Mr President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
The chosen theme for this years General Assembly is ‘Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation.’
I don’t think there could be a more appropriate framing for our discussions this week.
Trust, or more properly the lack thereof, is the greatest challenge facing our world.
The erosion of trust that has gripped all our societies runs deep. Where once people embraced trust, now people are gripped by suspicion. Suspicion of governments. Suspicion of institutions. Suspicion of businesses. Even, all too often, suspicion of each other.
I am talking about suspicion, not scepticism.
Scepticism, the legitimate questioning of those who hold power over people’s lives, is the lifeblood of any democratic society. Suspicion, the assumption that others are automatically looking out for their interests and not those of the common good, is poison to any democratic society.
No community can succeed if we blindly believe that our neighbours are out to do us down. Just as no country can succeed if it blindly believes that its neighbours, even those it may long have seen as friends, are out to get it.
Which means restoring trust, rebuilding alliances, remaking friendships, must be the central mission for us all. At home and abroad. It must also be the central mission of the remaking of this United Nations. To change, you have to believe.
We know we need to change how the UN works, how it takes decisions, and how it delivers on the ground. But, we can only make that change, achieve that transformation, if we believe throughout that change is possible.
Nobody ever successfully renovated a house without the faith that, however hard the work, however many setbacks faced on the way, the end result would be a real improvement on what went before.
So, we need to show faith that, however hard the work, however many setbacks faced on the way, the end result of transforming this house, this home of all the nations will be a real step forward.
And as this United Nations embarks on its ninth decade of service, the need for a step change in how the international community works together, solves problems together, is arguably needed more acutely now than ever before.
That erosion of trust is leading to the corrosion of the international order.
Not the improvement of the international order, but the destruction of the international order. An international order that for all its flaws and failures has seen more children escape hunger,
more families live in peace, and more children grow into old age than any era before it.
To destroy the international settlement, without any idea of what comes next, would be an act of wonton destruction that would, rightly, never be forgiven by the tens of millions whose futures it would betray.
So let us say it loud and clear. Let us be utterly unequivocal.Now, more than ever, is a moment for more co-operation, not less; more dialogue, not less; more trust, not less.
That is the only way we will find paths to progress on the all too many, all too intractable conflicts blighting our world. In Malta we have always been a bridge between Europe and the Middle East.
So, let me focus on two of those conflicts on our doorstep.
Firstly, Ukraine.
It is all too easy, and all too great a mistake, for us to fall in the trap that repelling the invasion of Ukraine becomes another never-ending conflict. A grinding tragedy on the corner of our continent, about which we can do nothing.
Malta will never accept that despair. Europe must never succumb to that despair. The world must never turn its head away in despair.
Malta remains as adamant in our condemnation of the invasion today, as we were on day one in February 2022. And Malta is equally as adamant that a just and lasting peace must guarantee Ukraine’s sovereignty within its internationally recognised borders. That will only come about through a diplomatic process the Ukrainian people can have full trust in.
They will only have such trust if the process follows a full and unconditional ceasefire, and the full participation of Ukraine in the subsequent peace talks.
Rightly, the Ukrainian people will never have trust in any search for a settlement which involves their government being frog-marched to the table, one arm tied behind its back, whilst the guns still blaze.
The issue of trust is, clearly, also central to the situation in Gaza.
The people of Israel need to have trust that Hamas will be disarmed and play no future role in the governance or security structures of Gaza. But the people of Gaza need to have trust that there is a path to a just peace. It is impossible to build trust with a humanitarian situation as acute as that being experienced in Gaza right now.
Malta’s voice remains, unwaveringly, with the global calls for safe, sustained and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Gaza, in accordance with international law. We firmly believe the Gaza Peace Plan provides the best path towards ending the conflict, and advancing credible political progress.
To achieve that progress, all parties must fully respect and implement the objectives and commitments set out in the planand naturally, no progress can be made if there is any question of the forced displacement of any of the Palestinian population.
Instead, it is incumbent on all of us in the international community to rebuild the trust needed to underpin the conditions where genuine progress can be made towards a negotiated and lasting Two-State solution.
Nobody is under any illusion how out of reach that seems at this moment. But nor is this the moment to shy away or run away from the only goal that will guarantee the people of Israel and Palestine can live side-by-side, with the peace, prosperity and stability they both deserve.
