On behalf of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, I have the very great pleasure and privilege of reading out our national statement in Portuguese to the General Assembly at its general debate.
I will read out a statement by His Excellency Mr. Francisco Guterres Lu-Olo, President of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste.
“Exactly 19 years ago, Timor-Leste became the 191st member of the United Nations, and it is an honour for me today to address the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. I congratulate you, Mr. President, and am grateful for the contributions of your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir. I also commend you for your able leadership and determination in leading the Assembly during a difficult time, as well as for making this in-person session possible. In addition, Timor-Leste congratulates His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres on his reappointment as Secretary-General. The theme chosen by the President of the General Assembly for the general debate this year accurately captures the opportunities and challenges facing the United Nations.
“The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created global challenges that have not only affected the health sector but have also had a devastating impact on the socioeconomic front by reversing hard-won gains, creating economic recession and further exacerbating pre-existing structural challenges, deepening inequality among nations and causing the social distress, conflict and hunger that eventually push people into extreme poverty. The United Nations has a key political role to play in mobilizing international cooperation and solidarity to overcome the current multifaceted and interlinked global challenges related to the pandemic. It should continue serving as a platform for international cooperation and worldwide solidarity in addressing the current COVID-19 pandemic in order to build back better in a more resilient and sustainable manner.
“In that context, it is important to ensure that international cooperation addresses and focuses on COVID-19’s socioeconomic impact on the most disadvantaged and vulnerable people and countries — especially the least developed countries (LDCs), small island developing States, landlocked developing countries and countries in conflict or emerging from it — in order to mitigate their structural challenges, which the pandemic has further exacerbated.
“As of 27 September, Timor-Leste has recorded more than 19,000 cases, with more than 18,000 full recoveries and 113 deaths, since the beginning of the pandemic. As Timor-Leste is both a least developed country and a small island developing State, COVID-19 is putting great pressure on our already weak health-care system, with its lack of facilities and resources to cope effectively with the pandemic. My country continues to endorse vaccines as a global public good, which should be accessible to everyone, including developing and low-income countries and countries in special situations. The international community must address vaccination gaps in the low-income countries that have so far vaccinated as few as 1.1 per cent of their populations. Without equal access to vaccines, many countries, including Timor-Leste, will be unable to protect their citizens and people from the virus. Timor-Leste nonetheless commends its development partners, the United Nations, international organizations and other actors that have contributed to overcoming the circumstances created by COVID-19. We are deeply grateful for our partners’ generosity, which has enabled us to administer more than 600,000 doses and thereby vaccinate a total of 30 per cent of our adult population.
“Climate change continues to be at the top of our agenda. We are experiencing particular hardships caused by the impact of climate change while combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries in special situations, including Timor-Leste, are often forced to deal with the severe weather events that result from climate change, such as floods, landslides, droughts, sea-level rise and global warming, which ultimately jeopardize our existence and pose a threat to humankind and human rights. In our national context, my Government has been committed to reforestation and the correction of watercourse beds. It is also worth noting that we are taking measures to combat plastic waste. Reforestation activities ensure greater rainfall and a cleaner environment. To strengthen those actions, I launched a national campaign entitled “One citizen, one tree”, which has enjoyed particular support from youth organizations. In reaffirming our action in these areas, I also recently appointed a special envoy and roving ambassador to ensure that Timor-Leste is represented and our voice heard at international discussions and negotiations on issues related to climate change.
“As we prepare for the twenty sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Glasgow this year, Timor-Leste is pleased with the preparatory process under way and looks forward to a constructive outcome for the Conference in generating international cooperation on scaling up global efforts to fulfil our obligations under the Paris Agreement, so that we can protect our planet for current and future generations based on common but differentiated responsibilities.
“We have nine years left to achieve the global targets of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. However, we are far from achieving the objectives of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the current slow pace in development. The LDCs are those left furthest behind. Many of them have high levels of external dependency and exposure and low levels of resilience to enable them to recover from socioeconomic shocks, problems that are compounded by the effects of climate change and have made achieving the SDGs even more challenging.
“Timor-Leste welcomes the recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report entitled Our Common Agenda for how we can best respond to our current and future challenges. In that regard, my Government has contributed $50,000 to support the Secretary-General’s efforts. We have come to the end of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020. We have not, however, seen much progress in its realization. It is therefore important that our pandemic recovery efforts should focus on addressing the barriers that have prevented the realization of the Istanbul Programme of Action from doing the same to our achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Above all, Timor-Leste reiterates that SDG 16 will be a catalyst for development, given that peace, justice, inclusion and strong institutions will create the necessary conditions for economic growth and constitute the foundations for decent work, health education and prosperous nations.
“Timor-Leste is fully committed to the principles of multilateralism enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, such as respect for sovereignty, political independence, territorial integrity and non-interference in the internal affairs of other States. Timor-Leste is considered one of the success stories of the engagement of the United Nations in enabling the realization of the principle of the right to self-determination.
