General Assembly: 20th plenary meeting, 81st session General Assembly Date: 13 October 2026 Language: English Transcript: https://transcripts.un.org/en/ga/81/20 Transcripts available through this tool are created by using automatic speech recognition and are not official records nor official documents of the United Nations. Official records and official documents are available on the Official Document System of the United Nations. --- GA · President [18:54]: Good morning. The 20th plenary meeting of the General Assembly is called to order. The Assembly will consider sub-item C of agenda item 1.18 for the election of 15 members of the Human Rights Council to replace those members whose term of office expires on 31 December 2026. The outgoing members are as follows: Albania, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Indonesia, Japan, Kuwait, Malawi, and Kingdom of the Netherlands. In accordance with resolution 60/251 of 15 March 2006, These member states are eligible for immediate re-election, except those who have served two consecutive terms, namely China, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, France, and Malawi. The 15 vacant seats are distributed among the regional groups as follows: four seats for the African states, four seats for the Asia-Pacific states, two seats for the Eastern European states, three seats for the Latin American and Caribbean states, and two seats for the Western European and other states. The Assembly will now proceed to the election of the members of the Human Rights Council. In accordance with Resolution 60/251, membership in the Council shall be open to all member states, members of the United Nations, and the members of the Council shall serve for a period of three years. The members of the Council shall be elected directly and individually by secret ballot by the majority of the members of the Assembly. Accordingly, 97 votes constitute a majority in the Assembly that has a membership of 193 states. The following states will continue to be members of the Council: Angola, Benin, Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Cyprus, Czechia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Gambia, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Kenya, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, North Macedonia, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and Vietnam. The names of these States, therefore, should not appear on the ballot papers. This election will be held in accordance with the relevant rules of procedure of the Assembly on elections. In this regard, Rule 94 shall apply. Consistent with the practice of the Assembly, if more than the required number of member states have obtained the votes of the majority of the members of the Assembly on the same ballot, those member states which have obtained the largest number of votes above the required majority will be considered as elected, up to the number of seats to be filled. Also consistent with past practice, if, due to a tie vote, it becomes necessary to determine a candidate or candidates to be elected or that will proceed to the next round of restricted balloting, there will be a special restricted ballot limited to those candidates that have obtained equal number of votes. May I take it that the assembly agrees with the proposed way forward? I see no objection. It is so decided. Regarding the candidates, the Secretariat has been informed that for the four vacant seats of African states, four endorsed candidates have been communicated, namely Burundi, Ghana, Nigeria, and Zambia. For the four vacant seats for the Asia-Pacific states, four candidates have been communicated, namely Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, and Nepal. For the two vacant seats for Eastern European states, two candidates have been communicated, namely the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. For the three vacant seats for Latin America and Caribbean states, three candidates have been communicated, namely Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. For the two vacant seats for Western Europe and other states, two candidates have been communicated, namely Germany and Ireland. Voluntary pledges and commitments made by member states in accordance with resolution 60/251 were issued as official documents of the Assembly. Before we begin the voting process, I should like to remind members that pursuant to rule 88 of the rules of procedure of the Assembly, no representative shall interrupt the voting except on a point of order on the actual conduct of voting. Any announcements, including those concerning withdrawals of candidates, should therefore be made prior to the commencement of the voting process, that is to say, before the announcement of the beginning of the voting process. In addition, ballot papers will only be given to delegates seated directly behind the country's nameplate. Once again, ballot papers will only be given to the delegate seated directly behind the country's nameplate. We shall now begin the voting process. Ballot papers will now be distributed, and the voting has thus begun. In accordance with resolution 71/323 of 8 September 2017, the names of the States that have been communicated to the Secretariat at least 48 hours prior to the election today have been printed on the ballot papers for each of the regional groups. Also, additional blank lines corresponding to the number of vacant seats to be filled for each of the regional groups have been provided on the ballot papers for inscribing other names, if