I have the cherished duty and great honour to deliver the following statement from His Excellency Mr. Paul Biya, President of the Republic of Cameroon, who instructed me to do so on his behalf before the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. I quote:
“At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session and to assure you of the full support and cooperation of the delegation of Cameroon. There can be no doubt that your wealth of experience ensures that you will guide our work successfully.
“I should also like to commend the remarkable work achieved by your predecessor, Mr. Volkan Bozkir, and to express our appreciation of the positive outcomes achieved during his term in office, against the backdrop of major challenges compounded by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
“I would also like to extend my hearty and warm congratulations to Mr. Antonio Guterres on his re-election to the helm of the United Nations Secretariat for a second term. He will therefore have the opportunity to follow up the outstanding progress achieved during his previous term, including in terms of reforms and the reorientation of the United Nations development system. I should also like to assure him of my country’s commitment to supporting him in strengthening the United Nations and implementing the global peace and sustainable development agenda.
“It is with conviction that I take the floor on Cameroon’s behalf in this generate debate on the theme ‘Building resilience through hope — to recover from COVID-19, rebuild sustainability, respond to the needs of the planet, respect the rights of people, and revitalize the United Nations’.
“The timeliness of this theme is clear as humankind tackles the COVID-19 pandemic, whose devastating social and economic consequences are jeopardizing the gains made in fighting poverty and towards attaining the Sustainable Development Goals we set ourselves to achieve by 2030.
“Now is the time for a resounding call to reinvigorate human solidarity so that we may together embrace the future that will be ours to share.
“To secure ‘the future we want’, we cannot afford to continue shying away from the numerous significant commitments undertaken at recent conferences on the environment and on climate change, in particular, the Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda on financing for sustainable development.
“The COVID-19 pandemic affords us an opportunity to forge concerted, lasting and comprehensive responses to the multiple threats and complex global challenges that face our planet and humanity.
“It is important to urgently make up for lost time in implementing he 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development — a delay due to the non-fulfilment of commitments and exacerbated by COVID-19. To that end, our political will must remain steadfast. We need to strengthen multilateralism through committing in practice to solidarity and by providing the Secretary-General and the United Nations system with the modalities and adequate and predictable resources to manage our common home.
“In that regard, I believe the reform of the Security Council remains relevant. Africa should be represented on the Council with two permanent seats and all the associated rights, as well as two additional non-permanent seats, as claimed by our continent in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration.
“Promises must cede the way to firm commitments if we are to truly achieve equal access to COVID-19 vaccines and support low-income countries on the path of science and technology, thus enabling them to tackle the multiple challenges they face.
“Let us move on to action — to reform the global economic system and to make trade fairer.
“My country takes this opportunity to welcome the proposed global minimum tax rate for multinational companies, in the hope that it will come into effect as soon as possible.
“Humankind is currently plagued by the following scourges: climate change, conflicts in many regions of the world, increasing terrorism, cybercrime, sea and ocean pollution, non-peaceful uses of outer space, social-media abuse, forest- ecosystem degradation, biodiversity loss, maritime piracy and the tragedy of migration.
“My country welcomes the forthcoming twenty- sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Stockholm+50 Conference. We will contribute our support towards ensuring the success of those conferences. It is imperative that our bilateral and multilateral partners uphold their commitments to providing developing countries with the financial and technological resources required to implement programmes for climate change mitigation and adaptation.
“In an ever more globalized world, no one will be safe until adequate steps are taken to ensure security. Let me recall that my country still wages a war in the north against Boko Haram terrorists, while enhancing cooperation with other countries of the Lake Chad basin. By contributing troops to United Nations peacekeeping operations, Cameroon is demonstrating its steadfast commitment to international peace and security.
“We continue our efforts in the north-western and south-western regions of our country seeking to end the sociopolitical tensions fuelled by armed
groups. In that regard, we have put in place a comprehensive plan comprising: a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme; a humanitarian-assistance plan; a reconstruction plan for those two regions; a national commission for the promotion of bilingualism and multiculturalism; and a special status that confers on each of the two regions in question a regional assembly, a house of chiefs, a regional executive board and an independent public conciliator.
“All of those gains have been possible thanks to the major national dialogue we convened. The Government’s actions are already yielding tangible results, with a gradual return to peace. Despite some sporadic acts of banditry perpetrated by armed gangs, the situation is improving by the day. Our defence and security forces are deployed on the ground to protect the population and their property with professionalism and respect for human rights.
“More generally, Cameroon has embarked on an extensive programme of reforms aimed at reaching emerging economy status by 2035, in keeping with the sustainable development programme of the United Nations and the African Union Agenda 2063. I take this opportunity to thank our bilateral and multilateral partners for the assistance they provide us in this endeavour.
“Ours is a moment beset by numerous challenges but also one of ample opportunity. We must learn from this moment and work together in solidarity to bring about a world of peace, security and wellbeing for each and every one among us. Cameroon is resolutely committed to that endeavour.”