81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly Address by the Head of Government, H.E. Mr. Xavier Espot Zamora New York, 23 September 2026 Mr. President, Mr. Secretary-General, There is an idea that has accompanied Andorra for more than two hundred and seventy years and that continues to shape the way we understand politics. The Manual Digest, one of the great works of our institutional heritage, through which Antoni Fiter i Rossell condensed and recounted the essence of Andorran identity, reminds us that the legitimate exercise of power only makes sense when it places the common good above any other interest.
This idea, written in 1748, long before modern international organizations came into existence, remains remarkably relevant today, because multilateralism is nothing more than the application of this same principle to relations among nations: the understanding that the common good of the international community is inseparable from the well-being of each of our countries.
In Andorra, this approach to politics has enabled us to preserve more than seven centuries of peace, dialogue and coexistence. Not because history has been easier for us, but because we have learned that the best way to protect freedom is to build trust, seek balance and make compromise a form of governance. Perhaps it is precisely this experience that a small country such as ours can share with this great Assembly today.
Mr. President, Allow me to congratulate you on your election as President of the eighty-first session of the General Assembly. I am convinced that your experience in multilateralism will help strengthen the role of the United Nations at a particularly decisive moment for the world and for this Organization itself.
The theme you have chosen for this session, “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: An Effective and Inclusive United Nations for All,” accurately captures the challenges of our time.
The crisis we face is not only geopolitical, economic, climatic or technological. Above all, it is a crisis of trust: among States, between institutions and citizens, and above all in the ability of the international community to fulfil the promise that gave meaning to the creation of the United Nations: to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to uphold the inherent dignity of every human being, and to promote an international order founded on human rights.
Trust is an intangible asset, perhaps the most valuable of all. It takes great effort to build, yet very little to destroy.
When international commitments are relativized; when the Charter of the United Nations ceases to serve as the shared framework guiding the actions of States; when international humanitarian law is violated with a frequency that risks normalizing horror; or when civilians cease to be protected and instead become targets, what is weakened is not only peace itself, but also confidence in the international order and in all the organizations that represent and promote it.
From this Assembly, Andorra wishes to reiterate a conviction it has upheld for more than three decades: for small States, multilateralism is not a strategic option but a guarantee that all countries, regardless of their size, can make their voices heard on an equal legal footing.
It is the clearest expression of the principle that the force of law must always prevail over the law of force.
It is precisely for this reason that we continue to firmly defend the need to uphold the Charter of the United Nations, international law and international humanitarian law. We support, more than ever, the efforts of the International Criminal Court to identify those responsible for the gravest crimes and we condemn any act of aggression that violates the sovereignty and territorial integrity of a State.
In this sense, we continue to express our solidarity with the people of Ukraine in the face of the consequences of a war that has lasted far too long, and we reiterate our support for efforts aimed at achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace, in accordance with the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law. We do so for the people of Ukraine, and also for all territories where conflicts continue to persist.
Likewise, we reaffirm that a negotiated solution based on the coexistence of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace, security and mutual recognition, remains the most solid path towards achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. We also hope that a peaceful solution can be found in Lebanon that fully respects the sovereignty of all countries involved.
PAUSE We cannot resign ourselves to turning human suffering into a statistic. Behind every victim lies a life cut short; behind every child killed, a future that disappears; behind every school or hospital destroyed, a part of our shared humanity that has failed.
For this reason, we are particularly concerned by the increase in attacks against civilians, humanitarian personnel and United Nations staff, who carry out their mission, often under extreme conditions and at extraordinary personal risk.
We are especially alarmed by the conclusions of the Secretary-General’s latest reports on children in armed conflict and on conflict-related sexual violence. The figures presented are not only dramatic; they are morally unacceptable.
For the first time, in many cases, the primary perpetrators of these violations are the States themselves, which should be the foremost guarantors of the protection of their citizens.
Faced with this reality, Andorra will continue to act. We have increased our contribution to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, strengthened our support for UNICEF programmes, and actively participated in the negotiations of the future Convention on Crimes Against Humanity, with particular attention to the protection of children.
The 2030 Agenda remains the most ambitious collective commitment ever undertaken by the international community. It is not merely a set of technical objectives, nor simply an international planning framework. It is a promise: the promise that the place where a person is born should not determine their opportunities, their life expectancy or their future.
The effects of global warming are being felt across many regions of the world, from coastal areas and river deltas to the most vulnerable territories, which are increasingly exposed to extreme weather events.
Andorra experiences them from its mountains.
Our geographical realities are very different, yet we share the same certainty: climate change is no longer a scientific projection. It is a reality that is already transforming people's lives.
This year, Andorra had the honour of hosting the global meeting of the Mountain Partnership, culminating in the adoption of the Andorra Declaration, which highlights the importance of improving connectivity in mountain areas, narrowing the digital divide, and strengthening resilience to natural hazards through early warning systems and adapted infrastructure.
