Uruguay

I come from a republic situated on the eastern bank of the Uruguay River, which the map, history and culture place in a small corner in the south of the south of the world. A prairie country with a balcony on the sea, where the tranquility and hospitality of its people is one of its main hallmarks of identity.

I come from a country where it is already common practice for a president to travel to neighboring countries accompanied by predecessors from other political parties. A country where the alternation of parties in government does not translate into an institutional crisis. In fact, that alternation is an act of pure normality.

I come from a country whose president can walk without bodyguards among the people, can enjoy a football match in the stands like just another fan. I come from a country whose political parties—almost all of them with more than half a century of history—are always willing to agree on national solutions to national emergencies. Solutions "the Uruguayan way," as we proudly say.

With these gestures I want to express that Uruguay carries in its daily life a deep vocation for peace and respect.

I live in a country that, of course, is not at the gates of paradise, because it faces new challenges in terms of child poverty, public safety or social inequality, and on these subjects too there is, broadly speaking, a national consensus. The historic institutional and political solidity has allowed Uruguay to still stand out in the region for its high level of human development or its income distribution policies. And to be a country of stable rules, where contracts are honored, where international commitments are respected, where macroeconomic stability is a policy of State.

But this positive accumulation is also expressed beyond our borders, because Uruguay is recognized in the world for its vocation for peace, its tireless struggle for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, its unrestricted respect for international law as the greatest guarantee for the sovereignty of peoples, and for being a fraternal and hospitable land for migrants from all latitudes.

From that small country, which cultivates tolerance, dialogue and agreement as the historic key to coexistence, and which is embedded in a continent free of conflicts or wars between states, we come to this assembly to add our efforts to contribute to stability and peace in a world that is increasingly turbulent and challenging.

The growing geopolitical tension and the rise in conflicts, combined with the underfunding of efforts toward a peaceful, rules-based global order, pose enormous challenges on a planetary scale. To illustrate this, it is enough to mention a few figures: according to the 2025 Global Peace Index, there were 59 interstate conflicts in 2023, the highest number since the end of the Second World War. For 2024, global military spending rose by nearly 10% in real terms compared to 2023, representing the largest annual increase since the end of the Cold War. We are talking about military spending of 2.7 trillion dollars.

But it is not only a matter of a greater increase in conflict between nations, nor of military spending growing rapidly to sustain it; it is also a matter of new forms of cruelty and death that today's wars are acquiring. We know that, since the very birth of civilizations, the absence of violence or the absence of war is perhaps a chimera. But in our time, applied technological advances have unleashed other, far more perverse logics, such as the use of military practices intended to sow fear, terror and death among the civilian population. Let this be very clear: we condemn every form of terrorism, since it constitutes, among other things, a despicable act of cowardice.

There is another logic at work today, one that leads us to see that the central objective in today's wars appears to be the systematic practice of extermination. The end never justified the means. We must banish that old precept that war is the continuation of politics by other means. Every war is criminal, no matter where it occurs, no matter what god is invoked to justify it, and it will always deserve our most visceral condemnation.

It is true that every nation has the right to a territory and a government of its own. It is true that it has the right to establish a level of self-determination that allows it to coexist with other peoples. That is real. The value of the United Nations is, precisely, to guarantee that these principles are realized peacefully and in a civilized manner. No state that prides itself on being democratic and living under the rule of international law can, even under the legitimate right to defend itself against terrorism, inflict barbarity upon any civilian population, much less against especially vulnerable and defenseless people.

Since 1948 Uruguay has maintained a coherent and firm position in line with the principles of self-determination and peaceful coexistence. Our historic positions on the main conflicts on a global scale are well known, especially the one unfolding in the Middle East. Uruguay has always upheld the position: two nations, two peoples, two States.

In this regard, moreover, the Uruguayan Government takes very seriously the reports prepared by the international community concerning the Palestinian territories, and we urge the implementation of the recommendations put forward by the UN, and we urge the immediate suspension of military operations, the end of the killing of innocent civilians, and the release of the hostages.

In our world other, more widespread and permanent tragedies also persist and worsen. So much so, that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted within the framework of this assembly 77 years ago, constitutes a revolutionary manifesto in light of the times we are living through. Beginning with its first article, which proclaims: "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, being endowed with reason and conscience, should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

How far we are from our own principles and commitments, when we see that the distance between those who have the most and those who suffer the most keeps growing. How far we are, when we observe that the principles of liberty and equality are increasingly divorced from one another, and that there is much more talk of a supposed free individual than of societies that are equal in terms of income or the enjoyment of rights. How far we are from a human sense of things, when we forget that our principal calling must be on the side of the majorities, listening to every problem or anguish of our peoples, and understanding, indeed and fundamentally, those who think differently.

Madam President, I come from a country with a tradition that withstands any scrutiny and record in matters of international policy. That tradition includes firm support for multilateralism in all its facets—political, economic, cultural—as the best and only way to face the challenges I have referred to. It also includes, of course, permanent commitment to international law, a wager on dialogue, and peacebuilding as one of our greatest contributions in the context of a fragmented and polarized world.

My country's entire political system takes pride in contributing decisively to global tasks such as the maintenance of international peace and security, the consolidation and development of international law through participation in bodies for standard-setting and international courts, support for disarmament, food security, global health, and commitment to addressing climate change.

In this context, I want to especially highlight my country's historic commitment to the multilateral peacekeeping system. Over the past 35 years, without interruption, Uruguay has deployed battalions in various United Nations peace operations. We have taken on this task to such an extent that we have become the leading country in Latin America, and the second per capita in the world, in contributing to this type of mission. But, moreover, we have done so with a particular distinction, because our contingents have specialized in the most emblematic function carried out by these peace operations: the protection of civilians in armed conflicts.

The nations that make up this assembly know well that my small country is very far from being characterized by military might or economic predominance. And it is there, paradoxically, that our strength lies, because we are incapable of standing in anyone's way. On the contrary, our strength lies in intangible capacities that this world greatly needs, because we are a very trustworthy country in the promotion of dialogue and peace. First, because those principles define us as a republic and are expressed in respect for the separation of powers and the rule of law, the strength of the democratic system, and the respect for and promotion of human rights and social equity, among others. And second, because that has been our historic conduct in international forums. As early as 1907, for example, my country took a firm position at the Hague Conference regarding arbitration as an essential and obligatory mechanism for resolving conflicts between states. A few years later, in 1921, we were the first state in the world to accept the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice, predecessor of the International Court of Justice.

On the basis of these and other historical precedents, I would venture to affirm that Uruguay is in an excellent position to offer itself to the world as a host for negotiations, as a promoter of networks for dialogue and mediation, that lead to the building of peace and the prevention of conflicts. Believe me, we are prepared for this ever more urgent, ever more necessary challenge. Among other reasons, because we learned, as the president of my country José Mujica said, that tolerance is the foundation for being able to live in peace.

Thank you very much.