Dominican Republic

Mr. President,

On behalf of the Dominican people, I wish to congratulate Mr. Philémon Yang on his election as President of this Assembly, and at the same time thank him, together with the Secretary-General, for the successful organization of this seventy-ninth session and, in particular, of the recently concluded Summit of the Future.

This ambitious effort has emphasized the need to strengthen international financing in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and it demonstrates a sincere will to work for a present and a future of peace, citizen well-being, respect for human rights, and democratic values.

I want to emphasize that, in the case of the Dominican Republic, we have made considerable progress on the SDGs in poverty reduction, food security, energy sustainability, citizen security, and climate action, to mention a few examples.

By way of example: monetary poverty fell from 25.8% in 2019 to 23% in 2023, despite the pandemic and the effects of the war, and in the first half of this year it dropped to 18.9%, the lowest level in our history.

In these four years of governance, we have more than doubled spending on social protection. Our agricultural policy has been key to guaranteeing food security and maintaining the profitability of Dominican producers. Despite being an island with limited arable land resources, we have gone from 88.5% food self-sufficiency in 2019 to 90.6% in 2023. We have largely achieved self-sufficiency in this sector.

With regard to the generation, transmission, and distribution of affordable and clean energy, we have made significant progress, as well as important improvements in electricity regulations. We began the construction of 2,000 new megawatts of thermal generation and contracted 1,504 MW of renewable energy. By the end of 2027, for the first time, we will have a generation surplus of more than 15%, which will guarantee greater stability, sustainability, and better prices for energy supply.

Citizen security has also seen notable improvement. In 2022, the homicide rate in our country was 13.2 per 100,000 inhabitants; in 2023 it fell to 11.5, and so far in 2024, it stands at 9.9. This rate is below the average for Latin America and the Caribbean, which according to UN data is 17.2.

We remain firmly committed to confronting the triple planetary crisis (climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution), playing a fundamental role in the creation of the loss and damage fund, and achieving the 30x30 goal in the protection of our maritime territory.

These crucial issues require our full attention; however, the resurgence of war and rampant violence compels us to focus on this regrettable urgency.

Since its adoption in 1945, the Charter of the United Nations has served us well, but over the decades a series of challenges have accumulated that today overwhelm its institutional framework. There is broad consensus that we urgently need a new model of global governance—one that fosters greater trust and effectiveness in the decisions emanating from this indispensable concert of nations.

For the Dominican Republic, commitment to an effective and renewed multilateralism is a priority. This approach is necessary to guarantee respect for international law and to protect nations against global threats that compromise their security and well-being. Without concerted, principle-based action, the foundations of the international community will continue to weaken.

Since its founding, the Dominican Republic has been a standard-bearer for peace and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. The loss of thousands of innocent lives—children and the elderly—is intolerable, and for this reason we raise our voice to forcefully demand the effective protection of the civilian population in accordance with the norms of international humanitarian law.

There is a solid theory positing that democracies rarely go to war with one another. We Dominicans are convinced that the promotion of democracy is an essential element for building a lasting peace.

Democracy cannot be reduced to a system of mechanical procedures; democracy must be a living reality that positively transforms the lives of citizens.

Mr. President,

We find ourselves at a crucial moment for democracy in Latin America and the Caribbean. In recent decades, we have witnessed a worrying deterioration in the quality of and support for democratic systems. According to the well-known polling firm Latinobarómetro, support for democracy has declined considerably between 2010 and 2023, while support for authoritarianism increased over the same period.

Multiple factors contribute to this decline, including the aftermath of the frequent global economic crises that have become cyclical since the late 1990s. But another equally important factor is that citizens do not perceive the tangible benefits of democracy, and they show great concern about personalism and corruption, which undermines trust in democratic institutions.

Against this backdrop, there is a notable tendency toward perpetuation in power, which in the case of Latin America takes the form of indefinite reelection, which over the past 30 years has gained strength, eroding democracy. We have the example of the crisis in Venezuela, which combines the concentration of power, the persecution of the opposition, and censorship of the media. Without the transparency required of any electoral process, and without any documentary support whatsoever, the crisis will only worsen.

