How encouraging it is to see the General Assembly meet in person again. When I stepped into this solemn Hall, I felt a sense of relief. But while we all yearn to get back to normal, is that sense of relief justified? What is the “normal” that we can actually hope for? Can we feel relieved when the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still all around us and too many people are not vaccinated? Can we be relieved when climate change is becoming a matter of life and death for a growing number of people? Is there room for relief when human rights are being challenged
in so many places? All over the world, people who are perceived as different are confronted with hate speech, hate crimes, discrimination and abuse. Can we really feel relief when the new normal for women and girls in Afghanistan is to go home, keep silent and stay inside? No, we cannot.
Let me quote the late former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, who was murdered exactly 60 years ago last week. “The weakness of one is the weakness of all, and the strength of one...is indirectly the strength of all.” That is why Belgium remains strongly committed to multilateralism and to an international order based on the rule of law — the founding principle of our United Nations. Only through common action will we build common strength. Only through multilateralism will we provide long-term answers to today’s complex crises. Which vulnerabilities, then, require our common action? I see three.
The first is COVID-19. We need to bring the pandemic to an end. It is now almost two years since our lives were turned upside down by an unprecedented health crisis. I would like to express my deepest appreciation to the health-care workers in Belgium and elsewhere who continue to battle that deadly virus. Belgium is among the top vaccinated countries in the world, with 85 per cent of our adult population fully vaccinated. But we are also a leading exporter of vaccines, accounting for two thirds of all European exports. We are one of the world’s vaccine powerhouses, and we acted like one by keeping trade lanes open and exporting more than 530 million vaccines to the rest of the world without ever imposing an export ban.
If we are to overcome the pandemic, vaccine solidarity is a crucial condition since no one will be safe until everyone is safe. It is therefore unacceptable that today less than 4 per cent of Africa’s population is fully vaccinated. As Hammarskjold said, “The weakness of one is the weakness of all.” As long as the virus continues to circulate, the risk of new variants is there and no one will be safe. The COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) Facility is the best mechanism for strengthening vaccination solidarity and closing the global vaccination gap. Belgium has already donated 1.5 million doses, and by the end of the year we will have donated a total of 4 million vaccines. With close to €3 billion pledged to COVAX, the European Union is one of its major donors, but we must do more. We must also boost local vaccine production through technology transfers and the sharing of knowledge. That is one of Team Europe’s objectives. At least €1 billion will be invested to that end. As we speak, a private Belgian company is working with partners in Senegal to start local vaccine production there. We must also prepare for the next pandemic, even if the present one is far from over. A new pandemic treaty will enable us to be better prepared, build resilient health systems and increase access to decent health care and quality medicines. In addition, we need a transformed World Health Organization that is fit for purpose to lead those efforts.
The coronavirus has taken the lives of nearly 5 million people, and it has also had a devastating impact on our 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. It has halted and even reversed many of the recent positive developments. Extreme poverty is on the rise again for the first time this century. Economies have been pushed into recession, and fragile countries have been struck harder than others. Yet giving up is not an option. As the Secretary-General said in his report on Our Common Agenda, we must usher in a new era of universal social protection. No one country can cope with these unprecedented challenges on its own. That is why Team Europe is pooling efforts and resources to assist the most vulnerable countries. Belgium is proud to be part of that collective European effort. So let us not lose courage. We must build back. But we are faced with an important choice, even an opportunity. Do we continue with business as usual or do we do things differently?
That brings me to a second vulnerability that requires our attention, the climate crisis and the urgent need to put sustainability at the heart of all our efforts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report, published last month, says unequivocally that the increase in carbon-dioxide concentration and global temperature is unprecedented. Every region of the world is now witnessing the adverse effects of climate change sooner than expected. This summer, Europe and my country were hit hard by extreme weather conditions. Forty-one of our citizens lost their lives in the worst floods our country has ever seen. We were in shock. In the face of the brutality of the forces of nature, many of us felt very small. We will rebuild, but it will not be enough. We cannot sit back and wait for the next flood, heat wave or extreme drought to kill again. We must act, and we must act now.
