XAVIER BETTEL, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Luxembourg, highlighted the challenge of upholding the principle of “leaving no one behind” in a world torn apart by multiple conflicts.  “How should you explain to someone in Palestine and Lebanon, in Kyiv, in so many different places around the world, that we want to leave no one behind?”m he asked.  He went on to say that, for the people demonstrating outside, international institutions have become a “barking dog without teeth”.  Stressing that currently there are 60 ongoing conflicts and “about 50 conflicts could start tomorrow”, he asserted:  “The whole world is, in fact, if you look geographically, in conflict.”

Turning to the war in Ukraine, he emphasized that organizing peace conferences without the presence of the Russian Federation or China would only mean “moral support” for Ukraine, adding:  “If we want to find a solution, then you have to get everybody around the table.”  On the situation in the Middle East, he stressed that “there will not be a winner in this war”.  Warning that the cycle of hatred between the young people in Israel and Palestine can continue for generations, he urged to restore hope between the young people and find the solution to the conflict quickly, otherwise:  “We are training future generations for Hamas and Hizbullah in that region.”  More so, he called on Israel to stop placing United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) on a terrorist list, adding that “if we are not reacting to this, it means we are accomplices”.  “We need a two-State solution and we need to realize that […] without peace in Palestine there will never be any guaranteed peace for Israel,” he underscored.

Emphasizing the need to respect the rights of women and minorities, particularly in countries where those rights are being rolled back, he urged:  “Do not backtrack.  The rights that exist for everybody already must be respected.”  Voicing concern about how economy seemed “to take the upper hand on the environment”, he stressed the urgent need to act before it is too late, noting that some island nations may disappear due to rising sea levels.  Turning to the Security Council reform, he proposed an alternative where a two-thirds majority could overturn a veto, arguing that “having more members in the Security Council would just be expanding the problem”.  In closing, he voiced hope for a world where everyone would have the same chances, rights and obligations, irrespective of their colour, religion, gender, sexual orientation or “how much money my parents had”.