“Eighty years following the creation of the United Nations, the world is teetering again, as if we are caught in the same currents that dragged humanity into two major disasters in the space of one generation,” declared Bassírou Diomaye Diakhar Faye, President of Senegal. The world is full of challenges, including terrorism, climate change and conflicts, against the backdrop of falling international solidarity and a high risk of the collapse of multilateralism. Most concerning is the “appalling dehumanization” of a world that “feels selectively”, according to geopolitical interests and stakes, he said.  “There can be no justice based on law when the international order is governed by double standards, the right of the mighty and a spirit of ‘us versus them.’”

In this worrying context, the African continent is confronted with armed conflict, terrorism in the Sahel and cross-border crime, as well as political stability.  He emphasized the need for an integrated approach to such challenges, combining prevention, resilience and a targeted response.  “Peace and security have a price,” he stressed.  “Let’s give us the resources to afford them, with predictable and sustainable funding of African peace support operations with suitable equipment and robust mandates.”  Such an approach would help tackle terrorism and build stability, he said.

He went on to address the “now indescribable” tragedy that the Palestinian people are living through under a “daily shower of bombs, with all lines crossed”, adding:  “We cannot remain silent nor look away because Gaza is no longer alive.”  Nothing can justify the agony faced by Palestinian men, women and children deprived of food, water and healthcare, he said, underscoring the need for the creation of an independent, viable Palestinian State, as the Chair of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People stated.

Turning to climate change, “an existential question”, he said Africa contributes only 4 per cent of global emissions, but droughts, flooding, coastal erosion and food insecurity are “part and parcel of the lives of our people”.  This “double burden” is untenable.  He called for the implementation of the Paris Agreement, a just and fair climate transition, adequate funding for adaptation, guarantees for technology transfer and replenishment of the Loss and Damage Fund.  The real obstacle to addressing challenges in the world is not financial, technical or material, but political will, to make multilateralism a tool for solidarity.”