Egypt

Ladies and gentlemen, Heads of Delegation,

Mr. Philemon Yang, President of the General Assembly,

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

I address you from this esteemed podium at a delicate juncture, amid compound crises battering the Middle East region and the world... carrying Egypt's vision, rooted in history and oriented toward the future, a vision that has been tempered by challenges and wars and has taken peace, justice, and action as its approach to building a region and a world that accommodates everyone with freedom, dignity, and justice.

I speak to you on behalf of a founding state of the United Nations, whose role in building bridges, weaving international consensus, and defending the interests of its Arab, African, and developing-world spheres is known far and wide... Our belief is firm in the importance of preserving an effective multilateral system for building stable international relations based on respect for international law and the promotion of peace and cooperation.

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From this standpoint, we find it incumbent upon us to sound the alarm regarding the current international situation... The international system, established nearly eight decades ago, now faces a fundamental deficiency that may lead to its erosion and threatens its survival, due to the absence of effectiveness, the prevalence of inequality, and the spread of double standards.

Young generations around the world are raising legitimate questions about the utility of the multilateral international system and its impact on the life of contemporary humanity... Does it provide them security? Does it help them confront poverty and hunger? Does it protect them from the risks of climate change? Does it grant them knowledge and prepare them to deal with the horizons of advanced technology? Does it intervene to save them in the face of occupation, terrorism, killing, and destruction? Does it apply unified and transparent standards, and measure with the same yardstick in all issues?

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In light of this, and given the similarly legitimate questions raised during the preparations for the "Summit of the Future," and the positive outcomes reached by the Summit—which we welcome as representing a step in the right direction toward restoring the vitality and effectiveness of the multilateral system, foremost among which is the United Nations—allow me to present a specific vision for restoring equality and confronting double standards... and a conception for further revitalizing the UN system and enhancing its capacity to build a better future for our peoples, through five fundamental principles:

First: While acknowledging that there is no alternative to the multilateral UN system, and that our world's interconnected, cross-border challenges exceed the capacities of any single state or group of states to confront alone, we cannot avoid recognizing that the integrity of the United Nations—and hence its legitimacy and survival—is now at stake.

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The continuing Israeli aggression against Gaza for nearly a year represents a true stain of shame on the forehead of the international community and its institutions, which have been incapable of exerting even the minimum effort to stop this aggression, and which needed many long months just to begin merely calling for a halt to the aggression.

We strongly condemn the dangerous Israeli escalation, which knows no bounds, dragging the region to the edge of the abyss... and Egypt affirms its complete rejection of the current Israeli aggression against Lebanon, which constitutes a flagrant violation of its sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and political independence.

Our utmost priority now is to stop the bloodbath immediately, permanently, and unconditionally, and to stand with the utmost firmness against any attempt to liquidate the Palestinian cause through forced displacement or population-replacement policies.

Egypt has exerted intensive mediation efforts in cooperation with our brethren in Qatar and with the United States; however, Israel has thwarted these efforts over the course of several months. We reaffirm that the establishment of a unified Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remains the only path to a just and comprehensive solution that restores stability to the region and the world.

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I cannot fail here to commend the courageous positions of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and other UN leaders, foremost among them UNRWA... We also extend our condolences on the deaths of the Agency's martyrs and the martyrs of other UN agencies who fell to the bullets of the Israeli occupation, in the course of fulfilling their responsibilities and duty to defend international law and to halt the machinery of killing and destruction.

Second: The condition of equality is genuine—not formal—participation in international decision-making... Participation is not a grant or a favor bestowed by some states upon others... rather, it is the foundation and guarantee for the efficient response of the international community to the successive crises facing the international system, and for ensuring shared ownership of international decisions... Hence, it cannot be accepted that Africa and the Arab states remain without permanent representation with full powers on the Security Council, and Egypt will continue to uphold the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration to redress the historical injustice inflicted upon our African continent.

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Moreover, one cannot speak of genuine participation without radical reform of the global financial architecture and international financing institutions, including the development of the policies and practices of multilateral development banks and the provision of concessional financing to developing countries to support them in confronting the repercussions of international crises... I affirm here Egypt's support for the Secretary-General's call to make the Bretton Woods institutions more just and equitable for the benefit of developing countries.

There is no alternative to a comprehensive approach to addressing the problem of the growing sovereign debt of developing countries, through enhancing the effectiveness of existing mechanisms and creating new mechanisms for the sustainable management of the debt of low- and middle-income countries, as well as expanding debt-swap agreements, in a manner that contributes to transforming the debt challenge into opportunities for achieving sustainable development.

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Economic justice will not be achieved without giving priority to development in Africa, for advancing the wheel of development is a guarantee for preventing the outbreak of conflicts and achieving sustainable peace... Egypt, through our current chairmanship of the NEPAD Heads of State and Government Orientation Committee of the African Union, and our leadership on the issues of post-conflict reconstruction on the African continent, will work to advance the wheel of development in order to achieve African Union Agenda 2063.

Third: The way to transform differences in resources among states into comparative advantages that achieve integration and cooperation—rather than fueling disparities and deepening the gap between societies—is through strengthening the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, which is particularly evident in confronting climate change and in the governance of the scarce natural resources on our planet.

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The cornerstone for raising the level of climate commitments is directly linked to the form and scale of international support in terms of financing and advanced technological capabilities for implementing climate action at the national level. National ownership of projects and measures also ensures alignment between domestic priorities and sustainable development goals, and achieves integration among environmental, economic, and social dimensions, ensuring that the "just transition" does not become an obstacle to the right to development and the eradication of poverty. This was precisely the essence of our priorities during COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, and it remains the guiding compass for our sustained efforts to reach effective and practical outcomes, foremost among them reaching an agreement on the loss and damage financing mechanism to assist developing countries most vulnerable to climate change.

