Uruguay, 2025

The Assembly will hear and address by His Excellency Yomandu Usi, President of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay. I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. President of the General Assembly, Secretary General, Heads of State and Government, Representatives of international organisations, Official Delegations, Ladies and Gentlemen. I come from a Republic that lies to the east of the Uruguay River, one which on maps in history and in culture occupies a small corner of the southernmost tip of the world. This is a country of grasslands overlooking the ocean, which stands out for the tranquillity and hospitality of its people. I come from a country where it is now common practice for a President to visit neighbouring countries accompanied by his predecessors from other political parties. This is a country where the handover between governing parties does not trigger an institutional crisis. On the contrary, this handover represents business as usual. I come from a country whose President can walk among the people without security, can enjoy a football match standing in the stands like any other supporter. I come from a country whose political parties, almost all of them, more than half a century old, are always willing to agree on national solutions to national emergencies. In saying this, I am trying to express how Uruguay lives its profound vocation for peace and respect every day. I live in a country, of course, that does not stand on the threshold of paradise, since we are also facing fresh challenges in child poverty, public security and social inequality, and on these issues also there is, generally speaking, national consensus. Our historically robust institutions and political system have allowed Uruguay to continue to stand out in the region for its high level of human development and its income distribution policies. It has allowed us to be a country with stable rules, where contracts are honoured, where international commitments are respected and where macroeconomic stability is a state policy. But this impressive record can also be seen beyond our borders. Because Uruguay is recognised worldwide for its commitment to peace, its tireless pursuit of the peaceful resolution of conflicts, its unfettered respect for international law as the greatest guarantee of the sovereignty of peoples, and for being a fraternal and hospitable land for migrants from all latitudes. From that small country which breeds tolerance, dialogue and agreement as the historical key to coexistence, and which lies on a continent free of conflict and interstate wars, we come to this Assembly to join efforts to contribute to stability and peace in an increasingly tumultuous and challenging world. The growing geopolitical tension and increase in conflicts, together with the underfunding of efforts for a peaceful and rules-based global order, are posing enormous challenges on a planetary scale. A few facts suffice to illustrate this. According to the 2025 Global Peace Index, in 2023 there were 59 interstate conflicts. This is the highest number since the end of the Second World War. In 2024, global military expenditure rose by almost 10% in real terms when compared to 2023. This represents the largest annual increase since the end of the Cold War. We are talking about military expenditure of $2.7 trillion. We are not only talking about increased conflict between nations, nor of rapidly growing military expenditure to sustain this, but we are also talking about new forms of cruelty and death that wars now bear. We are well aware that since the very birth of civilisation, the absence of violence or war has perhaps been nothing more than a pipe dream. But in our time, technological progress has unleashed other, much more perverse means of waging war, such as the use of military practices aimed at sowing fear, terror and death among the civilian population. Let it be very clear. We condemn all forms of terrorism, since it constitutes, among other things, a despicable act of cowardice. There is another perspective, a current perspective, one that leads us to believe that the main objective of current wars seems to be the systematic practice of extermination. The end has never, never justified the means. We must banish that old precept that war is the continuation of politics by other means. All war is criminal, irrespective of where it occurs, irrespective of the God invoked to justify it, and it will always deserve our most visceral condemnation. It is true that every nation has the right to its own territory and government. It's true that they have the right to establish a level of self-determination that allows a nation to coexist with other peoples. And the value of the United Nations is precisely to ensure that these principles are realised in a peaceful and civilised manner. No state that claims to be democratic and to live under the rule of international law can, even under the legitimate right to defend itself against terrorism, exercise barbarity against any civilian population, least of all against especially vulnerable and defenceless persons. Since 1948, Uruguay has maintained a consistent and steadfast position in line with the principles of self-determination and peaceful coexistence. Our historic stances on the main global conflicts, especially that currently underway in the Middle East, are well known. In this regard, Uruguay has always maintained the position of two states, two peoples. The Uruguayan government hence takes very seriously the reports produced by the international community concerning the Palestinian territories and urges the implementation of the recommendations made by the United Nations. At the same time, we urge the immediate suspension of military operations of death. We urge the suspension of the death of innocent civilians. And we request the release of the hostages. In our world, at the same time, there are other persistent and worsening more widespread and permanent tragedies. To such an extent that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted in this very Assembly 77 years ago, stands as a revolutionary manifesto in the times that we are living through, beginning with its first article which proclaims all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and, endowed as they are 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 gap between those who have the most and those who suffer the most is ever greater. How far we are when we see that the principles of freedom and equality are increasingly estranged and we hear much more talk of a supposedly free individual than of egalitarian societies in terms of income or the enjoyment of rights. How far we are from human sensibility when we forget that our main calling must be to stand with the majority, listening to every problem or anguish of our people and understanding even and fundamentally those who think differently. Madam President, I come from a country with a long, faithfully documented tradition in international politics. This tradition includes staunch support for multilateralism in all of its facets – political, economic, cultural – as the best and only way to face the challenges to which I have referred. It also, of course, includes a permanent commitment to international law, a commitment to dialogue and to the building of peace as one of our greatest contributions in the context of a fragmented and polarised world. My country's entire political system is proud to contribute decisively to global tasks such as the maintenance of international peace and security, the consolidation and development of international law through participation in normative bodies and in international courts, through our support for disarmament, food security, global health and commitment to addressing climate change. In this context, I wish to highlight my country's historic commitment to the multilateral peace-keeping system. In the last 35 years, and without interruption, Uruguay has deployed battalions to various United Nations peace operations. We have taken on this role to such an extent that we have become the leading country in Latin America and the second per capita worldwide in contributing to this type of missions. Moreover, we have done this with particular distinction because our troops have been specialised in the most emblematic role of these peace operations, that is, the protection of civilians in armed conflicts. The nations represented in this Assembly are well aware that my small country is very far from standing out for its military might or its economic dominance. 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 country that can be relied upon to promote dialogue and peace. Firstly, because those principles define us as a republic and are evident in our respect for the separation of powers and the rule of law, the strengthening of our democratic system and our respect and promotion of human rights and social equity, among other things. Secondly, because this is how we have historically conducted ourselves on the international stage. As early as in 1907, for instance, my country took a firm stance at the Hague Conference on Arbitration, seeing it as an essential and obligatory mechanism for resolving conflicts between states. Just a few years later, in 1921, Uruguay was the first state in the world to accept the jurisdiction of the Permanent Court of International Justice, the predecessor of the International Court of Justice. On the basis of these and other historical precedents, I hereby reaffirm that Uruguay is in an excellent position to be able to offer itself to the world as a host for negotiations, as a promoter of networks of dialogue and mediation leading to the construction of peace and the prevention of conflicts. Believe me, we are prepared for this ever more urgent and necessary challenge. Among other reasons, because we have learned, as my country's former President Jose Pepe Mojica said, that tolerance is the foundation for peaceful coexistence. Thank you. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay.