🇸🇹Ilza Maria dos Santos Amado VazSao Tome and Principe · UNGA 81 speech

Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, Heads of State and Government, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor for me to take the floor before this Assembly on behalf of the Government and the people of the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe. Allow me first of all to congratulate his excellency, Mr. Kadi Loul Rahman, on his election as President of the 81st session of the General Assembly and to wish him every success in the discharge of his duties. I would also like to express our appreciation to her excellency, Ms. Annalena Baerbock, for the work accomplished during the previous session of the General Assembly. Allow me to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres, for his commitment to peace, sustainable development, human rights, and the strengthening of multilateralism at a time of great challenges. Excellencies, we live in a context marked by conflicts geopolitical rivalries, economic uncertainty, climate change, forced displacement, inequalities, transnational crime, and rapid technological transformation. No state can face challenges of this magnitude alone. For Sao Tome and Principe, this reality underscores the importance of an international order based on the charter of the United Nations, international law, and the sovereign equality of states with principles applied universally and consistently. As a small island nation, we stand as a consolidated democracy and a state governed by the rule of law, grounded in peace, stability, and harmonious coexistence among our citizens. It is on the basis of this experience that we reaffirm our confidence in dialogue, diplomacy, cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Mr. President, for small island developing states, geographic, economic, financial, and social vulnerabilities are compounded by the effects of climate change. In Sao Tome and Principe, these impacts are already affecting our coastal areas, infrastructure, marine resources, and livelihoods, despite our negligible contribution to global emissions. This reality reflects a profound climate injustice. Sao Tome and Principe, therefore, reaffirms its commitments under the Paris Agreement, its nationally determined contribution, and its national adaptation plan, while stressing that their implementation requires adequate, predictable, and accessible resources. We also maintain that the vulnerability of small island states should be assessed beyond per capita income, taking into account their specific characteristics and structural constraints. In this context, we call for the multidimensional vulnerability index to be translated into concrete eligibility criteria for concessional financing. We likewise advocate for the full operationalization of the fund for responding to loss and damage and simpler, more effective access to the Green Climate Fund. The limited institutional capacity of vulnerable countries must not become an obstacle to accessing the very instruments created to support them. In the case of Saint Thomas and Principe, this issue is particularly relevant following our graduation to middle income country status, which was an important milestone and a recognition of the progress achieved in human development. It nonetheless requires appropriate transition measures capable of consolidating these gains and shielding the country from external shocks. It is as part of this effort of consolidation and that the energy transition finds its place. A transition that is for us an economic, financial, social, and environmental necessity. In an island economy dependent on imported fuel, the cost and reliability of electricity affect every sector. The implementation of our energy transition program and the National Energy Compact should contribute to a cleaner, more affordable, secure, and stable system, but it will require investment and international partnerships. Excellencies, food security and the strengthening of productive capacity are urgent priorities. We seek to reduce our dependence on imports, increase national production and ensure better market access for farmers, so that a greater share of the value generated by quality products such as cocoa and coffee remains in the country. If the land is essential to our food security, the sea and our biodiversity represent one of the broadest horizons for our development. The recognition of our territory by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve confirms the exceptional value of our natural heritage, reinforces our responsibility to protect it and make the most of it. We aim to turn this wealth into opportunities for sustainable development through fisheries, the blue economy, research, and nature-based tourism that generates jobs and income for local communities. At the same time, in the face of threats posed by illegal fishing and transnational crime, Sao Tome and Principe will continue to work with the states of the region and international partners to strengthen maritime security and promote a sustainable blue economy, thus preserving our resources for future generations. The preservation of these resources and the building of sustainable development ultimately depend on people and on the opportunities afforded to them. The future of Sao Tome and Principe hinges on our ability to create opportunities for the next generation. Our priority is to ensure that young people have the conditions to study, work, start businesses, innovate, and fulfill their life aspirations in their own country. In a nation of our size, every talent counts, and every young person is an indispensable force for national progress. Likewise, the Santomean diaspora is an essential part of our human wealth and a strategic partner of the country. We will continue to strengthen its ties with Santomean Principi and to create the conditions for an even greater contribution to investment, entrepreneurship, knowledge, transfer, and national life. Mister President, creating opportunities and ensuring truly inclusive development require strong institutions capable of guaranteeing peace, justice, respect for