We will continue to insist on the publication of all electoral records, their verification by impartial institutions, and respect for the outcome emanating from the will of the Venezuelan people. Without this publication, no legitimate winner can be declared.

Alternation in power is an essential element in guaranteeing responsible and genuinely participatory political practice. Democracy is based on a founding principle: the loser must accept defeat and exercise a loyal and constructive opposition. Another essential democratic principle establishes that the winner has a duty not to crush or subdue the adversary. Democracy cannot be exercised solely by and for the winners. The majority must guarantee respect for and the inclusion of minorities, who enjoy equal rights and must be treated with equity and justice.

Mr. President, on May 19 of this year, the Dominican people reelected me in the first round of elections to a second and final presidential term, also achieving a qualified majority in both chambers of Congress. With an eye toward strengthening Dominican democracy, I very recently submitted a constitutional reform to the Dominican Congress that seeks to consolidate, in a categorical manner, the limit on presidential reelection: two consecutive terms and never again.

This reform seeks to leave a legacy of greater political and social stability to future generations and aims to establish a general principle more clearly and robustly: power is always transitory and must be at the service of the people.

Mr. President,

Every democracy requires a commitment to the defense of human rights, which is fundamental to protecting the dignity and freedom of every individual and to granting legitimacy to political power.

The Dominican Government is deeply committed to the protection of human rights at both the national and international levels. This commitment is an integral part of our foreign policy, which establishes the promotion and defense of human rights as one of its main pillars. Here there are no calculations or sides, only principles.

That is why the crisis in Haiti deserves special attention. For more than three years now, instability in the neighboring country has generated significant pressure on our security. We have been firmly requesting the involvement of the international community in a leading and sustained role in the stabilization of Haiti. This is a strategic necessity for the security of my country and of the entire region.

The Dominican State has taken on a high level of responsibility in the face of the Haitian crisis that goes far beyond what corresponds to it, providing essential services to a large population coming from the neighboring country.

In 2023, medical care provided to Haitian immigrants represented 9.9% of all services provided through our health care system, and between 2019 and March 2024, patients of Haitian nationality accounted for a significant share of care in the public hospital network. In addition, there are currently close to 200,000 foreign minors in the Dominican public education system, of whom an estimated 147,906 are of Haitian origin. These figures reflect the Dominican Republic's committed solidarity, but we cannot do this alone.

After a long struggle for the approval of several resolutions in the Security Council, a path toward stability finally began to emerge with the creation of the Presidential Transitional Council and the arrival of the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti.

We take this opportunity to thank Kenya and President Ruto, who has borne the largest share of the personnel supporting the Haitian National Police, and the United States, which has borne the greatest financial and logistical burden. Also Jamaica, the Bahamas, and El Salvador, which have already sent their contributions. Likewise, we thank CARICOM for its efforts in favor of dialogue and consensus-building in Haiti. The Dominican Republic has made its contribution by facilitating emergency health services for the MSS.

To date, only 400 MSS personnel have been deployed out of a minimum of one thousand required for the force to be effective. However, the resources required to achieve the full deployment of the force and to reach the goals of pacification and support for the eventual holding of free, fair, and transparent elections have not yet been deposited in the trust fund for Haiti.

Ladies and gentlemen! We have reached this point through great sacrifices, but with practically one year to go before elections are to be held in Haiti, the conditions for them are still not in place. We cannot allow the efforts made thus far to collapse, for otherwise the collapse of Haiti will be imminent, and its consequences will reach the entire region.

It is unacceptable that, at this stage, the countries that have had influence over the Haitian situation or that have committed themselves to its solution have not fully honored their promises. As long as my country's national security is at stake, I will not stop demanding stability and development for Haiti.

Mr. President,

The Dominican Republic and the government I lead will continue to collaborate with the international community in a spirit of solidarity and commitment in order to fulfill the Sustainable Development Goals.

The global landscape demands that we act as a cohesive community, as a true concert of nations, with a common goal and an aligned vision for the future.

We will be judged by history not only for the speeches we deliver in these illustrious forums, but, more importantly, for the actions we undertake in practice.

We cannot fail our peoples.

We cannot fail humanity.

We cannot fail the future.

Thank you very much.