Minister for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad of the Republic of The Gambia, His Excellency Sering Modou Njie,

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates of the State of Palestine, Her Excellency Dr. Varsen Aghabekian Shahuin,

Secretary General of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, His Excellency Hissein Brahim Taha,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Assalamu Alaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu,

We meet again at a critical moment. Since we last met, almost a year ago in this very hall, we unfortunately find ourselves discussing once again the fate of our Palestinian brothers and sisters.

During this holy month of Ramadan, we are reminded of compassion, justice, and moral responsibility. Yet even during this sacred time, Palestinians continue to endure occupation and dispossession.

While we fast and pray, their land is being confiscated in the occupied West Bank under the label of “state property.”

This decision by Israel seeks to impose an illegal reality on the ground. It expands settlements and deepens the process of annexation.

These actions clearly violate international law. They undermine prospects for peace and deny the Palestinian people their fundamental rights.

Excellencies,

Let us be clear: Palestinian lands belong to Palestinians.

For decades, we have witnessed the steady expansion of settlements across the occupied West Bank. Homes have been demolished, communities displaced, and Palestinian families stripped of their rights. Each new announcement of settlement expansion or land appropriation tightens the grip of occupation and pushes the prospects of peace further out of reach.

The Maldives strongly condemns the Israeli occupation’s decision to convert land into so-called ‘state property.’ This constitutes a serious violation of international law and represents a continuation of illegal settlement policies that undermine the rights of the Palestinian people.

Excellencies,

The only lasting resolution can be achieved through the establishment of an independent and sovereign State of Palestine, based on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In line with our principled position, the Maldives is doing all it can:

At the International Court of Justice

At the United Nations

At home, through punitive measures

By supporting humanitarian efforts, including UNRWA

And by always lending our voice, our solidarity, our support.

Excellencies,

The Palestinian people have endured decades of occupation and denial of their fundamental rights, yet their resilience remains unbroken. Their right to self-determination is non-negotiable and their homeland is not for sale.

We need to think together, look within ourselves – at what it is that we, as a collective ummah can do. Not just words, but concrete actions.

The Maldives will not waver in its support. We reaffirm our unwavering commitment to the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people – to freedom, to sovereignty, and to living in dignity, peace, and security on their own land.

 

I thank you.

Mr. President,

Mr. High Commissioner,

Excellencies, Ladies, and Gentlemen.

It is an honour to address this Council for a second time.

When the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted in December 1948, it did more than articulate ideals. It distilled centuries of human struggle into a simple principle that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.

Since then, the international community has built a remarkable legal architecture to protect that principle. Treaties were written. Institutions were created. Norms were agreed upon. And together, they form one of humanity’s most ambitious undertakings.

But progress does not move in a straight line.

The complexities of the modern world test not only our institutions, but our convictions. They compel us to ask whether the promises we made to one another and to future generations, are strong enough to withstand the pressures of rapid change, deepening inequality, and growing uncertainty.

For the Maldives, this much is clear.

The challenges may be new. The pace may be faster. The tools may be different. But the values upon which our success depends on are not. And it is through multilateralism that those values find meaning and purpose.

The Maldives is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights, both domestically and internationally. For us, it is an essential foundation for sustainable and inclusive development.

Domestically, we continue to strengthen democratic governance, the rule of law, and institutional accountability. Since the adoption of our 2008 Constitution, our democratic institutions have steadily matured through successive electoral cycles, with Presidential and Parliamentary elections widely recognised by international and domestic observers as peaceful, inclusive, and credible. Alongside this consolidation, broad legislative and institutional reforms have been undertaken to reinforce governance, combat corruption, expand labour protections, and strengthen access to justice.

These reforms include measures to enhance accountability within law enforcement and the justice sector, strengthen oversight mechanisms, and promote a rights-centred approach to public administration. Institutional capacity has been reinforced through legislative reform, professional training, and improved safeguards to ensure transparency, due process, and public trust.

We have prioritised inclusion and social equity. Women’s participation in local governance has increased substantially through electoral quotas, while targeted financial schemes support women entrepreneurs, including women with disabilities. National action plans guide reforms to advance the rights of persons with disabilities, strengthen child protection systems, and expand access to social services. Targeted programmes are being conducted for young people. We are expanding access to education, healthcare, and social welfare. These measures reflect our commitment to building an inclusive society grounded in dignity, opportunity, and equal protection under the law.

Internationally, the Maldives engages with the human rights system in the same constructive spirit. We recently concluded our fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review and continue active engagement with treaty bodies. We also maintain a standing invitation to all Special Procedures Mandate Holders and value their recommendations as an important contribution to our ongoing reform efforts.

