🇬🇲Mohammed JallowGambia (Republic of The) · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President, Dr. Khalilur Rahman, Excellency, Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, justice, excellencies, head of state and government, heads of delegation, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. It is a distinct honor for me to address this assembly on behalf of his excellency, Mr. Adam Aboro, president of the Republic of the Gambia. I bring to this hall the warm greetings of the government and people of the Gambia together with our enduring friendship, solidarity, and goodwill to all nations represented here. Mister president, Allow me at the outset to congratulate you most warmly on your election as President of the 84th session of the General Assembly. The Gambia assures you of our full support and constructive cooperation as we guide our collective work under the timely theme you have chosen, restoring trust and managing transformation so that the United Nations can deliver for all. That theme speaks directly to the moment in which we meet. Permit me also to express our profound appreciation to your predecessor, Ms. Annalena Baerbock, for the dedication, dignity, and determination with which she presided over the 80th session of the General Assembly. I also wish to place on record the Gambia's appreciation for the Secretary-General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, and Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, whose steady and principled leadership through years of compounding global crises, have done much to keep the flame of multilateral cooperation alive, even as the winds against it have grown fiercer. We wish them well as they complete their tenure at the end of this year. Mr. President, few institutions embody the principle of sovereign equality as visibly as this Assembly. Within these walls, differences in power, wealth and influence may shape the realities our nations confront, but they do not confer a greater claim to membership or participation. And perhaps more than anywhere else, this Assembly reminds us of a simple truth: our differences are real, but so is our interdependence. This is why this Organization was created with understanding that disputes must be resolved through dialogue, human dignity must be protected, and that nations must work together if development, peace, and human rights are to be sustained. In other words, that our common future required common institutions. Eight decades later, we must ask ourselves whether we have remained faithful to that insight. And perhaps more importantly, do we still trust one another enough to act on it? Because today, Mr. President, trust is being tested. Geopolitical divisions are widening. Wars have become more protracted with devastating humanitarian consequences. Respect for the United Nations Charter and international law is under visible strain, with developing countries facing intensifying debt burden, climate vulnerabilities, huge gaps between commitments made and implementation, and feeling of marginalization and inadequate representation in the global system. Therefore, the task before us is building stronger, better equipped, representative, responsive, and an effective multilateral system and global financial architecture that delivers for all nations and regions. Mr. President, the Gambia's own experience within this organization gives us grounds for optimism. We have seen within this very institution that multilateralism can still deliver. During the 80th session of the General Assembly, The Gambia had the honor of chairing the second committee at a time of profound disagreement over some of the most consequential economic and development issues before us. That experience reminded us that multilateralism does not require unanimity on every issue. It requires the willingness to remain at the table, to listen, negotiate, and courage to make compromise. Our experience demonstrates that in this period of deep disagreement, Progress remains possible when Member States approach negotiations with political will, mutual respect, and a shared sense of responsibility. Mr. President, the stakes are perhaps greatest in international peace and security, one of the foremost purposes for which this Organization was created. If diplomacy can bring countries together to find common ground on difficult questions on global development, then surely we can summon the same political courage to prevent conflicts, resolve wars, and build lasting peace. The Gambia speaks on this not merely from principle, but from experience. In 2017, our country stood at a moment of acute constitutional uncertainty. The democratic choice of the Gambian people faced a grave challenge. At that critical moment, the preventive diplomacy of the United Nations, working in partnership with the African Union and ECOWAS, help uphold the will of the Gambian people and support a peaceful democratic transition. We have not forgotten that solidarity. It taught us that preventive diplomacy is not an abstract concept. It is a practical instrument for preventing confrontation, creating space for dialogue, and protecting institutions. Sometimes it can change the course of a nation. That experience also gives us an obligation. If the international community could stand with the Gambia at a moment of fragility, then countries facing similar moments should be able to count on the same solidarity. Across the world, however, conflicts continue to destroy lives, displace populations, and reverse decades of development. Civilians bear the greatest cost, while humanitarian workers operate under increasingly dangerous conditions, and the resources available to respond to crises remain far below what is required. The protection of civilians Respect for international humanitarian law and humanitarian access are not political conveniences. They are legal obligations and expressions of our shared humanity. We need stronger early warning systems that enable us to act before crises escalate, timely mediation before positions become entrenched, and peacebuilding that addresses the conditions that allow conflict to take root. The question before us must therefore Not only we have to end the ongoing wars, but how to prevent the next war from beginning. Prevention should not have to wait for a crisis to become sufficiently destructive to attract international attention. It is infinitely less costly in human, political, and financial terms to prevent conflict than to manage its consequences after violence has begun. We therefore welcome the Secretary-General's continued good offices and in preventing diplomacy and call for these efforts to be matched with predictable and sustained resources. Mr. President, peace must be built and nurtured through institutions that command public confidence, societies in which trust can be restored and justice pursued, and a future in which women and young people have a meaningful voice and economic opportunity is within reach. The Gambia has experienced the value of peacebuilding firsthand. Since our democratic transition, this Peacebuilding Commission and the Secretary-General's Peacebuilding Fund have been steadfast partners in our nationally-led