Transcript
Chapter 1: Global challenges and the UN
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They have spoken of different priorities and concerns. Yet, they have also revealed how much we have in common. We
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have been reminded that the biggest challenges we face do not respect national borders. And no country,
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however large or powerful, can address them alone.
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It is clear we live in a more contested, fragmented, and volatile world.
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The number of active conflicts in the world has doubled in the past 20 years.
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The number of conflict related deaths has reached levels not seen in decades.
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Fundamental norms governing state behavior are being violated with increasing impunity contravening the UN
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charter and other universally applicable rules of international law.
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Core human rights that protect the well-being and dignity of our citizens are increasingly being ignored.
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Humanitarian needs are growing faster than our collective ability to meet them.
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After decades of progress, hard one development gains have slowed and it’s clear we will fail to meet most of the
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sustainable development goals by their 2030 target.
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Biodiversity loss and pollution are impacting key natural resources in our oceans.
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Natural disasters and the glowing imp growing impacts of our changing climate are becoming more severe and more
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visible in our region. These pressures are already affecting the lives, livelihoods, and long-term development prospects.
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All of this is of grave concern to New Zealand whose sovereignty, security and prosperity depends on a functioning
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inclusive multilateral system grounded in agreed rules and norms with the UN charter at its center.
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We regard the UN charter with its core principles of sovereign equality of states, territorial integrity, the
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prohibition of the use of force and respect for human rights as irreplaceable.
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We continue therefore to invest in the United Nations and agreed international rules as an exercise of our sovereignty
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because we believe it is essential to our interests and indeed the interests of all
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in the face of rising volatility. We need the UN stabilizing influence and global solutions more than ever.
Chapter 2: Peace, security, and the SG
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President, over recent years, New Zealand has spoken of the importance of leadership.
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New Zealand thanks Secretary General Antonio Guterres for his service over the past 10 years.
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We thank you for your visits to the Blue Pacific and for your attention to the unique situation of Pacific Island
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countries and other small island developing states.
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We thank you also for starting the process of essential reform to put this vital organization on a stronger and
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more sustainable footing to deal with the challenges of the next 80 years.
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Your assignment has not been easy.
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As we prepare to appoint the next secretary general to lead the UN into the next phase, we should be clear about what this moment requires.
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First and foremost, we call on the new secretary general to be a courageous guardian of the UN charter and to assert
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the UN’s vital role on peace and security.
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The United Nations was created to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.
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It is ultimately the responsibility of member states to prevent and resolve conflicts. We cannot outsource that responsibility.
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But at the same time, we need a secretary general who is active in conflict prevention, mediation, and peacemaking.
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The Secretary General should never have to ask permission or forgiveness for acting to prevent or resolve conflict.
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As a custodian of the UN Charter, you have the right and the obligation to speak up when its core norms are breached.
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We expect you to do so in an objective, impartial, and consistent manner.
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We will support you when you do.
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So we ask you to be active in seeking an end to the horrific conflict in Sudan.
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You must be bold in pressing for a sustainable and just end to Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine,
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one that is consistent with Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the core principles of the charter.
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You must be determined in your efforts to help alleviate the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
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We ask that you use your influence to progress a fragile ceasefire into a sustainable, durable peace.
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And you must be resolute in preserving conditions for a two-state solution.
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You must take the initiative despite the challenges and entrenched views to achieve a just and lasting resolution
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where Israel and Palestine can live side by side within secure and clearly defined borders.
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We urge you to use your good offices to secure a lasting end to hostilities in the Persian Gulf and restore freedom of
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navigation through the Strait of Hummus, which is a right guaranteed under international law.
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Of course, you cannot do this alone. For our part as member states, we must provide you with the tools, the
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resources, and above all, the political support to ensure you can play this role effectively.
Chapter 3: UN security and disarmament
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Parties to conflicts must engage with you constructively and in good faith, while global and regional partners with
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influence must provide the necessary incentive for the parties to do so.
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The UN Security Council needs to fill fulfill its responsibilities.
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Permanent members in particular must act in a manner consistent with their special responsibilities under the charter.
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Too frequently has the veto or the threat of the veto been abused to block the council from fulfilling its responsibilities
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to the frustration and sometimes despair of the global community.
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Inevitably the costs of this fa failure are borne by those caught in conflict.
