INTERVENTION BY AMBASSADOR BURHAN GAFOOR, PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF SINGAPORE TO THE UN, AT THE INFORMAL INTERACTIVE SEGMENT WITH THE SECRETARY-GENERAL ON HIS PRIORITIES FOR 2024, 7 FEBRUARY 2024, NEW YORK

Mr President,

Thank you for convening this meeting. I wish to make four points.

2 First, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for his very strong and dynamic leadership over the past year. I commend him and thank him for his clarity of vision and very principled position as an advocate for the interests of developing countries, in particular, of the small states. I also want to acknowledge the contributions made by the senior leadership team, particularly the Deputy Secretary-General, as well as others who work hard to make a contribution both here and in the field.

3 Second, the strength of the multilateral system lies in its ability to create peace, and the key to building peace is respect for international law and the principles of the UN Charter. At a moment when multilateralism is being challenged, it is important that we reinforce respect for international law and the UN Charter. We cannot allow violations of international law to become normal or normalized, and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity must be the foundation of the multilateral system that we all must collectively protect and defend. I want to thank the Secretary-General for also being a strong advocate for the respect of international law.

4 Third, we welcome the report the Secretary-General presented earlier this morning on his focus on the need for reform and transformation of the multilateral architecture. Even as we deal with the challenges of peace and security, as well as the implementation of the SDG goals, we have to deal with the emerging issues of the future, such as digital technologies, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and a range of other issues. In this context, the Summit of the Future will be a crucial multilateral milestone that will determine the relevance, resilience and the strength of the United Nations. It is an opportunity that we must seize to make the UN relevant to the lives of our people.

5 I want to conclude with some comments on the liquidity crisis. It seems that the UN and the multilateral system has been lurching from one liquidity crisis to another. Each one of us here, as members of the United Nations, have to live up to our charter obligation to pay our assessed contributions in full and on time. The irony is that some of the biggest contributors are also the biggest champions of the multilateral rules-based system but yet they do not make their contributions in full and on time. It is time to stop. It is time to put an end to the liquidity crisis because this is happening far too frequently. This affects the implementation of mandates. This weakens the United Nations, and this is going to have an impact on the lives of our people. I therefore support the call made by the Ambassador of Egypt, to see how we can confront this issue, with transparency and accountability, because we all have to live up to our charter obligations.

6 Thank you, Mr President.

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