🇨🇩Judith Suminwa TulukaDemocratic Republic of the Congo · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President, Secretary-General, Excellencies, distinguished heads of state and government, it is my privilege to convey from this rostrum, on behalf of His Excellency, Mr. Felix Antoine Tshisekedi Tshilombo, President of the DRC and head of state, the Congolese vision of the future of our organization. I want to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election as President of this 81st session of the General Assembly. I also pay tribute to Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock for the work she accomplished during the previous session. Lastly, I pay tribute in particular to Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, at a time when his mandate is coming to its end. During a decade marked by wars, the pandemic, climate emergencies, and exacerbated geopolitical tensions, he constantly defended peace, human dignity, and international cooperation. Mr. President, the theme of this session, Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation, the United Nations that delivers for all, expresses perfectly the challenge that we must collectively address to restore the hope that the UN nurtured when it was created. For the DRC, this session is another occasion to reaffirm its faith in a multilateralism based upon the unwavering quest for peace and justice, which paved the way not to the prosperity of a select few, but to the creation of a true common horizon for peoples and generations of the future. This faith, however, calls upon us to be clear-eyed about the world's transformations and to ask about the ability of the UN to evolve alongside it for our peoples. have never ceased to believe in the need for international cooperation, a cooperation which, at the most difficult times, can be promptly mobilized, but in other circumstances may seem to drag its feet, when territorial integrity is vigorously defended in one crisis but seems negotiable in another, when the suffering of civilians calls for immediate action in one place but seems less urgent in another. In reality, there can be no lasting trust when the force of our principles varies depending on the people's crises or circumstances. In a world in constant flux, the trust of our peoples in multilateralism begins when the law is applied uniformly, regardless of geography, economic power, or alliances. Our transformation ought to be based upon the need to uphold the Charter in its entirety, especially through the respect for the principle of the sovereign equality of States, peaceful dispute settlement, the prohibition of the use of force, respect for territorial integrity, and human dignity. This ought to be the ambition of the United Nations. Mr. President, we cannot speak of restoring trust toward the UN, let alone of a transformation As long as the UN continues to reflect a world that is ceased to exist, the world of 1945 no longer exists. Digital revolution, energy transition, and climate dysregulation are now altering equilibria. And yet the institutions charged with managing these changes too often reflect an order that no longer exists. Artificial intelligence today offers one of the most striking examples of this. It has immense potential, but also poses risk of new fractures. Its governance should not be the sole remit of certain powers or corporations. Developing countries ought to be able to participate in defining its rules and to access to the capacities that determine its use. The DRC supports the UN global dialogue on AI governance, as well as the creation of a global capacity building fund. digital divide must not become an intelligence divide. This need for inclusion ought first and foremost to be reflected in global governance. Africa has proven itself over time to be a demographic, diplomatic, and geopolitical power, a vital one, but it still remains inadequately represented where decisions are being made about the world's future. How can we fail to mention the historic anomaly that is the absence of Africa among the permanent members of the Security Council? The admission of the African Union to G20 is certainly a major step in the right direction. However, it is not sufficient to meet this need for representation. As a member of the Security Council 2026-2027, we reaffirm our support for the common African position enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, that is to say, two permanent seats for Africa with all of the associated privileges, including veto rights as long as they exist, and two non-permanent additional seats. in order to make the Council more representative, more legitimate, and ultimately more effective. This need for representation goes hand in hand with a need for responsibility, and it is in this spirit that the DRC intends to fully exercise its responsibility when it comes to choosing the next Secretary-General. whose mandate ought to be part of the transformation of our organization and help adapt it to the priorities of a world in profound evolution. This same ambition is our driving force within the Francophone world through the candidacy of Ms. Juliana Amatuul Mumba for the position of Secretary General of the OIF, with the vision of a renewed Francophonie that is closer to its peoples and capable of strengthening trust between its members and to tackle the challenges we are facing. For the DRC, it is precisely in the gap between the trust we are calling to be restored and the transformation that we hope to manage that the real impact of our international commitments is measured. Our country is at the heart of several of these transformations and sometimes at the intersection of their very contradictions. Mr. President, Few