Fourth: The principle of participation and shared responsibility necessarily entails rejecting a unilateral approach to managing international resource issues and resolving disputes arising over them. This naturally applies to the issue of managing transboundary international watercourses, especially in light of the global water crisis, which we in Egypt suffer from in particular.

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Egypt is a densely populated country living in an arid desert environment, relying almost entirely on the Nile River to meet its renewable water resources... The principle of cooperation with our brotherly Nile Basin countries constitutes the cornerstone of Egypt's approach to reaching the best ways to manage our shared water resource in a manner that achieves benefit for all, in accordance with the rules of international law, to achieve equitable and reasonable utilization without causing significant harm.

We have sought, and continue to seek, to attract international investments for development projects consistent with the rules of international law in the Nile Basin countries. Despite Egypt's sincere intentions and efforts, Ethiopia has insisted on adopting a policy of procrastination and intransigence, distorting facts, and attempting to impose a fait accompli by constructing and operating the "Renaissance Dam" in violation of the rules of international law, heedless of the impact this has on the lives of millions in the downstream states of Egypt and Sudan.

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After 13 years of fruitless negotiations, and amid the continuation of unilateral Ethiopian measures in flagrant violation of international law—particularly the 2015 Declaration of Principles Agreement and the 2021 Security Council Presidential Statement—negotiations ended in December 2023. Egypt will continue to closely monitor developments in the filling and operation process of the Ethiopian dam, reserving all its rights guaranteed under the Charter to take all necessary measures in defense of the interests and survival of its people... Whoever imagines that Egypt will turn a blind eye to or tolerate an existential threat to its survival is mistaken.

Fifth: The commendable role the United Nations is trying to play in confronting emerging challenges such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence and crime must not make us forget the challenges related to the failure of the collective security system, given the UN system's inability to carry out its fundamental mission—indeed, the very reason for its establishment—namely, the maintenance of international peace and security.

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The collective security system, including the disarmament and non-proliferation regime, has become adrift... The direct or implicit threat of nuclear weapons use is no longer mere sinful fantasy; we have witnessed it as a direct threat in the ongoing war in Gaza... and we see it daily in states' pursuit of modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and hints at the possibility of using nuclear weapons, without taking serious steps toward achieving a world free of nuclear weapons, or achieving universality of the Treaty, or establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East in accordance with the decisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conferences, foremost among them the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East.

There is no region in the world more affected by the growing dysfunction in the collective security system than Africa and the Middle East. It is both remarkable and regrettable to see an increase in Security Council resolutions concerning humanitarian operations, in parallel with the Council's glaring failure to shoulder its responsibility to stop the "disease of conflicts," contenting itself instead with attempting to treat its "humanitarian symptoms"—a situation which Mr. Guterres described by saying that the United Nations has turned into "a babysitter for conflicts."

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The turbulent conflict environment directly surrounding the Egyptian state, extending across our strategic sphere from the Mediterranean Sea in the north to the Horn of Africa in the south, makes us all the more keen to strengthen the role of the United Nations in addressing the root causes of conflicts, in an integrated process from peacekeeping through peacebuilding to sustaining peace.

This can only be achieved through preserving the unity of the nation-state, its territorial integrity, and the unity of its institutions, and through national ownership of solutions, away from external dictates. This is the key to Egypt's approach to all the region's crises, from Libya to Syria, and from Sudan to Somalia. The solution, always and in all these crises, is a comprehensive political process that reunifies the institutions of the nation-state and confronts attempts to create a political and security vacuum filled by sectarian and political militias, or exploited by regional or international parties seeking to extend their influence at the expense of the countries and peoples of the region.

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Egypt affirms the necessity of supporting a comprehensive political process to resolve the Sudanese crisis on the basis of respect for Sudan's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity, and the preservation of the nation-state's institutions... Egypt supports the Libyan political solution, in accordance with the principle of national ownership, with the importance of concluding the transitional phase through holding simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections at the earliest opportunity... Egypt also calls for concerted international efforts to activate the new African peacekeeping mission in Somalia, in line with the vision of the Somali people and government for preserving its security and stability, and Egypt condemns all unilateral measures that affect Somalia's unity and sovereignty over the entirety of its territory.

Egypt also gives special priority to providing capacity-building programs in fellow African countries in cooperation with the United Nations, through the activities of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding, and the Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development.

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Mr. President,

Egypt is committed to working earnestly with all our regional and international partners to restore equality, confront double standards, and revive the UN system, in a manner consistent with the principles and purposes of the UN Charter.

Egypt will also continue to bear its responsibility in humanitarian response to the challenges of the crises raging in our regional surroundings, which have made Egypt the third-ranking country in the world in terms of asylum applications received during 2023... While the noble Egyptian people continue to bear the greatest share of support for our Arab and African brethren, there are limits that cannot be exceeded regarding the burdens Egypt can bear, and the international community bears a responsibility to mobilize the necessary financing and resources to close the funding gaps needed to meet the requirements of humanitarian operations and the needs of refugees from Palestine, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, and Libya.

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Despite the challenges posed by successive global economic crises, and the exacerbation caused by the steadily increasing numbers of incoming migrants, Egypt continues to move steadily forward on the path of building the Egyptian human being, drawing on the outcomes of the National Dialogue to give priority to strengthening human rights, the role of youth, and women's empowerment. We have also just completed the development of our first National Action Plan on the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

We will continue working to build peace and strengthen stability in our region and the world, drawing inspiration from the values of a civilization deeply rooted in history, armed with the minds of a promising youth capable of shaping the future, calling for the preservation of the sanctity of human life without distinction of color, sex, or religion, and steadfastly upholding the justice of the multilateral international system.

Thank you.