Andorra

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

I would like to begin this statement by congratulating His Excellency Ambassador Dennis Francis of Trinidad and Tobago on his election as President of the General Assembly, as well as His Excellency Csaba Kőrösi of Hungary, who, in a troubled international context, rigorously and effectively maintained the Assembly's work during the 77th session.

We thank you, Mr. President, for the theme you have chosen: "Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all." We make it our own, because it fully corresponds to the principles with which Andorra works, both from the perspective of domestic policy and from that of international policy. You may count, Mr. President, on the loyal support of our country, Andorra, for this 78th session, and we wish you every success.

A few weeks before this general debate, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, issued a fresh call for countries to act radically and urgently, because, as he warns us, "the era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived. Climate change is here. It is terrifying. And it is just the beginning."

There is no longer room for subterfuge or denial of the obvious: greenhouse gas emissions caused by the limitless consumption of natural resources have brought our planet to exhaustion, which has never been more evident than this summer. The extreme temperatures that caused more than 61,000 deaths in Europe in 2022, the wave of fires on the North American continent, the Mediterranean coast, or El Niño, are becoming ordinary phenomena that are drying out the world, making land less arable, and pushing populations to abandon their places of origin, because environmental degradation has turned them into climate refugees, condemned to live far from home.

We, human beings, are responsible for climate change, which is why the solutions to stop it will not come from nature itself, which we are degrading, but from our capacity to change the model of production and organization of our societies.

It is late to avoid certain consequences, which are unfortunately already irreversible, but not too late to curb others, and to prevent global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees by the end of the century. To this end, major transformations and social and economic changes are needed, because fighting climate change and becoming aware of it is not purely a scientific or technocratic matter to be left in the hands of experts—it is rather a political, social, economic, ethical, even philosophical problem that reveals the enormous inequalities of our world. And thus, our conviction that solutions lie in a new form of multilateralism, one more oriented towards collective action, is stronger than ever. These solutions must strengthen and help rebuild international cooperation in order to provide adequate resources to regions and promote inclusive governance and coordinated, solidarity-based policies.

And it is here, ladies and gentlemen, at the United Nations, that we must identify crises and take clear positions, actions and commitments in favor of the common good. We must, more than ever, remember the founding values of this organization, born from the ashes of the most devastating war in history. An organization in the service of peace, dialogue and multilateralism, meant to spare humanity the scourge of war. And yet, war is here. Europe is troubled by a conflict that has become a war of attrition, with enormous consequences for the Ukrainian civilian population. From our country, we strongly condemn this violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and sovereignty. We have also supported the declarations of this General Assembly, the positions expressed by other bodies such as the Council of Europe, and international sanctions, particularly those of the European Union.

Yemen, Pakistan, Ethiopia, the Sahel, and other territories no longer make the headlines, yet these are frozen conflict zones in which the most vulnerable populations are the main victims. Andorra contributes to supporting the most vulnerable, particularly women and children, through UNICEF and International Red Cross programs and their courageous work in the field.

Throughout these years, the African continent has also never ceased to be a source of concern, with breakdowns of democracy in many West African states, often under terrorist threat.

Last July, we commemorated the 25th anniversary of the adoption of the Rome Statute, the founding act of the International Criminal Court. This anniversary serves as a powerful reminder of the pressing need to promote justice for all victims of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and human rights violations. It is with this conviction that Andorra, alongside other European micro-states and civil society organized around NGOs, was a key player in the creation of the International Criminal Court, and wishes to continue to be so in order to further strengthen this institution.

Mr. President,

This year, representing my country before this Assembly holds a more particular meaning for me than ever; on July 28th last, Andorra celebrated the 30th anniversary of its accession as the 184th Member State of the United Nations. The adoption of the Andorran Constitution in 1993 allowed us to obtain international recognition, to make our voice heard beyond our borders, and to align ourselves with international law. Allow me, as part of the commemoration of this milestone, so important for all citizens of Andorra, to recall the words that Head of Government Òscar Ribas Reig spoke from this podium—now three decades ago—on how a country of small territorial size such as Andorra can contribute to improving this world.

"We are a small State," he declared, "but we are aware of the value of what is authentic, and that, in an often disproportionate world, small scale can represent a contribution to balance and coexistence. What should be the ideal size of a State? Clearly, neither economics nor political science can provide an adequate answer. Aristotle notes in his work Politics that the size of the polis must allow everyone to know the character of others; the territory, as he says, must be able to be surveyed in its entirety from the top of a mountain: Andorra meets these human and geographical characteristics."

And it is from this human perspective of the value of what is authentic, of freedom, and of what is worth loving and preserving—which has allowed us to enjoy more than seven hundred and fifty years of peaceful history—that we can bring our knowledge and our commitments to bear on shared challenges, all within the framework of multilateralism.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In the schools and spaces reserved for children in the Principality of Andorra, there are posters reminding us of the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda, and these posters are placed within view of adults. A metaphor for our society. A call from children to adults. A reminder that time is passing and that the future is in our hands. A final warning about our responsibility and our credibility should allow us to accelerate the process, to go further and reformulate current structures, and to move towards new financial, technological and environmental governance, with growth based on sustainability, cooperation and equality, in order to lay the foundations for the future of our children and young people.

The 2030 Agenda is a universal roadmap that steers the future of the planet towards lasting, resilient and inclusive societies of peace. Andorra's commitment to achieving the Goals is firm, as demonstrated by the presentation of its two national voluntary follow-up reports on the implementation of the SDGs.

