In a powerful address to the UN General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron highlights the need for effective multilateralism and equal attention to global suffering. He condemns the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, urges a ceasefire, and advocates for significant reforms in the UN Security Council. Discover his vision for a more unified and responsive international community.
#Macron #UNAssembly #GlobalUnity #HumanRights #CiviliansFirst #Ukraine #Gaza #MiddleEastPeace #SecurityCouncilReform #Multilateralism
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#Macron #UNAssembly #GlobalUnity #HumanRights #CiviliansFirst #Ukraine #Gaza #MiddleEastPeace #SecurityCouncilReform #Multilateralism
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00:00The Assembly will hear an address by His Excellency Emmanuel Macron, President of the French Republic.
00:10I request protocol to escort His Excellency and invite him to address the Assembly.
00:31President of the General Assembly, Heads of State and Government, Ministers, Ambassadors, Ladies and Gentlemen,
00:43I am speaking here on behalf of a country who will never forget what nations are capable of doing when they are united.
00:52Freedom. And France has just paid tribute indeed this year to the peoples of America, Europe, Africa, Asia and Oceania
01:00who allowed us to liberate ourselves from the Nazi grip.
01:05Progress and peace also.
01:09France, with its peoples, have created a community of free states, sovereign states, able to engage with each other and to understand what is essential.
01:18Also, hope. Much like we've seen in recent times during the Paralympic and Olympic Games that France hosted this year
01:28with beauty, enthusiasm and the support of the peoples.
01:32However, despite this, the Olympic truce that we wanted here did not come to life.
01:41However, the danger of words without action and impotent diplomacy are before us every day.
01:50However, our organisation is facing the biggest convergence of crisis possibly ever after its eight decades of existence.
02:02And the feeling of a loss of control is growing when faced with wars, with climate change, increasing inequality, injustice
02:10and everyday humanity seems to be more fragmented at a time when the circumstances would require us to find common responses, strong, effective responses.
02:22To these two words, United Nations, need to embody hope once again.
02:29And what must we do for this? We need to find this essential bedrock of this.
02:34And that's what I wanted to touch on briefly.
02:36Above all, first and foremost, we need to restore the terms of trust and respect between peoples.
02:43And here I can see them often trampled in our debates.
02:48To do this, we need to pay equal attention to those who are suffering.
02:53As I mentioned here two years ago, in fact, let's stave off the possibility of having a double standards.
03:00One life is equal to another.
03:03The civilian protection is an imperative norm and must remain our north star at a time when this year we are marking the 75th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions.
03:12And let's not let the idea take root for a moment that those who died in Ukraine are from the north, that those who have died in Gaza are from the south.
03:22And those who die in the conflicts in Sudan, in the Great Lakes region or in Myanmar would be those who've consequences, who are alone and ignored.
03:34Let's regain control and restore this confidence and trust, which means that we should find, look for peace everywhere and not accept any differences at a time or indifference at a time when human lives are at stake.
03:48Let's not accept any difference being made when territorial integrity and the sovereignty of states is at stake either.
03:56These conflicts today call into question our very capacity to ensure that a UN Charter is respected.
04:05And when I see some people want to propose peace by asking for capitulation, it's surprising.
04:12We can't even, how can we support any idea like this?
04:16I would like to reiterate here how the protection of civilians, of all humanitarian workers, of all of those who are working to defend our common values is crucial in each and every one of these conflicts.
04:27Next, we must provide a common response to the great challenges, the two wars that are affecting Europe and the Middle East.
04:35Russia indeed is waging a war in Ukraine for territorial conquest, scorning the most fundamental principles of international life.
04:45It is they are guilty of legal, of violating the law, ethics and honour.
04:52Nothing that they're doing is in line with the common interest of nations, nor the specific responsibilities that they shoulder within this organisation.
05:00The fate of Ukraine is a question of peace and security in Europe and around the world, because who could still believe that they are protected from their bigger neighbours, the violent neighbours?
05:14Those avid ones. If we let Russia win this as if nothing happened, no one could do that.
05:22It is therefore in our common interest and the common interest of nations that Ukraine be restored in its legitimate rights as soon as possible and that just and lasting peace be built.
05:33France will continue to do everything in its power so that Ukraine can hold strong, be out of danger and obtain justice.
05:43France will continue to provide it with the equipment that is necessary for its defence and with its allies and partners that are closest to them,
05:50France will support the remarkable resistance of the Ukrainian people and will commit to their lasting security.
05:58Let us look for peace. France will join its forces with all of those sincere partners to build solid peace in Ukraine, for Ukraine and for Europe.
