Senegal

Mr. President of the General Assembly, Dear colleagues, Mr. Secretary-General, Ladies and gentlemen, Distinguished delegates,

Mr. President, on behalf of Senegal, I extend to you my best wishes for success in the Presidency of the work of the General Assembly.

I thank your predecessor and renew our support to the Secretary-General in the exercise of his duties in the service of the Organization.

Since our last session, the state of the world has not improved.

For millions of people, daily life remains marked by fear, violence, poverty and inequality.

Many countries continue to suffer the economic and social impact of the pandemic. Global warming has reached an unprecedented level.

The tragedy of clandestine emigration reminds us of the need to implement the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, and to pursue relentlessly the fight against the criminal networks that organize this illicit trafficking of human beings.

A high-intensity war exposes humanity to the risk of a major catastrophe.

In Africa, the resurgence of coups d'état remains a subject of grave concern.

Senegal reiterates its firm condemnation of any form of unconstitutional change of government.

The urgency of the moment is also terrorism, which continues to gain ground in Africa, without an appropriate response from the Security Council.

On numerous occasions, notably during its mandate on the Council in 2016 and 2017, Senegal has warned of the ineffectiveness of peacekeeping operations in Africa, whose mandates and equipment hardly correspond to the nature of the situations.

There is no peace to keep where it is rather a matter of restoring it, by fighting armed groups that pillage and bring daily mourning to innocent populations, occupy entire territories, and threaten the very existence of States.

The tumultuous vicissitudes of two peace missions in Africa are illuminating in this regard.

Consequently, Senegal once again calls on the Security Council to fully assume its responsibilities in the fight against terrorism in Africa, under the collective security mechanism provided for by the Charter.

In the same spirit, we call for de-escalation and a peaceful settlement of the war in Ukraine.

We renew our support for the right of the Palestinian people to a viable State, coexisting peacefully with the State of Israel, each within secure and internationally recognized borders.

Mr. President,

The theme of this session reminds us that the ideal underlying multilateralism is to create and promote relations of trust, solidarity and inclusiveness among countries.

Senegal recognizes the valuable services that the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods system have rendered to member countries for nearly eighty years.

But we all know that the multilateral system, a legacy of a bygone past, has become obsolete.

Yet, as Secretary-General António Guterres has rightly warned, a system that continues to ignore the realities of its time and the needs of more than three-quarters of its member countries accentuates inequalities, generates the conditions for its own contestation, and provokes the risk of its fragmentation.

If we want to avoid this fracture, wisdom dictates that we reform global political, economic and financial governance, so that it is more representative of diversity, and thus strengthens its legitimacy.

We can achieve this if we bring to bear the necessary political will. The G20 demonstrated this by admitting the African Union as a full member.

I warmly thank the members of the Group for their unanimous support for this initiative, which Senegal championed during its term as Chair of the African Union.

We hope that the example of inclusion thus set by the G20 will be followed by the Security Council and the Bretton Woods Institutions, for a multilateralism more representative of the interests of all its members.

Likewise, Senegal remains committed to the vision of peaceful international relations, founded on the equal dignity of peoples, cultures and civilizations.

On October 31, 1961, one year after the independence of our country, President Léopold Sédar Senghor expressed this vision here in these words, and I quote: "a particular civilization... could not impose itself alone without arousing against it the greater part of humanity." End of quote.

Sixty-two years later, our position remains the same: among free peoples, whose history and socio-cultural realities are diverse, there can be no legitimacy for some to define and impose on all a single way of life, like a civilizational "ready-to-wear."

What works for some does not necessarily work for others.

Together, we can practice our common values. But together, we must respect our differences.

This, for Senegal, is what must underpin a revitalized universalism, more open and more effective in addressing the challenges of our time.

Among these challenges is the climate emergency. As extreme phenomena multiply, Senegal remains committed to the implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Thus, thanks to our proactive energy mix policy, renewable energies now represent 31% of our installed electrical capacity.

With the signing last June of our Just Energy Transition Partnership, we aim to raise this rate to 40% by 2030.

I thank the partner countries that are supporting us in mobilizing 2.5 billion euros over an initial period of 3 to 5 years, starting in 2023, to finance our projects under this Partnership.

We are pursuing, at the same time, the construction of low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure, including two mass transit systems: a Regional Express Train and a Bus Rapid Transit line, both electric.

Through the implementation of national and continental projects, such as the Great Green Wall, our countries are clearly engaged in climate action, to the extent of their means.

The fact remains that, for the most part, green projects in Africa are financed through debt, whereas they should be supported by the mobilization of the $100 billion per year agreed upon since COP 15 in 2009 to finance climate action.

Climate justice would dictate that a continent that contributes less than 4% of emissions, and which suffers the most from them, should not be condemned to going into debt to repair and prevent damage for which it is not responsible.

Senegal stands for a just and equitable energy transition, taking into account the specific needs of our countries, including universal access to electricity, which more than 600 million Africans still lack.

So, if we want COP 28 to be the meeting of promises kept, let us ensure that the financing announced is made available and accessible through simplified and transparent procedures and modalities.

Mr. President, Dear friends,

On February 25, 2024, the Senegalese presidential election will be held. Like the previous ones, it will be democratic, free and transparent. And on April 2, I will hand over power to my successor after 12 years at the head of our country.

I would like to thank the member countries of our Organization for their friendship and cooperation.

Carrying the voice of Senegal, forging and maintaining friendships in this concert of nations where our common efforts are harmonized toward our common ends, will have been a great honor for me.

On behalf of the Senegalese people, I would like to express my gratitude to all my colleagues, and ask them to welcome my successor with the same friendship and the same consideration.

I will retain for all of you the same feelings of friendship and cordial esteem.

I am confident that, in the Senegalese tradition of openness and dialogue, my successor will remain faithful to the relations of trusting friendship that unite our country with all the members of the United Nations.

Thank you, and I wish the work of the General Assembly every success.