It is my pleasure at the outset to congratulate you, Mr. President, and the friendly Republic of Maldives on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session. I assure you of our total support in all tasks that would facilitate your work.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude for the much-appreciated efforts made by your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Volkan Bozkir, during his presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-fifth session.
I should like also to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres on his reappointment as Secretary-General, which is a recognition of his remarkable efforts in leading the Organization during his first term, the last year of which witnessed a grave, multifaceted challenge that has claimed countless lives and caused much material and moral damage.
Our world is still in deep mourning owing to the global coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its destructive impact. It has claimed human lives without distinction, sending out successive shockwaves that have upended our modern lifestyles in their humanitarian, political, economic and environmental aspects.
A quick glance at the figures and statistics recorded worldwide reveals the magnitude of the scars that will long remain on the world’s conscience. It shows casualties that have surpassed 4.7 million people and confirmed recorded cases exceeding 231 million, as well as the crippling burden placed on health sectors and professionals, who deserve our deepest appreciation for their dedication and work on the front lines despite the horrors that threatened many health systems worldwide with collapse. That is in addition to the exacerbation of the food-insecurity crisis owing to the disruption in supply lines, which came as an expected outcome of the severe worldwide economic downturn and stagnation, unprecedented in more than 90 years. We also saw a decline in services in the educational sector, particularly in developing and least developed countries, in a way that increasingly threatens now more than ever to reverse the gains made and undermine the achievements registered in the context of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Any study of history will show that pandemics, despite the gravity of their effects, have played pivotal roles as major catalysts for change and rebuilding for the better at the political, economic and social levels. From that standpoint, the COVID-19 pandemic served as a mirror that reflected the world’s weaknesses and revealed its chronic flaws, among which are an increase in hunger and poverty rates, prolonged conflicts, unchecked advances in modern technology with ramifications for cybersecurity and the spread of the scourge of terrorism, as well as the mounting structural disparities and gaps among countries. All those challenges have put multilateralism to an existential test of survival or of stagnation and decline.
Perhaps one of the most positive changes brought about by the pandemic was the emergence of modern patterns of creativity, innovation and adaptation, which have contributed to creating rapid responses and advanced forms of cooperation within societies
and among countries. That is in addition to the breakthrough in scientific research that was manifested in the race to defeat the virus through the production of multiple vaccines that have proved their effectiveness in providing the required immunization practically with encouraging percentages.
Yet much hinges on the ability of the international community to make optimal use of the crisis to transform our world for the better in a serious endeavour to bring about an equitable and sustainable recovery in which no one is left behind.
Recovery requires starting with several steps, the most important of which is giving utmost priority to investing in data and information infrastructure, as the availability of digital evidence will contribute to enhancing decision-making processes in the programmes and policies aimed at mobilizing resources and post-crisis rebuilding in order to shield societies from similar future crises. However, the most important and urgent step is finding fair and secure distribution patterns of vaccines to all countries towards achieving universal immunization.
In that regard, the State of Kuwait has achieved one of the highest global vaccination rates — 72 per cent for our nationals and expatriates alike. We were also able to prevent our health-care system from collapsing. My country continues to support international efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic with total contributions of $327.4 million, the latest of which consisted of $40 million to the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization Alliance and the Coronavirus Disease Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility initiative towards enhancing and improving global health security.
The Palestinian question remains central to our Arab and Muslim worlds. Tension and instability will continue in our region if the Palestinian people do not obtain all their legitimate political rights and if Israel, the occupying Power, continues its practices and violations of international humanitarian law. Those violations include the building of settlements, the confiscation of land, the closure of territories, the blockade of Gaza and the desecration of the sanctity of holy places. We stress the importance of continuing to exert efforts to restart the negotiations within a set time frame in order to achieve a just and comprehensive peace according to the terms of reference of the peace process, resolutions of international legitimacy and the Arab Peace Initiative, with a view to ending the Israeli occupation and ensuring the establishment of an independent Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital, along the borders as they were prior to 4 June 1967, and the return of the refugees.
At the same time, we commend the historic role of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East in providing basic assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees, and we stress the importance of continued support for its work.
