Angola, 2025

The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency Zuan Manuel González Lourenço, President of the Republic of Angola. I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. Your Excellency, President of the General Assembly, Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Excellencies, Heads of Delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen. I stand before Your Excellencies in my capacity as President of the Republic of Angola and the current Chairperson of the African Union to speak about my country, to share our perspective on the evolution of the events unfolding in this increasingly troubled world and to discuss matters concerning Africa, a continent that mobilizes our energies and efforts as we seek solutions to finally awake it once for all towards development. Allow me to extend my congratulations to Her Excellency Anneliese Baerbock on her election to the Distinguished Office of the President of the United Nations General Assembly, convinced that her experience and the knowledge she has accumulated through the various functions she has performed with great mastery will ensure the success of the work she has taken on since the beginning of this month of September. I also would like to congratulate her predecessor, His Excellency Philemon Young, for the assertive manner in which he presided over the General Assembly during the past year, having devoted his utmost dedication to ensuring that this body should operate with commendable efficiency, a fact that rightfully deserves our collective recognition in light of the positive outcomes achieved throughout his tenure. I cannot fail to acknowledge His Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for the role that he has so ably played, with a profound sense of commitment underpinned by his admirable qualities as a man of dialogue and peace amid prevailing geopolitical complexities. Madam President, Excellencies, eighty years have elapsed since, compelled by imperatives of that era, a group of nations and their respective leaders took the wise decision to establish the United Nations Organization, which from that moment, through both turbulent and peaceful instances, had succeeded in fulfilling its great mission of maintaining the global peace and stability, contributing to the advancement of humanity and to preserve and deepen respectful human rights. This is a great achievement of the peoples of our planet, which cannot and must not be neglected and underestimated by any power, political leaders or by anyone, lest, by magnifying egocentric visions and interests, we forfeit the benefits of peace bequeathed to us by women and men who, over time, led us so far in an environment of harmony and global understanding. This journey has not always been linear, yet, in the most critical moments, prudence has prevailed over the worst impulses of large-scale conflict, and this has been possible solely through continual dialogue, which has proven to be the only factor capable of bridging differences, overcoming obstacles and appeasing even the most troubled and belligerent spirits. Today, these lessons from the past are of great value and must serve as our sole references that guide us towards solutions to the conflicts in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and wherever they may arise. Under the context of the uncertainty in which we celebrate the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, the theme, Better Together, Eighty Years and Beyond for Peace, Development and Human Rights, holds a significance that compels us to reflect upon the profound meaning of the appeal by Her Excellency the President of the General Assembly for the renewal of multilateralism and solidarity in action within a framework of collective and complementary undertakings by a more agile, effective and responsible UN as envisaged in the roadmap of the Secretary-General's Initiative 80. In light of these perspectives, it is urgent that we revitalise the United Nations and uplift it from the complex situation in which it finds itself currently, in order to restore the active role that it has always played, a strongly valuable role that, during the Cold War, gave us assurance of never feeling as close to a global conflict as we do at this moment amid the profound dissonance prevailing in international relations. The main world powers appear to be turning their backs on one another, distancing themselves from even the most basic points of convergence that would allow them to remain committed above all to dialogue and concerted action. Today's challenges confront us with a choice either to do everything in our power to preserve peace or to face war with all its consequences, thus jeopardising the future of humanity. Those world powers that in the past played a crucial role in the liberation of Europe and its people from the clutches of Nazism and fascism, as well as in the liberation of Africa and its people from the apathetic regime in South Africa, cannot today act differently by aggressing other countries, invading and annexing foreign territories, nor by financing or organising upheavals that could cause the overthrow of legitimate governments as we currently witness in our own continent. With this dangerous precedent, no regional, continental or global institution will henceforth have the moral authority to call any state to reason when it breaches the principles that govern the UN Charter and international law. We Africans, from countries that endured centuries of colonisation, perhaps understand better than anyone else the importance of peace, for we have had to face daily struggles to provide our people with food, clean water, health care, education and other fundamental necessities. This experience engenders heightened sensitivity