Cabo Verde

Madam President of the 80th Session of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies,

It is with great honor that I take the floor in this General Assembly, on behalf of the people and the Government of Cabo Verde, in this session in which we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the United Nations.

The 80th anniversary of our organization comes in turbulent times marked by:

1. Devastating wars and armed conflicts;
2. Humanitarian crises of enormous magnitude;
3. Expansion of populism and extremism;
4. A structured anti-system that fights to impose a system that eliminates the boundary between democracy and autocracy, as well as, between truth and lies.

This turbulent world helplessly watches the acceleration of climate change, threatening Planet Earth and Humanity.

No country is immune to this disruptive movement that advances with the impulse to exercise absolute power, the provocation and exploitation of social fractures and the ideology of post-truth.

This turbulent world requires a United Nations empowered as a global regulator and that is only effective when resulting from the political will of its Member States.

In this context, I would like to praise the UN80 Initiative, launched by Secretary-General António Guterres, as a space for reflection and renewal of multilateralism; and to mobilize political will for peace, sustainable development and human rights.

Cabo Verde welcomes the revitalization of the Commission on the Status of Women, a central instrument for the promotion of gender equality in the multilateral system.

We believe that the acceleration of the Sustainable Development Goals depends on the empowerment of women. We will continue to be staunch advocates for this cause, both inside and outside the United Nations.

We advocate the urgent and necessary reform of the Security Council, in line with Africa's position.

The Summit of the Future offers a unique opportunity to strengthen commitment to the SDGs. More than global goals, it is the human dignity of millions of people that is at stake. Real people, children of God, living in real countries.

Acting in multiple dimensions, we recognize the importance and relevance of the Global Compact for Digitalization for equitable access to digital technologies and artificial intelligence.

Excellencies,

Cabo Verde is an active and dynamic SIDS committed to the multilateral agenda. We currently hold the vice presidency of AOSIS.

We actively participated in the 3rd Ocean Conference. We were chosen to co-facilitate, along with Australia, the negotiations that led to the Nice Declaration "Our Ocean, our future, our responsibilities", containing firm commitments to the sustainability of the oceans.

We welcome the AOSIS Leaders' Declaration, the adoption of which demonstrates a strong commitment to issues related to the Ocean, Climate and Sustainable Development.

We applaud the successful 4th Conference on Financing for Development. The Seville Commitment is a unique opportunity to boost development, especially in the most vulnerable countries, such as SIDS.

For us, SIDS, it is essential to operationalize the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index, the mechanisms for converting debt into climate finance and the Loss and Damage Fund.

The Antigua and Barbuda Plan of Action stands. Its implementation into resilient prosperity is SIDS' greatest ambition.

We note with satisfaction a historic achievement: the entry into force of the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction. Cabo Verde is among the first 60 states to ratify this important treaty.

I would also like to highlight, with particular satisfaction, the entry into force of the historic Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies. Cabo Verde is proud to have participated in this process and we firmly believe that this Agreement is a decisive tool in the fight against illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing, practices that threaten marine biodiversity and the food security of millions of people.

Unfortunately, it was not possible to reach consensus for the adoption of a treaty on plastic. We must continue to insist.

I particularly welcome the Special Meeting on Climate convened by Secretary-General António Guterres and Brazil's President Lula da Silva, on the sidelines of this General Assembly and in preparation for COP30.

The COP in Belém represents a crucial moment for the full implementation of the Paris Agreement and to ensure that climate ambition translates into just action.

As SIDS, we demand clear commitments from all States, especially the largest emitters, to limit the temperature increase to 1.5ºC. This is not a mere claim, it is a matter of survival for All, All, All.

Excellencies,

Global peace and security remain threatened, increasingly threatened.

Cabo Verde's position has been clear, predictable and consistent:

1. We condemn coups d'état;
2. We condemn terrorism;
3. We condemn genocide;
4. We condemn assaults on the territorial integrity of countries;
5. We advocate dialogue and diplomacy for the prevention and resolution of conflicts.

We support a just and durable peace for the resolution of the war in Ukraine.

We support the two-state solution, Israel and Palestine, living side by side, in peace and security.

We advocate a strong commitment to preventing and combating terrorism and conflict in Africa.

We advocate multilateralism and a strong and effective UN, converging with the principles of the Chinese Global Governance Initiative.

We are a democracy based on the rule of law and political freedom, freedom of expression and economic freedom, and we want to continue like this.

We belong to ECOWAS, a space of economic integration and neighbourhood and to the CPLP, a space of the Portuguese language and cultural affinities.

We have a special partnership with the European Union anchored in shared values of democracy, freedom and good governance; a region with which our currency has been linked with a fixed parity to the euro since 1998 and with which we have strong economic relations.

Due to our location between the African Continent, Europe and the Americas, the EU, the USA and Brazil are our first-line partners in cooperative maritime security, preventing and combating drug trafficking, human trafficking, maritime piracy, illegal fishing and cybersecurity.

It is this democratic, stable Cabo Verde, open to the world, and guided by trust in the relations with our partners, that we want to preserve and develop in this troubled geopolitical world.

Madam President,

Cabo Verde has the honor of assuming one of the vice-presidencies of this General Assembly, and reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the Charter, the principles and values of the United Nations.

We will continue to be a constructive voice, an active partner and a country committed to being useful to the International Community.

"Together we are better". Together we can honor the 80th anniversary of the UN, and face the future with renewed hope: for more peace, more development and more human rights.

Thank you very much.