Canada’s national statement at the General Debate – Opening of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly

The Honourable Mélanie Joly
September 2022

Check against delivery

Mr. President, Distinguished Colleagues,

I am speaking to you for the first time as Canada’s Foreign Minister as we gather in this Assembly on the traditional territory of the Lenape people.

The Secretary General has said that we are in rough seas. That a winter of global discontent is on the horizon. That we have a duty to act. I agree with him.

From Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine and the impacts around the world, to the COVID pandemic, to climate change, to severe conflicts and hardships that now affect billions of people. The challenges we are facing are immense.

These crises, and the way we choose to respond to them, are testing our shared commitment to the United Nations.

That's why our decisions matter now more than ever. We have a choice: either we respect and defend the rules that we, collectively, have developed for generations and that have given us the longest period of peace in modern history

OR we accept that rules can be broken by the powerful, bringing us back to darker times of constant tensions and conflicts, with massive displacements, suffering and losses of human lives.

For Canada, the choice is clear. We are convinced that we need more multilateralism, not less. We need more of the UN, not less. And we need a UN that is effective, efficient, relevant and accountable.

Throughout its history, Canada has strived to act as an honest broker, ready to build bridges between nations and differing points of views.

We have worked tirelessly over the years to conceive, develop and strengthen the international system that we now know.

We will continue to do so, and we will continue to do so with all of you.

Last week, the Canadian delegation led by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with leaders and civil society members from around the world.

Canada has been listening. And we hear you.

Many described and condemned Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine as brutal, illegal and unjustified. As a violation of the UN Charter. We agree with you.

Many described the uneven recovery from the global COVID-19 pandemic as incompatible with simple fairness, but also as a danger to public health. Again, we agree with you.

You shared profound concern that achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals is at risk. And we agree we must address this head on.

People from all corners of the globe clearly said: climate change is no longer on the horizon. It is here. And it is hitting the most vulnerable the hardest. This is undeniable.

The hearts of all Canadians go out to those affected by the devastating floods in Pakistan, as well as to our fellow citizens who found themselves in the destructive path of Hurricane Fiona.

Many conversations this week have focused on the harsh fact that more people are displaced by conflict and violence today than at any point in human history. I heard unmistakable appeals for accountability – including for the victims of Flight PS752.

Women and girls described their needs to have control over their own futures, over their own body, which is their right.

Brave individuals shared deeply personal testimonies of their painful experiences of sexual violence in conflict. We believe them.

Such violence is unacceptable and it must change. We must empower survivors in leading the path to their recovery and support them in the pursuit of meaningful justice.

Freedom of speech. Disinformation and misinformation. The protection of minorities. The rule of law. Respect for science, facts, and evidence.

Powerful statements were made on these issues this week. They speak to an erosion of civic space and democratic dialogue.

Canada hears you.  We do not come to these discussions with easy fixes.

We have come to listen, to engage, and to share our commitments to respond to this moment in a positive way, with purpose and in a spirit of global solidarity.

Mr. President,

The world has heard terrible stories of Ukrainians losing loved ones to Russia’s senseless war.

This Assembly has spoken clearly and with conviction: Russia ’s aggressions against Ukraine violates the UN Charter.

It strikes at the heart of the commitment we all made in building this organization from the dark tragedy of the Second World War.

Rather than follow this Assembly’s decisions, and a legally-binding order from the International Court of Justice, Russia has doubled down.

Including with a desperate effort to justify the unjustifiable.

While the world gathered here in New York to pursue solutions for the greatest challenges of our time, President Putin informed that he will conscript more young people into his war of choice.

He threatened our collective security with reckless and dangerous nuclear rhetoric.

For Putin, this is a war to the death. For Ukraine, it is “a war for life.”

Russia ’s war machine has caused enormous civilian suffering and destruction in Ukraine. The mass graves discovered in Izyum are the latest demonstration of Putin’s disregard of human life.

The impacts of this illegal war are profoundly felt around the world.

We must address the global food security crisis, and other consequences of the illegal invasion, with imagination and determination.

And those who break the law must be met with the force of the law. A permanent seat on the Security Council is not a license to kill, nor to silence anyone, and it should never guarantee impunity.

Mr. President,

We are facing major crises. The COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, conflict. Crises that were once the exception are now the rule.

These crises are straining our ability to meet the targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We need a strong push to turn the tide. An urgent, global rescue effort is needed.

We must rally and work together for the common good. The only way forward for Canada and the world is through the implementation of our sustainable development goals.

From an economic point of view, we still have a lot of work to do to achieve true equality between Member States.

We have listened carefully to what our partners, our friends, from the South have told us.

We hear their message very clearly: the international financial institutions must be reformed. They must be able to adapt to today's crises.

And Canada is responding. No country should be left behind. We will work hard with our partners for a fair and equitable reform of the global financial system.

It is about fairness, but it is also about global peace and stability.

Mr. President,

The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed the lives of nearly 6.5 million people around the world.

Canada is committed to ending this pandemic and preventing future ones.

Together, we will continue the fight against HIV, TB and malaria. Last week, Prime Minister Trudeau committed $1.2 billion to support these efforts.

Now let's talk about climate change. We need to act with the same sense of urgency that we demonstrated during the COVID pandemic. The science tells us: we need to do more and faster.

Hurricane FIONA, which hit several Caribbean islands and eastern Canada, is just the latest example. From the Arctic to small island states, climate change is an existential threat and we are feeling its effects every day.

Canada has committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 40-45% by 2030, and to becoming carbon neutral by 2050. And we have a credible plan to get there.

Canada will be participating in COP27 in Egypt, and we look forward to welcoming the world to my home in Montreal for COP15 on biodiversity, under China's presidency.

Our priority is to ensure the success of this conference, where we will work together to reverse the alarming loss of plant and animal species. Our own survival depends on it.

Mr. President,

There are no simple solutions to the challenges we face. But it is clear that isolating ourselves, disregarding the rule of law, and silencing people is antithetical to progress.

And yet, some countries restrict civil liberties, violate human rights and massively monitor their populations. This trend toward authoritarianism is most disturbing.

This phenomenon is particularly visible in the Xinjiang region of China. The publication of the United Nations human rights report is an essential step in this direction. Its findings reflect credible accounts of abuses that constitute crimes against humanity.

Canada is concerned about the repression of human rights that we see in many countries. The universality of human rights is well known. We know that human rights are universal in nature. We cannot hide behind the pretext of national sovereignty to violate them. There are limits to defending the indefensible.

We believe that democracy, while imperfect, remains the best system for protecting human rights and advancing sustainable development.

All our democracies face challenges. In our country, as elsewhere, we must deal with apathy, anxiety and distrust of our institutions.

Mr. President,

Canada is also committed to combating systemic racism and we continue to take concrete steps to pursue reconciliation with Indigenous peoples.

In 2017, Prime Minister Trudeau spoke here in, this chamber, and spoke about our own legacy of colonialism in Canada.

We are working tirelessly to address this dark chapter in our history. And we know that the full participation of Indigenous peoples is fundamental to the development of a more just world.

Mr. President,

Equality for women and girls, in all their diversity, is fundamental to peace, justice, and prosperity.

Like many countries, Canada is proud to have a feminist foreign policy.

Together, we are building a global coalition in support of equality. That's how we'll push back against the growing attacks on women's rights and freedoms.

In Afghanistan, the Taliban is keeping women and girls out of school.

In Myanmar, courageous women who call for a return to democracy are imprisoned by the military junta, tortured and subjected to horrific acts of sexual violence.

Mr president,

In Iran, women protesting the death of Mahsa Amini are met with arrests and bullets.

We salute their courage and join them in sending a strong message that women’s rights are human rights.

Today, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that Canada will sanction those responsible, including Iran’s so-called “morality police” and its leadership.

From Sudan to Haiti to Canada, women peacebuilders, human rights defenders and activists are being targeted.

We must continue to speak up for the rights of women and girls, and to support, protect, recognize and include women peacebuilders.

We must also relentlessly pursue accountability for sexual violence. We will continue to push for justice for Rohingya women. And we will not rest until those responsible for sexual violence committed in Ukraine are held to account.

The UN charter enshrines  “Faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women”.

And yet, we are seeing rising violence, the widening crackdown on rights and freedoms, the exclusion of women and girls from the negotiating table, the boardroom, the classroom.

Sexual and reproductive health rights for women and girls are being rolled back or denied in too many countries.

None of this by accident. These are all deliberate choices.

To all the women in this room and around the world: We hear you and Canada will always stand up for your right to choose.

We will fight for your full, equal, and meaningful participation in all walks of life.

We will speak up for your rights and dignity.

No government, no politician, no judge, no one can take that away from you.

Mr. President,

As I have said, the world needs more multilateralism. More of the UN, not less. To do so, we must restore trust among us.

The crises we are facing have shown both the strengths and weaknesses of the structures we built nearly 80 years ago.

We have been able to respond to the most serious hardships with compassion and effectiveness. But, we can do better.

Political paralysis and the abuse of the veto are undermining the Security Council.

We encourage efforts to reduce the power of the veto, to expand membership and to ensure the voices of all are heard, and responded to, across the whole UN system.

UN peace operations also demand our efforts. Today, peacekeeping faces immense challenges. Canada has long contributed to UN efforts to reduce conflict. And we will continue to do so.

Engagement with the United Nations is a core commitment of Canadians.  We were there at the UN’s creation, and today we are more engaged than ever.

We will always engage with candor and directness. Because we do not equate diplomacy with deception, or global politics with global platitudes.

The UN Charter begins with the words “we the peoples of the world…”

We must remember that the fate of billions of people alive today, and those yet to be born, is at stake in all the work we do.

We owe them our best efforts, of heart, mind, and soul.

We can meet the test….  that time and circumstance…  have placed before us. With hope. With courage. And with a commitment to act for our citizens today and for future generations to follow.

Thank you, Mr. President.

Contacts

Adrien Blanchard
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
Adrien.Blanchard@international.gc.ca

Media Relations Office
Global Affairs Canada
media@international.gc.ca
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