efforts to strengthen institutions, advance transitional justice, and consolidate peace. We therefore support a stronger and more responsive Peacebuilding Commission, adequately resourced to support countries emerging from conflict or navigating delicate political transitions. The implementation of the outcomes of the peacebuilding architecture review must translate into stronger prevention, greater national ownership, and closer coordination across the United Nations system. We also reaffirm our support for United Nations peacebuilding operations and pay tribute to the men and women who serve under the UN flag, including government, military, and police personnel who have contributed with distinction to international peace and security. Their safety and security must remain a priority alongside performance, accountability, and strict adherence to international law. Partnerships between the United Nations and regional organizations, particularly the African Union, must also be deepened with sustained and predictable funding. Mr. President, the ongoing conflict in Sudan remains a matter of profound concern to the Gambia, together with continued instability across part of the Sahel. It reminds us that peace cannot be separated from development and governance. The suffering of civilians in the affected conflict zones globally demands sustained international attention and renewed diplomatic efforts towards the escalation, dialogue, and a durable political settlement. In the Sahel and other conflict zones, our responses must be comprehensive and holistic. Security measures are necessary, but they must be accompanied by increased support for democratic governance institution building, education, job creation, development, and climate resilience. Mr. President, for millions of people around the world, poverty, lack of human rights, democratic governance, et cetera, continue to pose greater insecurity. The absence of education, healthcare, decent employment, and the loss of homes and livelihoods to climate change leave communities as vulnerable as conflict itself. Our understanding of security must therefore extend beyond the absence of war to include the conditions that allow people to live with dignity, opportunity, and hope. Mr. President, in the Gambia, this understanding has guided our democratic journey from 2017 to date. We have undertaken the difficult work of rebuilding institutions, strengthening the rule of law, expanding access to justice, and confronting the legacy of past human rights violations. Our transitional justice process continues through implementation of the recommendation of the Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission. We have strengthened institutional accountability, established the Special Prosecution Office to advance investigations and prosecution arising from the TRRC process. We are proud of the progress we have made, but we remain conscious that democracy is never a finished project and requires continuous institutional strengthening adherence to rule of law, constitutional order, dialogue, and consensus building on issues. On the 5th of December 2026, the Gambian people will again exercise their sovereign democratic right to choose their president. This will be another important milestone in our democratic journey, and we need the support of the international community in this regard. Our government is committed to ensuring that the elections are peaceful, transparent, credible and inclusive and conducted in accordance with our constitution, national laws, and democratic standards. This is the democratic party government remains committed to pursuing. A part in which institutions are strengthened, citizens are heard, differences are resolved peacefully, and democratic gains are consolidated for future generations. Mister President, on development, the government's recovery focused national development plan provides a framework for accelerating our social enemy transformation. We are investing in roads, energy, schools, healthcare, agriculture, and digital infrastructure, while promoting economic diversification, private sector investment, and value addition. We are expanding opportunities for women and young people, improving lives, and strengthening the human capital upon which our future depends. I seize this opportunity to thank all the bilateral and multilateral partners of The Gambia for your continuous support and partnership. The global economic environment remains particularly difficult for developing countries with decline official development assistance, high borrowing costs, disruptions in international trade, inflationary pressures, and food and energy insecurity, narrowing fiscal space, and threatening development gains. With only a few years remaining to achieve the 2030 agenda, the time for implementation is now. Following the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development, We must translate the severe commitments to tangible action. Developing countries need greater access to affordable, long-term finance, meaningful reform of the multilateral development system, sustainable solutions to debt, stronger international tax cooperation, and decisive action against illicit financial flows. We also need stronger and more resilient supply chains, greater investment in productive capacity, and a global economic system that gives developing countries a fair opportunity to transform their economies. Trade must remain an engine of development, and developing countries must be enabled to participate more effectively in regional and global value chains. The above would enable developing countries to invest in education, health, agriculture, climate resilience, and other productive sectors to holistically address their interconnected challenges. Mr. President, Climate change presents another test of our collective credibility, and for the government, it is not a distant threat. Coastal erosion, changing rainfall patterns, pressure on water resources, food insecurity, and environmental degradation are already affecting our communities and livelihoods. However, we are responding with determination by investing in renewable energy, coastal resilience, mangrove restoration, disaster risk reduction, early warning systems, water security, and nature-based solution. National electricity access is at 90%, universal access targeted by the end of 2026. We are expanding our solar energy in schools and health facilities, modernizing our electric network, and advancing a 150-megawatt solar park. We have also adopted our first national disaster mitigation plan. But we urge that our national ambition be supported by international action to make climate finance accessible, predictable, and adequate, including through the sustained implementation of the new collective quantified goal on climate finance and effective management to address loss and damage, build climate resilience, and a fairer international order in which those who have contributed least to the climate crisis are not left to bear the greatest burdens. Mr. President, artificial intelligence and emerging technologies offer extraordinary opportunities, but opportunity without inclusion can become another source of inequality. The digital