🇱🇻Edgars RinkēvičsLatvia · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Allow me to begin by congratulating you, Dr. Rahman, on your election as President of the General Assembly. you can count on Latvia's support. I am looking forward to working together for a stronger United Nations and a safer world. Excellencies, for the past year, we have heard it again and again. The world order is breaking down. The rules-based order that brought stability is under growing strain. Something new is taking shape. What comes next is not certain. But one thing is certain. The world has changed. International trade, mobility, technology. What happens far away is no longer far away. Instability travels. Conflicts cross borders. What happens in Ukraine does not stay in Ukraine. What happens in the Middle East, in the Red Sea, in Sudan, does not stay there. The same is true of other global threats. Technology has made distance matter even less. Artificial intelligence offers enormous opportunities. But in the wrong hands, it can also become a powerful tool for deception, disruption, and conflict. And nature respects no borders either. Heat waves do not stop at checkpoints. Rising seas threaten to raise island nations. That threat means that those island nations may disappear from the face of the earth. And far from the ocean, the danger is just as real. In the mountains, a river can turn into a deadly flood. It may happen in seconds. These floods sweep away homes, roads, and lives. We just witnessed catastrophic flood wave in Nepal, where also 33 Latvian citizens disappeared. Global climate change does not have borders or citizenship. Different threats, the same lesson. None of us can face them alone. We are in the same boat. Perhaps Noah's Ark is no longer just a biblical story. Different nations, different realities, but increasingly a shared fate. And when we share the same boat, we need something that holds us together. And we already have it, the United Nations Charter and its principles. sovereignty, territorial integrity, the peaceful settlement of disputes, respect for human rights, the rejection of aggression. These principles were not written for an easy world. Quite the opposite. They emerged from the devastation of a war and from the determination not to repeat it. International peace and security. These words are at the heart of the Charter. They appear 32 times, and that is no coincidence. Peace was its purpose then. Peace remains our responsibility today. And peace will be relevant tomorrow. Ladies and gentlemen, for Latvia, these principles are written into our history. Latvia and its people know what it means to lose sovereignty, what it means to lose freedom. For 50 years, our independence was denied, but Latvia's right to sovereignty endured. We restored our independence. We restored it through the courage and determination of our people. And we did not stand alone. We had friends who never accepted Soviet occupation as legitimate. That history stays with us. Sovereignty and territorial integrity are the foundation of our freedom and our security. And the same is true for every country represented in this hall. When one state believes it can redraw the borders of another by force, every border on every continent becomes negotiable. These principles now are being tested in Ukraine. Russia's war against Ukraine strikes at the very heart of the United Nations Charter. Borders changed by force, territory sized by force, children taken by force, Ukrainian civilians targeted by Russia, schools, hospitals, homes, markets, energy infrastructure. Russia's attacks reach far beyond the battlefield. They are directed against the people of Ukraine and their foundations of daily lives. Drones are used to hunt civilians. Human lives are treated like targets in a safari. These are not policy disagreements. These are grave violations of international law. And where crimes are committed, there must be accountability. Let us not look away. Russia is a permanent member of Security Council. With that comes a special responsibility for international peace and security. Instead, Russia is violating the very principles it is entrusted to uphold. Russia started this brutal war. Russia can end it. It can stop its attacks. It can withdraw its forces. It can leave Ukraine's sovereign territory. Latvia continues to call for an immediate and full ceasefire. Ukraine deserves just peace. Members of the United Nations, not every attack on the international order looks like war. Drones carrying explosives at airports, drones crashing into homes, airspace violated, critical infrastructure damaged, power stations suddenly in flames, cyber attacks. We sometimes call them hybrid threats. But it sounds as innocent as hybrid cars. In reality, those threats to international peace and security are as dangerous as conventional wars. Guarding the eastern border of NATO and the European Union, Latvia faces these threats every day. Illegal migrants are deliberately exploited and pushed towards our border with Belarus. Cyber attacks target our critical networks. Acts of sabotage seek to create fear and instability in our societies. Russia's shadow fleet exploits legal gray zones and puts our security and environment at risk. Even in this very building, at the Security Council table, we have heard Russia spread blatant lies and make threats against Latvia and other free and democratic countries. Distinguished delegates, that brings us back to a fundamental question: What is the United Nations' role if its members are threatened and if its principles are violated. The United Nations cannot take its relevance for granted. It must earn it, day by day. Not through the number of meetings we hold, not through the number of resolutions we adopt, but through real and tangible results. The United Nations must prove that it can still make a difference when it matters most. That requires institutions that work. Latvia supports the Secretary-General's UN80 initiative. Reform is not about weakening the United Nations. It is about making it stronger, more focused, and better able to deliver on its mandate. That must include also the Security Council. Its composition must better reflect the world of today, not the world of 1945. Latvia supports an expanded and more representative Security Council. Excellencies, reform is also about leadership. This year, we will select the next Secretary-General. The choice matters. The next Secretary-General must defend the Charter with conviction. He must, or she must, uphold international law. That is what true leadership means. To speak up for the weak against the powerful. That is what true leadership means. Dear colleagues, Latvia now serves as an elected member of the Security Council, and we will hold our presidency in November. Latvia came to the Council with a simple promise: to stand up for international order, to speak clearly when it is violated, and to make the voices of smaller nations heard. That reflects who Latvia is, and that reflects what Latvia believes in. At the core are real people. That is why Latvia will continue to do everything possible to help return Ukrainian children deported to Russia. Those children have been taken from their families, their communities, and their country. We know such stories from the darkest chapters of history. Today, those things are happening again. We support every genuine effort to secure the return of Ukrainian children. We are very grateful to the First Lady of the United States, Melania Trump, and her efforts to help bring those children home. These children need to come home now. The most vulnerable must be protected, and this includes conflict-related sexual violence. Survivors need justice. They don't need silence. These priorities underpin Latvia's bid for a seat on the Human Rights Council at 2028 elections. Mr. President, Excellencies, we need a place where every state, large or small, has a voice, where threats to peace can be confronted together, where disputes can be resolved through dialogue, not force. Where international law protects the strong and the weak alike. That was the promise of the United Nations 81 years ago. It reminds our responsibility today. It is not a Christmas wish for this year. We must stand by our principles always. The world has changed. The threats have changed. But our fundamental purpose has not. And the fundamental purpose is to maintain international peace and security. That purpose is worth defending. And this organization is worth reforming so that this organization can deliver. Let us make the United Nations work for peace, for security, and for all of us. Thank you very much.