06:11I know that for many of us the key issues are elsewhere. There is a long list of forgotten wars, unjust victories, badly negotiated resolutions or perhaps resolutions that are never implemented.
06:25I am not forgetting any of them, even if I can't list them all here.
06:29President Tshisekedi, who spoke earlier at this Tribune, said that the situation in the Great Lanes, and I will go back to him and President Kagame in a few days, will cover that.
06:39That is of concern to us as well. And in Armenia, Prime Minister, which France stands strongly shoulder to shoulder with the pressure from Azerbaijan and territorial intentions,
06:48the international community must be there so that peace negotiations are successful and so that the internationally recognised borders are preserved.
07:00But I know that for a lot of the people here the essential issue beyond these wars is together, and it is also for us together here in Gaza, where the fate of the Palestinian people is currently present and heavy over all of our debates.
07:22On this topic, on such a complex topic, I'd like to say clearly France's position from day one.
07:29We condemn strongly the terrorist attack, which was terrible and unprecedented, carried out by Hamas against Israel on the 7th of October.
07:40Terrorism is unacceptable, whatever the causes may be, and here we mourn the victims of the Hamas's attack on the 7th of October.
07:48They include 48 French citizens.
07:52I express my compassion, friendship to all of those families who have lost children, parents, friends on the 7th of October.
08:04We ask also once again and solemnly for the hostages to be released.
08:12Amongst them there are also several French compatriots too, and here I wish to commend the efforts of the United States of America, Egypt and Qatar to achieve this.
08:22This remains a priority for us all.
08:26Israel, when faced with this terrorist attack, has a legitimate right to protect their own people and to deny Hamas the means of attacking them again,
08:35and no one here could have suffered something like the 7th of October without there being consequences.
08:42However, the war that Israel is waging in Gaza has gone on too long.
08:47The tens of thousands of civilian victims in Palestine cannot be justified.
08:53There is no explanation possible for this.
08:56There are too many innocent people who have died, and we mourn them too.
09:00And those people who have died are an outrage for humanity and a dangerous source of hatred, resentment,
09:08which threatens and will threaten everyone's security, including that of Israel tomorrow.
09:14So this war needs to stop, and a ceasefire needs to happen as soon as possible, at the same time as the hostages are released.
09:21And humanitarian assistance needs to arrive en masse in Gaza.
09:25This is a position that we have held since October 2023, where the resolutions with many of us,
09:34let's hold the first humanitarian conference for Gaza in November 2023 in Gaza.
09:41It's now a question of political will, given the destruction of the military capacity of Hamas,
09:45and it is imperative that a new page is turned in Gaza for the guns to be silent,
09:51for humanitarian workers to return, and for civilians to finally be protected.
09:56France will participate in any initiatives that will save lives and will allow for everyone's safety to be protected.
10:04The deployment of an international mission must open the way for the implementation of the two-state solution.
10:11It is up to the Security Council to take a position on this.
10:16And also, without further ado, the necessary provisions need to be taken to preserve the link between Gaza and the West Bank,
10:23to restore Palestinian authority in its functions, and also to ensure the reconstruction of the territory,
10:30and to once again make life possible, quite simply.
10:35France will ensure everything can be done so that Palestinian people can finally have a state side-by-side with Israel.
10:44The conditions for just and lasting peace are well known.
10:49We just need to open the way for this, and the path towards this must be as short as possible.
10:55France, therefore, is committed to the two-state solution and will renew its actions so finally it can benefit the people
11:03and meet their legitimate aspirations.
11:07A Palestinian state should be created, given all the necessary security guarantees for Israel.
11:14So we should build the reciprocal recognition and common security guarantees for all in the region.
11:23And we'll be working on this over the next weeks with Israelis and Palestinians, with all our regional and international partners as well.
11:31At this time, at the moment, the main risk is that of an escalation.
11:38I extend my brotherly thoughts to Lebanon and the Lebanese people.
11:43Hezbollah, for too long, has been running an untenable risk of dragging Lebanon into a war.
11:49Israel cannot, without consequence, just expand its operations to Lebanon.
11:55France demands that everyone respect their obligations along the blue line.
12:00We will, therefore, act to ensure a diplomatic voice can be heard, a voice that is indispensable for sparing civilians and preventing a regional conflagration.
12:12We cannot have a war in Lebanon. There cannot be a war in Lebanon.
12:19This is why we urge Israel to cease this escalation in Lebanon.
12:27And we urge Hezbollah to cease the missile launches to Israel.
12:32We urge all of those who provide them with the means to do so to stop doing so.
12:37We have asked for the Security Council to meet today, indeed, to this end.
12:43And I welcome this. And the French minister, at this end of the week, will head to Lebanon themselves.
