The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended this Tuesday the urgency of respecting the Charter of the United Nations, without which, he emphasizes, “it is not possible to have peace”, whether in Ukraine or in other “parts of the world”.
“Respect for the Charter of the United Nations is urgent because without respect for territorial integrity, state sovereignty and human rights, no peace is possible. And this in Ukraine – this is the struggle of the Ukrainian people – as in the entire world. world,” says the head of state, who highlights that this is a call made by the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, “for many years.”
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa spoke on the first day of the general debate of the 78th session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, in New York.
The head of state insists that the “problem” has been the same in various corners of the world: “Respect for the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations. And, therefore, it is not possible to separate the fight from the Ukrainian people to fight for respect for the Charter of the United Nations.
“We listened to the report of the UN Secretary General, we listened to President Lula da Silva and Joe Biden and, despite different positions, they agreed on the essence of the diagnosis: it is urgent to respect the Charter of the United Nations to guarantee peace in the world.” he insists.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also called for the urgency of “accelerating the fight against climate change, achieving the objectives of the 2030 agenda, protecting the oceans and biodiversity to guarantee peace and the reform of institutions,” explaining that many of them They were “conceived in the last century” and, therefore, “are totally far from the reality of today’s world.”
“It is urgent to reform international financial institutions,” he concluded.
The Head of State immediately gave the Security Council as an example, which he considers an organization that corresponds to “a world that no longer exists.”
“Portugal has long argued that countries like Brazil or India should be permanent members. That the common African position should be taken into account. That small countries cannot be ignored,” he said.
Likewise, the leader of the Portuguese State regrets that international financial organizations have not been able to “finance sustainable development with equity and justice”, accusing them of “favoring the richest and harming the poorest.”
“And these three emergencies are linked. There is no peace, no sustainable development, no reform of institutions without respect for the Charter of the United Nations. There is no sustainable development, no respect for the Charter without reform of international institutions. There is no There is no reform of international institutions without respect for the Charter, without the application of the 2030 Agenda, without an effective fight against climate change,” he explains.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa also assured that Portugal wanted to set an example and assured that the country defended “respect for the Charter of the United Nations as a path to peace.”
“It advocates accelerating the fight against climate change, trying to get ahead of decarbonization, promoting clean energy, protecting the ocean, protecting biodiversity, defending institutional reforms, such as the United Nations, such as international financial institutions. And we have not given up and “We will not give up supporting the UN Secretary General, whatever the cost,” he guaranteed.
The President denounced the promises made “year after year”, which turned out to be empty, and challenged the other States to follow Portugal’s example, giving as an example the agreement signed with Cape Verde.
“Because it is easy to come here every year to promise the same thing and not deliver. Not to contribute to peace, respecting international law and the Charter of the United Nations. To promise a new global governance, but postpone concrete solutions for reform. of the institutions,” he stated.
“Portugal has just concluded with Cape Verde, a country that belongs to a universe of 300 million Portuguese speakers, an agreement to convert the State debt into an environmental and climate fund. Convert the debtor’s debt into the creditor’s contribution to economic development , to the sustainable development of “This State. This should happen systematically with existing debts and sustainable development financing. Our goal is to extend it to other CPLP countries,” he assumes.
For the Head of State, “the time has come to comply”, whether in respect for “international law, in the construction of peace, in international cooperation, in the correction of international inequalities, in climate change, in the reform of the UN” or “in the reform of financial institutions”.
“Every day lost is one more day of inequality, of conflict, of war. Every day gained is one more day of justice, solidarity and peace,” he defended.
For this reason, Marcelo said he hopes that next year it will be possible to affirm that “there is more peace than war, more justice than injustice, more equality than inequality, more climate action than inaction, more reform of the UN than what a postponement of reform entails. and more reform of financial institutions than ignorance of this reform.
“If this is the case next year, it was worth it. If not, we will continue to hear over and over again the same people – and many of them are very influential – make promises and not keep them, and we will understand why people believe less and less in those who make them govern,” he warned.
The head of state stated that in his speech he “will try to address all current issues” in the 15 minutes available to him, placing “a very strong emphasis on Ukraine” and the global effects of the war caused by the Russian invasion in February. . 24 2022.
Source: TSF
