Tunisia

Mr. President, Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I am pleased to extend to His Excellency Mr. Dennis Francis, and through him to the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, my warmest congratulations on his assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly at this 78th session, wishing him success and prosperity in leading its work, and affirming our support for his vision of "peace, prosperity, progress, and sustainability."

I also express to His Excellency Mr. Csaba Kőrösi, President of the 77th session, my sincere thanks and appreciation for his successful presidency.

I renew our appreciation and support for the efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres, and for his valuable initiatives to advance multilateral action.

Mr. President,

Our world today is going through a delicate phase marked by mounting challenges and crises, amid escalating conflicts and wars, deepening geopolitical divisions, faltering progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals, the persistent debt crisis facing developing countries, the widening scope of poverty and hunger, the growing gap between North and South, along with unprecedented waves of migration and asylum-seeking, the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the worsening climate crisis.

Is this the world we aspire to, nearly eight decades after the founding of the United Nations?

This picture, in our view, is far removed from the objectives and values for which this international organization was established.

From this standpoint, we call for the development of new and more effective approaches and means to address the challenges we face today, and for strengthening international cooperation and solidarity on the basis of common but differentiated responsibility.

We also affirm the importance of genuine commitment by all, without politicization, to the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and respect for human rights. This is the path to rebuilding trust among nations, supporting multilateralism, and achieving security, peace, and development.

In this regard, we look forward to this session being a historic turning point and a fresh start for the system of multilateral action and international cooperation.

Mr. President,

Hundreds of millions of the world's people have pinned great hopes on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Yet the results achieved thus far have, unfortunately, fallen short of expectations.

In this context, Tunisia supports the stimulus plan proposed by the Secretary-General to rescue the Sustainable Development Goals, and the practical proposals it contains for overcoming the difficulties of financing their implementation.

We also commend his initiative to establish the Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance, aimed at mitigating the impact of the war in Ukraine on food and energy prices.

In this regard, we recall the recent call made by the President of the Republic, Kais Saied, at the Rome Food Systems Summit, for the creation of a strategic global grain reserve to be drawn upon when needed.

Here, it must be acknowledged that the international financial system, established in the aftermath of the Second World War, has clearly failed to provide a global safety net or ensure concessional and sustainable financing for developing and least developed countries.

On the contrary, this system has come to fail them, and has contributed to deepening the gap between developed and developing countries, which today find themselves facing difficult choices between allocating most of their resources to debt repayment and debt servicing, or covering the vital needs of their peoples.

We therefore call today for fundamental reforms to the international financial system and for changing global economic governance, considering this a top priority for overcoming current imbalances and disparities, and for establishing an effective system that invests in sustainable development and future generations.

We also call for a responsible and serious approach to facilitating the recovery of assets stolen and hidden abroad for the benefit of the peoples of affected countries, thereby strengthening their reliance on their own resources, and for exploring ways to prevent such abuses in the future.

Mr. President,

The expanding repercussions of climate change that the world is witnessing today, along with the deterioration of ecosystems and the intensification of natural disasters, oblige us all to place the confrontation of these challenges at the very top of our priorities, despite the fact that many of our countries bear little responsibility for the state the planet has reached.

In this regard, Tunisia commends the initiative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations in calling for the Climate Ambition Summit. We reaffirm, in this context, the necessity of continuing and intensifying international efforts to devise the necessary solutions, with all parties assuming their responsibilities, including the provision of climate finance to the countries most affected.

Mr. President,

The phenomenon of irregular migration has worsened in our geographic region due to weak levels of development in many of our African countries, the protracted nature of conflicts, the effects of climate change, as well as the exploitation by criminal networks of the vulnerability of thousands of people seeking better life opportunities, trafficking in them, whether in the countries of the southern or northern Mediterranean, or in sub-Saharan countries.

While affirming the necessity of adopting a comprehensive approach to addressing the issue of irregular migration—one that tackles its root causes rather than merely its consequences—we reiterate the need for all parties, including countries of origin, transit and destination, as well as regional and international organizations, to shoulder their responsibilities in this regard. In this context, we call for the continuation of the process launched by the International Conference on Development and Migration, which began in Rome through a Tunisian-Italian initiative.

Tunisia has consistently dealt with the issue of irregular migration, to the best of its capabilities and with full responsibility, based on its firm commitment to the human rights system and its respect for its international obligations. At the same time, we affirm that Tunisia will not accept the disguised settlement of irregular migrants on its territory. We also condemn any irresponsible political or media exploitation of the suffering of victims of irregular migration in the service of political agendas.

