🇹🇯Sirojiddin MuhriddinTajikistan · UNGA 81 speech

Excellency, Mr. Khalilur Rahman, President of the United Nations General Assembly. Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, at the outset, allow me to congratulate His Excellency, Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election as President of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. We meet at a time when tensions are growing, conflicts are multiplying, trust is eroding, and uncertainty is becoming part of our daily reality. Over the past several days, from this very rostrum, we have heard many delegations speak about the importance of peace. peace remains our most fundamental responsibility. But peace cannot be taken for granted. It must be diligently built, and it must be steadfastly protected, and it must be passed on to future generations. It is precisely in this spirit that Tajikistan initiated the proclamation of 2027 2036 at the International Decade of Strengthening Peace for Future Generations, which was adopted by the General Assembly resolution on 25 June 2026. We are grateful to Member States, partners and the United Nations system for supporting this initiative of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, His Excellency Mr. Emomali Rahmon. The idea behind the decade is simple. Our responsibility for peace does not end with our generation. We must work to resolve the conflicts of today, but we must also prevent the conflicts of tomorrow. Building on this vision, Tajikistan will convene a high-level international conference on peace in Dushanbe in June 2027, in cooperation with the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, the United Nations Youth Office and other partners. The conference will help launch the decade and turn our shared commitment to peace into practical cooperation. Mr. President, our position on conflicts and disputes is clear. They must be resolved peacefully. through dialogue, diplomacy, negotiations, and in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. In this context, the situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep concern to Tajikistan. The continuing suffering of civilians must end. We reiterate our call for a lasting ceasefire in Gaza and unhindered access to humanitarian assistance. Our position remains principled and consistent. A just and lasting peace can only be achieved through dialogue and diplomacy in accordance with international law and the relevant resolutions of the United Nations. Tajikistan reaffirms its support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine based on the 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in peace and security. But peace cannot endure in isolation. It needs development, opportunity, inclusion, and hope. Excellencies, lasting peace requires sustainable development. Yet, development remains deeply uneven. Climate change is accelerating. Inequality persists, and too many countries continue to face structural barriers to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. For developing countries, particularly mountainous and landlocked developing countries, these pressures are even greater. We therefore need stronger international solidarity and development financing that is more accessible, predictable and adequate. For Tajikistan, sustainable development begins at home. Our National Development Strategy 2030 remains a key framework for economic growth, reducing vulnerabilities, and improving the well-being of our people. But development is not only about economic growth. It is about people, opportunity, and inclusion. That is why Tajikistan continues to advance the empowerment of women and their meaningful participation in political, economic, and social life. It is also why we place growing emphasis on legal literacy. In 2025, the General Assembly proclaimed 2027 as the International Year of Legal Literacy, following an initiative of Tajikistan. Respect to the law strengthens peaceful and inclusive societies. But development also depends on something even more fundamental. something that connects people, economies, ecosystems, and nations, water. Mr. President, the world remains far from achieving universal access to safe water and sanitation. Progress is being made, but not fast enough. For Tajikistan, this challenges both global and deeply national. We are a mountainous country, home to thousands of glaciers and the source of major rivers that sustain communities far beyond our borders. We know the value of water, and we know its vulnerability. For more than two decades, under the leadership of President of Tajikistan, His Excellency Mr. Emomali Rahmon, water has remained at the heart of our international engagement. From the Global Water Action Decades to the Dushanbe Water Process, from the 2023 United Nations Water Conference to the Global Agenda on Glaciers Preservation. our message has remained consistent. Water requires cooperation, and cooperation must lead to action. The next two years will be decisive. Later this year, the international community will gather for the United Nations Water Conference in Abu Dhabi. In 2027, A high level preparatory meeting will take place here at United Nations headquarters. And in 2028, we will gather in Dushanbe for the United Nations Water Conference and the final comprehensive review of the Water Action Decade. Member states will negotiate and adopt by consensus an outcome, the Dushanbe Water Framework. This gives us an opportunity to assess what we have achieved, confront what remains unfinished, and decide how global water cooperation should move forward. Because 2028 must not be an end point. The conclusion of the Water Action