desirable. I request representatives to use only those ballot papers that have been distributed and to put an X in the boxes next to the names whom they wish to vote for and/or write other eligible names on the blank lines. If the box next to the name of the state is checked, the name of the state does not have to be repeated on the blank line. The total number of checked boxes and/or handwritten names should not exceed the number of vacant seats to be filled as indicated on the ballot paper. A ballot paper will be declared invalid if it contains more names of eligible member states from the relevant region than the number of seats allocated to it. Accordingly, for the ballot papers marked A for African states, the total number of checked boxes or handwritten names should not exceed four. For the ballot papers marked B for Asia-Pacific states, the total number of checked boxes and or handwritten names should not exceed four. For the ballot papers marked C for the Eastern European states, the total number of check boxes and or written names should not exceed two. For the ballot papers marked D for Latin America and Caribbean states, the total number of check boxes or handwritten names should not exceed three. And finally, for the ballot papers marked E for the Western European and other states, the total number of check boxes and/or handwritten names should not exceed two. A ballot paper will be declared invalid if none of the names of the member states on the ballot paper for which votes were cast belongs to the relevant region. or if all the votes on the ballot paper are from member states that are not eligible for election. In this regard, I recall that the following member states are not eligible for election: member states that will continue to be members of the Council next year; member states that are currently serving their second consecutive term in the Council. If a ballot paper for a region contains one of the following, The ballot paper remains valid, but the votes for these member states will not be counted. Member states that do not belong to the region concerned, or member states that continue to be members of the Council next year, or member states that are currently serving their second consecutive term in the Council. If a ballot paper contains any notation other than votes in favor of eligible member states, those notations will be disregarded. I invite the representatives of the following states to serve as tellers and to accompany the conference officers as they collect the ballot papers: Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Malaysia, Malta, Morocco, and Peru. Please proceed to collect the ballot papers. To make sure that everybody has been able to vote, may I request delegations who have not yet voted to do so now by approaching the podium to cast their votes. So it looks like everybody has voted. The voting is now closed. No more ballot papers will be accepted. In the interest of time, the Assembly will now proceed to consider the other item announced in the United Nations Journal while the ballots are being counted. The Assembly has thus concluded this stage of its consideration of sub-item C of agenda item 118. The Assembly will resume its consideration in a joint debate of agenda item 123, entitled "Implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations", and agenda item 124, entitled "Revitalization of the work of the General Assembly", to hear the remaining speakers. May I invite the representative of Qatar to deliver a statement? Qatar [36:47]: Mr. President, at the outset, I thank you for convening this very important meeting. And I express our appreciation to the permanent representatives of Romania and Saint Kitts and Nevis for their valuable efforts at the helm of the working group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly in the 80th session. We welcome the appointment of His Excellency, the representative of the Philippines, and Her Excellency, the representative of New Zealand, as co-chairs of the working group for the current session, and we align ourselves with the statement of Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. President, the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly is a sine qua non for the effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations, as well as its capacity to respond to current and future challenges, to foster multilateralism, the rule of law, and safeguard international peace and security. The leaders of the world renewed this commitment in Action 42 of the Pact of the Future. The State of Qatar welcomes the adoption of the resolution 79/327 by consensus. We consider that in this session, we should prioritize the full implementation of what was agreed. The credibility of the GA is not measured by the number of its resolutions, but rather their implementation. The revitalization of the General Assembly is part and parcel of the wider UN reforms. Its intergovernmental nature and the prerogatives of member states must be preserved and safeguarded. We welcome, once again, the UN80 initiative, and we look forward for the next Secretary-General to follow up on its implementation, building on what was achieved in close consultation with member states. We welcome the adoption of resolution 80/251 on mandate creation, implementation, and review, and we look forward for complementarity in the work of the working group on mandate review and the working group on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly to avoid any duplication. We believe that