human rights, and the participation of all in the life of the country. There can be no sustainable development without these conditions, nor without the full participation of women and men in political, economic, and social life. It is in this context that 2026 is a year of particular significance for Santomean democracy. On July 19th, our citizens took part in presidential elections, which were conducted peacefully and transparently and led to the re-election of His Excellency Mr. Carlos Villanova as President of the Republic. On September 27, the people of Sao Tome and Principe will return to the polls for the legislative, local, and regional elections and will exercise their right to vote in large numbers. These elections are marked by important innovations, notably automatic voter registration and the first application of the parity law. which is a significant step towards strengthening the inclusion and participation of women. With women accounting for 41.4% of confirmed candidacies above the legal threshold of 40%, they will be able to assert a growing presence in decision-making spaces. Sao Tome and Principe reaffirms its commitment to constitutional order political pluralism, fundamental freedoms, and respect for the sovereign will of its citizens, and will continue to pursue reforms aimed at strengthening justice, security, gender equality, human rights, and trust in institutions. Inclusion and equality must also guide our response to the great transformations of our time. In the face of the rapid advance of artificial intelligence and the digital transition, Sao Tome and Principe calls for international cooperation that enables developing countries to access the technology, knowledge, infrastructure, and financing they need. We advocate responsible technology governance centered on human dignity, transparency, and fundamental rights. so that innovation translates into better opportunities and services for all. Excellencies, the experience of Sao Tome and Principe as a small democracy also shapes the way we view representation at the international level. Africa today occupies a demographic, economic, and political place that is not yet adequately reflected in the institutions where the most far-reaching decisions are taken. It is in this area that reform of the Security Council becomes imperative. This is not a concession to Africa, it is a matter of legitimacy, justice, and effectiveness. An institution responsible for international peace and security cannot remain indefinitely based on a distribution of power inherited from another area. In the pursuit of greater historical justice and representation, Sao Tome and Principe therefore welcomes the recent decisions that recognize the historical gravity of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and promoted a more accurate cartographic representation of the size of the continents, correcting distortions that visually diminished Africa. These acts of recognition must translate into an international order in which Africa participates fully in shaping the future, rather than remaining merely in the position of responding to the decisions taken elsewhere. Mr. President, peace remains the very raison d'etre of the multilateral system. Saint Thomas in principle. follows with concern the conflicts in Ukraine, the Sudan, the Sahel, the Great Lakes region, the Horn of Africa, and the Middle East, and calls for stronger diplomacy and the protection of civilians in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law. We likewise call for respect for international humanitarian law, full humanitarian access, and the release of hostages. We reaffirm our support for a two-state solution that allows Israel and Palestine to live side by side in peace and security on the basis of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions. We also follow with concern the persistence of the economic, commercial, and financial restrictions affecting Cuba. and call for their lifting for the benefit of the development and well-being of the Cuban people, to whom we express our solidarity. Excellencies, Sao Tome and Principe will remain faithful to the Charter of the United Nations, international law, peace, human rights, and multilateralism, standing as a voice of dialogue and moderation, and as a committed partner for stability in the Gulf of Guinea. On the eve of the elections in Sao Tome and Principe, it is important to acknowledge the progress made. In a challenging context, the government has launched reforms and made advances in infrastructure, the energy transition, digitalization, and investment attraction, creating the conditions to mobilize resources needed to meet our population's most pressing needs. particularly in access to health, water, sanitation, justice and security, environmental protection, and the infrastructure essential to development. aligned with the national strategy based on sustainable tourism 2026-2040. We thank all of our bilateral and multilateral partners who are supporting Sao Tome and Principe in this process. However, the challenge before us is to turn these advances into concrete and lasting results. consolidating the foundations for more inclusive, sustainable, and resilient development. For each, ensuring continuity and stability of governance is paramount. Mr. President, our vulnerabilities as a small island developing state do not define our horizon. We therefore reaffirm our determination to turn challenges into opportunities, through strategic partnerships based on shared responsibility and mutual benefit. And we reaffirm our capacity to contribute to peace, uphold the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, and participate responsibly in building solutions to the challenges we collectively face. We call on all member states to continue building together a more representative, supportive, and just international order, founded on respect for the sovereignty of states, international law, and equality of opportunity. It is in this spirit of peace, dialogue, and hope that Sao Tome and Principe will continue to shoulder its responsibility within the international community. Thank you, Mr. President.