Sadly, any progress towards a long-term solution is being endangered by the situation in the West Bank. Settlement expansion, running directly counter to the resolutions of this General Assembly and designed to undermine Palestinian territorial integrity, must stop and stop now.
So too must the violent settler attacks on Palestinian communities, increasing at an alarming rate, be halted. These are essential pre-conditions to a lasting peace.
As is a credible and reformed Palestinian Authority that can demonstrate to the citizens of both Palestine and Israel that it has the transparency, accountability, institutional effectiveness, and above all the democratic legitimacy to be a truly effective partner for peace.
Malta stands ready to play its part in building the capacity of both a renewed, democratic Palestinian Authority and the robust civil society that must underpin it. Not just in Ukraine, Gaza and Israel but across the world, be it the conflict in Sudan, the ongoing violence in Myanmar, or instability across the Sahel, it is evident that diminished trust means diminished chances of finding solutions.
You could put it as starkly as, no trust, equals no peace.
Of course, no matter the conflict, each with its own circumstances, there is no easy way of building trust. But equally, there is no easy way of avoiding the need to build trust.
We all know, from our own lives, as much as from our own countries, just how hard it is to rebuild trust when it has evaporated. Yet, we also know the consequences if we give up trying and the rewards that can come if, however slowly and however tentatively, we can start.
If it is hard enough to build trust human to human, face to face, it can be infinitely harder to build trust of machines, of the technology shaping all our lives. Yet, the challenge of how we can trust that technology, and the organisations behind it, is rapidly becoming the most pressing of our age.
The sheer speed and sheer power of Artificial Intelligence is mind-blowing. It appears to be moving far too fast for anybody, let alone governments, to keep pace.
It can seem, whether from the perspective of leader, consumer or parent, to be overwhelming.
There is no escaping that this is the biggest change, and the biggest challenge, any of us will experience in our lifetime. So much so, that we barely have the words to describe quite how monumental a disruption it is.
The usual phrases, step-change; paradigm shift, just don’t seem to capture the scale. And we should also be under no illusion that the existing rules, the traditional models of governance are, in any way, up to grappling with the revolution we are living through.
Which is why, if we stand any chance of helping to build citizens’ trust in advanced technologies, we need to begin by being honest, that governments, just as individuals, are finding our way.
That we don’t have all the answers.
What we do have, what we must have, is the will to act, and the right values to underpin those actions. And, of course, it almost goes without saying that no state, no matter how micro or how mighty, has any chance of getting a grip if they try to go it alone.
We only stand a chance as humanity on getting a grip on technology that seeks to ape our humanity, if we work together, acknowledging that the rules need to be set globally, and they need to be stuck to, even as they develop as the tech develops.
If we are to stand any chance of securing public confidence that AI can enhance and not destroy humanity, we need a set of international rules that reflect international law.
So, Malta wholeheartedly supports the implementation of the Global Digital Compact and wider UN efforts to strengthen international digital cooperation.
To fragment - is to fail. And that applies equally to fighting the threats from the new frontline in global conflict and disruption.
Cyberattacks on critical infrastructure, disinformation, the cutting of the underwater cables that connect us all, these are not theoretical threats, they are constant threats. For a small island nation like Malta, that relies on our connections to the wider world, they are existential threats.
Tackling them must be a priority, the priority for this United Nations.
We need to embrace every emerging technology that can help us fend off those threats and build our digital and physical resilience.
Today, the guardians of our democracy, of our freedoms, are just as likely to be found coding at a keyboard as marching in uniform. Both must work in lockstep. Security will always be physical, but now it must also be digital.
That change must be reflected in the way we work together to achieve our common goals.
I know I am preaching to true believers Mr President, and Mr Secretary General, when I say that there must be no let-up, no slowing-down, in the relentless drive for reform of how this UN, and all its agencies, does its business and delivers its services. To take our ‘foot off the gas’ would be to let-down the millions who need the United Nations to do better, be better, at tackling the problems that blight their lives.
That is why the goal of this General Assembly, ‘A United Nations that Delivers for All,’ is so important and so urgent.
