Monaco, 2025

The Assembly will hear and address by His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco. I request protocol to escort His Serene Highness and invite him to address the Assembly. Madam President of the General Assembly, Secretary General, ladies and gentlemen, Heads of State and Government Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, Eighty years ago, the creation of the United Nations marked a decisive turning point in contemporary history in international relations. Offering each state a forum for dialogue and exchange, the ambition of the Founders was clear and bold. All nations, large and small, need to be able to participate on equal footing in crafting collective solutions, equality, respect, dialogue. This is the heart of the multilateral spirit and underpinning the values where Monaco found its place within the Concert of Nations. Over these past eight decades, the United Nations has supported and ushered in major turning points, the reconstruction of Europe after the Second World War, the process of decolonization, the hope of an international order that is more peaceful after the Cold War. The organization contributed to the establishment of robust international law, the adoption of numerous treaties, law of the sea, counterterrorism treaties, protection of the environment, the promotion of human rights. Monaco ratified more than 270 of these treaties, which beyond their symbolic dimension govern the day-to-day lives of our population. The UN also played a key role in the maintenance of international peace and security. On all continents, these operations helped to prevent conflict and to support democratic transitions. International justice, specifically through the judgments rendered by the International Criminal Tribunals, have been significant sources of progress in combating impunity for the gravest crimes, and the International Court of Justice remains a pillar when it comes to peaceful resolution of disputes. The United Nations has been a pioneer in ecological awareness, raising the protection of our planet, mobilizing governments, scientists, civil society to put together concerted strategies, and these are issues which are of tremendous importance to us. The UN has shed light on the role of sports as a vector for peace, for inclusion, for development. Our principally welcomes the fact that sport is increasingly taking pride of place in the work of the organization. Madam President, we are cognizant of the progress that has been made over the past eight decades, and yet we have more challenges to surmount, which requires resolute collective action. The progress that we have made is significant, but we have a grim reality. We are in a multipolar world where international realities are significant. Here our proliferation of peacekeeping operations show that dialogue and preventive diplomacy unfortunately do not always generate the anticipated results. International security is today gravely imperiled. International tensions and conflicts are spreading in all four corners of the world, and this makes it all the more necessary for there to be a reaffirmation of the core principles of the United Nations sovereignty of states, peaceful dispute resolution, respect for international law and human rights. In this regard, the Principality of Monaco firmly condemns the war of aggression targeting Ukraine and the suffering this has inflicted upon civilian populations, and I reiterated this message just now to President Zelensky. I cherish the hope that a just and lasting negotiated peace agreement can be found soon to guarantee security and to rise to the expectations of the Ukrainian people. In the Middle East, violence has generated unacceptable human suffering casualties. The risk of regional conflagration requires that there be an immediate de-escalation protection of civilians, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance, and a sincere relaunch of the peace process on the basis of the two states. Peace is not a utopia. Peace is an overriding necessity. These security-related challenges are compounded by environmental challenges. The international community recently met in Nice for the third UN Conference on Oceans, vehemently recalling the need to act for the protection of seas and oceans. The Principality organized, before the conference, a Blue Economy and Finance Forum. Heads of state, economic leaders, investors, philanthropists, development banks, NGOs, 1,800 participants arrived from nearly 100 countries to mobilize more financial resources to invest in a sustainable, regenerative blue economy. And yet, the commitments made notwithstanding, there are still challenges. BB&J was adopted in January last, and this should lead us to implement immediately measures for the conservation and sustainable use of the diversity in the high seas. The fight against climate change is a responsibility, a historic responsibility. Acceleration of extreme events requires credible, immediate, financed responses. We are traversing significant difficulties. There is science which is accessible, abundant, more reliable than ever before. The Paris Agreement, the 10th anniversary of which we are marking this year, provides a structured, transparent framework which should generate robust trust among all stakeholders. This year, nationally determined contributions have been published, and this is a reflection of the need to be more and more ambitious. I wish to recall that these ambitions carry moral significance, particularly vis-à-vis young people and succeeding generations, but also, as was recently recalled by the ICJ, in the advisory opinion. And in this regard, and in accordance with the new collective goal for financing which was adopted in Baku last year, I decided that my country will double specific financing under climate agreements, and this is by 2028. Let us not forget that there is a need to invest in countering climate change, but there is a need to take into account the depletion of biodiversity throughout the world. COP17 and the Biological Diversity Convention October 2026 will be held in Yerevan. This is a key opportunity to transform the commitments into reality, specifically when it comes to financing and meaningful protection of ecosystems. Madam President, we cannot pass over in silence the alarming setbacks in human rights. Freedom, the repression of freedom, civil society, excessive use of force, these are all undermining the very basis of civilizations and are resulting in a loss of trust of citizens vis-à-vis systems. Women's rights are a key pillar for peace, for development, and for justice. Thirty years after the Beijing conference, gender equality between men and women has still not been fully universally attained, and this remains a key priority, which is something we need to reaffirm. There is an urgent need to generate collective commitment to combat violence against women and girls and against all kinds of persecution which they endure, including in conflict-affected areas. No society can be prosperous if such inequality persists there. Likewise, no society can develop without taking care of its young population, because young people are not just the future of the world, young people are the present. Thirty years after the World Youth Program, it is incumbent upon us to raise the role of young people in discussions on the economy, civic life, access to education, employment, digital issues. This is not a privilege, this is a right. Madam President, public global health is a key. Non-communicable diseases are the main cause of premature deaths, and there is a need for cross-sectoral mobilization to address this challenge. I welcome the key role of the WHO with the global action against these diseases, but there is a need to move further to strengthen synergies among the stakeholders to improve the effectiveness of action, particularly among budgetary constraints. The fourth high-level meeting on this issue should generate new momentum to intensify prevention and to provide universal access to high-quality care. Madam President, the 80th anniversary of the United Nations offers an opportunity to breathe new life into multilateralism, to reform its operations and to address the liquidity crisis. Reform of the United Nations should restore people's trust and to establish an effective structure based on core values. The United Nations is the only universal body which is capable of defending sovereignty of states and embodies the ideal of cooperation amongst peoples. But this is not only at the UN headquarters, there are specialized institutions, UNESCO, FAO and IAEA, and many others. These all play a critical role by providing concrete support for environmental, educational and social policies of states, helping them to fully meet their responsibility without duplication of mandates in New York. And let us recenter the work of our organization to focus on the priorities enshrined in the Charter. We need to rekindle a spirit of dialogue and the spirit of organization. The general debate should once again become this unique opportunity where leaders of the world listen to one another and seek to achieve a mutual understanding. The Principality of Monaco cherishes the hope that through reform the UN will once again become the center with harmonization of UN efforts for the maintenance of peace and security in accordance with Article 1 of our Charter. No state alone can resolve the crisis plaguing our times. It is by sharing ideas, resources and willingness that we can together build a future of lasting peace because together we are better. Thank you.