to the harmful impact that insecurity and instability have on the attainment of our goals and developmental projects. This reality is further exacerbated by numerous conflicts and wars afflicting countries and regions across the globe from which we had hoped to find cooperation and fruitful exchanges, so that together we might overcome our difficulties and contribute with our immense resources and capabilities to global prosperity. It is upon this foundation that the Republic of Angola has sought to make an earnest and genuine contribution to resolving the conflict in the Sahel region, in Sudan and in the Eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, regarding which our efforts established a negotiation framework with Peace Solution that regrettably did not come to fruition in December 2024 as anticipated, but nonetheless remains a valid platform for further efforts being undertaken with the aim of bringing a definitive end to that conflict. Madam President, Excellencies, that conflict and so many others that we recall are to a large extent the result of passivity of the United Nations Member States, who have often revealed themselves to be ineffective in the face of invasion of third-party territories and interference in internal affairs of sovereign countries that occurred over the recent years and have not provoked a firm, resolute and assertive reaction, therefore have become fait accompli that lie at the very centre of the major tensions that the world is currently experiencing. The consequences of these are very evident before our eyes in the Middle East, where the systematic failure to comply with the relevant UN Security Council resolution regarding the creation of the State of Palestine has perpetuated a conflict that worsens with each day passing and appears to have no end in sight in face of this proportionate and violent response and retaliation by Israel, which, while having a right to exist as a state and to demand the release of those still held hostage from the tragic events of October 7, must not, however, be allowed to pursue in Palestine and particularly in the Gaza Strip a policy of extermination of a whole people. The Palestinian people, who must not be conflated with Hamas, for there is no peoples and certainly no children who are terrorists, has precisely the same right to an independent sovereign state where they may assert their culture, safeguard for their future and provide predictable and secure prospects for their youth. The concerns surrounding that conflict grow ever more severely in the face of silence, hesitations and teemed response of the international community, which seems to legitimise the expansion of war to other countries in the region, inexorably corroding the authority of the United Nations. There is nothing more serious than the exclusion of the delegation of Palestine from this forum, where it should rightly have the opportunity to make its voice heard as a member state in accordance with the terms of the host agreement. The failure to guarantee the presence of the President of the Palestinian Authority at this General Assembly sends a profoundly negative signal as it encourages the continuation of genocide we all are witnessing helplessly and with impunity, which delays the resolution of the issue and complicates the efforts that have been made to bring an end to that intricate conflict. We strongly condemn this unilateral position, which is contrary to the principles that govern the United Nations, even as we urge unconditional lifting of the unjust and prolonged embargo against Cuba, which has dire consequences for the economy and the living conditions of the Cuban people, who struggle daily to withstand a punishment rejected by the international community as a whole. Cuba, which played an important role in the struggle of African peoples leading to the overthrow of the racist and inhuman apartheid regime in South Africa and, by virtue of this, was a signatory to the New York Peace Accord of December 22, 1988, which brought freedom to the South African people and led to the independence of Namibia, cannot be arbitrarily and unilaterally considered a stepponser of terrorism in light of the relevant United Nations resolutions. This model of conduct by a small group of countries, which does not conform to the even minimum acceptable standards of global coexistence, is at the root of the unilateral and subjective sanctions imposed also on Zimbabwe and Venezuela, measures that produce no other results other than the suffering of populations who, in an act of great patriotism, admittedly unite themselves in the defence of their nations. Madam President, Excellencies, the authority of this organisation, whose foundation is the UN Charter and international law, must be urgently restored without narratives that highlight a logic of double standards, so that just solutions may be sought for the war in Ukraine or so that solutions proposed by the meeting held in Alaska may be reinforced. Ukraine being a European country, after President Trump met with President Putin on a pragmatic manner and without prejudice to the need for direct negotiation between Russia and Ukraine, one would expect that European leaders, in an interest of Europe's peace and security, would likewise seek direct dialogue not only with President Zelensky but also with President Putin. We cannot afford to squander this opportunity, for otherwise we risk witnessing an escalation of unpredictable proportions and consequences not only in Europe, where all active stakeholders must abandon the perilous calculation rooted in the notion of military victory through the weakening of adversaries' capabilities. It is in the light of the face of the present challenges and the ongoing global crisis that the United Nations must re-emerge and become more proactive, lest its role as the main entity for global governance be diminished and be transformed into an institution incapable of ensuring world peace. Therefore, it is our responsibility as states and sovereign nations not to allow the UN to succumb. The United Nations, in its present form, is the sole organization with the capacity to act on behalf of all of us in the quest for worldwide consensus in favor of peace, with the legitimacy to call to reason those member states who undermine its foundational principles in their conduct on the international stage. For this reason, we must preserve it at all costs and adapt it to the realities of the contemporary world through the urgently required reforms. In this most particular regard, I advocate for the reform of the Security Council, in line with the Common African Position set forth in the Azolean Consensus and in the CERT declaration adopted 20 years ago, which called for two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats for the African continent in an expanded Security Council that is more representative and consistent with the contemporary geopolitical realities. Without this indispensable step, which has already experienced an unjustified delay, we will not be able to ensure the realization of the Pact for the Future adopted last year, which recognized the urgent need to endow the United Nations with a more democratic and balanced Security Council. This pact represents a significant opportunity to revitalize multilateralism, rendering it more inclusive and capable of serving as a broader foundation for discussion on critical issues facing today's world. Amongst these, I wish to underscore, alongside many other relevant issues, the issue of financing for the development and climate challenge. With regard to matters concerning support for development, there remains much to be discussed, but also it is appropriate to recognize the recent progress achieved with the adoption of the Seville Commitment reached at the Fourth Conference on Financing for Development, which advocates the urgent reform of international financial institutions so as to render them more representative, inclusive, and equipped to address the pressing needs of the developing countries, especially those of Africa. I am convinced that this instrument, combined with the Pact for the Future, the United Nations Fiscal Convention, and the United Nations Debt Convention, Steel and Discussion, will together serve as a political, financial, and normative platform that will provide significant momentum to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, Madam President, Excellencies. It is essential that we confront the climate crisis as the greatest existential threat of our time, which can only be overcome through joint, coordinated, and united action. In view of the ongoing increase of global warming and the increasingly violent, frequent natural disasters, it has become imperative that the nations which derived the greatest benefits from industrial and economic development in the past fully assume today the historical responsibility of ensuring, as an act of climate justice, adequate financing, technology transfer, and support for adaptation and mitigation for the developing countries. The countries with only residual share in greenhouse gas emissions are those that disproportionately and virtually alone face the impact of climate change, global warming, and the devastating effects on agriculture, food security, and public health. In view of such evidence and the responsibilities arising therefrom, Angola remains steadfastly committed to the Paris Agreement and to implementing adaptation and mitigation measures in alignment with the United Nations 2030 Agenda and the African Union 2063 Agenda, which enshrine the consensus concerning the mobilization of predictable, affordable climate financing intended to ensure a just energy transition capable of protecting the most vulnerable communities. This cross-cutting theme, which demands increasingly heightened sense of responsibility both within the scope of public agendas and among major industrial corporations, will receive due attention at the forthcoming COP30 climate summit to be held shortly in Brazil, which for the second time hosts an event of this magnitude, a testament to the country's commitment and engagement with environmental issues. In 1992, in Rio de Janeiro, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was inaugurated, a paradigm that has proven greatly beneficial for the increasingly profound discussion that endured to this day and which will assuredly, at the forthcoming conference, enable us all to take another step forward on this long journey that we must undertake to achieve the major climate goals aspired by humanity. Excellencies, 80 years after the founding of the United Nations and following the end of the Cold War, our expectation was that we would be living in a world without present uncertainties not as perilous as that which we now witness. Until 1991, we lived in a context marked by sharp division between two ideologically opposed blocs which nevertheless offered a more predictable framework and was less susceptible to drifting into large-scale confrontation. This flashback should not lead us to the conclusion that global stability is only possible within a framework of rigid divisions of any kind. Rather, it should inspire us to build a system based on a balanced interest and shared concern on matters pertaining to global security that fosters complementarity and all forms of convergence within an environment of multilateralism which remains the sole pathway capable of preserving us from a true catastrophe. With these few words, I thank you for your kind attention.