Monaco

Mr. President of the General Assembly, Mr. Secretary-General, Ladies and Gentlemen Heads of State and Government, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nearly 80 years ago, the Charter of the United Nations came into being and laid the foundations of our Organization to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. Its founders were firmly convinced that there existed no power more legitimate than that collectively entrusted to this new international organization.

Over the past two days, alongside many of you, I took part in the "Summit of the Future," at the initiative of the Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres. Between hope and concern, this Summit allowed us to gauge the immense amount of work still to be done to ensure a harmonious and peaceful future for our children.

Even as we face a growing number of challenges, we are currently witnessing a proliferation of regional conflicts, a resurgence of the arms race and nuclear proliferation, as well as a marked decline in collective security.

The extreme violence of the conflicts currently raging, and the thousands of victims they claim in every corner of the world, is intolerable.

Targeted attacks on civilian infrastructure, sparing neither schools nor hospitals, constitute flagrant violations of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law. Likewise, the use of starvation as a weapon of war is an odious crime.

These acts must not go unpunished. Whatever the conflict and whatever the continent on which it takes place, international justice must establish the facts of these crimes and try those responsible—an indispensable prerequisite for eventually building a just and lasting peace.

The division of the world that we are witnessing is deeply worrying. This should not be a time for war and division, but a time for building coalitions for concrete action, intensifying cooperation, solidarity, mutual assistance, and dialogue.

My country has always been convinced that the path of multilateralism is the only possible way forward. The UN lies at the heart of multilateralism, and it is up to us to implement the roadmap we have collectively adopted.

As we committed to last year at the Summit on the Sustainable Development Goals and, once again yesterday, at the Summit of the Future, we must turn away from the path of destruction and focus on the path leading to prosperity.

The new Agenda for Peace charts a course to help us show greater solidarity and restore trust.

Milestones have already been set, showing us the way forward in the near future.

The Fourth United Nations Conference on Financing for Development, to be held next year, calls on us to rethink the international financial architecture in order to help countries pursue more sustainable and inclusive development paths.

The World Social Summit, which will also take place next year, must provide the momentum needed for greater social justice and help combat poverty, Goal No. 1 of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Sustainable development as a whole cannot achieve the expected results if it does not include women and girls.

As we celebrate, in 2025, both the 25th anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace and security, and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, we must acknowledge that gender equality—equality of rights, responsibilities, and opportunities—has still not been achieved.

Only by guaranteeing women's rights across all the Sustainable Development Goals and the actions of the Pact for the Future will we achieve greater justice and inclusion. Step by step, and whatever it takes, we must sustain our efforts to promote women's rights and ensure gender equality.

Mr. President,

Let us be clear: the most threatening challenges facing humanity in the long term are undoubtedly linked to the multidimensional environmental crisis we are experiencing, one for which, I must recall, we ourselves bear primary responsibility.

Climate change, the erosion of biodiversity and ecosystems, and the multiple forms of pollution affecting both land and ocean—the cradle of life—alike are disrupting the daily lives of millions of people and inflicting considerable economic losses.

In the face of this tragedy of the commons, there can be no room for doubt or despondency.

Certainly, we must be clear-eyed about the scale of the tasks ahead, but this must not prevent us from remaining optimistic and having faith in the future.

Indeed, we now have several major international instruments that must serve as our compass in the storm: the Paris Agreement, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, the BBNJ Agreement, and soon, I hope, a new international agreement to combat plastic pollution worldwide.

These crises require a coordinated response. Thus, as we take part in the various international forums scheduled in the coming months, let us bear in mind the need for unified and concerted action.

First in Colombia, at COP 16 of the United Nations Conference on Biodiversity, where expectations are high and reflect the many challenges to be met in implementing the Biodiversity Plan and realizing our 2050 vision: "living in harmony with Nature."

At the end of the year, at COP 29 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Baku, we will set a new collective climate finance goal for developing countries, one that must match the immense needs while remaining realistic and operational.

Creating the conditions to guarantee the right to a future in a healthy environment requires putting an end to the disruption of our ecosystems, drawing on the support of science, but also on the knowledge and expertise of the women and men on the ground who are already suffering the consequences of these changes.

I am thinking here of Small Island Developing States, particularly vulnerable to the consequences of rising sea levels, for which the possible disappearance of habitable and productive land constitutes a genuine threat to their existence.

The Principality of Monaco and its institutions dedicated to ocean preservation support the project to establish an International Panel for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS), which would be led by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

In this regard, as we progress through the Ocean Science Decade, I call on all States to accelerate the ratification process of the BBNJ Agreement, in the hope that it may enter into force as early as 2025—an important year for the planet, with the holding, in France, of the third United Nations Ocean Conference.

This conference must enable us to accelerate our actions and mobilize all stakeholders in order to provide the sustainable solutions the ocean needs to meet the challenges we face.

The blue economy also has a role to play, and the Principality intends to collaborate actively by hosting, on 7 and 8 June 2025, the forum on the blue economy and finance.

Finally, beyond the framework offered by the BBNJ Agreement, I reaffirm my country's commitment to establishing robust regulations, based on the best available scientific data, that ensure effective protection of the marine environment before any deep-sea mineral exploitation takes place.

Ultimately, these interconnected crises compel us to fundamentally rethink our relationship with Nature, which is essential to our survival and well-being.

Mr. President,

Among the challenges and changes facing humanity, the development of artificial intelligence stands out as one that appears inevitable.

The emergence and growth of this new technology in our daily lives brings both opportunities we must seize and dangers we must guard against.

The Principality of Monaco has committed to "seizing the opportunities offered by safe, secure, and trustworthy artificial intelligence systems for sustainable development."

Indeed, the dazzling technological progress we are witnessing can accelerate development just as easily as it can provide fertile ground for organized crime and terrorism.

It is now incumbent upon the international community to establish appropriate standards imposing an ethical use of this technology, one that respects human rights and the fundamental freedoms of every individual, and that guarantees its use cannot be diverted for military or terrorist purposes.

Furthermore, disinformation represents one of the most insidious dangers to our societies today. It spreads rapidly, fueled by social networks and digital platforms, sowing confusion and eroding trust in institutions and the media.

The consequences of this manipulation of information are serious and can go as far as destabilizing our States and exacerbating international tensions. It is therefore essential to strengthen fact-checking mechanisms in order to protect the truth and preserve the health of our democracies.

Mr. President,

We have the necessary tools—legal, technological, and scientific—to provide sustainable and effective solutions to our contemporary challenges.

The Pact for the Future and the 80th anniversary of the United Nations in 2025 offer us a historic and unique opportunity to advance the intergovernmental process on Security Council reform, so as to make our Organization more inclusive and representative of current realities, and thereby help resolve the crises we face.

As the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games met with immense success, the athletes showed us that effort and perseverance, even in adversity, lead to victory. They gave us a lesson in humility by teaching us that while victory is the ultimate goal, the journey traveled and mutual emulation are accomplishments just as important.

Let us therefore commit, together and with determination, to the process we have defined. Step by step, let us overcome obstacles without ever losing sight of our objective: preserving peace among Nations and ensuring the well-being of the peoples of the United Nations.

Thank you for your attention.