12:51So it's the same unity that we must show when faced with the great regional challenges and the global challenges before us.
13:01Because beyond the conflicts that we are seeing, that I've just mentioned, we need together to continue to ensure that sovereignty is respected, everyone's sovereignty.
13:14Regional and international solutions need to be built to tackle these challenges.
13:18And this is the idea behind the relationship we wish to have with Africa, a new partnership.
13:24And that is for what for the last two years we've been doing, working to do.
13:30France has done a lot over recent years for the African continent.
13:34France has done a lot over the last few decades, but more specifically in the Sahel, where the French army have fought successfully against terrorism, side by side with regional international partners.
13:45However, the military coup d'etat in the region have meant that we had to take the necessary conclusions.
13:52But Europe and Africa have a shared destiny, which demands a broad partnership, a partnership for peace and security, of which the terms need to be renewed, more training, more equipment, more mutual respect.
14:10Also, there's partnerships that is underpinned by economic, energy, sport aspects, as well as cultural memory aspects.
14:19And that's what we've been in Senegal, Cameroon, Algeria, Morocco and many other countries.
14:24This is what we have been patiently building over recent years and something we will continue to do.
14:31So this is the same philosophy that for the last six years we've been embodying in order to build a partnership with the Indo-Pacific region, where France has an ambition to contribute to the respect for international law, without which there'll be no prosperity.
14:46In this region, which has seen over recent years much development, a lot of people try to trample on rules and impose their wills by force.
14:56France is proposing an alternative not to replace anything, but to give states in the region once again the possibility to choose their partners on a project-by-project basis.
15:06French territories in the Indo-Pacific have unique expertise in the fight against climate change, protection of biodiversity, the development of clean energy or the fight against cross-border threats.
15:18And our vocation is this in the region, and it is to cooperate with all on the environment.
15:25As you've understood, this partner-based logic is one that seeks to build new balances, to refuse that the world be fragmented, where old rule books are thrown aside.
15:39We respect each other, we build the paths towards peace and stability.
15:45The challenge that we have is, of course, affected by the conflicts that I mentioned.
15:52But we must not lose sight of our multilateral agenda because of all of this, nor should we lose the effectiveness that we've committed to.
16:00And having gone through the pandemic, which reminded us so blatantly of the importance of some of these common challenges, we should not forget that we need to bear all of this in mind.
16:12And so I believe profoundly that effective multilateralism has never been as necessary as today.
16:18It must give results for development, fight against inequality, education, health care, climate, biodiversity and technology.
16:26On each of these individual pillars, we need unity.
16:30And we need also to do everything we can to avoid a divide between the North and the South.
16:37And that's exactly the philosophy that we have developed in the Paris Pact for People and Planet, that more than 60 states have already joined.
16:46Firstly, we need to ensure that never we will push a state to choose between these objectives.
16:53Why would the states of the North teach lessons to the states of the South and try to explain to them that they should respect climate and therefore renounce on economic opportunities?
17:06This is something we didn't do 20, 30 years ago. It would be unacceptable.
17:11Therefore, we need to build an agenda that allows at the same time progress to be made in the fight against inequality and for social development, for education, for climate and biodiversity and the global health.
17:24Then solutions need to be made. And these solutions need to be based on the proposals of the states themselves.
17:32And this is what we, for example, started to do with partnerships for a just energy transition.
17:38Not having one size fits all solution for all from capitals where we go to inspect countries and ask them to all follow exactly the same recipe.
17:49Each country has their own path. That is the key to sovereignty.
17:53Now, then we need a public financing arranging and also leveraging the private sector, too.
17:59And that meant that this is what allowed us three years ago to properly support the IMF's special drawing rights and to obtain the reallocation of more than 100 billion special drawing rights for the benefit of the countries who need that most urgently, particularly in Africa.
18:17This was a silent revolution, but it was crucial.
18:21And this is why with this pact and we were here with these members here on the effective authority of President Macky Sall and with the support of the United Nations, of the OECD and organisations concerned.
18:32This is why we wish to pursue these reforms and carry out far reaching reform of multilateral banks of our financial institutions.
18:42We launch this objective for shared financing, bringing together development banks from across the world, including those whose agendas aren't quite aligned.
18:53We need to work on this common financing agenda so that we can meet the objectives that I mentioned.
19:00And we together, and I hope in the months to come, as soon as then, we will be able to carry out this reform of the World Bank and the IMF.
19:09Firstly, to renew the membership. These institutions were built at a time when many of you weren't independent.
19:18So the structure of capital needs to be restructured to make it stronger.
19:24The World Bank and the IMF were only conceived balanced, calibrated at a time when the challenges were very different.
19:31When the global economy wasn't as big, where the population was completely different.