The ongoing Syrian crisis, which has entered its eleventh year, with all the concomitant humanitarian suffering for Syrians inside and outside the country, has proved that the absence of international consensus and will, as well as external intervention, have prolonged that brutal conflict. We therefore reiterate our firm conviction that there is no military solution to the crisis. We emphasize the importance of reaching a political settlement in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions, especially resolution 2254 (2015), in a way that meets the aspirations and hopes of the brotherly Syrian people.
The continuing crisis in brotherly Yemen and the growing and dangerous threats it poses to regional security and stability are a testament to how relevant Security Council resolutions and outcomes are addressed in practice. We therefore stress our firm position that the only way out of this crisis is a political solution based on the three agreed terms of reference, namely, the Gulf Cooperation Council Initiative and its Implementation Mechanism, the outputs of the comprehensive National Dialogue Conference, and resolutions of the Security Council, especially resolution 2216 (2015). We also renew our support for the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General to Yemen.
At the same time, we welcome the constructive role played by the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia towards the implementation of the Riyadh Agreement, as well as its initiative to bring peace to Yemen. We express once again our condemnation of all acts of aggression and attacks against Saudi territories and reaffirm our support for all measures taken by the Kingdom to maintain its security and stability.
The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum’s election early this year of the Head of the Presidency Council, his deputies and a prime minister is an encouraging sign that the international community, through the United Nations, is able to make headway towards a peace that has been elusive owing to more than seven
years of severe institutional divisions that have had serious repercussions for the security and stability of Libya and countries in the region. We call once again upon our Libyan brothers to give priority to the best interests of the country, as well as to peaceful solutions that reject violence. They must commit to the outcomes of international conferences and relevant Security Council resolutions to ensure concluding all necessary arrangements for holding general elections scheduled for 24 December 2021. We expect that these efforts and arrangements will ensure the security, stability and unity of Libya and meet the aspirations of the brotherly Libyan people.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had political, social, and economic repercussions that caused global backsliding, leading to a situation that has been exploited by extremist and terrorist groups in conflict-affected, fragile or insecure areas. The Middle East in particular has suffered from destruction and sabotage operations by terrorist organizations, mainly the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, which has led basically to an intensification of efforts to combat this real danger in all its forms and manifestations as we work to dry up its funding and implement international and regional counter-terrorism conventions. Many countries in our region — Yemen, Libya, Syria, Somalia and Iraq — are facing this growing phenomenon.
The international community has followed with great interest the critical recent developments in Afghanistan. We call upon the Taliban and all parties to exercise utmost restraint to safeguard lives and fully protect civilians. We also call upon the Taliban to strictly adhere to their obligations and international law, maintain the security and stability of the country and uphold the rights and gains of the friendly people of Afghanistan.
At the regional level, based on our principled position of good-neighbourliness set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, we reiterate our call to the Islamic Republic of Iran to take serious measures towards confidence-building and the initiation of a dialogue built on respect of the sovereignty of States and non-interference in their domestic affairs, work towards defusing tensions in the Gulf, and preserve the safety, security and freedom of maritime navigation from any threats. This would contribute to laying the foundations for relations based on cooperation and mutual respect, paving the way for the realization of the aspirations of all the peoples of the region to security, stability, prosperity and development.
I turn now to a thorny regional issue. The erosion of the nuclear disarmament regime is an existential threat to the security and stability of the region. We look forward to concerted international and regional efforts aimed at successfully holding, in New York, the second session of the Conference on establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, over which the State of Kuwait will be presiding in November.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic continues to deprive countries of the gains made towards the Sustainable Development Goals. The crisis has shown that different aspects of sustainability are interlinked worldwide, including the issue of climate change and ecosystems. In this regard, we expect the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Glasgow in November, to undertake a constructive review to track the progress made and identify shortcomings based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and burdens towards ending environmental degradation characterized by marked increases in temperatures, severe storms and flooding, as well as deforestation owing to fires in a number of countries, which could have severe environmental repercussions.
In conclusion, I reiterate our adherence to the international multilateral system and to the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter, to ensure developing and strengthening international governance, guarantee the realization of the Organization’s noble mission in maintaining international peace and security, and serve all of humankind.