Decade should mark the beginning of the next chapter of global water action. The Dushanbe Water Framework can help us write that chapter, a chapter focused on implementation, on financing, on technology and capacity, on stronger partnerships, and on protecting the sources of our water water, including the world's rapidly changing glaciers. Our objective is continuity, follow up and implementation. In this regard, the Dushanbe Water Process can help sustain that momentum beyond 2028, connecting global commitments with national and regional action. Our success will measured by the commitments we deliver. Excellencies, we must also prepare for a world that is changing before our eyes. Artificial intelligence is transforming our economies, our societies, and the way we approach development. As the Secretary-General recently reminded us, used well and shared widely, AI could compress decades of development into years. This is the opportunity before us. AI should not become another source of division. It should become a force for development, opportunity, and reducing inequality. Last year, at the initiative of Tajikistan, the General Assembly adopted the resolution on the role of artificial intelligence in creating new opportunities for sustainable development in Central Asia. This year, we look another step forward. On August 31st, the General Assembly proclaimed the International Day of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence, also at the initiative of Tajikistan. Our message is simple. Innovation must serve humanity. Technological transformation is only one dimension of a rapidly changing world. Old threats are also evolving, and new ones are crossing borders faster than ever. Mr. President, terrorism and extremism, cybercrime, illicit trafficking in arms and narcotic drugs, organized crime -- these threats know no borders. Our response must be equally united. Therefore, the Dushanbe process on countering terrorism and its financing has become an important platform for international and regional cooperation. We will continue this engagement, including by convening the next high-level counterterrorism conference in Dushanbe in 2027. Mr. President, for our region, Lasting security and sustainable development are also closely linked to Afghanistan. Afghanistan needs peace, stability, and economic opportunity. Tajikistan will continue to support the Afghan people and constructive regional cooperation for a peaceful and stable Afghanistan. When Tajikistan speaks about peace, we also speak from experience. Next year, we will mark the 30th anniversary of the general agreement on the establishment of peace and national accord in Tajikistan. That agreement ended a devastating imposed civil war. It was achieved through dialogue, through compromise, and through the determination to put the future of the country above division. The United Nations was an important partner in that process. Three decades later, the same belief in dialogue continues to guide our relations with our neighbors. Recent agreements with Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan have helped resolved longstanding border issue and opened a new chapter of cooperation in Central Asia. Borders that once divided us can now connect us. Our experience has strengthened our convictions. Even the most difficult disagreements can be resolved when there is political will, dialogue, and mutual respect. Excellencies, There is a wider lesson here. Peace requires effective institutions, and international cooperation requires an effective United Nations. This is why Tajikistan supports the ongoing UN reform process. Reform is not an end in itself. It must make the United Nations more effective, agile, coherent and better able to deliver. We support reducing duplication, improving efficiency and strengthening accountability while preserving the organization's ability to fulfill its mandates. Member states must remain at the center of this process. Excellencies, a stronger UN also requires Member States willing to assume greater responsibility. Tajikistan is ready to do so. For the first time in its history, Tajikistan is seeking election to the United Nations Security Council for the 2028-2029 term. We approach this responsibility with humility and determination. We congratulate proudly Kyrgyzstan on its election to the Security Council for 2027-2028 and look forward to its contribution to the work of the Council. Tajikistan would bring the experience of a country that has known conflict and built peace, that has faced difficult borders and chosen dialogue and compromise, a country that shares a long border with Afghanistan and understands firsthand the importance of prevention, stability, and regional cooperation, and a country that has consistently advanced practical multilateral initiatives on water, glaciers, counter-terrorism, sustainable development and peace. For us, membership in the Security Council would not be about status. It would be about responsibility to uphold the Charter, to listen to all voices, large and small, to seek common ground where divisions persist, and to contribute constructively to the maintenance of international peace and security. Mr. President, we began with peace. Let me end with peace. The challenges before us are great, but they are not greater than our capacity to overcome them if we choose cooperation over confrontation, dialogue over division, and hope over fear. The choices we make today will shape the world we leave behind tomorrow. That is our responsibility to our peoples, to one another, and above all, to future generations. Tajikistan stands ready to do its part. I thank you for your attention.