Panama

Your Excellency Dennis Francis, President of the 78th Session of the General Assembly. Your Excellency António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations. Heads of State and Government. Distinguished delegates.

I am pleased to stand before you in this assembly, which brings us together with the purpose of finding more effective ways to address the urgent problems of global society.

The Republic of Panama, as a founding member of this organization, reiterates its firm commitment to the search for solutions based on dialogue and mutual respect, which contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, essential for the development and well-being of humanity.

Panama is a bridge to the world, a crossroads at the center of the Americas where all routes converge, thanks to our exceptional air and maritime connectivity, the best in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Furthermore, the Republic of Panama is committed to fulfilling the 2030 AGENDA and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals, whose guidelines are included in my administration's Government Plan.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In 50 months of governance, our government has focused on the development of public policies that allow us to face this enormous challenge, laying the groundwork to reduce poverty and inequality, to give the least favored populations the opportunity to achieve social and economic conditions that make it possible for them to live with dignity.

Advancing the fulfillment of the Sustainable Development Goals is an inescapable responsibility, which requires us to pay attention to the cause-and-effect interaction among them.

We must ask ourselves: how does the climate crisis impact the first three Sustainable Development Goals?

Can we truly achieve the end of poverty, zero hunger, and good health and well-being, amid the severe drought afflicting the planet, floods, devastating fires that ravage immense areas, and rising ocean levels?

Let us reflect on the conclusions of the report of the Panel of Experts on climate change, which warns us of an unprecedented escalation of changes in the climate system, leading us to extreme situations that gravely threaten the sustainability of life on the Planet.

The climate crisis is a time bomb, and time is running out for all of us.

Ladies and gentlemen:

Panama's commitment to human existence has been demonstrated concretely through the decisions we have made and the consistent actions we have carried out.

We are a country of great water wealth, our coasts are bathed by two great oceans, which makes us especially aware of the importance of water for our population and for life on Earth.

Panama has made an extraordinary effort to preserve our seas, reaching the goal of 30% protected area nine years ahead of 2030, and we even increased it to 54% this year.

Panama, without rhetoric, through actions, is a Blue Leader, and I also highlight that Panama is one of seven countries in the world declared "carbon negative."

Ladies and gentlemen,

In Panama we have established a carbon footprint reduction program with a National Green Hydrogen and Derivatives Strategy.

Also, during our administration, we in Panama have set for ourselves an ambitious Energy Transition Agenda, with the purpose of finding and developing accessible, non-polluting energy, in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 24% by the year 2050.

Panama is among the 15 countries in the world most exposed to climate and natural risks.

In fact, we have already recorded in our territory the first case of climate displacement, having had to relocate the population of Cartí Sugdup island due to rising sea levels.

Ladies and gentlemen,

I want to reaffirm, on behalf of the Republic of Panama, that we Panamanians successfully assumed the operation of the Panama Canal in 1999 and expanded its capacity in 2016.

I state to the nations of the world that Panama is committed to maintaining the Canal's operation in a safe, efficient, reliable, and competitive manner, as we have done until now.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Panama, as a country that effectively contributes to environmental protection, requests in this General Assembly that the most polluting countries fulfill the commitments made to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

We have also seen repeatedly, in these General Assemblies and in the meetings of the United Nations Conference of the Parties, COPs, that countries commit to carrying out transformations that are later not fulfilled.

Ladies and gentlemen,

In terms of human development, it is of the highest priority that populations be given opportunities for a more dignified life within their own countries.

This way, they would not be forced to abandon their country by emigrating irregularly, exposing themselves to violations of their human rights and, on many occasions, losing their lives.

In this regard, the problem of irregular migration must be addressed at the multilateral level, emphasizing respect for human rights and under the principles of solidarity and shared responsibility, with the purpose of safeguarding the integrity of human life in a safe and orderly manner.

Panama works actively, in collaboration with several countries in the region, in the execution of programs to improve the care and protection of irregular migrants who enter our country through the border with Colombia, crossing the dangerous Darién jungle, the largest natural park in all of Central America.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Our country makes a titanic effort to care in solidarity for these irregular migrants, whose number increases every year, forcing Panama to allocate significant resources to humanitarian relief.

This is an unsustainable situation… unwanted… inhumane… a humanitarian drama of pain… suffering and death… for hundreds of thousands of migrants… who undertake this risky journey.

I reiterate, this is an unsustainable situation, a situation in which we are victims and not those responsible.

I call on the international community to take on, in its full magnitude, the problem of irregular migration, which today is not only concentrated in the Mediterranean but is global in nature and which, at this moment, directly affects us Panamanians.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Today we reiterate the call for dialogue, peace, and multilateralism, with respect for international law and the principles that underpin it, free from interests other than the well-being of peoples.

In many respects, we are in a race against time for human survival, which is the raison d'être of the world body that brings us together and on whose actions largely depend the steps we take toward the future, as a global community.

Today, as Head of the Panamanian State, I state before you that Panama wants for the entire world the same thing it wishes for its own people: peace, well-being, justice, and development.

Thank you very much.