Address by Minister Joly at the General Debate of the 79th Session of the United Nations General Assembly

September 30, 2024 - New York City, New York

Check against delivery. This speech has been translated in accordance with the Government of Canada’s official languages policy and edited for posting and distribution in accordance with its communications policy.

Mr. President, dear colleagues,

It is an honour for me to speak to you on behalf of Canada and on behalf of Canadians.

I would like to underscore that I am joining you on the traditional territory of the Lenape people.

This recognition is important because today in Canada we mark the National Day of Truth and Reconciliation, when we acknowledge and commemorate the Indigenous Peoples who came before us and continue to live here.

We acknowledge the pain caused by decades of abuse, neglect and racism.

It is also an opportunity for us to commit to doing better and to righting the wrongs of the past so we can move forward together.

Rights and freedoms

Ours is a country based on the rights and freedoms that are enshrined in our constitutional charter.

A core reason Canada is a prosperous society is that beyond offering the freedom to pursue a better life for you and your family, Canada also provides freedom from the barriers that prevent you from enjoying a better life: freedom from fear, violence, intimidation and discrimination; freedoms that foster a sense of inclusivity and belonging; freedom that protects the vulnerable and builds stronger communities.

Far too often, though, some of the loudest voices claiming to speak for freedom are the ones trying to redefine that word for their own purposes.

They claim freedom as an excuse to do as they wish without any regard for the freedom of others.

That is certainly not how we should define freedom.

They hide behind the word to tell us everything is broken and to spread disinformation, and they parrot the lines fed to them by those who wish to interfere in our elections and undermine our democracy.

They weaponize the term “freedom” to further marginalize those in the most vulnerable situations, to justify spreading hate and even to deny people their right to make choices about their own bodies, including limits on reproductive rights.

At the end of the day, through all the noise, what they really mean to say is: freedom for some—but not freedom for all.

Often, the people who claim to speak for freedom are the same people who want the government to decide who people can love, who they are or even what they can wear.

We see it in our country. We see it around the world. At the international level, we see it when groups or countries declare that international law doesn’t apply to them.

Afghanistan

In Afghanistan, we see it taken to its extreme as the Taliban continue to impose inhumane rules against women and girls, banning them from being in public so they are invisible, robbing young girls of the fundamental right to an education.

How is that respecting human dignity? How is that protecting the best interests of their people?

They must be held accountable.

Last week, Canada joined Australia, Germany and the Netherlands, with the support of 22 other countries, to take steps to hold Afghanistan accountable under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The Taliban cannot make international law disappear through simple decrees.

Canada is a country that values freedom from oppression, not the freedom to oppress others.

There should be nothing controversial about protecting human rights, including the dignity of all men and women.

Haiti

With regard to Haiti, the world cannot sit idly by as people suffer.

Unchecked gang violence and corruption in Haiti have created a catastrophe for the population, which is plunged into a state of deep insecurity in which civilians fall victim to bullets and children die of hunger.

Canada has always maintained that the solution to this crisis must come from Haitians for the benefit of Haitians.

To this end, the Transitional Presidential Council and the transitional government are working to restore order, but they cannot do it alone.

The Haitian people need a multinational security support mission to work with the Haitian National Police, not only to help them restore order but also to meet the basic needs of the population.

That’s why Canada has invested more than $100 million to support it.

Canada is doing its part.

We must all show the Haitian people that we are not going to abandon them.

The United Nations Security Council must be clear on this.

I would like to thank CARICOM and Kenya for the essential role they are playing in the response to this crisis.

Together, we can achieve lasting peace and stability in Haiti.

Middle East

Mr. President, what is happening in the Middle East is an unspeakable tragedy. Thousands have been killed in Israel, Gaza and Lebanon, including many Canadians.

This is a senseless war that goes against the dignity of human beings. The suffering —on all sides—must end.

What the world continues to witness is a repeated cycle of violence where civilians pay the heaviest price.

Canada is joining those urging Israel and Hezbollah to accept an immediate ceasefire. We need to create space for peace talks and save lives.

There cannot be war in Lebanon—full stop. UN Security Council resolutions must be respected.

Families in Southern Lebanon and families in Northern Israel must be able to safely return to their homes. We have and always will insist that civilians be protected, wherever they’re from.

Next week, we mark 1 year since the terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israel.

Last March, I visited Kibbutz Kfar Aza, one of the communities attacked on October 7, 2023. I met Ayalet, a mother grieving for her son, who was brutally murdered in the attack; he died protecting his fiancée. Ayalet recounted the terror of that day, the search for loved ones in burned homes.

As she spoke about the horrors of October 7, we heard the bombs, as they landed on Gaza nearby, and felt the ground shudder. In that moment, our sense of [MM1] the duality of the tragedy befalling the Israeli and Palestinian people was profound. It is a moment I will never forget.

The situation in Gaza is inhumane. The level of suffering is unacceptable. It must stop. Innocent Palestinians, including [MM2] women and children, cannot pay the price of defeating Hamas. This must end.

