Allow me, first of all, to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Khalilur Rahman on his election to the Presidency of the eighty-first session of the General Assembly and to wish him every success in the discharge of his functions.
I should also like to express our appreciation to Her Excellency Ms. Annalena Baerbock for the work carried out during the previous session of the General Assembly.
Allow me to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, His Excellency António Guterres, for his commitment to peace, sustainable development, human rights and the strengthening of multilateralism, at a time of great challenges.
We are living in a context marked by conflicts, geopolitical rivalries, economic uncertainties, climate change, inequalities, forced displacement, transnational crime and rapid technological transformations....
No State can face challenges of this magnitude alone.
For Sao Tome and Principe, this reality reinforces the importance of an international order founded on the Charter of the United Nations, on international law and on the sovereign equality of States, with principles applied in a universal and consistent manner.
As a small island nation, we assert ourselves as a consolidated democracy and a State based on the rule of law, grounded in peace, stability and coexistence among citizens. It is on the basis of this experience that we reaffirm our confidence in dialogue, diplomacy, cooperation and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
For small island developing States, geographical, economic, financial and social vulnerabilities are aggravated by the effects of climate change... In Sao Tome and Principe, these impacts are already affecting coastal areas, infrastructure, marine resources and livelihoods, despite our negligible contribution to global emissions.
This reality reflects a profound climate injustice.
Sao Tome and Principe therefore reaffirms its commitments under the Paris Agreement, its Nationally Determined Contribution and the National Adaptation Plan, underscoring that their implementation requires adequate, predictable and accessible resources.
We also maintain that the vulnerability of small island States should be assessed beyond per capita income, taking into account their specific characteristics and structural constraints.
In this context, we call for the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index to be translated into concrete criteria for access to concessional financing. We also advocate the full operationalization of the Loss and Damage Fund and simpler and more effective access to the Green Climate Fund...... The limited institutional capacity of vulnerable countries cannot become an obstacle to access to the instruments created to support them.
In the case of Sao Tome and Principe, this issue is of particular relevance following graduation to the category of middle-income countries, which constituted an important milestone and recognition of the progress achieved in the human development index.... However, it requires appropriate transition measures capable of consolidating these gains and protecting the country from external shocks.
Consequently, it is within this effort at consolidation that the energy transition is situated, which is, for us, an economic, financial, social and environmental necessity. In an island economy dependent on fuel imports, the cost and reliability of electricity have an impact on all sectors. The implementation of our energy transition programme and the National Energy Compact should contribute to a cleaner, more accessible, secure and stable system,.... but will require investment and international partnerships.
Excellencies; Food security and strengthening productive capacity are urgent priorities. We want to reduce dependence on imports, increase domestic production and ensure better access to markets for farmers, so that a greater share of the value generated by quality products such as cocoa and coffee remains in the country.
If the land is essential to our food security, the sea and our biodiversity constitute one of the greatest horizons of our development. UNESCO's recognition of our territory as a World Biosphere Reserve confirms the exceptional value of our natural heritage and reinforces the responsibility to protect and enhance it.
We want to transform this wealth into opportunities for sustainable development, through fisheries, the blue economy, research and nature tourism that generates employment and income for communities.
At the same time, in the face of the threats of illegal fishing and transnational crime, Sao Tome and Principe will continue to work with States of the region and international partners to strengthen maritime security and promote a sustainable blue economy, preserving our resources for future generations.
The preservation of these resources and the construction of sustainable development ultimately depend on people and on the opportunities afforded to them. The future of Sao Tome and Principe lies in the ability to generate opportunities for the next generation. Our priority is to ensure that young people have conditions to study, work, undertake, innovate and carry out their life plans in the country. In a nation of our size, every talent counts and every young person is an indispensable force for national progress.
Likewise, the Sao Tomean diaspora is also an essential part of our human wealth and a strategic partner of the country. We will continue to strengthen its ties with Sao Tome and Principe and to create conditions so that its contribution to investment, entrepreneurship, the transfer of knowledge and national life may become ever greater.
Creating opportunities and ensuring truly inclusive development requires strong institutions, capable of ensuring peace, justice, respect for human rights and the participation of all in the life of the country. There is no sustainable development without these conditions, nor without the full participation of women and men in political, economic and social life.
