00:00For centuries, maritime routes have been the arteries of global trade,
00:05carrying goods, energy and ideas across continents,
00:09connecting societies, economies and cultures.
00:14Today, those arteries are under strain.
00:17Piracy, armed robbery at sea,
00:19and acts of terror against shipping and critical marine infrastructure
00:23continue to threaten international peace and security.
00:28Geopolitical tensions are spilling into the waters.
00:32Merchant shipping is being used as a tool of pressure.
00:37And navigation rights and freedoms, bedrock principles of the Lord's Sea,
00:42are being undermined.
00:45Mr. President, no country can address these challenges alone.
00:50Maritime security threats touch every port, every coastline,
00:54every country, even landlocked ones.
00:57They demand collective responses.
01:01Yet war and deepening divisions are shaking the collective security system.
01:06Trust is eroding.
01:08International law is being violated in plain sight,
01:12and the institutions built to keep peace are being tested at their core.
01:19Mr. President,
01:21since early March,
01:22the disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz
01:25has struck at global energy security,
01:29food supplies and trade.
01:32The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most critical maritime choke points.
01:38It carries roughly one-fifths of global oil trade,
01:42one-fifths of global liquefied natural gas,
01:45and nearly one-third of internationally traded fertilizers.
01:52Safe unimpeded passage is an economic and humanitarian imperative.
01:58The economic shock has been immediate,
02:01and everyone is paying the price.
02:04Acute volatility in energy and commodity markets,
02:08surging transport and insurance costs,
02:12and the worst supply chain disruptions since COVID-19
02:17and the war in Ukraine.
02:20These pressures are cascading into empty fuel tanks,
02:24empty shelves,
02:25and empty plates.
02:27The humanitarian toll is mounting.
02:30Delays and rising costs are slowing life-saving deliveries
02:34to people who cannot wait.
02:36And this crisis coincides with critical planting seasons.
02:41Prolonged disruption risks triggering a global food emergency,
02:46pushing millions,
02:47especially in Africa and South Asia,
02:49into hunger and poverty.
02:52The burden falls heaviest on least developed countries
02:56and small island developing states.
02:59Nations most dependent on maritime imports
03:02and least able to absorb a shock they did nothing to cause.
03:07Mr. President,
03:08behind the cargo figures and the price surges are people.
03:13More than 20,000 seafarers remain stranded at sea.
03:17Over 2,000 commercial vessels are caught in a web of risk
03:21and restrictions to navigation.
03:24These men and women are not parties to any conflict.
03:28They are civilian workers keeping the world supplied.
03:32Their safety, their well-being, and their rights must be protected
03:36at all times and in all waters.
03:39I urge member states to support the emergency evacuation framework
03:44prepared by the International Maritime Organization.
03:48A coordinated plan to ensure the safe movement,
03:51assistance, and protection of effective crews
03:54in full accordance with international law.
03:58Mr. President,
04:00the Charter's prohibition of the threat or use of force
04:03applies fully at sea.
04:07Navigational rights and freedoms through the state of Hormuz
04:11must be respected
04:12as affirmed by this Council's Resolution 2817.
04:18These principles must be upheld in full and without delay.
04:22I appeal to the parties, open the strait,
04:28let ships pass, no tolls, no discrimination,
04:32let trade resume, let the global economy breathe.
04:37Mr. President,
04:39this moment calls for restraint, dialogue, and confidence building.
04:44The way forward is through peaceful settlement
04:46drawing on Articles 33 and 34 of Chapter 6 of the UN Charter.
04:52My good offices remain available
04:54to support member states in finding common ground.
04:59My special representatives and envoys
05:01are working closely with national and regional partners
05:04to help resolve disputes.
05:06The Black Sea Initiative showed that even amid conflict,
05:11practical cooperation can reopen a blocked corridor
05:14and keep ships and essential products moving.
05:17The United Nations can help develop a similar effort
05:22based on consent by convening, coordinating,
05:25and implementing arrangements between parties.
05:28It is possible where there is political will.
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