Taye Atskeselassie Amde, President of Ethiopia, said the UN’s achievements over the years cannot conceal the need for reform and revitalization, particularly  “the inequitable representation of States in the global security, political and financial architecture”.  The Organization must overcome its institutional setbacks due to a deficit of impartiality, and to selectivity and double standards.  He expressed concern about the risks to the foundation of multilateralism posed by the “emerging controversy” over fundamentals and principles of the international system.  “These trends should not be normalized or serve as a baseline in the determination of our standards and targets,” he said.

Highlighting isolationist policies, the arms race, unprecedented military buildup, and a retraction from development and climate commitments, which he described as not only worrying trajectories but also counterproductive to humanity’s collective progress, he urged Member States to reverse recent downward trends and heighten development and peace efforts.  Accordingly, he affirmed Addis Ababa’s support for the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, calling for immediate direct negotiation between the warring parties, wide humanitarian assistance to all in need, and the international community’s intervention to end the violence.  “This is not a political preference but a moral imperative,” he said.

Because the UN80 initiative provides a window to preserve the General Assembly’s mandates, he called for “more decentralization and deployment of institutional and financial capacity to the Global South, especially to the African continent where the United Nations has most of its programmes”.  On Security Council reforms, priority must also be accorded the continent’s representation in both membership categories.  He spotlighted the need to immediately lift coercive economic measures and trade restrictions targeting Africa. “More importantly, Ethiopia calls for a new global action for debt cancellation, restructuring and suspension,” he emphasized.

Noting the indivisibility and interdependence of States’ national security, particularly intra-regional, he committed to intensify efforts to combat the actions of global terrorists in the region and invited the international community to assist the African Union peace missions in this regard.  He announced the commissioning of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, a project which transforms his country’s renewable energy generation capacity and grants clean energy access to 60 million countrymen, adding: “It is a symbol of liberation for millions of Ethiopian women and girls, freeing them from the back-breaking search for firewood”.  Further, he committed to a comprehensive approach towards equal development and security for all States along the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.