If we are to have any hope of renewing the trust of the citizens we serve in global institutions and the global order, we haveto show that those institutions, this institution, can deliver.Deliver in ways that change lives for the better.
We must never lose sight and never lose faith in the values that brought us together in the first place, as nations united.
Malta is, and always will be, a passionate advocate of and passionately committed to multilateralism. At the core of all we do must be the code and conscience of the founding Charter of this United Nations, but the implementation of those values, the way we turn those fine words into fine actions, must always be a process of constant evolution.
We can never stand still if we are to keep cooperation alive.
So, Malta remains thoroughly committed to the implementation of the Pact for the Future and all its associated actions. Reforms must remain member state driven, and firmly anchored in the inter-governmental process. And efficiency must not come at the expense of effectiveness on the ground.
Malta solidly backs a strong and effective Resident Coordinator system, as the key anchor of UN action at a country level.
I can’t reiterate often enough, or restate strongly enough, that the only effective antidote to the cancer of cynicism, and suspicion, is effective and concerted action to tackle the greatest threats to our people and our planet.
And, alongside spreading conflict and the dangers of uncontrolled technology, the greatest threat to us all and especially island nations like Malta, is manmade climate change.
I say, just look at the weather extremes we in Europe have been experiencing.
To do nothing, to stand by and wash our hands, would be a moral and practical betrayal of the citizens who put their faith in us that we won’t flinch from the biggest problems and the toughest solutions.
So, we must not stand by. We must stand firm. Stand firm against the torrent of disinformation that fuels the deniers.Stand firm against the vested interests that seek to block action. Stand firm against the naysayers who say that because all don’t choose to act, nobody should.
To those cynics, I want to point you to an instance that shows hope can triumph over defeatism.
In 1967, representing the then geographically smallest member state of the UN, a member of the UN for less than three years, Arvid Pardo spoke up in this General Assembly.In a stirring speech, Malta’s Permanent Representative made a passionate plea to the world’s common humanity.
He may have been speaking on behalf of a small nation, but he had an ambitious vision.
Pardo called for the world to treat the resources of the oceans beyond their own borders, as the “common heritage of mankind.”
His demand for a law of the sea was prescient, but to achieve it took persistence. In fact, it took 27 years before UNCLOS came into being.
What motivated Malta’s action then, is what motivates Malta’s demands now. Doing nothing meant leaving the world’s oceans to the mercy of the world’s biggest, strongest, richest nations.
Taking action showed that, and I quote, “they belonged to all of humanity, those living and those who still had to be born.”
That spirit was evident when in 1988, right at the start of the concern about global warming, Malta proposed the UN General Assembly resolution that recognised climate change as a global problem requiring collective, global solutions.
Suspicion of collective action won’t be counteracted by retreat, it will only be overcome by the strength to turn convictions into action.
The phrase ‘Dare to Dream’ has become, perhaps, the world’s most common motivational phrase. Imploring us that all we need to do is have the courage to dream, and those dreams can become reality.
And yes, we should indeed all dare to dream. To inspire ourselves to turn hope, into achievement. But to turn initial aspirations into sustainable attainment, takes something more than just dreams.
It takes trust.
Trust that by working together, we achieve more than we could ever achieve alone.
It is that belief in the power of trust which underpins the values that brought me into public life. It is that belief in the power of trust, even when, as now, it can seem a commodity in all too short supply, that convinces me that ultimately itwill prevail.
That, ultimately, we, as a world, will find the courage to dial down the disbelief and crank up the confidence.
If we don’t, if we don’t realise that mutual suspicion can only lead to mutual destruction, if we don’t realise that closing our minds to those who don’t share our world view limits our chances of solving the world’s biggest problems, if we don’t realise that limiting dialogue only to those who are likeminded in reality can only drive us further apart, we face a very bleak future indeed.
I refuse, Malta refuses to believe that such a future is any more inevitable than it is desirable.
There is one simple antidote to the destructive power of suspicion. It is one that may not yet have appeared on many motivational bumper stickers.
But it is one that must be our lodestar. So, I say to my fellow world leaders, as much as I say to my fellow citizens of this planet. Let us dare to trust.
Dare to realise that even those who we disagree with the most, must become part of the solution, and not a prolonger of pain.
Thank you very much.