divide must not become the next development divide. Developing countries must not remain passive consumers of technologies designed elsewhere. We need the capacity to participate in research, innovation, entrepreneurship, and global technology governance. Technology must serve humanity, and the governance of artificial intelligence must be inclusive responsible, and grounded international cooperation. This is particularly important for the world's least developed countries. As the Gambia prepares to assume greater leadership within the Global Coordination Bureau of the LDC group, we do so with a clear sense of responsibility. LDCs continue to face structural constraints, including limited productive capacity, high debt burdens, climate vulnerability, narrow export base, technological gaps, and restricted access to affordable finance. We will continue to advocate for full implementation of the Doha Program of Action. Mr. President, migration is another area where our collective response must be guided by human dignity and shared responsibility. Migration continues significantly to economic development, cultural exchange, and human progress. Yet, irregular migration continues to expose young people and vulnerable populations to exploitation, trafficking, abuse, and tragic loss of life. We must strengthen cooperation for safe, orderly, and regular migration, protect the rights and dignity of migrants, and expand lawful pathways for labor mobility, as well as invest in young people, women, education, health, and social protection to safeguard sustainable development and lasting peace. Mr. President, The government welcomes the call for the reform of United Nations. We recognize the constraints facing the organization was limited with limited resources and increasing demands. This notwithstanding, the reforms would strengthen the capacity of United Nations to serve its member states and the people of the world better, as well as correct the historical injustice that continues to prevail. We need to embark on reforms that strengthen delivery protects the universal character of the organization and enables developing countries to participate meaningfully in decisions that shape their future. Mr. President, the General Assembly's decision to move towards a convention on the prevention and punishment of crimes against humanity is an important contribution to addressing a longstanding gap in the international legal framework. The Gambia is proud of its leading role alongside Mexico in advancing this process through more than three years of patient negotiation. Our conviction is simple. The gravest crimes cannot be met with silence. Victims cannot be forgotten. Impunity cannot become an accepted feature of international relations. Prevention, accountability, and justice are indispensable to reconciliation, healing, and sustainable peace. The rule of law is one of the foundations upon which trust is built. The continued development of multilateral treaties and the entry into force of the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction also demonstrate what is possible when states negotiate in good faith and perseverance. The Gambia commends Ghana for its historic resolution on declaration of trafficking of enslaved Africans and racialized chattel enslavement of Africans as the gravest crime against humanity and to go for the resolution on correcting the map at the General Assembly. Mr. President, our credibility is ultimately tested by how we respond to conflicts and crises that remain unresolved for years. The suffering of the Palestinian people remains a profound test of the credibility of the international system. The G7 reiterates its call for the protection of civilians, respect for international humanitarian law, and unhindered humanitarian assistance. We reaffirm the legitimate and inalienable rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, membership of the United Nations, and our support for a just, comprehensive, and lasting two-state solution, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace, security, and dignity. Furthermore, the plight of the Rohingya people must also not disappear from the international agenda. The G7 reaffirms, remains committed to accountability, justice, and the protection of their fundamental rights and would continue to need the support of you all in this shared collective endeavor. On Cuba, we reiterate our longstanding call for an end to the economic, commercial, and financial sanctions. Dialogue, engagement, and cooperation remain important instruments for improving people's well-being and strengthening peaceful relations among nations. The Gambia also affirms its adherence to the One China policy and values its partnership with the People's Republic of China, including in development cooperation, infrastructure, South-South and triangular cooperation, and partnership. The leaders of our two countries have raised our bilateral relations to a strategic level, and we will continue to grow and deepen this important partnership. On the question of the Murukan Sahara, the Gambia supports sustained international efforts towards a peaceful resolution through the United Nations-led political process. We encourage all concerned parties to engage constructively and in good faith. The real initiatives of Moroccan autonomy, the Moroccan-Nigeria gas pipeline, the Atlantic African initiative, amongst others, have provided realistic pathways to finding a lasting political solution to the dispute over the Moroccan Sahara by giving people the development, human rights, security, and stability they need. Furthermore, the GAMMAY welcomes the Kingdom of Morocco's continuous commitment to the ceasefire, full cooperation with MINURSO, and also stakeholders all stakeholders in line with resolution 2797 and other relevant processes. We urge all stakeholders, i.e. Polisario, the Kingdom of Morocco, Algeria, and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, to continue working on achieving a sustainable political solution to the conflict, and we support the various initiatives of the United Nations in this regard. Mr. President, in conclusion, the United Nations and the multilateral system continue to be challenged. but they remain the most reliable guarantor of our collective peace and security and proven mechanisms to confront the challenges facing humanity. Therefore, the task before us is to make the United Nations, the multilateral system, more responsive, more representative, and better able to deliver for the people that we serve. What we leave behind should be a legacy of renewed multilateralism, a reformed United Nations, increased international cooperation and solidarity, and an increased trusted global system that sustains peace, advances development, human rights, democracy, and opens the way to a more secure future for all. The Gambia stands ready to work with every member state to renew the promise that brought the nations of the world together. My country's own journey has taught us that countries and institutions can evolve from moments of profound uncertainty and further build and increase trust and confidence. This is the message that we bring to this Assembly. I thank you for your kind attention.