Mr. President,

As a Small Island Developing State, the Maldives has consistently sought to champion an inclusive approach to human rights. One that recognises the particular challenges faced by Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, and the importance of ensuring their meaningful and sustained participation in this Council. This conviction has guided our support for initiatives that address capacity constraints and enable LDCs and SIDS to engage fully and constructively in the Council’s work.

We have consistently called for accountability for human rights violations. Especially in Palestine, where Israel has repeatedly violated international law, threatened regional stability, destroyed civilian infrastructure, and undermined genuine hope for peace and progress. Despite repeated violations of international law, Israel continues to receive preferential trade treatment and arms transfers that fuel further aggression against the Palestinian people. We reaffirm our steadfast support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including their right to self-determination, and for an independent, sovereign State of Palestine established on the pre-1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The State of Palestine must be admitted as a full member of the United Nations.

We believe that the integrity of the multilateral system depends on the collective commitment of all States – small and large - to uphold justice, inclusivity, and peace through the universal respect for human rights, without selectivity or exception.

Our most recent term on this Council, which concluded last year, reaffirmed our belief in the power of constructive engagement. Building on that experience, and guided by our continued commitment to universality, inclusion, dialogue and cooperation, the Maldives will be seeking election to the Human Rights Council for the term 2028-2030. We seek your support in these elections.

Mr. President,

As the international human rights landscape continues to evolve, this Council has a central responsibility to ensure that the system it stewards remains credible in its standards, inclusive in its processes, and effective in its impact.

The Maldives will continue to engage constructively and in good faith, working closely with the Office of the High Commissioner, Member States, and civil society, to strengthen implementation and cooperation where it matters most.

In doing so, we remain guided by the promise of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; that human rights are universal, indivisible and inseparable from human dignity.

I thank you.

Bismillāhir-Raḥmānir-Raḥīm.

His Highness Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,

 

Mr. Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations

 

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is often said that small islands read the world differently.

 

We live close to the horizon, where every shift in tide or wind is felt immediately.

 

Perhaps for that reason, the Maldives has long treated dialogue not as diplomatic ritual but as a form of resilience, a way to remain steady in a world that rarely slows down for anyone.

 

In an era where divisions deepen both offline and online, UNAOC’s work is a safeguard against fragmentation. By anticipating emerging challenges such as climate-induced displacement and digital misinformation, it ensures that dialogue remains a force for unity and human dignity.

As UNAOC marks its twentieth anniversary, its enduring mission reminds us that building bridges between cultures is not a choice but a responsibility we share for a more peaceful and inclusive world.

Excellencies,

 

Dialogue is how we make sense of uncertainty; it is how we negotiate co-existence, and it is how we build trust in a world that is not always inclined towards us.

 

For countries like mine, dialogue is a necessity that shapes our security, our identity and our relationship far beyond our shores.  

 

The Maldives does not come to admit the architecture of dialogue; we come to test its strength.

We come to ask whether our collective commitment to understanding is strong enough for a world in which division spreads faster than reason, and in which narratives harden long before facts are established.

 

A multipolar world is often described in terms of shifting power centres. But its deeper implications are cultural.

 

Polarisation is no longer confined to politics; it permeates the social and informational spaces people inhabit.

 

It shapes how communities interpret one another and how they interpret themselves.

 

Dialogue cannot afford to be decorative. It must help rebuild trust that has eroded across communities and countries.

 

Excellencies,

 

For the Maldives, this mission is inseparable from the environment that shapes our existence.

 

Long before climate change became a defining global issue, island societies understood that the stability of the natural world underpins the stability of the social world. When the environment fractures, cohesion fractures.

 

Today, rising seas threaten not only our physical territory but our cultural inheritance, our language, our traditions, our sense of continuity.

 

Cooperation is no longer optional; it is a matter of cultural survival. Any global commitment to respect among civilizations must include respect for the right of vulnerable nations to endure.

 

We face another form of fragility: the volatility of the digital sphere.

 

The new frontier of misunderstanding is not at borders but on screens. Hostility can be manufactured, identities distorted, and young people exposed to manipulation before they have the tools to recognize it.

 

What once took years to divide societies can now happen in days, leaving consequences that endure for generations.

 

As the UNAOC enters its next chapter, the Maldives believes our task is not only to respond to emerging divides, but to anticipate them. The world ahead will test our collective capacity for empathy, restraint, and imagination.

 

If we invest now in dialogue that is practical, inclusive, and grounded in human dignity, we can shape a future in which diversity is a source of stability rather than tension.

 

 

I thank you.