Xavier Bettel delivering his speech at the 74th UN General Assembly in New York; Credit: ME

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel yesterday delivered a speech at the general debate of the 74th UN General Assembly in New York.

In his speech, Xavier Bettel noted that "the current week is remarkable in many respects. By the variety of topics discussed, during the general debate but also on the sidelines of it during a series of summits and high-level events. Finally, this week is characterised by an unprecedented mobilisation to face very concrete challenges".

Speaking about the fight against climate change, the Prime Minister recalled the commitments made by Luxembourg and announced at the Climate Action Summit on Monday. He highlighted the need for "a long-term vision", which, for Luxembourg, means "reach[ing] net zero emissions of greenhouse gases by 2050 at the latest". Xavier Bettel added that another of the Luxembourg Government's commitments is "a commitment of solidarity towards those who are most exposed to the consequences of global warming". In this regard, the government has committed €200 million to "support developing countries" over the next five years.

Luxembourg's Prime Minister continued by stressing the importance of multilateralim, using the EU as a good example: "It has enabled our continent to achieve relative peace, albeit with the support of transatlantic institutions, and today allows it to continue the principles of the Enlightenment and resist populist temptations by reaffirming the centrality of the rule of law in the European project".

Xavier Bettel went on to highlight the current human rights situation and deplored its deterioration worldwide. He particularly emphasised the amount of "work [that] remains to be done" concerning reproductive and LGBT rights: "For some years now, we have been questioning the very existence of certain rights. This is true, in particular, even [within] our Organisation, of sexual and reproductive rights. [...] This also applies to abortion and the right of every woman to control her body. The same is true of the right to live according to one's sexual orientation". 

The Luxembourgish Prime Minister continued: "Luxembourg's commitment to the promotion of human rights is part of its DNA. It is for these reasons that my country has applied to be elected Human Rights Council for the period 2022-2024, for the first time since the establishment of the Council".

Over the last few days, Xavier Bettel has also taken the UN General Assembly as an opportunity to hold a series of bilateral meetings, notably with Vinicio Cerezo, Secretary General of SICA (Central American Integration System), Xavier Espot Zamora, Prime Minister of Andorra, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, and Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda.