Burundi 2024 — GA Speeches

Excellency Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations,

Excellencies, Heads of State and Government,

Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Excellencies, Ministers, dear colleagues,

Distinguished delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, all protocol observed,

It is a great honour and privilege for me to address this august assembly on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Evariste NDAYISHIMIYE, President of the Republic of Burundi, who could not be with you this morning and who has honoured me by asking me to represent him at this gathering in order to convey Burundi's voice and position on the global challenges facing the world today.
Allow me, Mr. President, to convey to you the warm congratulations of the Burundian President on your brilliant election to the presidency of this session. Your wisdom, your long and rich political and diplomatic experience, your keen sense of listening and your qualities as a seasoned negotiator are for us a guarantee of the success of this gathering. You can always count on Burundi's full support and complete cooperation throughout your term.
Mr. President, your predecessor, Ambassador Dennis Francis, deserves equal admiration and recognition for having remarkably devoted himself to accomplishing his mission with brilliance during the session we have just closed.
At the same time, Mr. President, well-deserved tribute is also owed to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his services to humanity through his ongoing courageous action to make the United Nations an organization close to the peoples, despite the complex global context in which he operates.
Mr. President, the theme chosen for this session, namely "unity in diversity for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity everywhere and for all," is all the more timely given that the world we live in today is moving rapidly toward disunity and the questioning of the values of peace, solidarity and mutual understanding. This disunity is compounded by a new kind of radicalism that is driving Member States further apart in agreeing on how to tackle global challenges in a spirit of compromise and mutual trust.
Indeed, Mr. President, today more than ever, most of us act as if we were alone in the world. As if others did not exist or did not matter. Solidarity has become a scarce commodity at the very moment when we need it most. Yet we know that all the conflicts, whether direct or by proxy, that the world has experienced stem from this same logic: the negation of the other; of their interests, of their very identity, whether cultural, religious or civilizational. In short, the loss of trust, tensions surrounding geostrategic positioning, and deliberate disinformation are polarizing countries and paralyzing societies around the world at an increasingly alarming pace.
Mr. President, as is necessarily fitting in such cases, my country, Burundi, firmly condemns all those who seek to impose their views, practices or own values and ideas on others through muscular diplomacy and political conditionalities attached to development aid, while forgetting, Mr. President, that the world is plural and that difference within diversity constitutes a great driving force for development, for economic growth and for the flourishing of our societies.
Properly understood at its true value, diversity in all its dimensions is a mine of varied possibilities, opportunities and inspirations. The wealth of viewpoints, experiences and practices brings a variety of ideas, knowledge, understanding and acceptance of the other, which can significantly improve a society's capacity to thrive, to understand the different perspectives of the contemporary world in which we live, and thus to live in peace and harmony with its immediate and distant environment.
As you know, Mr. President, cultural and value diversity constitutes a powerful lever for building bonds beyond differences. It unites populations and thereby supports social cohesion, peace, security and peaceful coexistence. Despite this unifying function, the last twenty years have been marked by the growing instrumentalization of culture and values for purposes of division and tension.
Because of its significance and its intrinsic connection to populations, the cultural and value diversity that we cherish has increasingly been placed at the forefront of conflicts and used as a tool of division, even a weapon of war, and above all, to dominate weakened societies, particularly in the most fragile regions of the world.
This self-centered exploitation of culture and values has contributed not only to the prolongation of crises and conflicts, but also to the deprivation of the exercise of human rights, particularly economic, social and cultural rights.
Today more than ever, bridging the gap between cultures, values and civilizations is urgent and necessary to establish peace, stability, solidarity and inclusive development that leaves no one behind.
Mr. President, the world we live in today needs, more than ever, a consensual approach to face major challenges such as the conflicts that continue to rage, worsening natural disasters and climate change, ever-present poverty and inequality, the mistrust and dissension that divide the world, the eroding spirit of compromise, international solidarity that is losing momentum, not to mention the sustainable development goals that are far from being achieved.
With regard to its role in building a better future and a world order founded on the rule of law, a peaceful, equitable, prosperous and united world, my country Burundi continues its ambition to consolidate friendly relations and cooperation based on the principle of mutual respect and the sovereign equality of States, the ultimate goal being to make Burundi a country that is a friend to all and an enemy to none.
Mr. President, Burundi is a true advocate of multilateralism, in which all countries have a role to play in facing the challenges of the moment, as you yourself, Mr. President, and the Secretary-General of our Organization have rightly mentioned. In this regard, Burundi opposes unilateral measures imposed by certain actors, measures which can lead to the erosion and destruction of the social fabric in targeted countries.
As for the implementation of the United Nations 2030 Agenda, if nothing is done to reverse current trends, Mr. President, we are gradually heading toward abandoning the promise made to humanity in 2015 in this very hall. With only six years remaining before the deadline, the Secretary-General's report on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) clearly shows that only 17-18% of the goals are on track; nearly half have made little or moderate progress, while more than a third have stagnated or even regressed. Faced with such an alarming situation, we, the peoples, have no more time to lose; let us act together and swiftly to save the future generation, which will judge us by our actions in the event of inaction.
Mr. President, it is crucial that the international community redouble its efforts to address the various needs and challenges encountered, with particular focus on countries in special situations, such as the least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing States, with the aim of reversing the trend and hoping to leave no one behind, as we collectively decided in 2015 through the United Nations 2030 Agenda.
Mr. President, at the national level, Burundi, like all other nations, is working relentlessly to significantly improve the quality of life of its population. The Burundian people firmly believe that the only path leading to true political independence necessarily passes through economic independence, which itself is not possible without peace and security. To achieve this, the Government of Burundi, under the enlightened leadership of the President of the Republic, H.E. Evariste Ndayishimiye, has committed to capitalizing on the peace and security already achieved, by establishing an ambitious and achievable vision to make Burundi an emerging country by 2040 and a developed country by 2060.
The goal sought in this reference document is to build a Nation characterized by the well-being of its population, a sustained increase in production, and structural changes leading to increased life expectancy, the satisfaction of basic needs, as well as the reduction of unemployment and poverty in all its forms, dimensions and manifestations.
By 2040, Burundi plans to be a peaceful country, where everyone lives in decent conditions, where no one dies from a preventable cause, with a competitive economy driven by the agri-food and high value-added industrial sectors and by mining exploitation benefiting society, all within a preserved natural environment and taking into account the gender and equity dimensions.
An African proverb says, "If you want to go fast, walk alone; if you want to go far, let us walk together." Through this vision, Burundi has chosen to go far, and it will do so together with Burundi's partners and friends. In this regard, I would be remiss, Mr. President, if I did not seize this opportunity to inform this august assembly that the Government of Burundi is organizing, from December 5 to 6, 2024, a round table for public and private investors wishing to establish mutually beneficial partnerships with Burundi in several sectors, including agribusiness, mining, and development infrastructure. This round table will give potential investors the opportunity to discover the many business opportunities in Burundi, and above all the still-untapped mineral wealth that Burundi holds, this small, beautiful country at the heart of Africa, a land of milk and honey, a land of a thousand hills, a land of a thousand and one opportunities, a land of a thousand and one natural beauties, in short, a hidden paradise to discover on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, the second-deepest lake in the world.
Mr. President, with regard to peace and security, Burundi, always siding with solutions rather than problems, reaffirms its commitment to the peaceful settlement of conflicts around the world through the tools that preventive diplomacy places at our disposal, namely dialogue, cooperation, consultation and negotiation. You are well aware, Mr. President, distinguished delegates, that without peace, no development is possible, and likewise, without development, peace becomes utopian, the two being two sides of the same coin.
The terrorist threat and the dangers linked to violent extremism have multiplied in recent years, with more and more ramifications at the local, regional and international levels. Faced with this existential threat, Burundi is committed to pursuing and strengthening its collaboration with other nations to prevent and combat terrorism and violent extremism through its substantial contribution to peace and counter-terrorism operations, notably in Somalia, the Central African Republic and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, in order to accompany these brotherly countries in their legitimate efforts to restore peace and State authority over the whole of their territories.
Mr. President, the climate crisis is unfolding before our very eyes across the planet, and lasting solutions are slow to come due to a lack of funding for climate action capable of helping countries of the global South cope with the triple planetary crisis, namely climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss. Burundi, like other countries in the sub-region, is increasingly affected by climate change despite its minimal contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions. The frequency of climate phenomena such as floods, landslides and droughts, and the rise in the level of Lake Tanganyika, is increasing. These events disrupt agricultural cycles, resulting in crop losses, food insecurity and the degradation of local ecosystems. We are calling for a simplification of timeframes to enable severely affected countries to receive green financing to limit the adverse effects of climate change on the implementation of the SDGs.