This makes the twenty-sixth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Glasgow, the most important meeting of recent years. With the European Green Deal, the European Union intends to be climate neutral by 2050 and to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by at least 55 per cent by 2030. We hope that more countries will follow Europe’s lead. This transition to sustainability is costly, but it is also a major economic opportunity. It triggers innovation and drives new growth. It is the future our young people demand. That is why Belgium will double its wind-energy capacities in the North Sea and will remain one of the global leaders in offshore wind-energy production. We will increase investments in renewable energy, and we have a clear goal of becoming one of the most significant hubs for clean hydrogen supplies.
Our common mission in Glasgow is crystal clear. We need to do whatever it takes to limit global warming to the Paris Agreement on Climate Change target of 1.5°C. Building the resilience of the most fragile countries will be an important part of that effort. That is why we must deliver on our financing commitment of $100 billion and why Belgium plans to increase its contribution to international climate finance. It is quite literally a matter of life and death. If we fail to act on the climate crisis, not only will we lose more lives, but global tensions, instability and insecurity will increase.
That brings me to the third vulnerability, our international security. Twenty years ago, the attacks of 11 September not only changed this city, they changed the world. Five years ago, my country was also attacked by terrorists. Like France, we are bringing terrorists to justice, but we have not yet defeated terrorism. Terrorists continue to claim innocent lives, as they did recently at Kabul airport.
Belgium is one of the founding members of the Global Coalition against Da’esh. We participate actively in the fight against terrorism with military deployment as well as stabilization and reconstruction efforts through the United Nations Development Programme. Throughout the Sahel, our bilateral cooperation encompasses both defence and development. But the fact is that security is not sufficient to ensure stability, and we cannot close our eyes to the humanitarian situations that worsen these problems. Failure to prevent conflict often results in a failure to protect human dignity, with people losing everything. My country is a major humanitarian donor. Belgium’s budget for humanitarian aid last year was €200 million. During our Security Council tenure, we attached great importance to issues such as humanitarian access to Syria. Similarly, we will continue to help the Afghan people with humanitarian aid. Belgium will do its part, in line with its commitment announced last week in Geneva. The world cannot turn its back on the Afghan people. Yes, humanitarian assistance is necessary and needed to save lives, but tents and food alone will not be enough. I see a key role for the United Nations in remaining close to the people of Afghanistan in order to provide humanitarian assistance, but even more important, to prevent the country from imploding. If we turn our backs on the Afghan people it will come at a high cost. A population plunged into extreme poverty will fall victim to extreme ideologies or will do anything it can to leave the country.
Those three vulnerabilities — health, climate and security — are a threat to human rights and their universality. For Belgium, peace, security and development are not possible without a profound respect for human rights. In every crisis and in every war, women and girls suffer first and suffer most. We are concerned about the appointment of a Taliban Government that does not reflect the political, religious and ethnic diversity of Afghanistan. Afghan women and girls are already bearing the brunt of that attitude. They are being tear-gassed, beaten, dismissed and locked up at home. We will continue to monitor their rights. They must be able to go to school, to work and to live their lives in freedom. Societies where women are respected and equally represented, where they thrive and can become teachers, society leaders or chief executive officers, are stronger and more stable societies.
Twenty years ago, Belgium played a crucial part in the adoption of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action. The fight against racism is of paramount importance to my Government. Racism, anti-Semitism and all other forms of discrimination and intolerance are unacceptable. We need to challenge and end racial injustice. In doing so, we will shape a society that lives up to the promise of the fundamental equality of all human beings.
The universality of human rights is the cornerstone of the modern international order. It is an essential obligation for all States. That universality is questioned all too often. More than ever, we have to reaffirm that
human rights are not a favour. They are an obligation everywhere, for everyone. Too many women and girls still fall victim to human rights violations. Same-sex relationships are still considered a criminal offence in too many countries. Belgium will continue to be a voice for LGBTQI people. We will not let our guard down. For all those reasons, Belgium aspires to become a member of the Human Rights Council for the term from 2023 to 2025.
These global vulnerabilities threaten the very fabric of our societies, our ways of life. They can be addressed only by a collective answer based on a dynamic multilateralism. No one is safe until everyone is safe. That has become our guiding principle in fighting the pandemic. It is the present-day translation of Dag Hammarskjold’s reminder that the weakness of one is the weakness of all. No one is safe until everyone is safe. Let that also be our common objective when it comes to climate, security and human rights. Let that guideline inspire our actions every day.