reforms must be Member States-led and must strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to fulfill its mandates by ensuring complementarity amongst its three pillars to avoid undermining the mandates provided by the Member States. This session coincides with the appointment of the next General Assembly, and we view favorably the circulation of the joint letter as well as informal dialogue with candidates. We stress the importance of complementarity in the process and abidance by the principles of transparency and inclusion as provided for in 79/327 to strengthen the role of the GA. We stress the vital role of the Office of the President of the GA and the need to provide it with necessary financial and human resources from the regular budget to strengthen transparency and institutional memory. We stress that UN organs must work in a complementary manner in accordance with the Charter without marginalizing the role of the GA or appropriating its authority. And we welcome the convening of coordination meetings between the presidencies of the GA, the Security Council and the ECOSOC, and we stress the need for the engagement between the General Assembly, regional organizations, and the civil society. We stress that we will continue to constructively contribute to the strengthening of the work of the United Nations and supporting UN reforms. I thank you. GA · President [40:46]: I thank the representative of Qatar, and I invite the representative of Israel to make a statement. Israel [41:07]: Mr. President, revitalization must mean more than adopting another resolution. It must improve how General Assembly organizes its work, manages its resources, exercises its authority, and achieves the goals this organization was created to accomplish. The 81st session of the General Assembly cannot mark the end of UN aid in mandate review and reform. Although an important start, we must continue to revitalize the UN as a whole beyond technical duplications. Let us be frank. Overlapping mandates that we create are not always the result of bureaucratic inefficiencies. In some cases, they waste scarce resources and serve as an instrument for political targeting. A meaningful review must be willing to examine these patterns and address these underlying causes. The same discipline must apply to how we conduct our debates. Last week's discussion on revitalization was drawn to unrelated political agenda, taking time from our work. The agreed agenda cannot be treated as optional. Delegation have a responsibility to respect the scope of each debate rather than the use every form to pursue unrelated political issues. Keeping all deliberation focused on their purpose is basic requirement for a more effective General Assembly. If we will not be able to do it under this agenda item of revitalization, which kind of example are we setting? We must also reduce repetition. Sponsors of reoccurring resolution should explain why an annual adoption remains necessary and identify what has changed year by year. Annual consideration should respond to a substantive need and we must decide which resolution can be adopted on a biannual basis. We stress the importance of responsible management of resources. Each resolution comes with a cost. The General Assembly must think twice before it proposes a resolution. Moreover, it is critical that the General Assembly adopt resolutions that are in full compliance with the financial rules and regulations of this Organization. Every draft resolution with budgetary consequences must be accompanied by a clear statement its program budget implications before adoption. So member state could consider the draft resolution as a whole. Mr. President, language carries legal weight. When the Assembly uses legal terms that not competent body has established, it present political assertions. as though they were settled legal conclusions. We therefore call this Assembly to confine itself to terminology established by competent bodies and to refrain from language implying legal determinations. Finally, the Office of the General Assembly plays a key role in shaping this Assembly. The Office must ensure that Member States have adequate time to prepare for our deliberations. Substantial changes, such as nominations, early votes, and additional debates, should be communicated in a separate notice with enough time so we could considerate and have consultations. Mr. President, the success of revitalization must be measured by tangible improvements in the General Assembly. The commitments we make here must be reflected in the standards we uphold and the actions we take. Thank you. GA · President [45:29]: I thank the distinguished representative of Israel and thank her also for staying within five minutes limit. The next speaker on my list is the distinguished representative of Brazil. Brazil [45:56]: Thank you, Mr. President. Brazil actively participated in the negotiations leading to the adoption of General Assembly resolution 79/327 on the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, adopted in September 2025. We therefore fully support the debate proposed for the 81st session of the General Assembly on its role, authority and working methods, as well as on the office of the President of the General Assembly. In this regard, we continue to defend the strengthening of this General Assembly, especially when the work of the Security Council is limited by the excessive use of vetoes and considering that that body is not representative of the current United Nations, as there has been