Delivered By: Her Excellency Lana Nusseibeh, Ambassador and Permanent Representative
The UAE is pleased to bring this draft resolution to the Council today together with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
The UN Charter enshrines our collective determination in maintaining international peace and security. And to this end, it underscores the need to practice tolerance and peaceful coexistence.
Today, Security Council Members are voting on a draft resolution that will reaffirm the commitment to upholding the universal principles of tolerance and peaceful coexistence. As the text makes clear, these principles – along with human rights and gender equality – are not competing interests; rather, they are mutually reinforcing. They should be promoted and implemented to achieve peace, security, stability, and sustainable development.
The root causes of conflicts – past and present – are multifaceted, yet we continue to see common threat multipliers that drive the outbreak, escalation, and recurrence of conflict across the files on the Council’s agenda. Hate speech, racism, and extremism stoke tensions and fuel grievances, precipitating the descent into conflict at times. Print, broadcast, and digital media are exploited to incite hatred, by creating echo chambers and spreading misinformation and disinformation. In conflict situations, the same threat multipliers feed dehumanising ideologies that spoil peace processes, and motivate gender persecution and the victimization of religious and belief minorities.
These longstanding prejudices do not simply vanish once the fighting stops. When racist and extremist ideologies are left unaddressed, this hatred is passed down through generations, paving the way for the cycle of conflict to take hold.
This resolution takes critical, concrete steps to address hate speech, racism, and extremism that threaten peace and security. It encourages all key stakeholders to speak out against hate speech and promote tolerance. The resolution recognizes the important role of women, youth, and interreligious dialogue, and urges States to engage and empower local communities, religious and ethnic minorities, and civil society. It also provides systematic reporting to ensure the Council will be well-briefed to respond to emerging threats. Through these measures, the resolution aims to advance a holistic approach to promoting peace and building resilience to conflict.
We hope for the full support of the Council to send a unified message today that the values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence are the foundation upon which lasting peace must be built, and it is the collective responsibility of the international community to uphold them.
The solemn responsibility of this Council for the maintenance of international peace and security requires us to proactively respond to new challenges and threats as they emerge.
This resolution takes that step today.
I would like to express our deep appreciation for the constructive approach and the valuable engagement by Council Members throughout this negotiation process, which made the text stronger, and to this first step taken today for a whole of system approach towards addressing the issues highlighted in this resolution by the Security Council, and I thank you.