Mr. President, to do its part for the climate cause, Burundi, like other signatory countries to the Paris Agreement, has committed itself through its Nationally Determined Contributions document and has integrated environmental protection, strengthening resilience to climate change, and food security into national policies and into Burundi's vision: "Emerging Country by 2040 and Developed Country by 2060."
As you know, Mr. President, climate hazards do not affect only the physical environment; they also affect the good health of populations. To this end, Burundi has taken health measures into account in its climate change mitigation plan and broke the record in the recent report by the Global Climate and Health Alliance, ranking at the top of the list of countries that have taken the health of their population most into account in their mitigation plan.
Furthermore, Mr. President, several landscape protection and restoration initiatives have been undertaken, notably a vast national reforestation programme called "Ewe Burundi Urambaye" ("Burundi Covered," in French), the promotion of agroforestry, and the tracing of contour lines with the involvement of all segments of the population.
Next comes the question of human rights on the list of challenges to be addressed. For Burundi, dignity, as reflected in our central theme, begins with the promotion and protection of human rights, which are universal, indivisible, interdependent and closely interconnected. My country, Burundi, firmly believes that human rights must adhere to the fundamental principles of universality, transparency, impartiality, non-selectivity, non-politicization and objectivity, as well as the rejection of double standards. The special mechanisms sometimes imposed to regulate geopolitics in certain regions of the world must give way to dialogue and cooperation.
In this context, Burundi must be treated at its true value by the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and I call on certain actors to stop continually attaching to it special mechanisms of a political nature with no added value in terms of the enjoyment of human rights in all their components. I encourage, in this regard, the initiators of this type of project—they will recognize themselves—to withdraw the initiative to extend the mandate of the so-called Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burundi, because such an attitude, aimed at regulating Burundi's domestic politics, generates unnecessary and, above all, avoidable tensions between our country and the initiators of this politically motivated, cynical and immoral project.
Mr. President, the question of multilateralism has received particular attention since the opening of our session. After 79 years of the United Nations' existence, the shared observation is that, despite its well-known limitations, multilateralism has helped bring undeniable results to certain global problems. The most recent example showing that multilateralism is not dead and buried is the adoption by consensus, in this very hall, on September 22 of this year, of our Pact for the Future and its annexes, a concise and action-oriented document.
However, Mr. President, despite this encouraging outcome, there are early signs of the gradual weakening of the spirit of compromise and indifference toward collective rules. In an increasingly globalized world, where interdependence is high, no State, however powerful, can hope to resolve alone all the challenges it faces. States must preserve and strengthen mutual engagement and adopt a more coordinated approach, based on rules of the game, in order to avoid unilateral actions that often manifest themselves as blatant interference in the internal affairs of other countries, in violation of the principles and values enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations.
Mr. President, regarding the reform of the Security Council, whose endless negotiations have become elastic, my country, Burundi, through my voice, reaffirms its attachment to the common African position reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus. It cannot be said enough, Mr. President, that the current multilateral system shows its limits in ensuring effective global governance. The notorious injustice against Africa—the only continent absent from the Security Council in the permanent member category and underrepresented in the non-permanent member category—must end. Seeking to perpetuate the exclusion of more than 1.2 billion inhabitants from the table where major decisions concerning them are made is simply an unacceptable attitude.
Mr. President, universal, equitable and financially affordable access to information, as well as to the infrastructure providing such access, is also one of the major challenges of modern times. The internet is meant to be a means of bringing spaces and peoples closer together. However, the "web," as it is called, favours rich countries, while developing countries, particularly in Africa, remain poorly connected. At a time when the world and exchanges are becoming increasingly digitized, Mr. President, it is imperative that all countries have access to the internet, including artificial intelligence, which is revolutionizing the world. The growing and gaping gap between countries of the global North and South causes the latter to lose a great many social, scientific and economic opportunities. Since leaving no one behind is one of the pillars of United Nations action, it is more urgent than ever that this digital divide be bridged in the legitimate interest of current and future generations.
In conclusion, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Burundi reaffirms its commitment to working toward strengthening "unity in diversity for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity everywhere and for all."

Thank you for your kind attention!