A ceasefire is needed immediately. The hostages [MM3] must be released. This requires both sides making real efforts.

Mr. President: for lasting peace, Canada has long advocated for a 2-state solution. We believe both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to exist.

We all know a negotiated agreement is the best chance for Israelis and Palestinians to live side by side in peace and security.

Unfortunately, Hamas, a terrorist organization, continues to operate in Gaza, refuses to release hostages and refuses to lay down its weapons.

Meanwhile, the Government of Israel is against the creation of a Palestinian state. Violence against Palestinians by extremist settlers and expansion of settlements by Israel in the West Bank continue unabated. This is unacceptable.

Canada supports the creation of a Palestinian state.

That is why we are providing security and development support to the Palestinian people. We will officially recognize the state of Palestine at the right time: when it is most conducive to building a lasting peace and not necessarily as the last step of a negotiated process.

More than anything, this conflict has led to unspeakable pain. Communities are hurting.

People have the right to protest peacefully. But nobody has the freedom [MM4] to intimidate others. Polarization is a problem. Division is real.

We have a collective responsibility to bring people together.

Ukraine

Mr. President, it has now been 2 and a half years since Russia launched its illegal invasion of Ukraine. The human cost continues to grow.

No country has the freedom [MM5] to invade its neighbour. There’s no freedom [MM6] to impose your will on others. This aggression is a blatant violation of the UN Charter.

Russia needs to get out of Ukraine now.

The Ukrainian people have the right to be free from fear, free from aggression. They have the right to decide what their own future should be.

Mr. President, we all know that if Russia’s aggression goes unchecked here it will continue. Many countries in the region and the hemisphere are wondering if they will be next. The world must not back down in denouncing this unjustifiable aggression.

Canada will not back down from its support for Ukraine.

At the end of October, Canada will host a conference co-organized with Norway and Ukraine on the human dimension of Ukraine’s 10-point peace formula. We will focus on the return of children to their families and of deported civilians and prisoners of war.

Every one of those affected by this war is entitled to freedom from violence and from being forced from their home.

UN reform

Mr. President,

The issues I have just mentioned create immense challenges. This institution has a role to play in helping us to work together toward solutions.

Critics of the United Nations accuse it of being incapable of solving the problems currently facing the world.

Worse still, some more conspiratorial critics even believe that the UN is the cause of many of these problems.

Both ignore the reality and the strength of this organization.

The United Nations is a unique forum that allows us to come together and talk to each other on an equal footing to try to iron out our differences, which are sometimes profound, through discussion and consensus-building.

That’s why Canada supported the adoption of the Pact for the Future at the Summit of the Future last week.

The pact is a starting point as we work together to ensure the sustainability of the organization.

The UN is not a perfect organization, it is true, but progress is possible. As the Secretary-General has said: “ We can’t build a future for our grandchildren with a system built for our grand[MM7] parents.” Let’s build that future together.

Mr. President,

For almost 80 years, no woman has held the post of secretary-general.

This is unacceptable.

Last week with my colleague from Jamaica, I had the great honour of welcoming to Toronto 15 women foreign ministers from the 4 corners of the earth.

Our conclusion was clear. The next head of this illustrious institution must be a woman.

It’s high time we were able to respectfully say, at this podium and around the world, “Madam Secretary-General.”

I would say the same for the post of president of the General Assembly.

Mr. President, with respect, I hope that next year the delegates will address “Madam President.”

I know that many of us share this wish.

Mr. President,

Let me tell you about my mother. She will be so proud that I am talking about her at the United Nations.

You know, my mother and grandmother are among the millions of women around the world who have fought hard for equal rights.

They did so alongside the mothers and grandmothers of many of the people in this room.

Mum recently told me that we were now part of the “consolidation generation.” She’s right.

Being part of our generation means that we need to consolidate the gains that have been made over time and fight against those who are trying to roll back this progress. It also means that we need to continue to fight so that women and girls everywhere have the right to make choices about their own bodies and their own lives.

We see the difference the gap in freedoms creates. When women are robbed of the right to decide when to have children, they lose out on education and job opportunities. When women don’t have access to safe abortions their lives are put at risk. When women are denied access to safe contraception and fertility treatments, they lose the power to make choices that have the most profound impacts on their lives.

Attacks on sexual and reproductive health rights are an attack on equality rights. They’re an affront to basic dignity.

We must always have the right to choose for ourselves which means of contraception to use, whether to have an abortion or even to choose assisted reproduction. We women have the right to be equal in everything: in education, in employment and in every other opportunity.

We are women and proud of it.

We can never turn back.

Together, we must keep moving forward for our sisters, our daughters and our granddaughters.

Mr. President, 2 years ago, I stood here and said countries around the world were faced with a choice. And we still have that choice today. We can choose a world where rules can be broken by the powerful, bringing us back to darker times of tension and conflict. Or we can choose a world that upholds human rights, opportunities for all, peace and prosperity; a world where people work together to solve problems.

Canada will work with partners to move us beyond this moment of crisis.

A new future is being shaped.

We must not fail.

Thank you.