no expansion of its permanent members since it was created more than 80 years ago. It is never too much to repeat that Latin America and Africa, which comprise 45% of the number of member states, continue not to be represented at the permanent level. Brazil also supports the legitimate objective of streamlining our work and avoiding the duplication of efforts as long as this goal is used solely toward the efficient delivery of the organization's mandates. No agenda item, debate, or dialogue can be eluded under the pretext of revitalizing the work of the Assembly. We look forward to analyzing the concrete proposals that the General Committee is to make during the current session on how to seek synergies and avoid the duplication in the work of the main committees with a view to streamlining the agenda of the General Assembly and making it more efficient. Mr. President, Brazil values Resolution 79/327's emphasis on the imperative to ensure gender balance and equitable geographic representation in the process of the selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General of the United Nations. The resolution strengthens our commitment to a transparent, inclusive, and predictable process in line with the UN Charter. Brazil continues to firmly believe that it is high time for the next Secretary-General to be a qualified woman from the Latin American and Caribbean region. We regret that the candidate nominated by Brazil and Mexico was led to withdraw her candidacy despite her high qualifications and wide experience. but Latin America and the Caribbean has many other talented and experienced women ready to lead the United Nations, some of which have already been nominated. Brazil remains fully engaged and committed to ensuring that this process is fair, transparent, and truly representative of the diversity of our organization. I thank you. GA · President [48:50]: I thank the distinguished representative of Brazil I now invite the distinguished representative of Timor-Leste to make a statement. Timor-Leste [49:14]: Mr. President, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates, Timor-Leste aligns itself with the statement delivered by Malaysia on behalf of ASEAN and Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. We would like to add the following remarks in our national capacity. We thank We thank you for the convening of this timely debate as the United Nations faces mounting challenges and growing expectation to deliver on its mandates. The General Assembly remains the chief deliberative, policy-making, and representative organ of the United Nations, where all Member States enjoy an equal voice. Its effectiveness depends not only on the decisions it adopts, but also on their implementation. In this regard, ongoing effort to revitalize the Assembly and improve mandate creation, implementation, and review offers distinct but complementary opportunities to strengthen institutional effectiveness while preserving member states' ownership. Effective implementation requires appropriate follow-up and accountability. The ongoing work of the ad hoc working group on mandate implementation reviews provide an opportunity to improve access to mandate information. strengthen review arrangements and identify implementation gaps. These efforts should help Member States make informed decisions and reduce unnecessary reporting burdens while respecting agreed mandates. At the same time, the General Assembly's effectiveness depends on the ability of all Member States to participate meaningfully in its work. Better coordination, timely documentation and reduced duplication are particularly important for smaller delegations. managing simultaneous engagement with limited personnel. Procedural efficiency should ease the burden on delegations, not limit their opportunities to participate. Multilingualism and equitable access to information are equally important in this regard. Effective implementation also requires adequate and predictable resources. The continuing liquidity crisis affects the organizational ability to carry out agreed activities and maintain essential services. Timely and full payment of assessed contribution, greater budgetary predictability, and responsible financial management are essential. Efforts to improve efficiency must safeguard agreed mandates, including those addressing the development needs and structural vulnerabilities of the LDCs and SIDS. Beyond this operational consideration, institutional continuity and coherence are equally important. Continued coordination among the presidents of the General Assembly, Security Council, and ECOSOC can enhance coherence while respecting the respective Charter responsibilities. Further strengthening of the office of the president of the General Assembly, particularly its institutional memory and continuity, would contribute to this objective. In this broader context of institutional effectiveness, The ongoing selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General also calls for a transparent, inclusive, timely and merit-based process, with due regard to equitable geographical representation and gender equality. Mr. President, the effectiveness of these ongoing efforts will ultimately be measured by their result: more efficient working methods, meaningful participation by all Member States and better implementation of the decisions we collectively adopt. I thank you. GA · President [52:53]: I thank the representative of Timor-Leste, and I invite the representative of Nigeria, to make a statement. Nigeria [53:15]: Mr. President, Nigeria aligns with the statement delivered on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement and wishes to make the following remarks in its national capacity. We commend the President of the General Assembly for convening this joint debate on agenda items which are central to preserving the United Nations' credibility, effectiveness, and democratic character. The resolutions of this Assembly express the collective political will of all Member States. Yet, without effective implementation, there are a multitude of promises left unfulfilled for the people we represent. For the Global South, especially Africa, inadequate implementation of UN resolutions has direct consequences for socio-economic development, peacebuilding and climate adaptation. Commitment must therefore be translated into focused action and clear accountability. For greater effectiveness, General Assembly resolutions, including those concerning the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, financing for development, peacebuilding, and counterterrorism, require predictable, sustainable, and sufficient resources. Nigeria advocates for more efficient and streamlined follow-up arrangements within the UN Secretariat to monitor key resolutions and to provide Member States practical feedback rather than repetitive reports as a veritable yardstick with which to measure progress. Mr. President, revitalizing the General Assembly is essential to effective global governance in an increasingly multipolar world. As global crises demand prompt, decisive action, the Assembly must strengthen its authority, effectiveness, and efficiency. Reform processes, including the UN80 initiative, must not hinder member state mandates or the organization's responsibilities. They should enhance capacity, reduce duplication, and improve coherence and coordination. Nigeria, therefore, highlight the following priorities. The General Assembly should restore a central place in global decision making, particularly on matters of international peace and security when vetoes prevent Security Council action. Two, Africa's continued absence from permanent representation is a historical injustice that undermines the legitimacy of the UN system. We therefore call for progress and commitment to the negotiations on the reform of the Security Council, including permanent African representation with full rights and additional non-permanent seats. Three, we welcome the progress made in selecting the Secretary-General and executive heads of UN agencies. These processes should remain open, inclusive, and transparent, while upholding equitable geographical representation and gender parity. Mr. President, as we address urgent and diverse challenges, from armed conflict and terrorism to climate change and systemic inequality, A revitalized General Assembly, backed by effective implementation of its resolutions, remains our most powerful vehicle for multilateral cooperation. We remain firmly committed to working constructively with all Member States to foster a United Nations that is more responsive, accountable, and democratic. I thank you. GA · President [56:35]: I thank the distinguished representative of Nigeria. I now invite the distinguished representative of Bangladesh to make a statement. You have the floor, Madam. Bangladesh [57:04]: Mr. President, Bangladesh aligns itself with the statement delivered by Algeria on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. The General Assembly, as the most representative and democratic organ of the United Nations, must remain at the center of our multilateral system. Revitalizing its work is essential to strengthening the authority, credibility, and effectiveness of the organization. We welcome progress under resolution 79/327. As we pursue broader reforms, including through the UN80 initiative, the General Assembly, as an intergovernmental body, must preserve the prerogative of member states. In this context, let me highlight a few pertinent points. Firstly, we must prioritize the effective implementation of General Assembly resolutions by assessing progress, identifying shortcomings, and addressing their underlying causes. Secondly, stronger coordination among the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and the Security Council can improve coherence while upholding their respective mandates. Thirdly, The Assembly's growing workload must be rationalized. Increasing numbers of resolutions, reports, and meetings place enormous pressure on delegations, particularly smaller ones. We should consider reducing the frequency and consolidating overlapping mandates without prejudice against member states' prerogatives in this regard. Consistent with resolution 80/251, such efforts must remain member state led and must not weaken substantive mandates. Thirdly, greater use of digital technologies should be made to improve working methods, enhance transparency and save time, labor and resources for both member states and the secretariat. Fourthly, we strongly call for adequate resources to be provided to the office of the president of the General Assembly through the regular budget and additional staffing support. We echo, Mr. President, your call for reviewing the Office's budget and support structure, including access to expertise needed to fulfill its growing responsibilities. Last but not the least, multilingualism must remain central to the work of the United Nations. Alongside ensuring equality among the six official languages, We should harness advances in