81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly – General Debate Statement by the Prime Minister 24 September 2026 Mr. President Rahman, Whom I congratulate on your election; Mr. Secretary-General António Guterres, To whom I pay tribute for ten years of tireless work in defence of the Charter of the United Nations, international law and multilateralism; Heads of State and Government, Over the last decades, the international order, focused on promoting stability, has been essential for prosperity and for socioeconomic progress in our societies.
The wars and geopolitical tensions that mark this time have had a terrible human impact, call that international order into question and, consequently, the prospect of prosperity.
Therefore, we must explore every opportunity for dialogue, for diplomacy and for peace.
In the Middle East, the humanitarian tragedy must cease and we must move towards the two-State solution – with Israel and Palestine coexisting as two sovereign States in peace and security.
The aggressive conduct of Iran and its associated armed groups must come to an end, including attacks on neighbouring countries, on merchant ships and on civilian infrastructure.
Just as the blockage of the Strait of Hormuz must end and freedom of navigation must be guaranteed, including safe and toll-free passage, also in the Red Sea.
In Europe, we must achieve a just and lasting peace, that puts an end to Russia’s brutal and illegal aggression against Ukraine.
Ukraine is a partner that has had the full support of Portugal and the European Union.
In the Sudan, we must put an end to the most dramatic humanitarian crisis we face.
We must also be firm in combating the global threats of terrorism and nuclear weapons.
And in the face of the new challenge of artificial intelligence, we must find together the virtuous balance between innovation and regulation – one that allows its potential to be harnessed in favour of humanity, but that avoids the distortion of our essence.
The energy crisis and the escalation in fuel prices that we face, as a result of international conflicts, affect all our peoples. Everyone is harmed. From Asia to Europe, from Africa to the Americas, there is no country that is immune to it.
They have a serious economic and social impact and are already having undesirable consequences.
For all of us and also for the parties directly involved.
This is a senseless crisis because it is bad for everyone.
We must put an end to this kind of collective masochism.
And we must do so quickly in order to close this chapter, which is a chapter that generates losses for all.
We all have a duty to learn from the lessons of the crisis of the 1970s and to avoid what happened then.
We will all also be judged by the way in which we were able to deal with this challenge.
On the one hand, it is urgent to put an end to the conflicts that drag on.
And on the other, from now on, we must debate and decide on complementary ways to mitigate the impact of this energy crisis and avoid its prolongation.
It is my conviction that it would also be beneficial to discuss the mechanism for setting the international price of oil.
Not that I have a concrete solution, which is very complex and difficult, but we should ask whether it makes sense for us all to be so dependent on the speculative factor and the volatility of financial and futures markets, which make their effect felt across all production, even when the instability originates only in one part or in a limited period of that production.
We also bear the intergenerational responsibility to accelerate the energy transition in order to reduce dependencies and mitigate the effect of climate change.
I share with you that Portugal feels at first hand the devastating impacts of climate change. This is happening in the multiplication of forest fires, in the phenomenon of coastal erosion, in the degradation of marine ecosystems. And also, now and often, with new, unpredictable extreme phenomena, storms, winds and sudden flooding.
That is why we have a strategic perspective on the energy transition.
More than 70% of our energy production comes from renewable sources.
We have brought forward to 2045 the target of carbon neutrality.
We maintain close collaboration and continued support for countries especially vulnerable to climate change.
And we are investing in innovative solutions, such as debt-for-green-investment conversion agreements.
Climate change and freedom of navigation also have in common a priority of our policy: the sea and the oceans.
The protection of the marine domain, of its diversity, combating the warming of the waters, the threat of sea-level rise and guaranteeing universal freedom of navigation are essential priorities of the ocean agenda, an agenda that concerns us all.
These are shared responsibilities and opportunities that require a collective effort that must also unite us all.
Mr. President, Despite everything, the United Nations are a political masterpiece of humanity, they will always be under construction and will always reflect what their Members are able to decide at each moment.
The results in the maintenance of peace and security will, to a large extent, be whatever the members of the Security Council – in particular the permanent members – are able to decide.
For the United Nations to fulfil the objectives we have defined, we must also converge in making it more agile and more effective.
Therefore, first and foremost, we must honour our commitments financial resources.
And we must equip the United Nations with the appropriate means so that peacekeeping missions — which Portugal is very proud to be part of — can make a difference in the places to which they are deployed.
We must strive to make the Security Council more representative, which entails permanent seats for Africa, for Brazil and for India. Thus, everyone, assuming and reflecting the evolution of the world.
This representativeness of the United Nations and its organs must also be linguistic.
The Portuguese language is the most widely spoken language in the Southern Hemisphere, with almost 300 million speakers throughout the world. It therefore deserves a greater role also in the United Nations.
It is a language of culture and business, which, across four continents, unites the members of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), which this year celebrates 30 years, and is manifestly a space for dialogue and cooperation, founded on a common history and a shared language.
From January, Portugal will bring to the Security Council, as a non-permanent member, a global vocation and a culture of dialogue and bridge-building.
We are deeply grateful for the trust placed in us by all and we are very conscious of the responsibility that follows from it.
We know well the challenges faced by the Least Developed Countries and the Small Island Developing States.
In the Security Council, Portugal will be committed to three major priorities: Prevent, Cooperate and Protect.
Prevent crises and conflicts with a serious human impact, which unfortunately are raging on several continents, and which are many, and not only those that are often in the news. For us there are no first- or second-class conflicts. All call upon us, all concern us, all mobilize us.
Cooperate and develop our Partnerships, in a Council that is more transparent, more representative and more democratic.
And Protect human dignity, by combating poverty and safeguarding fundamental rights, food security and the future of the new generations.
Mr. President, Friends, The magnitude of the challenges we face today requires collective responses.
The most collective response is the multilateral response.
And the United Nations is and must continue to be the centre of the multilateral system.
That is why Portugal faces the future with renewed commitment to the mission of the United Nations, with confidence in our collective capacity and in the hope that it is together that we can build and leave a better world.
And we will succeed in leaving to those who will be here after us a better world than the one we found.
Thank you very much.