertake a radical change. Some may see that objective as impossible, but my country sees it as possible to achieve.
In that spirit, the United Arab Emirates will host the twenty-eighth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in almost two months’ time. We will focus on intensifying international cooperation to achieve the highest ambitions possible. The action plan for the conference will focus on four main axes, namely, expediting an orderly and just transition in the energy sector, advancing climate financing mechanisms, enhancing livelihoods and protecting individuals based on a transparent and inclusive framework.
We must restore hope and be optimistic regarding our ability to deal with climate change. The United Arab Emirates believes that the transformation of the energy sector will provide the greatest opportunity to enhance and sustain human and economic development. It is important to focus on financing as an essential tool in that process. That would require improving the international financial structure, encouraging the private sector to finance climate action, ensuring the fulfilment of pledges by donors and fully operationalizing the loss and damage fund.
In line with the values and approach of the United Arab Emirates, we will utilize the valuable contributions of women, youth and civil society, as well as the private sector. Global Government agencies should also fulfil their responsibilities to tackle climate change. We must remain united and work together to make the desired progress.
I would like to take this opportunity to extend an open invitation to the world to actively participate in the conference and develop collective solutions to achieve a substantial shift in confronting climate change that allows us to move our focus from negotiations to achieving tangible results in pursuit of a better and more sustained future through consensus and inclusivity.
By addressing climate change, we can alleviate the food insecurity crisis. That requires further investment in food supply systems and safeguarding them from damage or attacks. It also demands a focus on the development of smart systems to increase productivity and minimize the impact of natural disasters and political and security crises.
Water scarcity is an increasingly challenging problem globally. However, it does not get the attention that it deserves in order to address the scale and gravity of the challenges posed by it on our planet. There is an urgent need to find new models of international cooperation on water. That issue must be a top priority for multilateral action. In recognition of that, the
United Arab Emirates seeks to find effective solutions by working with international partners to address that problem. Today the Foreign Ministry of the United Arab Emirates published a relevant report, which we hope will contribute to achieving that goal.
Global challenges are becoming interlinked to a great extent. No country or organization is capable of addressing them alone. Terrorist organizations that try to control our region recruit fighters and finance their networks from other regions. The repercussions of the coronavirus disease pandemic affected countries throughout the world. Civilian suffering in conflicts does not differ, regardless of their causes.
The United Arab Emirates believes that collective action is no longer simply an option, but an urgent need. Today’s decisions will have far-reaching impacts for decades to come. In that regard, we should ask ourselves what legacy we want to leave for future generations. Do we want our legacy to be conflicts, crises and scarce resources and opportunities? Or do we want to leave behind a stable and prosperous international order, where tolerant communities coexist and are resilient in the face of challenges?
For us in the United Arab Emirates, peace is our choice, development is our path, and the future is our destination. With the return of the Emirati astronaut Sultan Al Neyadi from the first long Arab mission in space, we see invaluable experience, as we see in our youth new potential leaders who build on our achievements and usher in a promising future. We are determined to follow in the footsteps of the founders of the United Arab Emirates. We strive to achieve greater advancements and further investments in humankind and science for the people of the world. Our determination to achieve those objectives is demonstrated in our policies, decisions and relationships.