It is in this context that the year 2026 is of particular importance for São Toméan democracy. On 19 July, our citizens took part in the presidential elections, which were conducted in a peaceful and transparent manner and led to the re-election of His Excellency Carlos Vila Nova as President of the Republic. …. On 27 September, the São Toméan people will once again go to the polls for the legislative, municipal and regional elections and massively exercise their right to vote.
These elections are marked by important innovations, notably automatic voter registration and the first application of the Parity Law, representing a significant step in strengthening inclusion and the participation of women. With 41.4 per cent of actual candidacies, above the legal threshold of 40 per cent, women will be able to assert a growing presence in decision-making spaces.
Sao Tome and Principe reaffirms its commitment to the constitutional order, political pluralism, fundamental freedoms and respect for the sovereign will of citizens, while pursuing reforms aimed at strengthening justice, security, gender equality, human rights and confidence in institutions.
Inclusion and equality must also guide the response to the great transformations of our time. Faced with the rapid advance of artificial intelligence and the digital transition, Sao Tome and Principe advocates international cooperation that enables developing countries to gain access to the technology, knowledge, infrastructure and financing required.
We advocate responsible technological governance, centred on human dignity, transparency and fundamental rights, so that innovation translates into better opportunities and services for all.
Excellencies, The experience of Sao Tome and Principe as a small democracy also influences the way in which we view representation at the international level. Africa today occupies a demographic, economic and political place that still does not find adequate correspondence in the institutions where the most far-reaching decisions are taken.
It is in this area that the reform of the Security Council is imperative. This is not a concession to Africa. It is a matter of legitimacy, justice and effectiveness. An institution responsible for international peace and security cannot remain indefinitely based on a distribution of power inherited from another era.
In this effort towards greater historical justice and representation, Sao Tome and Principe therefore welcomes the recent decisions that recognized the historical gravity of the transatlantic trafficking of enslaved Africans and promoted a cartographic representation that is more faithful to the dimensions of the continents, correcting distortions that visually reduced Africa.
It is necessary for these recognitions to be translated into an international order in which Africa participates fully in defining the future and does not remain merely in the position of responding to decisions taken elsewhere.
Peace remains the raison d'être of the multilateral system. Sao Tome and Principe is following with concern the conflicts in Ukraine, the Sudan, the Sahel, the Great Lakes, the Horn of Africa and the Middle East, calling for strengthened diplomacy and the protection of civilians, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and international law.
We also advocate respect for international humanitarian law, full access to humanitarian assistance and the release of hostages.
We reaffirm our support for a two-State solution, enabling Israel and Palestine to coexist in peace and security, on the basis of international law and the relevant United Nations resolutions.
We are also following with concern the persistence of the economic, commercial and financial restrictions affecting Cuba, and we call for their lifting, for the benefit of the development and well-being of the Cuban people, and we express our solidarity.
Excellencies, Sao Tome and Principe will remain faithful to the Charter of the United Nations, international law, peace, human rights and multilateralism, asserting itself as a voice of dialogue and moderation and a partner committed to stability in the Gulf of Guinea.
On the eve of the elections in STP, it is important to recognize the path travelled. In a challenging context, the Government has initiated reforms and made progress in infrastructure, the energy transition, digitalization and the attraction of investment, creating conditions to mobilize the resources indispensable to the most pressing needs of our population, notably in access to health, water, sanitation, justice and security, in protecting the environment as well as in the development of indispensable infrastructure.
We thank all the bilateral and multilateral partners who are accompanying STP in this process.
The challenge before us is to transform these advances into concrete and lasting results, consolidating the foundations of more inclusive, sustainable and resilient development, it being essential to guarantee continuity and governmental stability.
Our vulnerabilities, as a Small Island Developing State, do not define our horizon. We therefore reaffirm our determination to transform challenges into opportunities, through strategic partnerships based on shared responsibility and mutual benefit, also reaffirming our capacity to contribute to peace, defend the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and participate, responsibly, in the construction of solutions to the challenges we face collectively.
We call on all Member States so that, together, we may continue to build a more representative, more supportive and more just international order, founded on respect for the sovereignty of States, on international law and on equality of opportunity.
It is in this spirit of peace, dialogue and hope that Sao Tome and Principe will continue to assume its responsibility in the international community.
Thank you very much, Mr. President.