technologies to make UN information, decisions, and activities accessible in more languages. Mr. President, revitalization must ultimately be judged by its results. Our objective should be an Assembly that is more responsive, efficient, and capable of translating collective decisions into action. We stand ready to work closely with the co-chairs and all delegations in a transparent manner towards this objective. I thank you. GA · President [1:00:23]: I thank the distinguished representative of Bangladesh. I now give the floor to the distinguished representative of Paraguay. Paraguay [1:00:44]: President, we thank you for convening this debate and we acknowledge the work of the co-chairs of the working group on the strengthening and revitalization of the work of the General Assembly as reflected in their letter of the 3rd of September. We also congratulate the new co-chairs for their appointment for the 81st session and we assure them of the full support of our delegation. For a landlocked developing country such as Paraguay, the General Assembly is much more than a deliberative body. It is the universal forum where each State, whatever its size or geographic location, has an equal voice. That is why we value resolution 79/327, and we wish to refer to four aspects of its implementation. First, coherence across principal organs. We welcome the regular meetings between the Presidents of the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Security Council. The alignment of agendas is necessary, but it should serve to place the needs of developing countries at a higher priority, in particular countries in special situations. In this regard, Paraguay contends that the implementation of the AVASA Programme of Action for landlocked developing countries requires substantive and continuous attention. Second, the efficiency of our working methods. Paraguay supports efforts to avoid duplication and to streamline the agenda. At this 81st session, as measures on recurrent resolutions are beginning to be implemented and the Bureau is required to submit proposals on the work of the main committees, we call for these processes to be transparent, Member State-led and attentive to the realities of small delegations. Thirdly, the ongoing reform. We agree that the UN80 initiative should strengthen and never weaken the organization's ability to fulfill the mandates entrusted to it by Member States. As set out in resolution 79/327, and proposals must have clearly defined objectives and be evidence-based. For UN programme host countries, this also implies effective consultation and the preservation of country-level presence. Fourth, the selection of the Secretary-General and the composition of the Secretariat. We recognize advances towards greater transparency. and inclusiveness, such as the joint letter, the vision statements, and the interactive dialogues with candidates. Paraguay supports the full implementation of what was agreed upon by consensus in resolution 79/327. Likewise, a truly universal organization requires equitable geographical distribution at all levels of the secretariat, including leadership positions, and we encourage intensified efforts in this regard. President We appreciate the handover report of the President of the 80th session and the update to the digital manual. These strengthen the institutional memory of your office. We also reaffirm that multilingualism is a fundamental principle. Parity among the official languages, including Spanish, is a condition for full and effective participation. Paraguay will continue to contribute constructively. to a stronger, more efficient General Assembly that is closer to the needs of all of its members. I thank you. GA · President [1:04:32]: I thank the distinguished representative of Paraguay. And I now invite the distinguished representative of Republic of Korea. You have the floor. Republic of Korea [1:04:53]: Thank you, Mr. President, for convening this debate. I also congratulate the permanent representatives of New Zealand and the Philippines on their appointment as co-chairs and thank their predecessors for their dedicated work. The Republic of Korea wishes to highlight three points. First, our priority should be the effective implementation of Resolution 79/327. we must translate our commitment into practical improvements in the Assembly's work. Streamlining agendas, avoiding duplication, and making better use of time and resources, including through more focused resolutions and multi-year cycles where appropriate, will help us achieve this goal. Second, General Assembly revitalization and the UN80 initiative should reinforce each other. We should build on progress across all three work streams of UN aid initiatives and embed a culture of efficiency throughout the organization, including this Assembly. At the same time, reform should not aim for a smaller UN for its own sake, but a simpler, more innovative, more accountable and more effective organization better able to deliver on its mandates. Third. The selection and appointment of the next Secretary-General is another important responsibility before us. As the home country of former Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, the Republic of Korea has a special interest in and commitment to the selection of the next Secretary-General. In this spirit, we have actively contributed to the process, including by hosting a dialogue with Secretary-General candidates at Jeju Forum last June. At this critical juncture of UN reform, we need a Secretary-General who can meet