First of all, I would like, on behalf of the Malagasy People and on my own behalf, to extend my warmest congratulations to Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election to the Presidency of the 81st General Assembly, as well as to our Vice-Presidents.
In this regard, I wish to reiterate the assurance of the support of the Republic of Madagascar and its full readiness to work, in a genuine spirit of cooperation, for the success of all our work throughout this session.
The theme of this 81st session calls on us to assume our shared responsibility for our destiny and that of future generations with lucidity, by placing collective action, the general interest and the good of humanity at the centre of our responses to the profound transformations of the world.
At the same time, we must recognize that the challenges we have been facing for decades, namely food insecurity, disease, armed conflict and natural disasters, are still with us. Thus, for Madagascar, as for many other nations, the new emerging challenges cannot obscure the prioritizations that must be made.
In the light of intersecting transformations and challenges, the question of trust in our collective action arises with renewed urgency. Indeed, we must admit, taking into account all the consideration and expectations that we, “the Peoples of the United Nations”, have placed in our Organization, that trust has, over time, eroded.
The most vulnerable populations, struck by the recurrence or persistence of health crises, food insecurity or hunger, the impacts of climate disruption, as well as conflicts aggravated by current geopolitical tensions, sometimes come to feel a certain scepticism as to our collective capacity, within the United Nations System, to provide responses to the scourges that mark our era.
In this regard, the realities on the ground in my country speak for themselves.
In the South of Madagascar, mothers travel dozens of kilometres under scorching heat in search of water in the bed of a dried-up river. In the East, each year increasingly violent and devastating tropical cyclones sweep away crops, infrastructure and human lives in their path. In other localities, floods engulf rice granaries, affecting entire regions. These images illustrate the daily vulnerability of the population.
Faced with these recurrent humanitarian emergency situations, amplified by climate disruption, considerable investments, testifying to the constancy of the commitment of our development partners, are made each year in support of the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — whether in the fight against hunger, education, or access by vulnerable populations to basic services.
Indeed, Madagascar today hosts 23 agencies of the United Nations System, each of which contributes to supporting our national priorities. The implementation of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNDAF) for the period 2024-2028 will mobilize 1.5 billion dollars over five years. Yet, beyond the commitments and resources mobilized, what matters to us is their concrete translation into the daily lives of our populations.
We acknowledge that, in order to participate fully in the governance of his or her country and benefit equitably from his or her rights, every citizen must be able to grow up in good health, be well nourished and have access to quality education.
Faced with the challenges of a constantly changing world, the government of the Refondation that I lead places food sovereignty, health and education at the heart of its action. This priority commitment is directed to the entire population and particularly to women and children, while offering our youth the means to build their future with confidence and thus contribute to the development of the nation.
With more than 55 per cent of its population under the age of 25, Madagascar benefits from a tremendous demographic dividend. Driven by a firm political will to build a bright future for this dynamic youth, we measure the importance of an education system in perfect alignment with the realities of the labour market, a sine qua non condition for sustainable development.
We wish cooperation in this field to move beyond a strictly quantitative approach — measured solely by the volume of infrastructure built or the number of pupils enrolled — so as to adapt fully to economic realities on the ground. It is a matter of anchoring our action in the sectors of the future (such as agro-industry, renewable energies and digital technology), while recasting our indicators of success to give priority to the concrete acquisition of skills and the rate of integration medium-term professional integration.
However, the achievement of our ambitions cannot be dissociated from the international context in which they are situated.
Can we speak of development when international peace and security are put to the test by the multiplication of crises and the persistence of tensions?
The restoration of confidence depends on the capacity of the United Nations to maintain and restore peace.
We must be concerned that the multilateral system is struggling to contain the escalation of tensions fuelled by geopolitical rivalries.
These crises, which now affect different regions of the planet, are not without consequence for our States. They have a direct impact on our economies and on the daily lives of our populations through disruptions to energy supply chains and difficulties in delivering basic necessities. These are all factors that exacerbate the vulnerabilities we must confront.
Faced with this reality, we must have the courage to acknowledge and accept the limits of the multilateral system in its current form and functioning.
There is an urgent need to initiate concerted and lasting action to guarantee every people its right to pursue its development in dignity and stability.
Far from observing the world as a passive spectator, Madagascar positions itself as an actor fully aware of its strategic place and its responsibilities. Our country remains a committed and operational partner in the service of peace, development and security.
Maritime security in the Mozambique Channel and the Western Indian Ocean remains at the heart of the regional initiatives in which Madagascar diligently takes part.
We are resolved to intensify regional and multilateral cooperation founded on respect for national sovereignties, while welcoming partnerships that align with our priorities and that constitute genuine levers for development in order to produce tangible results for our populations.
Our commitment remains constant: to cooperate, to act, to produce convincing results, in respect for our sovereignty.
We thus wish to take part in strengthened multilateral and regional mobilization, in order to guarantee the security of our maritime spaces.
Such an approach will ensure the sustainability of our energy supply chains, an essential condition for the continuity of economic activity and the development of our nation.
What United Nations cooperation should we put in place to support the contemporary transformation of this world? How can confidence be restored?