“Our experience in undertaking the reconciliation process with Indonesia following its invasion and occupation illustrates the importance of reconciliation in restoring good relations and cooperation despite the pain and tragedy of the past. Timor-Leste will therefore continue to promote peacebuilding and State-building by sharing experiences related to reconciliation and justice through South-South cooperation and the Group of Seven Plus, which is a platform for cooperation and solidarity among countries that are affected by conflict and the fragility that conflict causes, and that are on a path towards resilience. We are also committed to upholding international law and the international rules-based order and promoting the use of peaceful settlement mechanisms to settle differences and disputes. Accordingly, Timor-Leste has led by example in resolving its maritime boundary dispute with Australia through compulsory conciliation proceedings — the very first of their kind — under the purview of the Conciliation Commission pursuant to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
“We underscore that unilateral economic, commercial and financial embargoes are contrary to the values and principles enshrined in the Charter. Timor-Leste therefore continues to be deeply concerned about the prolonged economic, commercial and financial embargo that has been imposed on Cuba for more than six decades and has had damaging effects on the lives of the Cuban people and the country’s development, including Cuba’s efforts to effectively deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. In that regard, Timor-Leste firmly supports the lifting of the embargo and opposes all extraterritorial measures.
“We are also concerned about the increasing levels of tension and conflict in Myanmar and Afghanistan, which have resulted in the loss of lives and homes, deteriorating respect for human rights and a lack of access to basic services. Timor-Leste calls on all the parties concerned to resolve their differences through dialogue and reconciliation in order to reach peaceful and permanent solutions. In Myanmar’s country-specific situation, we welcome the regional mechanism to address the security and socioeconomic challenges and appreciate the five-point consensus adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations at its recent Leaders’ Meeting. With regard to Afghanistan, Timor-Leste calls for respect for women’s rights and the rights of Afghan people and foreigners who want to leave the country.
“With regard to multilateralism, we emphasize that language and culture connect us and foster our partnership with the countries and the people of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries, which we are proud to be part of within the context of South-South and North-South cooperation. The culture and the language that we have adopted as one of our official languages has helped to foster quality education, spread knowledge and strengthen our people-to-people connection. We believe that the Portuguese language, which in 2021 is spoken by approximately 280 million people worldwide, could also be considered for inclusion as one of the official languages of the United Nations.
“As we embark on the International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, Timor-Leste would like to take this opportunity to urge the United Nations to commit to the work of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, aimed at realizing the decolonization of the remaining 17 non-self-governing territories in order to enable the people in those territories to exercise their right to self-determination.
“Timor-Leste would also like to take this opportunity to refer to the situation in Western Sahara. The United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara has been deployed in the area for approximately three decades, but there has been no real progress. We therefore once again call on the Secretary-General to have his Personal Envoy for Western Sahara urgently relaunch the negotiation process between the Polisario Front and Morocco and enable the people of Western Sahara to exercise their right to self-determination, based on the Charter and the relevant United Nations resolutions. In another area of conflict, Timor- Leste maintains diplomatic relations with both Israel and Palestine, and we believe that a lasting solution will only be possible through coexistence, with the State of Israel and a State of Palestine living side by side.
“We are living in an ever-evolving world where the speed of change goes hand in hand with growing uncertainty. After the 76 years of the existence of the United Nations, new challenges and circumstances require effective global responses through cooperation and partnership. In order for us to remain on pace, we urgently need to restructure the Organization in its commitment to peace, security and development. In that regard, Timor-Leste appreciates the efforts to revitalize the Organization so that it can adapt to current challenges. We reiterate our full support for reforming the Security Council so that it better reflects the modern world and properly addresses global challenges in the areas of peace, security and development.
“Timor-Leste is fully committed to the protection and promotion of human rights and has ratified seven core human rights treaties and their protocols. We would like to take this opportunity to emphasize our commitment to the promotion and protection of women’s rights. Timor-Leste has made widespread efforts to achieve gender equality through the adoption of policies, legislation and programmes that contribute to achieving that goal. Although we continue to face cases of gender- based violence and difficulties in accessing justice, Timor-Leste is strongly committed to removing such obstacles from its path towards achieving gender equality.
“Timor-Leste is grateful for the support that it has received from the United Nations, its development partners and various civil-society organizations, which are helping us in our effort to eliminate gender-based violence in our society. We have made considerable progress in terms of complying with international human rights instruments and reporting and feel increasingly
confident in our right to participate in discussions and decisions on human rights issues.
“In addition, while Timor-Leste experienced the bitter impact of human rights violations on its path to restoring its independence, our existence as a country is a United Nations success story with regard to defending human rights principles and values. We therefore feel a moral obligation to contribute to promoting human rights at the global level. Timor-Leste has therefore decided to run for a seat on the Human Rights Council for the term from 2024 to 2026, in order to contribute to the Council’s work of promoting and advancing the principles and values of human rights at the national and global levels. We are counting on the support of Member States to be able to contribute in that regard.”