the challenges of the time and ensure continuity of strong and effective leadership. We therefore hope that the selection process will proceed in a timely and constructive manner in line with the relevant General Assembly resolution on revitalization of its work. In this regard, we fully respect the respective roles and responsibility of the Security Council and the General Assembly as enshrined in the UN Charter, and look forward to a timely agreement in the Security Council on its recommendation. For our part, the Republic of Korea will continue to work closely with fellow Member States in the General Assembly and provide our full cooperation and support to facilitate a smooth and successful transition of leadership. I thank you. GA · President [1:07:37]: I thank the distinguished representative of Republic of Korea. We have thus heard the last speaker in the debate on these items. The exercise of the right of reply has been requested. Members are reminded that time limits for statements in the exercise of the right of reply under these items are limited to 5 minutes for the first intervention and 3 minutes for the second intervention accordingly pursuant to rule 72 of the rules of procedure of the assembly when a representative exceeds her or his alerted time the president shall call the speaker to order without delay which will be done by means of automatic microphone cut off. To assist delegations in managing their time, a countdown clock will be displayed on the screens. Members are also reminded that statements in the exercise of the right of reply should be made by delegations from their seats. I now invite the distinguished representative of Kuwait to make a statement. Kuwait [1:09:09]: I thank you, President. President, I wish to... practice the right of reply in response to the remarks made by the Iranian representative. We reject the statement made and we reject in particular the misleading narrative spread by Iran in order to justify its attacks against the state of Kuwait, the states of the GCC, and Jordan under the pretext of self-defense. We wish to highlight the facts. The State of Kuwait was never a party to this conflict, has not been hostile to Iran, and it has not allowed the use of its territories to launch attacks against any states. Attempts to justify the attacks against the State of Kuwait as legitimate self-defense does not change its legal nature and does not give a justification for the State of Iran to launch such hostile acts. Article 51 of the UN Charter cannot be turned into a justification, a pretext for the targeting of civilian infrastructure and civilians of other states. The representative of Iran stated that operations implemented cannot be considered a hostile act against regional states. However, this description does not alter the facts. Sovereign states cannot be targeted. The protection of civilians in these countries cannot be jeopardized without this being considered a hostile act. And Iran cannot in this regard reaffirm that it respects good neighborliness and sovereignty of states while it uses force against the state of Kuwait and other regional states, on the other hand. The facts have been documented. They are not allegations. The state of Kuwait has documented all attacks perpetrated against it. It has provided information to the Security Council through official notes providing details to member states on record at the United Nations. Islamic Republic of Iran has provided no evidence that the State of Kuwait has enabled the use of its territories or its waters to wage attack against Iran. These facts cannot be considered allegations, and allegations cannot be considered facts. The state of Kuwait is not responsible for a conflict that it has not been party to, and Iran cannot use this conflict as a pretext to wage attacks against the sovereignty of the state of Kuwait. Attempts to misinterpret texts selectively cannot be a legitimate basis for the use of force against the state of Kuwait or any other state. and to blame the state of Kuwait for anything it does not responsible for. Legal responsibility and liability for these attacks is borne by the Islamic Republic of Iran. I thank you, President. GA · President [1:12:24]: I thank the representative of Kuwait. I now call on the representative of Islamic Republic of Iran for a second intervention. Second intervention. You have the floor. Iran (Islamic Republic of) [1:12:43]: Thank you, Mr. President. We will respond briefly to the delegation of the Kuwait. We want to stress again our position. Under international law, states are prohibited from allowing their territory to be used directly or indirectly to cause damage to other states. In addition, they must take all necessary measures to prevent foreign armed forces based in their territory from committing acts of aggression against other states and must not facilitate or support such acts. In the event of a breach of these fundamental obligations, they bear international legal responsibility. Our defensive acts against US military infrastructure were carried out in exercising our inherent right to self-defense, yet to date, Iran has exercised the utmost restraint in conducting such lawful acts. Our response was confined to U.S. military installations and assets. Once again, the Islamic Republic of Iran remains committed to maintaining and strengthening friendly relations with the countries of the region based on mutual respect, the principle of good neighborliness and respect for each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity. I