🇲🇬Michaël RandrianirinaMadagascar · UNGA 81 speech

Excellences, President of the United Nations General Assembly, Excellences, Heads of State and Government, Your Excellency, Secretary-General of the United Nations; distinguished delegates; ladies and gentlemen. I am particularly proud and honored to address this august Assembly today on behalf of the Republic of Madagascar at this 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. For the rest of my speech, allow me to now speak to you in the Malagasy language, my mother tongue, in honor of my country and the Malagasy people. I would like, first of all, on behalf of the Malagasy people and in my own name, to extend my sincere congratulations to Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election as President of the 81st General Assembly, as well as to the Vice-Presidents. In this regard, I wish to reaffirm Madagascar's support and its full readiness to work in a genuine spirit of cooperation to ensure the success of all of our work throughout this session. Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, we must acknowledge that the challenges that we have faced for decades, namely food insecurity, disease, armed conflict, or natural disasters, are still with us. Thus, for Madagascar, as for many other nations, the new emerging challenges must not overshadow the priorities that still require our attention. The theme of this 81st session calls upon us to assume our shared responsibility for our destiny and for that of future generations with clear vision. placing collective action, the common good, and the welfare of humanity at the center of our responses to the profound transformations shaping our world. In light of these intersecting transformations and challenges, the question of trust in our collective action arises with renewed urgency. Indeed, we must admit, taking into account All the hopes and expectations that we, the peoples of the United Nations, have placed in our organization, that trust has gradually eroded over time. The most vulnerable populations affected repeatedly or continuously by health crises, food insecurity and hunger, the impacts of climate change and conflicts exacerbated by current geopolitical tensions, sometimes come to feel a certain skepticism regarding our collective capacity within the United Nations system to respond to the scourges of our age. Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, in this regard, the realities on the ground in my country speak for themselves. In southern Madagascar, mothers walk dozens of kilometers under scorching heat in search of water from the bed of a dried up river. In the east, every year increasingly violent and destructive tropical cyclones devastate crops, infrastructure, and human lives. In other regions, floods engulf rice granaries, affecting entire communities. These images illustrate the daily vulnerability of our people, our Malagasy population. Faced with these recurring humanitarian emergencies, amplified by climate change, considerable investments are made reflecting the unwavering commitment of our development partners, working every year towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, the SDGs, whether that be fighting hunger, providing education or providing access to basic services for vulnerable populations. and we hope to mobilize $1.5 billion over five years for the implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for the period 2024-2028. Yet beyond commitments and resources mobilized, what matters to us is their tangible impact on the daily lives of our people. Faced with the challenges of a constantly changing world, the refoundation government that I lead places food sovereignty, health and education at the heart of its action. This priority commitment serves the entire population, particularly women and children, while providing our youth with the means to build their future with confidence and contribute to national development. With more than 55% of its population under the age of 25, Madagascar enjoys a tremendous demographic dividend. Driven by a firm political determination to build a brighter future for this dynamic youth, we recognize the importance of an education system which is fully aligned with labor market realities, an essential condition for sustainable development. And we hope that cooperation in this area will move beyond a strictly quantitative approach measured only by the volume of infrastructure built or the number of students enrolled. and instead adapt fully to economic realities on the ground. Our aim is to focus on future-oriented sectors, while redefining our indicators of success to prioritize the practical acquisition of skills and medium-term employment outcomes. Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. Madagascar's foreign policy is guided above all by the imperatives of economic and social development for the well-being of its people. Madagascar has chosen a policy of engagement in all directions. We are open to all international partnerships capable of meeting the aspirations of our people and supporting the general policy of the state of the refoundation. Madagascar's position of neutrality with regard to global conflicts is consistent with its diplomatic tradition and its desire to preserve constructive relations with all its partners. This idea is not ideological, but is based on international partnership that can meet the aspirations of our people in an open spirit, without exclusivity, in full respect for national sovereignty. The achievement of our ambitions cannot be separated from the international context in which they are pursued. Excellencies, Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, can we speak of development when international peace and security are being tested by multiplying crises around the world and persistent tensions? Restoring trust requires the United Nations to maintain and to restore peace. we must be concerned that the multilateral system is struggling to contain escalating tensions fueled by geopolitical rivalries. These crises, now affecting different regions of the planet, have consequences for our states. They directly impact our economies and the daily lives of our populations through disruptions in energy supply chains, and difficulties in the delivery of essential goods. These are all factors which further aggravate the vulnerabilities that we already face. Confronted with this reality, we must have the courage to recognize and to accept the limitations of the multilateral system in its current form and functioning. It is urgent to initiate concerted and lasting action to guarantee every people the right to pursue their development in dignity and in stability. Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Far from observing the world as a passive spectator, Madagascar positions itself as an actor fully aware of its strategic place and responsibilities. Our country remains a committed and operational partner in the service of peace, development and security. Maritime security in the Mozambique Channel and the western Indian Ocean remains at the heart of the regional initiatives in which Madagascar actively participates. We are determined to strengthen regional and multilateral cooperation founded on respect for national sovereignty. whilst also welcoming partnerships that align with our priorities and serve as genuine drivers of development. We also want to be part of strengthened regional cooperation in order to guarantee the security of our maritime areas. This approach will make it possible to ensure the sustainability of our energy supply chains. Mr. President, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, what form of United Nations cooperation should we establish to support the contemporary transformation of our world? How can we restore trust? Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, we must look to the future with greater ambition to ensure lasting and measurable impact over the medium and long term. And to do this, we must move on to a new stage, one of increased solidarity that is more integrated and better coordinated. Madagascar advocates for a multilateral system that is not only capable of acting, but that is also capable of supporting member states in their efforts to break the cycles of poverty and insecurity. My country aspires to an international order founded on the primacy of international law. and trusts in the virtues of dialogue and diplomatic action. Our commitment to multilateral cooperation remains unwavering. Multilateralism is a privileged forum where states unite in a shared responsibility, enabling them to define common and appropriate solutions in the face of challenges such as epidemics and climate disasters, or armed conflicts arising from contemporary geopolitical rivalries and latent multidimensional tensions. History and future generations will judge our organization according to a single criterion, namely our ability to fulfill our original mission, serving all peoples without exclusion or privilege and in full respect for the sovereignty of nations. It is imperative to restore to the United Nations fully its central role as a guardian of peace, as a strengthened institution capable of restoring order and addressing the challenges of our time. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, our challenge today is therefore to rethink our mechanisms of cooperation through greater synergy between UN agencies and governmental structures. in order to optimize the effectiveness of our actions on the ground, but also to provide better visibility of tangible results achieved for the benefit of populations. In this regard, the success of our agenda largely depends on strengthening governance and strengthening institutions, priorities that are fully integrated into Madagascar's process of re-foundation. We recognize Also, the absolute necessity of reforming the United Nations so that it may serve all peoples. And in this spirit, we would like to propose the following. First, more inclusive global governance. This must begin with a rebalancing of decision-making power, first and foremost, by restoring the General Assembly's full political weight and central place in global governance. It remains, indeed, the only organ where every nation, regardless of power, enjoys an equal and sovereign voice. We must also correct the historical imbalance affecting Africa's representation on the Security Council. Indeed, Africa cannot remain on the margins of decisions. We have 1.4 billion inhabitants, decisions concerning international peace and security. Africa should be granted permanent representation on the Security Council in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Cirt Declaration, which express a common position grounded injustice, equity and representativeness within the African Union. We must also strengthen coherence between programs implemented by the UN Resident Coordinator offices and national priorities. UN country teams on the ground must listen carefully and respond effectively to priorities defined by host governments, avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches. Secondly, we need a more accessible international financial architecture for effective development support. We must not neglect the reform of the international financial architecture. This means we need to rebalance access to financing. Current aid and lending criteria often rely solely on GDP per capita, excluding many vulnerable countries. The United Nations should therefore take into account the multidimensional vulnerability index so that access to concessional financing reflex climate shocks and external debt burdens. It would also be wise to support durable debt relief. This means advocating a for faster, more predictable and more inclusive sovereign debt restructuring mechanism. that would allow vulnerable countries to invest in the sustainable development goals rather than servicing unsustainable interest payments. The procedures for accessing UN funds should also be drastically simplified in order to reduce disbursement delays. For a vulnerable state facing crisis, administrative slowness undermines confidence in the effectiveness of multilateralism. Third, greater effectiveness in responding to climate and humanitarian emergencies. The multilateral system we seek should guarantee the fulfillment of climate finance commitments. It should serve both as a catalyst and a guarantor to ensure that developed countries in the North honour their commitments on climate finance. Particularly for the most exposed nations, it's also important to link emergency assistance with long-term structural investments. Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, by embracing this theme, We are undertaking a commitment, namely to not postpone the reforms that are essential for enabling our organization to act with the integrity required by the challenges of our age, building upon the achievements of the United Nations over 81 years. predecessors were able to build an organization suited to their time, it is now our responsibility to refound it so that it can address the challenges of today and tomorrow. Let us pass on to future generations an organization that unites, protects and acts. For its part, Madagascar is preparing at the national level a framework for the effective implementation of this transformation within our means. Indeed, the process of re-foundation initiated following the mobilization of Malagasy youth just one year ago serves as the foundation for responsible governance supported by strong institutions devoted to the public interest and having restored citizens' trust in the state. This represents a genuine patriotic awakening driven by the deep conviction that sustainable development requires every citizen to find a full and meaningful place within the nation. To give substance to this vision, we have launched a historic process of inclusive national dialogue, bringing together all the vital forces of the nation, young people, women, persons with disabilities, political parties, civil society, the armed forces, and the private sector. We have established a clear timetable. Our goal is to hold free, transparent, and universally accepted elections before the end of 2027. Mr. President, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, this platform, speaking here at this rostrum, also gives me the opportunity to express our gratitude to all our partners for the trust and support that they have provided and for the fraternal support of the Southern African Development Community, SADC, and the United Nations, standing with us hand in hand since the beginning of the refoundation process. Long live international cooperation and solidarity. Long live the United Nations. I thank you for your kind attention.