19:35So we need to lift these absurd taboos of blockages caused sometimes by the biggest countries, which prevent others from receiving money because they could be diluted.
19:47We need to give the capacity to act to these institutions so that they can then fund the countries of the South need.
19:54And this reform is of imperious necessity for our credibility as a whole.
19:59And I'm saying to all of the richest countries and those who are around us on the table.
20:03If you decide not to do that, well, you'll see in the next few years, you'll see an alternative order emerge.
20:09They will forget your agenda if you decide not to do this.
20:12And then we will be accused of cynicism and hegemony, and perhaps not wrongly.
20:17This reform of financial multilateralism is indispensable to address these challenges.
20:23We also need to pursue our climate biodiversity agendas, too.
20:28We have upcoming COPs, very important, all of them.
20:32And France will play its part, particularly with Costa Rica convening for the United Nations an important meeting for oceans in Nice in June 2025.
20:44Here we'll have the UN Oceans Conference and we will continue work on this.
20:50And I hope that a lot of you here will be able to ratify what we've managed to achieve over recent years,
20:58particularly the Treaty on the Protection of the High Seas. This is crucial.
21:01And we also continue to make progress on the question of water.
21:04That's also indispensable with a new One Planet Summit on water.
21:08This is alongside Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia.
21:11I won't go into detail, of course, on all of the topics that are necessary,
21:16but I do wish to recall that how pressing an issue artificial intelligence is.
21:22It's important for all states here to coordinate on this.
21:25We need to foster innovation, of course.
21:27We need to ensure that the innovation and artificial intelligence is accessible to all peoples and countries of the planet.
21:34And so it doesn't fuel more division and inequality.
21:37But we also need all of this to be developed within an ethical, democratic framework created by the peoples of the planet that is resolute.
21:47We cannot let some people, a few private actors who are on the cutting edge of this innovation at the moment,
21:56think about the future of this for our peoples.
22:00This is why France in February 2025 will convene the next Action Summit for Artificial Intelligence.
22:07But I'm sure you've understood the aim is to build this common framework.
22:12And I welcome the work that's been done and coordinated by the Secretary General and the Global Digital Compact,
22:18which is built using the best of expertise.
22:21And it enshrines this philosophy, which we subscribe to totally.
22:25To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm aware, of course, that I've forgotten so many difficult situations,
22:32from Venezuela to the heart of Africa, so many other tensions in Oceania.
22:39I want to talk about our institutions.
22:41I hear a lot of people say that what we need to do to the UN is just throw it in the bin.
22:48There's no point in it. We can't resolve conflicts. Why do we have it?
22:52So here, let's show a constructive kind of impatience.
22:58And we can't just be satisfied with not being able to resolve things.
23:03But we know who's responsible.
23:06While we have a Security Council that has been blocked, that is blocked reciprocally according to each other's interests,
23:13while that's still the case, we won't be able to make progress.
23:15Is there a better system? I don't think so.
23:18So let's make the UN more efficient.
23:22Firstly, perhaps making them more representative.
23:25And that's why France, as I reiterate here, is in favour of the Security Council being expanded.
23:32Germany, Japan, India, Brazil should be permanent members, much like two countries that Africa will decide to represent them.
23:42These new elected members will also need to be accepted.
23:46But the reform of the composition of the Security Council is not sufficient alone to make it more effective.
23:52And so I wish this reform also to how it should also change the working methods to limit the right of veto in case of mass crimes
24:00and also to focus on operational effective decisions that peacekeeping needs,
24:06maintaining international peace and security needs rather.
24:09This is why we need to be brave and audacious to do so.
24:12And with the current permanent members, this is something we should be doing.
24:16Almost 25 years after the Millennium Summit, it is now high time to be more effective,
24:23to act better on the ground for states and for civil society and then beyond the United Nations.
24:28We must also mark a new era in each of our multilateral institutions, as I just mentioned.
24:34These are the few words I wanted to share with you, ladies and gentlemen, today.
24:38At a time, a grave time of our world order, here where so many conflicts seem unresolvable,
24:48I will say that France will continue to carry this voice that is loyal to its values,
24:55that is demanding, that refuses to oversimplify the context.
25:00And France will continue to defend the simple values and principles that we've always defended.
25:07Human dignity, the respect for the principles of the Charter and beyond conflicts and the current news cycle,
25:14we continue to build with you a fairer and more effective international order.
25:22This is what we will continue to advocate for alongside our friends and our allies.
25:27But also, we should be free to say no sometimes.
25:31We should sometimes be able to refuse the cynicism of the time or things that seem obvious but are not.
25:41Thank you very much for your attention.
25:51Transcription by ESO. Translation by —