00:00to end we want the ceasefire consolidated we want israel to withdraw from all lebanese territory up
00:06to our internationally recognized borders in accordance with the 1990 with the 1949 general
00:13armist mr president mr secretary general the more i reflect on the theme of this session of the
00:20general assembly restoring trust and managing transformation a united nations that delivers for
00:26all the more convinced i become of the wisdom of that choice without mutual trust peace and security
00:35cannot take root among states nor can cooperation among them flourish more than 80 years ago the
00:46united nations was founded on the promise that the force of law would replace the law of force yet
00:53we still live in a world of multiplying wars and conflicts a world that spends more on armaments
01:02than on development civilians remain the primary victims while millions face displacement hunger and
01:12deprivation the problem is not the absence of rules it is their selective application if not their
01:22outright non-application the sovereignty of states cannot be untouchable in one place and negotiable
01:30in another nor can the rules of international law apply to some but not to others
01:38restoring trust requires respect for international law it requires investment in preventing conflicts
01:45before they erupt and in development before poverty and deprivation become a source of violence extremism and terrorism
01:56development too is a matter of peace there can be no sustainable peace in a world of widening economic
02:03disparities where some states spend more on servicing their debt than on the health of their citizens and
02:12education of their children this does not absolve developing countries of the responsibility to undertake
02:21reform combat corruption and build institutions but those efforts require a fairer and more equitable
02:29international economic order one that offers them genuine opportunities to advance mr president our shared
02:38responsibility is equally evident in the face of the profound transformations our world is undergoing
02:45climate change threatens the lives and livelihoods of millions
02:53those countries that have contributed least to it bear its gravest consequences this calls for equitable
03:01adaptation finance and technology transfer at the same time
03:07the artificial intelligence revolution is opening unprecedented horizons for progress across every sphere of life
03:15yet it also raises challenges for the future of work and for human rights and fundamental freedoms
03:23this calls for international governance that places the human being with his or her freedom and privacy
03:29and the heart of this transformation above all we must not allow an artificial intelligence divide
03:36to emerge on top of the existing gaps in wealth and development
03:42restoring trust requires that every individual feel that the law protects them
03:49that development do not exclude them and that progress leaves no one behind
03:57mr president if restoring trust is a challenge facing our world today for lebanon it is not a mere slogan
04:06just as managing transformation is not an option up for a debate
04:10together they constitute the very essence of the mission we pledged before our people
04:15before our arab brothers and before the entire world on the day i was entrusted with leading the
04:22government of lebanon we assumed this responsibility at a time when our country faced three existential challenges
04:32the first was to regain the trust of its people after the financial collapse and the beirut port explosion
04:38and the tragedies and wounds they left behind the second was to reclaim its national decision making
04:45so that no authority stands above that of the state no weapons exist outside its armed forces
04:52and no decision on war and peace is taken outside its constitutional institutions
04:58the third was to recover all of its territory from israeli occupation and to extend its sovereignty
05:05over the entirety of its national soil through its own forces in implementation of the taif agreement
05:11and in sincere respect for the relevant international resolutions on lebanon foremost among these is resolution
05:181701 which remains to this day a fundamental point of reference governing relations between lebanon and israel
05:27trust rebuilt decision making reclaimed land liberated that is the equation for lebanon's recovery
05:36these are not three separate challenges they are three facets of a single cause
05:46restoring a state that its citizens trust that is master of its own decisions and that exercises
05:53sovereignty over the whole of its territory mr president first the trust we seek to restore
06:01is not trust in words it is trust in institutions that protect rights in a judiciary that guarantees
06:09justice in an economy that restores prosperity to the people and gives young people the opportunity
06:14of a bitter future we cannot speak of restoring trust without recalling the beirut port explosion
06:23the wound of the fourth of august remains open it cannot heal without truth justice and accountability and
06:35these will inevitably come
06:39some may feel may feel that our government has not yet fulfilled all of its commitments
06:45we do not claim that the task is complete
06:48but fairness demands that we not overlook the scale of legacy we inherited paralyzed institutions
06:56a public administration of diminished effectiveness an economy stripped of the foundations of growth
07:03and a state weakened by compounding crises and by decades of external interference
07:11even though we have not used the difficulty of our circumstances as a pretext to retreat from our
07:18commitments and we will not retreat lebanon has launched reforms on several fronts
07:27namely revitalizing the public administration strengthening the independence of the judiciary modernizing
07:33the media law and abolishing the death penalty
07:37it is also advancing towards the completion of financial reforms aimed at restoring order to the financial
07:45system and recovering depositors funds these reforms should pave the way for an agreement with the imf
07:53such an agreement is an indispensable tool for restoring international confidence in lebanon
07:59and a gateway to securing the financing needed from all our regional
08:03national and international partners for economic recovery and reconstruction
08:11our aim in pursuing reform is not to ask our people to renew their trust in the state
08:17rather through reform we seek to rebuild a state worthy of its people's trust
08:27second a state does not regain the trust of its citizens through reform alone but also by reclaiming
08:36its national decision making
08:40in that spirit we did not merely affirm the principle that weapons must be exclusively in the hands of the
08:47state and that decisions on war and peace rest solely with its constitutional institutions
08:53we translated that commitment into decisions taken by the council of ministers notably in august and
09:00september of last year and again in march of this year that was after lebanon found itself in a war
09:06that
09:06it did not choose it was imposed upon us despite our repeated warnings
09:13again repeated warnings of the dangers of being drawn into it as the war in the region widened
09:22and initiatives to end it multiplied we held fast to a non-negotiable principle no one speaks for lebanon
09:32and no one negotiates on its behalf except the lebanese state through its constitutional institutions
09:40it is true that lebanon is affected by developments in its surroundings
09:51it is true that lebanon is affected by developments in its surroundings
09:56that does not mean however that we accept its becoming once again an arena for the conflicts of others
10:03or a bargaining chip bargaining chip in their hands lebanon's future
10:10will not be decided on its behalf nor may its security and stability become the price
10:15of settlements concluded in its absence third our position on the war has been clear from the outset
10:21we want it to end we want the ceasefire consolidated we want israel to withdraw from all lebanese territory
10:28up to our internationally recognized borders in accordance with the 1990 with the 1949 general
10:35armistice agreement and as firm by resolution 1701 we want the release of all our detainees
10:43the safe and dignified return of our people to their villages and towns and the reconstruction of what
10:50the war has destroyed it was in that spirit that the lebanese state entered into negotiations with israel
10:58under the kind auspices of the united states of america and its president for which we are grateful
11:07with a view to reaching arrangements that ensure an end to the war and the restoration of lebanon's full
11:13sovereignty the sovereignty to which we are committed is indivisible it requires israel's withdrawal from
11:20all lebanese territory it equally requires the extension of the authority of the lebanese state
11:26through its own forces over the entirety of its territory with weapons held by the state alone
11:32it is on these two principles and on the basis of reciprocity and phased implementation that the
11:39tripartite framework reached in the negotiations rest however the success of any agreement is measured not by
11:49declared intentions but by fulfillment of commitments
11:55what is required today therefore is to complete the translation of this framework into practical steps
12:02within a clear timetable and with a verification mechanism that ensures the implementation of all
12:10its provisions mr president in this context
12:15i must pay tribute to the role played by the united nations interim force in lebanon unifil
12:23and to the courage of its leadership personnel and staff and their sacrifices in preserving stability
12:31supporting the lebanese armed forces and implementing resolution 1701
12:38to all the countries that have contributed troops to this force lebanon extends its profound thanks and
12:44appreciation we have taken note of security council resolution 2790 of 2025
12:5125 of 2025 which decided to terminate unifil's operations at the end of this year and to begin its gradual
13:00withdrawal and requested the secretary general to explore available options for the continued implementation
13:06of resolution 1701
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