Central African Republic, 2025

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Faustin-Archange Toidera, Head of State of the Central African Republic. I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. Madam President of the General Assembly, Majesties, Excellencies, Heads of State and Government, Mr. United Nations Secretary General, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is with a profound sense of responsibility that I take the floor on behalf of the people of the Central African Republic as our organization marks its 80th anniversary. This anniversary reminds us of a simple truth. Our destinies are intertwined. Dignity is one and indivisible. Our peoples can only prosper if peace is secured, if development is shared, and if human dignity is guaranteed for all. Eighty years after the founding of the UN, the world is confronted by an unprecedented accumulation of threats, protracted wars, geopolitical rivalries, rising terrorism and organized crime, climate crisis, humanitarian relief and food security crises that are unprecedented. Not since the Cold War have we witnessed such fragility. In Europe, the war in Ukraine continues to cause immense human suffering and to undermine global stability. In the Middle East, the persistent violence between Israel and Palestine plunges entire generations into grief and undermines the prospects for peaceful coexistence. In Africa, the crises in Sudan, in the east of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the Sahel and in the Horn of Africa recall the fragility of the equilibrium that we have struck and the urgency for enhanced support for prevention and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Faced with these tragic situations, the Central African Republic proposes the strengthening of the United Nations' mechanisms for preventive diplomacy through the creation of a global conflict prevention fund financed by the major powers and administered transparently. Such a fund should make it possible, at the earliest warning signs of a crisis, to finance good officers' missions, international mediation and the deployment of rapid intervention-credible peacekeeping forces. Likewise, we must systematize the creation of regional coalitions of mediators able to act alongside the United Nations to prevent local disputes from degenerating into open warfare. Madam President, If we wish to grasp the gravity of the moment, let us look particularly at Africa. In 2025, more than 40% of the world's armed conflicts are taking place on the African continent. The Sahel alone accounts for thousands of victims every year and millions of displaced people. One single figure is enough to summarize the urgency here. In certain African regions, one child in two lives in a conflict-affected area. How can we speak of the future when half of a generation is threatened by war? From the Central African Republic, we know that our own stability affects that of the whole of Central Africa. We also know that peace is never permanent but always to be forged with patience and solidarity. To mitigate the harmful effects of climate change, we call for an integrated African mechanism for food and climate security, supported by the United Nations, to break the link between resource scarcity and conflict. We call for structural, sustainable financing of peace operations in Africa, based on mandatory contributions rather than voluntary ones. We affirm that peace must be inclusive. It must guarantee the participation of women and young people. Without security, there can be neither prosperity nor the effective enjoyment of human rights. Faced with the conflicts and humanitarian crises that have sorely tested our world, we must collectively recall the normative force of the United Nations Charter, this founding text which, in 1945, embodied the hope of a world free of the scourge of war. Yet today, eighty years later, the question arises. Is the UN still capable of fulfilling that mission? The proliferation of conflicts, the fragmentation of the world into antagonistic blocs, the overuse of the veto and the paralysis of the Security Council give the impression of an organisation that is running out of steam. Yet it isn't the UN that is weary, it is the member states which, through a lack of political will, obstruct its action. Yes, Madam President, the UN can still carry weight in the concert of nations but on one condition, that is that we, its members, choose consensus over division, unity over deadlock. I commend and encourage the sustained efforts of the international community to promote peaceful outcomes to the various conflicts. For each day that passes prolongs the agony of the innocent and weakens global peace. In Africa, particularly in Sudan, unresolved conflicts are tearing apart a sister people and risk transforming our continent into a mosaic of fragmented states, unable to ensure stability or meet the needs of their citizens. This prospect is unacceptable. Africa calls for urgent mobilisation, not to further militarise our land but to invest in peace, mediation and inclusive dialogue. It's for this reason that my country supports the Quad Declaration initiated by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States of America concerning the restoration of peace and security in Sudan. In my own country, the Central African Republic, we've chosen the path of dialogue. The policy of reconciliation has led to restored trust and the self-disbandment of almost all the armed groups. This choice was not an easy one. It would have been simpler to give in to the logic of weapons, but we preferred the boldness of forgiveness, patience, dialogue and the force of consensus. Our experience shows that it is possible to substitute a dynamic of sustainable peace to a cycle of hatred. The Central African Republic, which was once considered as a place of violence, is today is an example that it is possible to bring about a return of peace instead of war. Thanks to restored peace, we are today preparing for general elections in December 2025 that we want to be democratic, inclusive and transparent to consolidate the democratic consolidation of the country that was began in 2016. We think that this model can be studied and strengthened as an example of African good practices in the framework of the United Nations and the African Union. This example of good practice requires courageous political action, reforming the UN, reforming the world financial architecture, establishing a global prevention fund, strengthening the role of regional organizations, mobilizing major powers not to divide but to unite. The Central African Republic, based on this valuable experience, is ready to share its experience in building a world order based on justice, human dignity and respect for international law. But peace cannot suffice without development. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development remains our roadmap. We are working to reduce poverty, to strengthen food security, to promote education and health care as levers to bolster dignity, to implement reforms for an inclusive growth that creates jobs and respects the environment. The Central African Republic today has come here to affirm our simple conviction that sustainable development and international cooperation are essential for world peace. In a world where crises follow each other and seem to replace one after the other, no country can take up the challenges of the century alone. We need active solidarity. We need truly shared prosperity. We need a true upsurge in humanity. For this upsurge in humanity, Madam President, allow me to deliver three simple but essential messages. First of all, inclusive development is a weapon of prevention. Wherever there's exclusion, poverty, injustice, anger takes root, resentment accumulates and conflicts break out. Wherever we invest in education, health care and employment, it is in fact the seeds of peace that are planted. An open school is not merely school desks behind which there are students, but rather it's a society that chooses the future instead of violence. A job that's created is not simply an income. It is a dignity of an entire family that is preserved, that once again believes in peace. Secondly, international cooperation is essential. Our challenges disregard borders, climate, pandemics, migrations, markets. All this exceeds the capacity of a single isolated state. No wall, no closed door, no barriers can lastingly protect against the storm, a virus or the despair of those who migrate. The only protection is collective action. It is multilateralism. Thirdly, sustainable development is also a moral debt that we have towards our children. Will we leave them a planet that is environmentally unsustainable? Will we condemn them to this as they begin their life as adults? Or will we leave them a world that is more just, more green, more dignified? This is the choice that awaits us. Mr. President, for a world that is more just, the Central African Republic would like to chart a path of hope by sharing three suggestions that are not simply technical proposals, but rather an entire choice of civilization. First of all, we need to imagine a global initiative for the rebuilding of the most fragile states in a world that leaves some of its members shattered. We cannot claim to seek universal peace. Nations broken by conflicts must not be left alone to heal their wounds. They need the international community to help them get back on their feet, to support them, to restore their trust. Investing in institutional reconstruction means refusing the endless cycle of war and despair. Now, this institutional – this rebuilding of institutions must be followed by a powerful commitment to our planet. This is why we call for a UN pact for the protection of critical ecosystems, a pact that links climate, biodiversity, and human rights. Destroying a forest not only means cutting down trees, it means erasing cultures. It means threatening lives and paving the way for future crises. Protecting nature is protecting peace. Lastly, the time has come for ambitious dreams for Africa. That is the idea behind a green corridor, a development corridor in Central Africa, which brings together modern infrastructure, clean energies, and regional integration. From Bangui to Kinshasa, from Douala to Libreville, this corridor would be a bridge between our peoples and a promise of the future for all of humankind. Because Africa is not a continent that needs simply help. It's a continent that is awaiting courageous partnerships. The role of Africa in the community of nations must be respected, sovereignty rather than subordination, partnership rather than exploitation. It is unacceptable that poverty is worsening in Africa while wealth is accumulating in the northern countries. It's time for the injustices caused Africa to be repaired. That is why the Central African Republic supports the Pan-African Initiative on Reparations as well as the efforts of the continent aimed at establishing a respectful and equitable dialogue with partners. Along these lines, my country supports the initiative for global governance launched on the 1st of September of this year by China, and that is a continuation of global initiatives for development, security, and civilization, stressing the need for the development of a more just and more equitable system of international governance. Madam President, we all agree on the principle of sustainable development. However, two obstacles stand in that way, financing and the distribution of responsibilities between the North and the South. On these two points, it's time for us to speak the truth. Each one should bear the burden based on their historic responsibilities, because solidarity is not a moral option, it is a political obligation. That political obligation implies that sustainable development is the very condition of our common future. The Central African Republic, in spite of its modest means, but strong with its unshakable political determination, is ready to take its place in this collective combat. We know that we're vulnerable. However, we also know that our vulnerability gives us a single voice, a voice that reminds the world that peace, justice, and solidarity are not mere far-off promises, but rather urgent choices to be made here and today. On this 80th anniversary, the Central African Republic reaffirms its unshakable attachment to the values embodied by the United Nations. However, we would like to underscore that these values cannot be ensured without a profound reform of the multilateral system, and in particular of the United Nations Security Council. Its current composition has become obsolete and even illegitimate. Eighty years ago, when the United Nations was born, Africa was not free. Most of our countries still were living under colonial control. Our voice did not count at the time. Today, Africa is 1,400,000,000 inhabitants. In 30 years, there'll be 2,500,000,000. One human being in four will be African. Africa will be the youngest continent and the one that will be – will play a decisive role in – throughout the century, and yet not a single permanent seat in the Security Council belongs to Africa, not a single one. How can we speak of international justice and security when the continent of tomorrow is treated as though it was the continent of the past? The Central African Republic brings to you the voice of Africa to say enough. Africa must have two permanent seats with the right to veto, not as a favor to it, but as a measure of justice, not as a privilege, but as a need. We propose also the establishment of a global charter for digital governance and ethical artificial intelligence so that human rights are protected in the digital sphere. We call on the establishment of a global index of equity and democratic resilience in addition to GDP to measure dignity, to measure justice and inclusion. My country is already acting within its means. We have validated our third national report on Resolution 1325, Women, Peace, and Security. We have updated our follow-up plan of Beijing Plus 30. We're strengthening national accountability mechanisms to put women, young people, and the most vulnerable at the heart of public policies. On this 80th anniversary of the UN, let us recall the vision of its founders to substitute the force of the powerful by the force of law and to build a future of dignity for all. Thank you very much. I thank the President of the Central African Republic.