situations illustrate so painfully the gap between international commitments and lived reality as that of the east of the DRC. For more than three decades, millions of Congolese have been suffering attacks, forced displacement, and bereavement. Territories have been occupied, families dispersed, women and girls have suffered sexual violence, while children are recruited by armed groups or deprived of education. At the same time, the looting of our resources continues to fuel international trade. My country continues to face a war of aggression led by Rwanda through its proxy, the AFC M23, in violation of its sovereignty, our sovereignty, and our territorial integrity, as documented by the UN. The atrocities committed by other armed groups, especially the ADF and CODECO, are exacerbating this humanitarian crisis even further. To combat this challenge, the DRC has chosen the path of diplomacy without ever abandoning its rights. The peace agreement signed in Washington on June 27, 2025, the commitments made as part of the Doha process, and the roadmap coordinated by the African Union have opened up prospects that we have constantly supported. I commend the United States, Qatar, the African Union, African facilitators, regional partners, and all those who are sincerely striving to restore peace. However, For the sake of truth, we must recognize that for millions of Congolese, this peace remains only a promise. Resolution 2773 of the Security Council has laid out an unambiguous path. It calls for an effective cessation of hostilities, the withdrawal of Rwandan forces from Congolese territory, an end to all support for armed groups, the disengagement of the AFCM 23, the dismantling of parallel administrations, the restoration of state authority, unhindered humanitarian access, and the safe and dignified return of displaced persons and refugees. But We don't need new texts to replace those that have already been adopted. What we need is their implementation. With regard to the issue of the Democratic Liberation Forces of Rwanda, the FDLR, long cited by Kigali to justify its military presence in our territory, the DRC is shouldering its responsibility. The protocol signed by the political and military leadership of the FDLR on May 30, 2026, provides for the disarmament, demobilization, and containment of their combatants with a view toward their repatriation or resettlement without prejudice to potential judicial prosecution for serious crimes. until the movement is disbanded. The repatriation on September 8, with the support of MONUSCO, of 120 persons associated with the FDLR is a first testament to the protocol's implementation. The issue of the FDLR, therefore, should no longer serve as a pretext for maintaining foreign military presence in our territory. The coordinated implementation of the mechanisms of Washington, Doha, and the African Union must be subject to a precise time frame, independent verification, regular information exchange, and clear consequences in case of violations. In this context, MONUSCO maintains a vital role in protecting civilians, monitoring the ceasefire, and supporting agreed-upon mechanisms. Any change to its presence must be determined by the conditions of security on the ground, the strengthening of national capacity, and the guarantee that no vacuum of power will remain to the detriment of populations. The DRC, for its part, will continue to fully shoulder its responsibility, especially through pursuing reforms of its defense and security institutions. through bolstering state authority and through reconstruction on territories affected by the conflicts. And because the peace sought after in the sub-region ought to go hand in hand with cohesion within our nation, the president of the DRC launched on August 28th a national dialogue for peace, cohesion, and the rebuilding of the state. This dialogue is open to the political and social forces that are committed to the Republic, our Constitution, our territorial integrity, and to the rejection of violence. It does not aim to circumvent institutions nor to distribute power. It ought to help us address the structural causes of our vulnerabilities, to consolidate national unity, and to build a state that is more just, more involved, and more protective. Our hand remains outstretched toward all the children of Congo that choose peace, republican debate, and loyalty to their homeland. We Congolese speak to each other with frankness and responsibility, but no internal dialogue can transform an external aggression into a simple domestic dispute. At the same time, no external aggression should absolve us of correcting our own weaknesses, national cohesion and the defense of our territorial integrity are not mutually exclusive, but mutually complementary. Because the peace that we seek cannot be limited to a ceasefire, it ought to also help our country regain full control of its future by transforming the wealth that has too often gone to fuel conflict into tools for development and shared prosperity. Mr. President, It is another paradox that my country's experience is showing the world that some of its resources that fuel conflicts on its territory are also those that a growing proportion of a transformation of the global economy depend upon. The governance of strategic resources ought to be an issue of peace, development, and global security from now on. The energy transition, the electrification of transport, energy storage, as well as the expansion of digital and AI infrastructure are accelerating demand for copper, cobalt, lithium, nickel, and other critical minerals. As the largest global producer of cobalt and a major copper producing power, the DRC is at the heart of this transformation. Congolese