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This assembly also has a legitimate and necessary role to play in maintaining peace and security
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and we have been pleased to see it step up on occasions when the security council has been stymied from acting.
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For our part, New Zealand will continue to press for a more effective, credible, transparent and representative Security Council.
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As a demonstration of our continued commitment to collective security and the UN charter, New Zealand is seeking a
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seat on the UN Security Council for 2039 to 40.
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We ask the next secretary general to work with us to preserve the integrity of the global disarmament framework, particularly on weapons of mass destruction.
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The grave dangers of deterioration of the global non-prololiferation regime should alarm us all.
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New Zealand was deeply disappointed at the failure to reach consensus at this year’s nuclear non-prololiferation review conference.
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After three consecutive review conference failures, we must do all we can to preserve the health of the NPT and indeed strengthen it.
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This means tackling persistent violations and cases of non-compliance.
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Iran is not in compliance with its nuclear safeguards obligations.
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The DPRK’s nuclear weapons and missile programs continue to threaten its region and beyond.
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Halting the NPT’s deterioration also in requires concrete action from nuclear
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weapon states to at long last chart a path towards total verifiable and irreversible nuclear disarmament.
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We also call on you to safeguard the UN convention on the law of the sea, the constitution for the oceans, which
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provides the framework within which all activities in the oceans and seas must be carried out.
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Compliance with these universally applicable rules is essential not only for maintaining peace and security but
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also for protecting prosperity and food security given the ocean’s vital role in supporting trade.
Chapter 4: Development and human rights
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Second, we call on the next Secretary General to provide strong leadership across the UN’s development and human rights pillars.
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The authors of the UN charter understood that peace and security cannot be sustained without creating the conditions for member states to provide
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their citizens with prosperity and the full enjoyment of human rights.
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With significant changes in the global development cooperation landscape, we ask you to ensure that the UN is clear
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about where its comparative advantage lies alongside the role of governments, regional organizations, and international financial institutions.
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Citizens and donors expect the UN to operate as one with agencies working together through a strengthened resident coordinator system.
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We will work with you to ensure the UN is more coordinated and focused on strengthening local capacity and partnerships to address a country’s development needs.
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The UN development system must remain relevant, responsive, and accessible to all member states based on need rather than size, income level, or location.
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We welcome progress in advancing the UN’s multi-dimensional vulnerability index and want to see further work to
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ensure its practical application across the multilateral development system.
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In the face of contracting development finance flows and increasing debt levels, we need to ensure our ambitions
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are matched by more sustainable and predictable financing.
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This will inevitably involve moving beyond exclusive reliance on traditional sources and approaches.
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President, as Pacific Island Forum leaders recently reaffirmed in Palao, climate change remains the single
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greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and well-being of Pacific peoples.
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While New Zealand will play its part, our efforts will mean little in the absence of determined action by the world’s major admitters.
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Rising sea levels continue to threaten the viability of many communities and pose a threat to low-lying island
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states, including some of our Pacific neighbors.
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The political declaration on sea level rise endorsed this week is a potent demonstration of the UN’s ability to
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address contemporary challenges affecting its members.
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We particularly welcome the declaration’s affirmation of the preservation of maritime zones and the
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presumption of continued statethood notwithstanding sea level rise.
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We also expect the new secretary general to defend international humanitarian law and international human rights law and its institutions.
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The promotion and protection of universal and indivisible human rights is fundamental to the world we live in
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today and to a collective vision of our future.
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Societies in which citizens can enjoy their universal human rights have a better chance of avoiding the descent into
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conflict that tragically impacts so many across the world today.
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Over the past decade, these norms have often been under threat. Sometimes through neglect, sometimes through deliberate and sustained attacks.
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The rise of attacks on protected individuals, including civilians and humanitarian and medical personnel, needs particular attention.
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It is now 10 years since New Zealand co-led the adoption of Security Council resolution 2286 on healthcare and armed
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conflict. Attacks on medical facilities and personnel in violation of international human humanitarian law
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have grown exponentially worse since then.
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Few have been held accountable for these flagrant violations of international humanitarian law.
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We ask you to help us reverse these trends by drawing on the UN’s unique legitimacy to call out egregious and
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systematic violations of these norms wherever they may occur and whoever may be perpetrating them and by providing
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practical guidance and assistance to help member states meet their obligations.
Chapter 5: Institutional reform
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Third, we ask the new secretary general to maintain momentum and ambition on UN reform.
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Confidence in this institution depends on its ability to deliver impact.
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The next secretary general must work with member states to chart an ambitious vision for the next phase of reform
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while ensuring implementation of the decisions already taken.
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At a time of multiple and overlapping crises and growing constraints, we need a United Nations that is focused on its core tasks, disciplined and accountable.
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One where every dollar delivers maximum impact.
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One that measures success not by the number of mandates it creates or the meetings it holds, but by the difference it makes in people’s lives.
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Meeting this challenge means exercising your powers to achieve the most impact from the resources available. It means
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demanding a culture of continuous improvement, one that focuses on effective implementation and results.
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It means setting the highest standards for performance within the secretariat and holding staff accountable for delivering.
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In this regard, we ask you to demonstrate independence in your senior appointments.
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New Zealand has never accepted the right of any country to assert ownership of UN positions by virtue of power or status.
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We encourage Secretary General candidates to commit publicly to making senior appointments on the basis of merit.
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Reform is a joint responsibility. We as member states must avoid the trap of regarding reform as something that
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others will deliver for us and instead live up to our own responsibilities in building the organization we need.
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We cannot expect the UN to continue to lurch on in a state of constant financial crisis. Member states must
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meet their financial obligations in full, on time, and without conditions in accordance with their obligations under the charter.
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We need to focus our attention on the issues that really matter and that can genuinely deliver benefits for our citizens.
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Resolution 8251 equips member states to tackle the long-standing challenge of mandate accumulation and overload.
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It commits us all to take a more disciplined approach to setting the organization’s priorities.
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It provides the framework we need to create a more focused, coherent, and impactful UN.
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Yet its success will depend on whether we are willing to act differently.
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If we aren’t prepared to make the necessary choices, we will be left with an ever go growing set of responsibilities
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supported by an evershrinking pool of resources that will do nothing to strengthen confidence in the UN’s relevance and effectiveness.
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Reform begins with us. It requires member states to make the decisions that only member states can make.
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That is the only way we can truly achieve an organization that is fit to meet the challenges that lie before us and that our citizens need and expect.
Chapter 6: Multilateralism’s future
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Fourth, and finally, we urge the next Secretary General to ensure that the UN works for all states.
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The sovereign equality of states is one of the most central principles of the UN charter. It must be central also to your approach.
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The fundamental premise of the United Nations is that every state, regardless of size or circumstance, has a stake in shaping our shared future.
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We also call on the president of the general assembly to remain a steadfast champion of the voices, prerogatives and
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interests of the entire UN membership across all pillars of its work.
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The next secretary general’s leadership in these areas will be essential, but we must also find it in ourselves to demonstrate leadership.
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Ultimately, the health relevance and effectiveness of the United Nations depends primarily on its members, not its secretary general.
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As member states, we must acknowledge our role in the financial and legitimacy crisis facing the UN.
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We must ask whether we have the collective will to change our behavior.
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Do we have the discipline to focus our attention and resources on the issues that really matter to our citizens and deliver impact to their lives?
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Do we have the honesty to admit what is working and what is not?
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Do we have the will to invest in the multilateral system both politically and financially to enable it to deliver
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results where we can truly make a difference?
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coupled with the courage to make bold and consequent decisions on UN reform that can deliver a more effective organization.
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Collective action has changed the course of global challenges before. These achievements were not inevitable.
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They were the result of political leadership, persistence, and a willingness to work together despite differences to build understanding and compromise.
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The most fundamental step we can all take to revive this organization is to unequivocally recommmit ourselves both
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in words and deeds to the principles that the charter requires us to follow in our relations with other states.
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respect for sovereignty, international law, the pursuit of dialogue and cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
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At a time when conflict is rising, trust is eroding, and geopolitical competition is intensifying.
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We should not conclude that multilateralism has failed.
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We should conclude that it is needed more than ever. Thank you.
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I thank the chair of delegation of New Zealand. I now give the floor to his excellency, chair of delegation of Turkmanistan.
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Mr. Pre, Mr. President, Mr. Secretary General, excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and
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gentlemen, first of all, I have the honor to convey on behalf of the president of Turk Menistan, his
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excellency Mr. Serar Muhammedov, Greetings and wish