We undertook this effort convinced that mountains can no longer remain a peripheral element of the international climate agenda. They are far more than landscapes: they are freshwater reserves on which hundreds of millions of people depend, havens of exceptional biodiversity, and a privileged indicator of the effects of global warming.
This very summer, we experienced temperatures that exceeded all known records. We have witnessed with concern the major wildfires that have affected regions very close to our country, and the catastrophe in Nepal has highlighted the dramatic effects that rising temperatures are having on glaciers and, consequently, on mountain regions.
And we have once again confirmed that climate change is not a challenge for future generations. It has been part of our present for a long time, and we must continue working to ensure that the voices of mountain territories are heard in the major international climate negotiations.
Our contribution may be modest in scale, but it is ambitious in commitment. We are moving towards a more resilient energy model, increasing year after year renewable energy production, and preparing our third Voluntary National Review on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Ladies and Gentlemen, Artificial intelligence represents one of the most profound transformations humanity has ever known. It opens extraordinary opportunities for scientific progress, medicine, education and the fight against climate change. Yet it also compels us to ask a question that no previous generation has had to face with such urgency: How can we ensure that technological progress remains human progress?
This is the debate that truly lies before us. It is not a debate about machines; it is a debate about ourselves.
We must ensure that artificial intelligence expands opportunities rather than inequalities; that it protects human rights rather than putting them at risk; that it strengthens our democracies rather than weakening them; and that it preserves the cultural and linguistic diversity, which constitutes one of humanity’s most valuable heritages.
For a country such as Andorra, this last aspect is particularly relevant.
The digital revolution must not lead to cultural homogenization that condemns languages with fewer speakers to invisibility. That is why we advocate for global digital governance that fully incorporates respect for multilingualism, cultural diversity and equal access to knowledge. And this is why Andorra will continue to work, both within the Group of Friends of Multilingualism and the Group of Francophone Ambassadors, to ensure that new digital tools, as well as the United Nations itself, continue to reflect the plurality of peoples and cultures that we represent.
Ladies and Gentlemen, This Organization exists because the international community understood that the destiny of peoples is shared; because no nation can prosper while ignoring the suffering of others; because the security of one depends on the security of all. In this regard, I would first like to refer to the excellent UN80 Initiative, which proposes improvements to the work of the Secretariat, a stronger mandate lifecycle and a simplification of structures to avoid duplication. Secondly, I would like to emphasize the need for reform of the Security Council so that the Organization reflects the realities of today rather than those of eighty years ago.
The most important reform, however, is to ensure that this Organization remains a space where States not only defend their legitimate interests, but are also capable of exercising a shared responsibility in addressing the great challenges facing humanity and, above all, continue to believe that what unites us is stronger than what divides us.
PAUSE I would like to offer a few words of recognition to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres. Since 2017, he has exercised his mandate during one of the most difficult and uncertain periods the international community has known, consistently defending the principles of the United Nations Charter and reminding us, even when it seemed most difficult, that multilateralism remains the best hope for preserving peace, dignity and cooperation among peoples. I hope that the next Secretary-General elected will possess the same capacity and ambition to strengthen the Organization and to confront, with determination, the challenges facing humanity.
This will be the last time that I have the honour of addressing this General Assembly as Head of Government of the Principality of Andorra. It will be my eighth intervention before this Assembly: six times in person and, unfortunately, twice virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic. On eight occasions, I have had the privilege of bringing the voice of my country to this forum, sharing its convictions and defending its interests with the certainty that the greatness of a nation is not measured by its size, nor by its economic or military power, but by the strength of its values and by its willingness to contribute to the common good.
And I continue to believe, as I did on the first day, that the United Nations is indispensable.
Not because it is perfect, but because it remains the finest expression of an extraordinary idea: that, despite our differences, dialogue will always be more powerful than force.
It has been one of the greatest honours of my tenure as Head of Government of Andorra to represent and serve my country from this podium.
The recently deceased Franco-Iranian artist Marjane Satrapi once wondered whether we may have misunderstood the very purpose of education. Perhaps, she said, before teaching our children how to achieve economic or professional success, we should teach them that true success lies in humanism.
The history of humanity cannot be understood without the extraordinary capacity of human beings to create communities, cooperate and build societies through intelligence and language, but also through empathy. We have come this far because we understood that intelligence allows us to organize ourselves, language enables us to communicate, and empathy teaches us to care for one another. In doing so, we discovered one of civilization’s greatest achievements: that when someone is vulnerable, the community does not abandon them; it protects them.
Likewise, in the face of the great challenges of our time, no nation can save itself alone. That is why the future of Andorra and all other nations lies within the United Nations, and, I hope one day, in our case, also within the European Union as an associated State. Because regardless of whether a country is richer or poorer, we will only be able to shape our common future if we deepen the ties between our peoples, both globally and regionally.
If we preserve this conviction, we will continue to find pathways towards prosperity, peace and justice. For the future will not depend only on the intelligence we are capable of creating; above all, it will depend on the humanity we are capable of defending and preserving.
Thank you very much.