cobalt is already being used in batteries, power grids, digital equipment, and technologies that are crucial for the decarbonization of the global economy. It would be both unjust and dangerous for added value, jobs, know-how, and technologies to remain concentrated far away from the communities that are making these changes possible. We cannot build a decarbonized economy through bloodstained minerals, and we will not bring about a just transition by reproducing a greenwashed version of our past dependencies. The DRC therefore rejects the old model that limits producer countries to crude extraction while processing, research, technology, and the bulk of the profits are concentrated elsewhere. Our ambition is clear. We no longer wish to be simply the basement of the world's economy. We plan to become a workshop, a laboratory, and a sovereign partner. We'd like to further transform cobalt and copper, process more cobalt and copper on our territory, develop precursors for batteries and industrial components, train our engineers, support our researchers, and include our enterprises in global value chains. We'd like to build together with our African and international partners, competitive regional businesses that create jobs, skills, and shared prosperity. This ambition, first and foremost, entails taking up our own responsibilities. The DRC is pursuing the modernization of mining governance through the transparency of contracts, extractive revenue, and effective beneficiaries, improving mining registries, deployment of traceability mechanisms, and the fight against fraud. We're also accelerating the formalization of small-scale mining, the regulation of traders, organization of cooperatives, and by securing exploitation zones. The battle against child labor in mines, in this regard, is a moral and national obligation. Together with the International Labor Organization, UNICEF, and our other partners, we are strengthening our identification, monitoring, and remediation mechanisms, as well as the training of our inspectors, school attendance of children, and economic solutions for their families. Our goal is unambiguous. need to achieve zero children in the mines.

responsibility is one that lies with the Congolese state, but it also involves businesses, traders, refiners, manufacturers, financial institutions, and destination markets. The real proof of a responsible supply chain is not the electric vehicle sold downstream, it is the child who no longer descends into the mines upstream. That is why the DRC proposes creating under UN auspices and together with the African Union, as well as producer, processor, and consumer countries, a global framework for just traceable and resilient critical mineral value chains based upon the sovereignty of producer states. It ought to guarantee traceability of minerals, responsibility of economic actors, protection of workers and communities, as well as a more equitable sharing of added value thanks to local processing and technology transfer. The corridor of Lobito ought to become one of the tools to further this ambition. We commend the commitment of Angola, Zambia, the USA, the European Union, the African Development Bank, financial institutions, and the private sector. to promote its implementation. The rehabilitation of railway links, the modernization of infrastructure, the facilitation of exchange and energy investments can connect our territories, reduce logistical costs and stimulate regional trade. But our vision goes far beyond accelerating the export of our raw materials. A corridor that only shortens The path from the mine to the port only reproduces the past. The corridor Lobito ought to become a real backbone for regional industrialization with the support of investors, with the help of whom we hope to build transparent, sustainable, and mutually beneficial partnerships for the well-being of future generations. Mr. President. As you have understood, the transformation we are calling for at the UN is one we have chosen to launch first at home, convinced that by investing in our people, the main source of wealth of our nation, we will be paving the way toward renewed trust and lasting prosperity. Since 2019, we have had free primary education, enabling more than 5 million additional children to attend school. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 21 million children were enrolled in primary school, compared with 14.7 million four years earlier. This quantitative progress must now be transformed into quality. We are continuing to build and rehabilitate schools, and recently we've begun to roll out school cafeterias. Because access is not enough, every child must be able to learn in a school that is safe, inclusive, well-equipped, and open to the tools of our time. This requirement applies especially to girls, children with disabilities, displaced children, and those whose schooling has been jeopardized by conflict. The same ambition guides our health policy. We're continuing the gradual expansion of universal health coverage, in particular through free maternity care. improve maternal and newborn care, vaccination, access to essential medicines, the strengthening of the health care workforce, and by expanding social protections. Mr. President, every health crisis confirms the same truth. Health sovereignty is built before emergencies. It is based upon accessible health care systems, robust epidemiological surveillance, high-performing laboratories, well-funded research, and, above all, the trust of the population. In this regard, the Ebola virus outbreak caused by the Bundibugyo strain remains a major test for our country. For the DRC, fighting this epidemic is an absolute priority. After having contained 16 previous outbreaks, the DRC is mobilizing recognized scientific and operational expertise. And thanks to national mobilization and the support of our partners, the response has recently begun producing tangible results. In addition, clinical trials are now underway. to evaluate vaccines and treatments for this strain in particular. I'd like to pay tribute to the Congolese and foreign healthcare workers, researchers, communities, and our partners, especially the WHO and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the Africa CDC, for their invaluable support to the DRC in eradicating this disease and strengthening resilience to it. Mr. Presidents, this need for resilience does not stop at the boundaries of health. It is also vital when it comes to climate disruptions, whose effects are already putting our societies under growing pressure. Flooding, droughts, and erosion, not to mention population displacement, are threatening our stability. In light of these upheavals, Not all countries bear the same responsibility or the same burden. Those who contribute least to global warming often suffer the heaviest consequences. This paradox is all the more striking given that some of these countries are also some of the main custodians of the natural assets upon which our common future depends. The DRC is one of these custodians. It is home to a vital part of the Congo Basin, which is one of the planet's greatest climate regulators. Its forests, landscapes, freshwater, and biodiversity, provide humanity with considerable ecosystem services. This world heritage will continue to be preserved, but we maintain that the communities that protect it ought to be able to benefit from it. Climate finance. in this regard is a fair solution. However, it ought to be accessible, predictable, and proportionate to the services rendered. Indeed, climate justice cannot consist in further indebting those who already bear the cost of damage they did the least to cause. In the DRC, this ambition is taking shape especially through the Kivu-Kinshasa Green Corridor, which combines ecosystem preservation, economic development, and improved living conditions of the people. Generating 60 megawatts of electricity, this initiative also aims, by 2027, to create 25,000 jobs and protect 5,000 square kilometers of natural forest. The climate crisis is also a water crisis. Following the African Water Forum held in Djamena in July, the DRC has proposed the creation of an African Coalition for Water Security, which aims to strengthen regional cooperation and mobilizing the financing needed to make water a driver of development and for the prevention of tensions. Mr. President, these transformations require considerable resources four years from the 2030 deadline. The Congolese roadmap for accelerating the SDGs estimates our needs at more than $70 billion. We are strengthening our domestic revenue and enhancing the quality of public spending, but A country facing war, epidemics, poverty, and climate shocks simultaneously cannot close this gap alone. At the same time, official development aid has fallen by more than 23% in real terms in 2025, which is the steepest annual contraction ever recorded. This contraction undermines development efforts and jeopardizes the prevention of crises whose consequences go far beyond national borders. ODA remains indispensable, but it will not be enough. The Cevia commitment must now translate into better access to concessional financing, greater mobilization of lateral development banks, and debt relief mechanisms that protect our state's ability to invest. Lastly, no financial architecture can be sustainable without tax justice. International cooperation must combat illicit financial flows, tax evasion, transfer pricing manipulation, and the laundering of revenue from natural resources. Stolen assets must be rapidly identified, frozen, and returned. Every penny recovered can fund a vaccine, a textbook, a well, or a road. Mr. President, the DRC knows that the trust it calls for restoring on the international stage is earned first through the commitments it keeps on its own soil. That is the goal of our efforts to consolidate peace, strengthen our institutions, and make our natural and human wealth the foundation of shared prosperity. Our experience has taught us, however, that no national transformation can fully bear fruit in an international order in which principles remain unequally applied and in which institutions are not sufficiently adapted to the realities of our time. That is why our ambition for the United Nations is inseparable from what we hold dear for our own country. We want a transformation that inspires confidence and trust because it keeps its promises and trust that makes transformation possible in the long term. At a time when humanity hesitates between fragmentation and cooperation, it is up to us to make this ambition our collective responsibility. Restoring trust means applying the law, even when it is costly, not only when it is convenient. Supporting transformation means sharing its benefits equitably. Putting the UN at the service of all means ensuring that no people is too far away to be protected or too deprived to be heard too rich in resources to remain sovereign. The DRC intends to play its full role in this effort. At the heart of Africa, it will pursue its own transformation while contributing to that of our organization. We are convinced that justice rendered to the UN will strengthen the security of all, because it is by restoring to institutions the strength of their principles, to peoples the proof of our word, and to future generations the right to hope that we will restore the full meaning of the promise of the UN together. Thank you.