ALLAH MAYE HALINA, Prime Minister of Chad, said that “peace remains a major challenge” for his country, as is the case for many in the Sahel.  While it is important to recognize the efforts made by regional States to combat terrorist groups — “whose origins and resources often remain unclear” — the international community’s lack of genuine, collective will to eradicate this scourge “risks bringing Africa as a whole into the grip of terrorist groups”, he stressed.  Urging strengthened cooperation to promote stability in Africa, he also pointed out that the world will, together, assess the results of the 2030 Agenda when that year arrives.  Like many African countries, Chad stands at a crossroads of multiple challenges — including climate change — which threaten food security.  Protracted drought, desertification and unprecedented flooding are “undermining our economies and hurting vulnerable populations”, he said, calling on the international community to honour its commitments on climate finance, climate justice and green technology transfer.

He reported that, for its part, Chad is working to improve access to education, safe drinking water, energy, healthcare and economic opportunities.  Meanwhile, the international community must fight poverty and inequality — particularly gender-based inequality — through renewed partnerships that recognize the specific needs of least developed countries.  “We ask for equitable access to vaccines, as well as to cutting-edge medical technology, because healthcare and education are the foundations of human dignity,” he stressed.  Young people in Chad — more than 65 per cent of the population — “are our greatest wealth”, he added, detailing efforts to invest in their education and political participation to “prevent them from becoming instrumentalized by radicalism and violent extremism”.  He also called on the UN to support an open labour market and an environment that allows youth to flourish, pointing out that the reason why African youth migrate “is the great divide that separates our States — even though we share a common destiny”.

He went on to point out that Chad currently hosts more than 2 million refugees, “which represent nearly 15 per cent of our population”.  This places a heavy burden on national resources and exacerbates the humanitarian emergency resulting from the massive influx of Sudanese refugees fleeing the crisis in that country.  Calling on the international community to support both refugees and host populations, he expressed regret that the warring parties in Sudan have rejected numerous appeals for a ceasefire.  Such parties must immediately stop fighting and facilitate unhindered humanitarian access to “the millions of victims of this fratricidal war”, he underscored. Sudan’s current crisis cannot be solved by force, only through dialogue aimed at achieving lasting peace. Turning to Libya, he called on all parties to do their utmost to “overcome the political impasse in which the country finds itself”.

However, conflicts are not limited to Africa alone, he pointed out, stating that the situation in Ukraine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict “underscore the dangers of this inexcusable violence claiming untold innocent lives against the backdrop of increasing geopolitical tensions”.  Reaffirming his country’s commitment to a two-State solution, Palestinians’ inalienable right to self-determination and a peaceful, negotiated solution to the latter conflict, he said:  “The world cannot remain indifferent, with a clear conscience, given the horrifying images that we see coming from Gaza.”  He also called for lifting the embargo on Cuba and underlined Chad’s commitment to the Common African Position on Security Council reform. “Africa is asking for nothing more than the redress of a flagrant injustice dealt to an entire continent,” he stressed.