thank you, Mr. President. GA · President [1:14:12]: I thank the representative of Islamic Republic of Iran. I now call on the representative of Kuwait for a second intervention. Second intervention. Kuwait [1:14:33]: Thank you, Mr. President. I requested the floor to take the floor yet again in order to address the statement delivered by Iran, and Iran which continues to repeat these lies, seeking to generate pretexts related to its country's attacks against my country, Kuwait. And it claims that Iranian attacks only targeted military U.S. facilities in the region. And I wish to take this opportunity to respond, to pose a very direct question. This is a question to the representative of Iran. The civilian facilities and civilian regions, are they, are these military U.S. facilities? Do they represent U.S. military facilities? What about the water and energy infrastructure for citizens, which citizens depend on on an everyday basis? Are those military facilities and the Kuwaiti airport. Is that a civilian infrastructure? I am talking about facts here, not allegations, violations targeting the state of Kuwait. My country has assiduously documented these facts, which we communicated to the Security Council through various official notes which were submitted to the Security Council. These notes contain details about the material damage that was incurred as civilian and infrastructure, we wish to ask how can Iran claim that these attacks targeted only military infrastructure when these attacks also targeted essential facilities, civilian facilities, causing civilian deaths? repeating these Iranian declarations and rhetoric, attempting to allege that these are legitimate defense, those attacks, under no circumstances does this change the facts, nor does this change reality. This does not allow the Islamic Republic of Iran to shoulder its international responsibility. International law cannot be interpreted on the basis of rhetoric and arguments which are being used to justify flagrant violations and the right to defense cannot be used as an excuse for targeting a state that is not party to a conflict. I wish to conclude by stating that the State of Kuwait is not requesting that Iran justify its intentions. We are calling upon Iran to assume its responsibility for these acts. The sovereignty of states cannot be safeguarded on the basis of statements alone. Good neighborly relations cannot be upheld on the basis of these allegations. There is a need to ensure states are respected, sovereignty is respected, and to refrain from the use of force against these states. Thank you, Mr. President. GA · President [1:17:27]: I thank the representative of Kuwait. The Assembly has just concluded this stage of its consideration of the agenda items 123 and 124. I now suspend the meeting for 10 minutes to allow for the completion of the counting of ballots. The meeting is suspended. Speaker 24 [1:21:05]: Not a question style. but Something all right What was that? they should take them to a we have you always Oh. you should get those Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Just it. One time. GA · President [1:28:50]: The meeting is resumed. The Assembly will resume its consideration of sub-item C of agenda item 118 for the election of members of the Human Rights Council. The result of the voting is as follows: Group A, African States, four seats, number of ballot papers, 181. Number of invalid ballots, zero. Number of valid ballots, 181. Abstentions, zero. Number of members present and voting, 181. Required majority, 97. The number of votes obtained by each member state. Zambia, 177. Ghana, 173. Nigeria, 172. Burundi, 160. Group B, Asia-Pacific States, four seats. Number of ballot papers, 181. Number of invalid ballots, zero. Number of valid ballots, 181. Abstentions, one. Number of members present and voting, 180. Required majority, 97. Number of votes obtained by each member state. Kuwait, 173. Nepal, 173. Jordan, 171. And Japan, 166. Group C, Eastern European states, two seats. Number of ballot papers, 181. Number of invalid ballots, zero. Number of valid ballots, 181. Abstentions, 12. Number of members present and voting, 169. Required majority, 97. Number of votes obtained by each member state. Republic of Moldova, 168, Ukraine, 162. Group D, Latin American and Caribbean States, three seats. Number of ballot papers, 181. Number of invalid ballots, zero. Number of valid ballots, 181. Abstentions, seven. Number of members present and voting, 174. Required majority, 97. Number of votes obtained by each member state. Brazil, 170. Dominican Republic, 170. Uruguay, 165. Group E, Western European and other states, two seats. Number of ballot papers, 181. Number of invalid ballots, zero. Number of valid ballots, 181. Abstentions, 15. Number of members present and voting, 166. Required majority, 97. Number of votes obtained by each member state, Ireland, 165. Germany, 163. The following 15 states have thus been elected members of the Human Rights Council for a three-year term of office beginning January the 1st, 2027. Brazil, Burundi, Dominican Republic, Germany, Ghana, Ireland, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Nepal, Nigeria, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, Uruguay, and Zambia. I congratulate the states which have been elected members of the Human Rights Council, and I thank the tellers for their assistance in this election. The Assembly thus has concluded its consideration of sub-item C of agenda item 118. The meeting is adjourned.