For this reason, Andorra has adopted the National Strategic Plan on the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, which demonstrates the involvement of the Government, institutions, and Andorran society as a whole, in working towards the sustainable development of our planet, because this is the only way to reverse the trend of inequality, to build fairer societies, and to leave no one behind. From this standpoint, we recognize and applaud the tireless work of the Secretary-General, Mr. Guterres, and of the presidency of the General Assembly, in uniting efforts, because we still have a window of opportunity to secure a viable and sustainable future for all.

And specifically, the organization these days of the Sustainable Development Goals Summit, in which Andorra actively participated.

To achieve these goals, education is one of the best tools; it is the basis of progress, the organizing axis of societies, and the fundamental element of personal and collective growth, as a guarantee of equal opportunity, respect, civic responsibility, democracy and the future. Andorra took an active part in the Transforming Education Summit held last year, convinced that we can contribute by sharing our experience, in collaboration with UNESCO, UNICEF, and the International Organisation of La Francophonie, to implementing SDG 4 to ensure quality, inclusive, equitable and multilingual education, and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all children and young people, because education is one of our greatest assets. Andorra places particular importance on education, which allows us to offer excellent basic schooling so that children and young people—of 65 different nationalities—can grow up in an environment that fosters learning of the fundamental values of democracy and human rights, with a high degree of social cohesion, diversity, and a strong sense of belonging.

Alongside education, access to health care is another fundamental pillar of any society. The COVID-19 pandemic constituted a stress test for the health system, which Andorra was able to overcome because we have a robust system, and thanks to the professionals who make it up, who honored their profession by making a considerable effort to save the population. We must highlight the role of the World Health Organization, which this year celebrates its 75th anniversary. Seventy-five years devoted to the fight against diseases that continually threaten certain countries, against epidemics and pandemics—because they do not all bear the name COVID-19—and to addressing the structural inequalities in access to physical and mental health services suffered by populations.

Gender equality is a matter of historic social injustice. We obviously cannot change the past, but we can act to move towards a more equal society, because if we want to achieve the transformation necessary for the planet's sustainability, we cannot leave half of humanity behind. In this regard, in recent years, our country has made gender equality and non-discrimination one of its core values and has enacted pioneering and ambitious laws to defend them, which are also taught in schools. The education of girls and the training of women are both a domestic priority and part of our international cooperation efforts.

Andorra is a high-mountain country, particularly sensitive to climate change, which seriously threatens our biodiversity, the water cycle, and ultimately even our way of life. Given the geographical specificities of our territory, landlocked in the Pyrenees, we are very active members of the Mountain Partnership, and we have advocated for the Aspen Declaration to include a specific mention of the Pyrenees, as had already been done for other mountain regions. We have argued that the particular vulnerability of mountain regions around the world should receive specific attention in international forums dedicated to combating climate change.

This is a fight that cannot be won without a clear commitment to energy transition, one of the global challenges that our country must also address, and which clearly reflects the international and national commitment we have made to our citizens to move towards carbon neutrality.

Andorra's membership in the Carbon Neutrality Coalition allows us to learn from and share experiences with other Member States.

We were pioneers in introducing a green tax by establishing a carbon price of 30 euros per ton—which allows us to move towards a more sustainable model. We have adopted a circular economy law that sets 2035 as the horizon for achieving a production model in which most waste will be transformed into by-products that will be reintroduced into the production chain, with particular attention to combating the wasting of resources, and specifically food. We have also introduced universal free public transport to help lower-income families, but also to reduce the use of private vehicles.

Mr. President,

We are a State that seeks to align itself with the European Union, because in order to move forward, we cannot get around this certainty: our country's geographic and demographic interdependence with Europe is total. The Europeanization of our society's values, of our legislation—which draws heavily on Community law—and of the professional aspirations of our young people, who every day face an increasingly demanding job market, are more than sufficient reasons why we cannot turn our backs on Europe.

Likewise, it is essential to continue working to defend the values of multilateralism, such as human rights, democracy and the rule of law. They have helped us to promote peace and security on the European continent, as well as throughout the rest of the world.

Excellencies,

We have placed enormous pressure on this planet. As I said earlier, the window is still open, but one thing is certain: it could close abruptly. We must make the most of this era of scientific knowledge, and in this regard, I would like to highlight the importance of science, which has helped us so much to improve our living conditions through medicine and artificial intelligence. Today, we know much more about the behavior of the Earth's atmosphere, its interaction with land and oceans, its effects on water resources, and the survival of species. And the path forward cannot be a monologue but must be a dialogue among all peoples and for all peoples. It is for this reason that, from our country, we stand ready, more than ever, to seek the necessary points of convergence to rebuild trust and reignite solidarity: to accelerate action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals, as I mentioned earlier, and to work towards preparing, in the best possible way, for the Summit of the Future to be held in 2024, for peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.

After nearly eight decades of existence, the United Nations allows us to draw many lessons in numerous areas: from peacekeeping to the fight against climate change. And all these lessons share a common thread: humanity's great challenges require the participation of all countries and all peoples. Because the international community only moves forward by becoming aware of its interdependencies and of the fact that no country is big enough to face these challenges alone. And that solutions, to be fair and lasting, must include everyone. It is a matter of laying solid foundations for a future in which no one is left behind and in which the requirement of shared responsibility is fully embraced by all.

This is why we, the people of Andorra, believe that we must focus our efforts on achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, and all the aspirations of the international community that have resounded throughout this General Assembly. You may rest assured that you can count on Andorra's commitment to continue moving forward together.

Thank you!