Mr. President,

Tunisia has not been immune to the challenges the world has faced and continues to face, whose effects have touched economic, social and living conditions. Despite the circumstantial difficulties, we are determined to overcome these effects and strengthen our capacity for resilience and sustainability, in cooperation with our brothers, friends and partners, while upholding the principles and constants of our policy and the independence of our national decision-making.

We are also steadfastly continuing on the path of reform, entrenching good governance, and combating corruption, in order to correct and strengthen our democratic experience and the performance of state institutions, and to put an end to over a decade of irresponsible political conduct—responding to the aspirations of the Tunisian people, which they expressed clearly on 25 July 2021, and to which they remain committed until this reform process is completed, despite all difficulties and pressures.

We are also keen to enhance our capacity to face existing challenges, such as the repercussions of regional and international conditions, the shortage of financing, the effects of climate change, and the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic—regarding which our country, incidentally, took the lead through a presidential initiative calling for activating international solidarity in confronting it, through the adoption of Security Council resolution 2532 (2020), jointly with France.

We also continue working to strengthen the inclusion and economic empowerment of women and youth, and to broaden their participation in all areas of public affairs and in decision-making circles. We likewise seek to achieve a transition toward the green and blue economy, to strengthen digital transformation, in addition to ensuring inclusive social protection for individuals and guaranteeing a fair distribution of the returns of growth.

To the extent that Tunisia relies, during this important phase of its history, on its own resources to achieve the desired transformation, it calls on its partners to engage constructively with the ongoing reform and modernization processes and to support our country's economic recovery efforts, based on the interconnection of interests, shared destiny, and wise political judgment.

Mr. President,

Tunisia affirms the necessity of continuing reform and moving forward with the ongoing revitalization processes within the UN system.

In this regard, Tunisia has engaged effectively in the processes of implementing the Secretary-General's report "Our Common Agenda." We look forward to the Summit of the Future being an opportunity to renew everyone's commitment to shared principles, in order to build a safe and sustainable future for all of humanity.

This requires, in our view, the establishment of a new, more balanced global order, one that does not create a hierarchy among states—because wherever justice is absent, poverty increases, wars break out, and terrorism intensifies. It also requires a new and comprehensive vision of the concept of security and peace, one that focuses on the root causes of instability and tendencies toward violence and war.

Mr. President,

The continuation of the historic injustice and suffering inflicted upon the Palestinian people for more than seven decades of occupation, with all the persecution and oppression that has accompanied it, is unacceptable by all legal, moral and humanitarian standards—just as the silence of the international community regarding the continued disregard by the occupying authorities for the resolutions of international legitimacy and the principles of international law, and their persistence in pursuing their aggressive policies and settlement plans, is likewise unacceptable.

We therefore renew our call on the Security Council and the international community as a whole to shoulder their responsibilities and compel the occupying authorities to respect the resolutions of international legitimacy, in order to achieve a just, comprehensive and peaceful settlement based on agreed international references—one that ends the occupation, puts an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people, and enables them to reclaim their legitimate rights and establish their independent, sovereign and geographically contiguous state on the borders of 4 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its capital. We also call for enabling the State of Palestine to obtain full membership in the United Nations.

In our immediate neighborhood, we renew our affirmation of our steadfast commitment to continuing to provide all support to our Libyan brothers and to help them overcome their differences and achieve a political settlement through inter-Libyan dialogue, with the assistance of the United Nations, that strengthens national unity and preserves Libya's sovereignty and independence. We also affirm our rejection of military options and of all forms of external interference, direct or indirect, in Libya's internal affairs.

In the same context, we call for concerted UN and international efforts to find political solutions to the situations in both Syria and Yemen, that end the suffering of their two brotherly peoples, restore security and peace to them, and preserve their sovereignty, independence and territorial unity. Tunisia also calls for an end to the escalation in brotherly Sudan and for resorting to dialogue to overcome the crisis.

We also call for concerted UN and international efforts to help Africa emerge from its successive crises, many of which our continent did not cause, and we affirm the importance of introducing a greater ethical dimension into economic dealings, taking into account the interests of African countries.

Mr. President,

In conclusion, I wish to affirm that we all stand today at a crossroads and at a moment of truth, given the scale and gravity of the unprecedented risks and challenges that spare no one and threaten our present and the future of generations to come.

Our choices—grounded in wisdom and foresight, the extent of our commitment to our shared humanity, our belief in our common destiny, and our adherence to the Charter of the United Nations and to the values of solidarity and cooperation in a spirit of responsibility—will be decisive in restoring credibility to the multilateral system.

Thank you.