Monaco

Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen Heads of State and Government, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, For the second year in a row, we are forced to hold this meeting in exceptional circumstances, but developments in the situation will allow us all, I hope, to meet in New York next year. President Abdulla Shahid, allow me to congratulate you on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. I am delighted that, through you, the voice of small island developing States has assumed such a level of responsibility. The presidency of hope, which has guided your campaign, represents the positive message that our peoples need. I would also like to pay tribute to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir, for enabling the General Assembly to fulfil its role in this difficult context. Mr. Secretary-General, your reappointment represents the recognition by Member States of your leadership and dedication to the great causes of humankind. Please rest assured, Mr. President and Mr. Secretary-General, of my country’s full support. We are currently living at pivotal time. Geopolitical tensions are high, people’s distrust of their Governments is on the rise and the impact of the pandemic on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is obvious. The post-COVID-19 world that we are working to build must be more resilient and sustainable. It demands that we rethink our modes of production and consumption. The robust management of the crisis and consistent support for Monaco’s population and businesses has enabled the Principality to weather this unprecedented storm. Public action has demonstrated that it remains key to resolving global challenges. Nevertheless, our response has remained fragmented and must be improved. The solution can come only from determined collective action, the keystone of which is multilateralism. Multilateralism is not an option; it is a necessity. We must choose balanced cooperation, which welcomes discussions, disagreements and mediation to find common solutions, guided by the principles and ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. Mr. President, tomorrow’s world will be an increasingly connected world. The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the extent to which technology can be indispensable. It has changed business strategies, consumer habits and access to public services, such as health care and education. Narrowing the digital divide is therefore a priority, as 3 billion people lack access to the Internet. Mr. Secretary General, your Roadmap for digital cooperation outlines the key challenges that need to be met in the area. Three years ago, I launched the Extended Monaco digital programme to build a more ecological and connected Monaco for tomorrow. I was not expecting to see my decision justified so soon. In being more prepared, the Principality has been able to maintain its economic activity and its social, educational and cultural services, and was able to do so even at the peak of the crisis. In order to achieve those goals, we have put in place a suitable legislative framework, efficient infrastructure and a high level of data protection. But cyberspace calls for everyone’s vigilance. With the health crisis, cyberattacks against civilian infrastructure have multiplied in flagrant violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Social networks have also been the scene of disinformation campaigns. A delicate balance remains to be found between, on the one hand, disinformation, hate speech and conspiracy theories and, on the other, respect for fundamental freedoms. We must also consider the environmental impact of these new technologies, which consume great amounts of energy. Mr. President, the measures taken to curb the epidemic have also had serious consequences on the mental health and well-being of populations. That dimension has likely been underestimated, and it is imperative for everyone to be able to return to a normal life. For many of us, personal fulfilment is also expressed through practicing sports. As a member of the International Olympic Committee, I would like to congratulate and thank Japan for hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo. I would also like to pay tribute to the leadership shown by the President of the International Olympic Committee, and I could not agree with him more when he says that, “We are always stronger together”. The values imbued by sports and their practice are of vital importance to developing human relations, which is why they play a role in achieving the SDGs. Mr. President, let us not allow the pandemic to delay meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. My country is firmly committed to the achievement of SDG 2, as well as the decade of action on nutrition and the decade of family farming. The pandemic has highlighted the inequalities inherent in agri-food systems. By convening the United Nations Food Systems Summit and the high-level dialogue on energy, you are giving these issues their just due by placing them on the political agenda, while balancing the fight against climate change with meeting the future needs of 10 billion people in 2050. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Monaco is pursuing its energy transition in order to meet the goal I set on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Paris Agreement, namely a 55 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050. But this effort must be global, as neither the Principality’s commitments nor those of any other country alone will be able to prevent the temperature from rising beyond 1.5°C by the end of the century. I therefore call on all States to be as ambitious as possible, as they review their nationally determined contributions to the fight against climate change, and adopt robust measures at the upcoming COP-26 to be held in Glasgow. Post-COVID-19 reconstruction must be green and sustainable and, I would go so far to say, based on nature. The pandemic has reminded us how costly and dangerous the destruction of ecosystems can be for human beings. Monaco advocates the implementation of concrete measures to protect the environment. In that regard, COP-15 of the CBD will provide us a with singular opportunity to adopt an ambitious global framework for the preservation of biodiversity. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, I would also like to talk more specifically about the protection of the oceans. In personal terms, the cause belongs to a long family tradition, as the Princes of Monaco have shown a strong personal commitment to our seas and oceans. My great- great grandfather, Prince Albert I, dedicated his life to them. In 2022, 100 years after his death, we will commemorate the visionary Prince and his valuable contribution to science. The United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development is providing us with an opportunity to take collective action to combat ocean degradation and threats posed by human activity. Mr. President, placing the most vulnerable at the top of the agenda of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals means recognizing that fundamental rights concern both men and women. However, 26 years after the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, the recent Generation Equality Forum, sponsored by France and Mexico, was able to take note only of the fragility of women’s rights and even their reconsideration. Within the framework of Sustainable Development Goal 5, dedicated to gender equality, Monaco is focusing on combating all forms of discrimination against women at the international level. In that regard, I am pleased by the fact that the Principality has been elected to the Executive Board of UN-Women and that it has joined the Group of Friends for the Elimination of Violence against Women and Girls. My country will also pursue its cooperative efforts to promote health-care programmes, inclusive education and the economic empowerment of women. Finally, Monaco hails the recent appointment of the new Global Advocate of Every Woman Every Child, Mrs. Kersti Kaljulaid, President of the Republic of Estonia, whose noble mission will be to galvanize our efforts to meet the health needs of women and children. Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, The current crisis we are undergoing has demonstrated the importance of science, technology and innovation and has led to an accelerated increase in scientific discoveries and collaborative efforts. Such achievements offer hope for a solution to the crisis. We nevertheless made the commitment 10 years ago to leave no one behind. Our collective promise to build a better and sustainable world is our shared responsibility. Our failure would therefore be a collective failure with dramatic consequences. The Earth will survive this climate crisis, as it has so many times in the past. Will humankind be able to say the same? We now know with certainty that the point of no return is extremely near. For too long, we have prioritized material and political matters. Faced with an existential risk, we can no longer procrastinate. It is up to us to restore multilateralism at the core of our work, use every tool at our disposal to accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and respond to the needs of our peoples and the planet before our excesses become irreversible.