🇵🇭Ma. Theresa LazaroPhilippines · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President, Excellencies, We meet at a perilous precipice, a tumultuous time marked by profound upheaval, relentless uncertainty, and deep unpredictability. More than 50 active conflicts tear at the fabric of nations. Geopolitical competition strains our multilateral institutions, and global trust is fading precisely when we need it most. 81 years ago, our forebears forged this organization to save humanity from the scourge of war and reaffirm our shared dignity. Today, we must ask, have we honored that sacred compact? When more than 645 million people face hunger, When our climate remains in a state of calamity, and when our collective conscience is stained by humanitarian catastrophes, reflection must give way to urgent, united resolve. We cannot continue down fragmented paths. In an interconnected world, the disruption of maritime traffic in the Middle East can trigger an energy emergency in the Philippines, more than 3,600 nautical miles away. The war in Ukraine compounds a global food crisis and economic shocks unseen since the Second World War. Peace, therefore, is not merely the absence of war. It is our shared and indivisible responsibility. Reiterate our call for an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza. the protection of civilians, the release of all hostages, and full compliance by all parties with international law, including international humanitarian law. We urge all relevant parties to de-escalate, exercise restraint, and return to the path of dialogue. The Philippines reaffirms its consistent and principled support for the inalienable right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. We firmly believe that the two-state solution remains the only viable path to lasting and durable peace, with Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace and security, and all others respecting their peaceful coexistence. Peace is a daily choice. It requires diplomacy, justice, respect for international law, confidence building, and sustained investment in conflict prevention and peace building. with the United Nations at the heart of this effort. Mr. President, Excellencies, numbers and statistics can obscure the true magnitude of our trials. Behind every metric is a human story. Put a face to the climate emergency. A single disaster can erase decades of hard-won progress. Look at Nepal, bearing the heavy cost of rising temperatures, despite contributing less than 0.1% of global emissions. Look to the Philippines, one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. Since August alone, ferocious monsoons and storms have battered our islands, affecting more than 2.7 million families, destroying homes and shattering livelihoods. We share these vulnerabilities with many developing countries, particularly small islands and coastal states. Those who have contributed least to the climate crisis must now bear its heaviest cost. We call for the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, the full operationalization of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, and strengthened implementation of the Sendai Framework. Put a face to the pursuit of sustainable development With the 2030 agenda less than four years away, only 36% of accessible SDG targets are on track. Achieving these goals requires renewed political will, stronger partnerships with the private sector, reform of the international financial architecture, and a United Nations development system responsive to the evolving needs and priorities of developing countries. Consistent with the Compromiso de Sevilla, we call for stronger international cooperation to mobilize development financing, facilitate technology transfer, and strengthen capacity building. As a country that has newly attained upper middle income status, the Philippines knows that income classification is not the end of the journey. Our metrics must evolve to capture the structural vulnerabilities, debt burdens, and inequalities that continue to affect middle-income countries. But the face to the digital revolution and to the rise of artificial intelligence, we stand at the dawn of an unprecedented technological era. Harnessed responsibly, Frontier technologies and AI can accelerate sustainable development, optimize resources, and bridge deep global divides. But AI also presents profound and systemic risks. Without robust governance, enforceable ethical standards, and strong legal guardrails, it could deepen inequalities and become an existential challenge. We echo the growing call across industries that we need robust AI governance with enforceable standards, and we need it now. Advanced capabilities must never be allowed to pose unacceptable risks to human lives, human rights, or democratic integrity. Effective governance must also address deep developmental asymmetries. We are not entering the AI era from the same starting point. Managing this revolution requires closing critical gaps in digital infrastructure, computing resources, and technical expertise so that developing countries are not left behind. We need AI systems that uplift the vulnerable, strengthen national resilience, promote gender equality, and foster human-centered partnerships, not exclusion and fragmentation. put a face to the tireless migrant workers and seafarers who keep the global community afloat. Millions of migrant workers leave their homes to search for a better life, contributing immeasurably to the sustainable development of countries of origin, transit and destination. They are committed to full human rights, and fundamental freedoms regardless of status and deserve steadfast protection from trafficking and exploitation along perilous migration routes. Among them, our seafarers form an indispensable lifeline of global commerce. Nearly 90% of world trade moves by sea, supported by close to 2 million seafarers, more than 25% of whom are Filipinos. They are essential workers, yet increasingly vulnerable to conflict and attacks at sea. Just recently, an incident in the Strait of Hormuz claimed the lives of Filipino seafarers and injured many others. Their tragedy reminds us that maritime security is human security. Put a face to our identities as an archipelagic and maritime nation, where open and secure seas are our lifeblood. For the Philippines, The safety of ships and seafarers cannot be separated from supply chains and global commerce. Open and secure seas, free from interference and coercion, are vital to our security, our economy, and our people. International law must remain our guiding lighthouse, with UNCLOS, the Convention on the Law of the Sea, standing firmly as the constitution of the oceans. Next year marks the 45th anniversary of UNCLOS and the Manila Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of International Disputes. This year also marks a decade since the 2016 South China Sea Arbitral Award, an award that is final and legally binding, and that demonstrates how international law provides states with peaceful means to clarify rights and resolve differences. The Philippines stands firm in its conviction that disputes must be resolved through diplomacy and law, not violence and might. International cooperation to protect maritime security must also extend to critical maritime infrastructure, the physical and digital nervous system of our shared prosperity. From undersea cables carrying 90% of global data to strategic sea lanes and ports sustaining trade, to offshore facilities fueling economies, disruption of critical maritime infrastructure can send shockwaves across borders. Rather than waiting for threats and asking who should respond, states must explore a framework anchored on UNCLOS that sets out clear rules, rights, and obligations governing critical maritime infrastructure. Mr. President, Excellencies, all our advancements will falter if they are not anchored in universal human rights and safeguarded from the shadow of modern threats. Since joining the United Nations as a founding member, the Philippines has proudly stood with the vanguards of human rights. We advocated decolonization and the elimination of discrimination against women. We advanced the rights of children, persons with disabilities, older persons, indigenous peoples, and migrants. And we called firmly for an end to apartheid and all forms of racial discrimination. We will continue to champion these timeless principles. At the same time, we must secure our future by ensuring responsible behavior in outer space, reducing space threats, and preventing an arms race in outer space. We also urge a renewed and rigorous commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. Restoring trust in the NPT is imperative if we are to achieve our shared vision of a world free from the existential threat of nuclear weapons. Closer to home, the Philippines' own journey toward lasting peace, exemplified by the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, has taught us an invaluable lesson. Lasting peace requires addressing the root causes of conflict, empowering local communities, and ensuring that women are at the center of peacebuilding. Mr. President, Excellencies, our world is evolving. So must the United Nations. To remain effective, we must reform the Security Council to make it more representative, transparent, and accountable, expanding the voices of developing regions across Asia, Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean. As we look to the future, we are reminded that everything we strive for ultimately depends on how we choose to navigate these trials together. we are we need to reflect deeply on the promises of our charter and on the state of our fractured world. We must actively seek collective pathways that transcend borders and bridge divides. And above all, we must always put a face to what we do, remembering that every policy, every treaty, and every institutional reform is ultimately about real human lives. It is in the spirit that We voice a historic aspiration, the hope for a woman Secretary-General, a leader who can rally nations back to true multilateralism and deliver for all. Thank you very much.