Gabon, 2025

The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency Bryce Klochea Olegi Nangamma, President of the Gabonese Republic, Head of State, and Head of Government. I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly. Madam President of the General Assembly, Distinguished Heads of State and Government, Distinguished Secretary General of the United Nations, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, At the outset, I would like to most warmly and sincerely congratulate Her Excellency Annalena Baerbock on her election as President of this 80th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Madam President, your experience, I am sure, will allow you to effectively carry out the missions of your august post. Rest assured of the full cooperation of my country. To His Excellency Philemon Yang, your predecessor, I pay tribute to the outstanding work carried out during his term. And lastly, I would like to once again commend His Excellency Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of our organization, for all of the efforts that he has constantly made since he took up his office. Gabon, my country, is keenly interested in the UN80 initiative, which aims at ensuring operational efficiency in the face of global challenges, as well as to optimize mandates within the UN system. Madam President, one year ago, before this prestigious assembly, as the President of the transition of the Republic of Gabon, I presented the political process begun in my country after the liberation coup which took place on August 30, 2023. After the presidential election of April 12, 2025, for which the process and outcomes were unanimously endorsed by the international community, this transition culminated with my inauguration on May 3, 2025, as the first elected President of the Gabonese Republic, thus establishing the foundations of democratic order. As you know, Gabon has undergone a peaceful and exemplary transition that included all the political parties in our nation. This smooth transition led to an inclusive national dialogue and a constitutional referendum in accordance with the agreed-upon timelines, and it will continue through the holding of legislative, local and senatorial elections that are free and transparent. To this end, the first and second round of combined legislative and local elections will take place on September 27 and October 11, 2025, with regard to the election of senators. This will take place on November 8, and the second round is scheduled for November 29, 2025, with a view toward a definitive restoration of constitutional order by January 2026. We believe that this peaceful and historic process can serve as a lesson and a model in many other spheres. The people of Gabon have drawn this success from its history, its culture of peace and its shared vision of the future. Here, I would like to express on behalf of the Gabonese people and on my own behalf our sincere gratitude to the United Nations for its multifaceted assistance. I know that I can count on the support of the UN as we implement our National Growth and Development Plan. This plan focuses on bolstering our energy capacity, on strengthening infrastructure, developing the digital sector and on enhancing youth employment. Ladies and gentlemen, Gabon is standing before you again with a clear message. Our country has changed. After decades of tensions and political and economic missteps, the Gabonese people have chosen the path of reconciliation and renewal, thus becoming the symbol and testament to the transformation of hardship into hope, of dependency into dignity, of division into unity, and all without bloodshed. Today, Gabon is no longer a country in limbo. It has returned to stand alongside other states, upright, dignified, and ready to take up its rightful place in the community of nations. The new Gabon, the exemplary Gabon that my compatriots are calling for, also means that the state in Gabon must serve its people from now on. But our national rebirth would be futile without a change in the international order. It is no longer acceptable for African nations to remain relegated to the role of providers of raw materials for which others set the price and from which others profit. Therefore, I would like to invite public and private investors to support us through win-win partnerships. We have decided to transform to process our resources on our territory, to create jobs at home, to develop African industries, and to interact with the world on the basis of equity, integrity, and mutual respect as we strive toward happiness. In its path toward development, Gabon, a country of peace and opportunity, will continue to welcome all those who commit to upholding our laws, our republican values, and to contributing positively to our national rise. Distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen, This 80th session of the General Assembly has the theme Better Together, 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights. It takes place in an international context characterized by economic, environmental, and security crises that call for more sustained and more staunch collective engagement. This is an urgent call to tackle these concerns in accordance with the spirit and the values of the UN Charter. Ladies and gentlemen, Today, the world has a radically different face. Humanity has never had so much technological prowess to ensure its well-being, and yet international peace and security have never seemed so fragile and so under threat. It is high time that peace reign on Earth, and especially in Africa, which has so long suffered under conflicts that have been stoked and financed from outside the continent. Let the guns at last fall silent in the DRC, in Sudan, in the Horn of Africa, and in the Sahel. In this regard, instead of constantly stigmatizing and condemning the state of the Sahel, the international community would benefit from supporting them in their battle against the many-headed threat of terrorism. Ladies and gentlemen, On December 12, 1988, Gabon officially recognized the State of Palestine. Then, as now, we support the two-state solution, the only way, in accordance with UN resolutions, to guarantee a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, as well as to guarantee international security. In this vein, Gabon must reaffirm its position in favor of lifting the embargo imposed on Cuba due to its negative effect on the well-being of Cuba's people. We solemnly reaffirm our full support for international efforts carried out throughout the world to achieve peace. These efforts must be centered on humans, especially women and youth. Through the Pact for the Future of 2024, the UN must continue to encourage and support the crucial action of women, stemming from the Beijing Declaration and Program of Action. I wish we were celebrating the 30th anniversary this year. Madam President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General of the United Nations, The triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution is an existential threat for humanity. And yet, the efforts of the international community to address these challenges remain drastically inadequate. The Treaty on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions, which we have just ratified, fills a legal gap and provides an ambitious framework for equitable and sustainable governance of biodiversity. Together, we have a real opportunity to make this treaty a true driver of transformation for present and future generations. Gabon is the guardian of part of the Congo Basin, the second largest green lung of our planet. This extraordinary heritage must not be sacrificed to financial rapacity. We call for an equitable global partnership in which the protection of our forests is accompanied by fair compensation for the ecological services these forests provide to humanity. Ladies and gentlemen, the new global order is underway. The changes taking place in our societies are inevitable and cannot be overlooked. International peace and justice can only be guaranteed by a revitalized multilateralism, in particular through Security Council reform that takes into account the African claims enshrined in the SIRT Declaration and the Izzouini Consensus, to which Gabon is firmly committed. I wish every success to our work, and I wish a happy birthday to our organization. Thank you. I thank you and happy birthday to all of us. On behalf of the Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Gabonese Republic, Head of State, and Head of Government. The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama.