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Excellencies, President of the General Assembly, Secretary-General, distinguished delegates, friends—

I’m honoured to address this high-level meeting on peace and security, as part of the UN’s 80th anniversary.

Eighty years after the founding, we must recommit to the Charter, to our common security; to the belief that nations can choose dialogue over destruction.

We begin in Africa, our shared cradle of resilience and hope—where democracy is weakening, why fractures across borders; from Sudan to the Sahel to the Great Lakes strain our regional architecture. Yet, across Africa, communities stand up to extremist violence, regional bodies mediate transitions, and women’s groups negotiate truces when the state is distant but humanity is near.

We have learned hard lessons: prevention costs less than reconstruction; reconciliation is a process, not an event; peace agreements require institutions and citizens to be real. Where guns fall silent, skills training , jobs, justice and dignity must follow swiftly.

Liberia’s story illustrates UN led progress and success:  the largest peace keeping force joined Africa’s forces to disarm fighters, support elections, reform security institutions, and create space for reconciliation and growth. India’s all-female Formed Police Unit strengthened protection and public trust. The mission ended with Liberia standing on its own feet—out of war, into a fragile peace, with accountability, inclusive dialogue, and economic opportunity for young people.

Africa’s story is not separate from the world’s story. Conflicts across borders are amplified by disinformation, inflamed by the illicit flow of weapons and prolonged by profiteers. Humanitarian law is strained; civilians—especially women and children—pay the highest price. Regional rivalries and great-power competition too often paralyse the institutions designed to prevent and stop wars.

Let’s admit, we are at a crisis point in the world: climate change, economic disruption, political instability, and widening inequality.

Have global structures and leaders failed us?  Why are they so silent; content to see women and children suffer from acts of inhumanity as in Gaza, in Ukraine? Are we to continue to accept the imbalance of global power, as reflected in the Security Council; use of the veto that limits current tools for peacebuilding and peacekeeping?

We must acknowledge that the multilateral architecture, built to shield future generations from war, is underperforming; that global leadership lacks a unified effort to respond to a technology-enabled world. Commemoration without candour is unaffordable. The world asks whether this House will protect civilians and uphold international humanitarian law. These are not words of despair; they are summons to repair. Our answer must go beyond words; it must translate into actions felt by a family in a tent, a nurse in a clinic, a child in school.

A call for change: a renewed vision of collective security and a broader approach to the triple planetary crisis and worsening inequality. The design of a new vision—“Better Together”—that ensures:

Immediate protection of civilians, finance for conflict prevention, proposals that pay real people; leaders who are audible and accountable; Women at the table, with budgets that guarantee their participation in all peace negotiation delegations; De-weaponisation of the information space

None of this is beyond our reach. It demands humility to listen, courage to compromise, and persistence to implement. Peace is built not only in conference rooms but in classrooms where girls learn without fear; clinics where mothers deliver safely; markets where youth find dignified work; courts where law is fair; and in daily acts of neighbourly coexistence.

Eighty years on, the UN’s founding generation would ask if we’re still worthy of the hopes inherited. Our answer must be yes—not because the world is less dangerous, but because our determination is stronger. “Better together” is not just a theme; it is a strategy—regional bodies and the UN working together; civil society and governments co-designing solutions; women and men sharing power; truth and reconciliation traveling the same road.

Let us leave this anniversary with concrete commitments, funded priorities, and a timetable for action. Show those hiding in shelters, standing in breadlines, and awaiting news of loved ones that the United Nations, as it celebrates its 80th year,  remains a place of peace, refuge, solace, unity, and hope.

Thank you.