Monaco takes part in the 78th session of the ONU General Assembly

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The General Debate of the 78^th session of the United Nations General Assembly was held from 19 to 26 September 2023 in New York. It was attended by 153 heads of state and government. Out of the five permanent members of the Security Council, only the United States President Joe Biden was present. Mr Volodymyr Zelensky, the President of Ukraine, addressed the Assembly in person for the first time since the Russian invasion.

In his speech, H.S.H. Prince Albert II stressed the importance of respecting the environment and specifically the world’s oceans. Also important were human rights and the potential offered by artificial intelligence, the development of which must be monitored. 

A number of subjects were discussed at the High-level Week, including:

The Sustainable Development Goals and financing for development

The Week kicked off with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Summit, at the half-way stage to the 2030 Agenda, and the adoption by acclamation of a political declaration. Aware that the 17 SDGs will not be achieved by 2030, in particular due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the effects of various conflicts around the world, the heads of state and government reaffirmed their willingness to redouble their efforts. H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince took part in the fifth high-level General Debate on the theme of solidarity.

The High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development brought together government representatives and stakeholders. Participants discussed the possibility of establishing a recovery plan to enable affordable long-term financing via a structural overhaul of international financial architecture.

Reform of multilateral institutions and prospects for the future

At the Preparatory Ministerial Meeting for the Summit of the Future, Ms Berro-Amadeï, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, highlighted the importance of reforming multilateral institutions to adapt them to today’s realities. She also recalled that achieving the SDGs was essential to building a peaceful, fair and prosperous world for all.

Global public health

Global public health issues took centre stage at this High-level Week. Three high-level meetings were held on: pandemic prevention, preparedness and response, universal health coverage, and the fight against tuberculosis.  As a result of these meetings, political declarations were issued which reaffirmed the importance of international cooperation and the mobilisation of resources. During her speech, Ms Berro-Amadeï recalled that international solidarity was a prerequisite for the effective implementation of a strategy to tackle urgent public health problems.

Oceans/Biodiversity/Climate

Protecting the oceans and marine biodiversity was also a primary focus. H.S.H. the Sovereign Prince signed an agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity outside national jurisdiction (BBNJ) on the first day of its opening for signature on 20 September. Together with the President of Seychelles, he also co-chaired the meeting to launch the cooperation agreement between the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Coalition for Nature and the Ocean Decade Alliance. This partnership aims to fill gaps in both ocean research and knowledge and finance, through investment in capacity building for SIDS, in order to meet recently adopted biodiversity conservation targets.

Ms Berro-Amadeï also represented Monaco at the meeting of the Coalition to End Plastic Pollution, at which speakers renewed their commitment to developing a binding treaty by the end of 2024.

As part of its work with The Ocean Race, the Permanent Mission hosted a workshop on ocean rights.

Likewise, at a meeting of the United Nations Early Warnings for All initiative, the Permanent Representative to the United Nations confirmed Monaco’s contribution to the Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems (CREWS) aimed at supporting the least developed countries and small island developing states in setting up climate risk warning services.

In support of the upcoming COP28 to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Ambition Summit brought together leaders from government, business and other stakeholders to accelerate decarbonisation and deliver climate justice and equality through credible and science-backed actions, policies and plans.

Nuclear

Lastly, as the world faces a new nuclear danger, the 13th Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) also took place this week. Despite progress made in signing (187 States) and ratifying (178 States) this international treaty, it has still not yet entered into force. Several key states have still ignored the call. The Principality ratified this treaty on 8 December 1998.

Bilateral talks

At the bilateral level, H.S.H. Prince Albert II met with the President of the Republic of Korea, the Executive Vice-President of the European Commission and the Minister of Tourism for Saudi Arabia.

Ms Berro-Amadeï met with her counterparts from the Maldives and Cyprus as well as with the Secretary-General of the Union for the Mediterranean and representatives of the Vaccine Alliance (GAVI).