We must look to the future with greater, more openly embraced ambition. To guarantee a lasting and measurable impact in the medium and long term, we must take a new step: that of greater, more integrated and better coordinated solidarity. Madagascar advocates for a multilateral system not only capable of acting but also capable of supporting Member States in their efforts to break the cycles of poverty and insecurity.
My country aspires to an international order founded on the primacy of international law, confident in the virtues of dialogue and diplomatic action. Our attachment to multilateral cooperation remains unwavering. Multilateralism constitutes a privileged forum where States unite in collective responsibility. It enables them to define common and appropriate solutions, both in the face of unpredictable hazards — such as epidemics and climate disasters — and in the face of armed conflicts arising from contemporary geopolitical rivalries or resulting from latent, multifaceted tensions.
History and posterity will judge our Organization by a single criterion: its capacity to accomplish its original mission, to serve all peoples, without exclusion or privilege, in respect for the sovereignty of nations.
It is imperative to restore to the United Nations their full centrality as guardians of peace — a strengthened institution, capable of restoring order and meeting the challenges of our time.
The challenge before us at present is therefore to rethink our cooperation mechanisms through greater synergy between the United Nations agencies and State structures in order to optimize the effectiveness of our actions in the field, but also to provide greater visibility to the concrete results achieved for the benefit of the population.
With this in mind, the success of our agenda depends in large part on the consolidation of governance and the strengthening of institutions — priorities fully integrated into the dynamics of Refoundation in Madagascar.
We acknowledge that it is absolutely necessary to carry out reform of the United Nations so that it may be at the service of all peoples. We would therefore like to propose the following:
- More inclusive global governance This must begin with the rebalancing of decision-making powers, first and foremost the General Assembly, to which it is necessary to restore its full political strength and its full place at the heart of global governance. It remains, indeed, the only body where every nation, whatever its power, has a sovereign and equal voice.
We must then correct the historical imbalance affecting Africa’s representation on the Security Council. Indeed, with its 1.4 billion inhabitants, it cannot remain on the margins of decisions concerning international peace and security. Africa must be granted permanent representation on the Security Council, in accordance with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Declaration of Sirte, which express a common position based on a demand for justice, equity and representativeness.
There is also a need to strengthen the coherence between the programmes implemented by the offices of the United Nations Resident Coordinators and national priorities: United Nations country teams must be attentive in order to respond precisely and effectively to the priorities defined by host Governments, while avoiding one-size-fits-all approaches.
- A more accessible international financial architecture for effective support for development We must not overlook the reform of the international financial architecture. This consists in rebalancing access to financing. The current criteria for the allocation of aid and loans are often based solely on GDP per capita, excluding many vulnerable countries.
The United Nations must therefore take into consideration the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) so that access to concessional financing takes account of climate shocks and external debt.
It would also be advisable to support sustainable debt relief. This consists in advocating for a sovereign debt restructuring mechanism that is faster, more predictable and inclusive, enabling vulnerable countries to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) rather than repaying unsustainable interest.
There is also a need to drastically simplify the procedures for access to United Nations funds in order to reduce disbursement delays. For a vulnerable State struck by a crisis, administrative slowness destroys confidence in the effectiveness of multilateralism.
- Effectiveness in the face of climate and humanitarian emergencies The multilateral system that we should put in place should guarantee the fulfilment of climate financing commitments. It should serve as a catalyst and a guarantor to ensure that developed countries honour their commitments on climate finance (particularly for adaptation and the Loss and Damage Fund) for the benefit of the nations most exposed. It is also important to link emergency aid to long-term structural investments.
By taking ownership of this theme, we are making a commitment: that of not postponing the essential reforms needed to enable our Organization to act with all the integrity required in the face of the challenges of our time, building on the achievements of the eighty-one years of the United Nations.
If our forefathers were able to build an Organization suited to their time, it is now incumbent upon us to refound it so as to meet the challenges of today and those of tomorrow. Let us pass on to future generations an Organization that brings together, that protects and that acts.
For its part, Madagascar is preparing, at the national level, a framework conducive to these commitments and to the effective implementation of this transformation.
Indeed, the process of refoundation undertaken following the mobilization of Malagasy youth exactly one year ago is the fertile ground for responsible governance, supported by strong institutions, devoted to the general interest and having restored citizens' trust in the State.
It is a genuine patriotic awakening, driven by a deep conviction that sustainable development requires that every citizen fully find his or her place within the Nation.
To give concrete form to this vision, we have initiated a historic process of inclusive national consultation bringing together all the driving forces of the Nation: young people, women, persons with disabilities, political parties, civil society, the armed forces and the private sector. We have established a clear timetable. Our objective is to succeed in holding free, transparent and universally accepted elections before the end of the year 2027.
I take this opportunity from this rostrum to express our gratitude to our partners for their confidence.
Indeed, we know that in this endeavour we can count, on the one hand, on the fraternal support of the countries of the southern African region with the unwavering support of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and, on the other hand, on the support of our bilateral and multilateral partners committed alongside us since the very first steps of this Refoundation.
Long live international cooperation and solidarity, Long live the United Nations.
I thank you for your kind attention.
Misaotra Tompoko.