「地中海における安全保障の課題に対処する若者の役割」に関する安保理討論における山﨑大使ステートメント
令和6年4月17日
(As delivered)
Thank you, Mr. President.
I also express our gratitude to your Excellency for convening this important meeting.
And I also thank USG DiCarlo, Mr. Kamel, and Ms. Messaoudi for their insightful briefings.
In the year of 1862, 162 years ago, after Japan turned around its two-century-long isolation, the first Japanese delegation was dispatched to Europe to open relations with the international community.
They navigated through the Mediterranean Sea and visited Malta.
Throughout history, the Mediterranean, where Malta is situated at its center, has been the nodal point connecting two oceans and three continents together, namely the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, and Africa, Asia, and Europe, respectively. Because of this connectivity, the stability and prosperity of the region is of great importance for maintaining international peace and security. This is also true for countries in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan.
However, the region is witnessing turbulence.
Vessels transporting refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers on dangerous journeys from Africa to Europe are often overcrowded and unseaworthy, resulting in tragedies due to shipwrecks and abandonment.
We hear multiple reports of trans-continental migrant smuggling networks that not only exploit these migrants for illicit profit but also often subject them to abuses such as human trafficking, violence, or exposure to hazardous conditions. In the wider context of maritime security, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which connect the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific.
Mr. President,
The countries on the Mediterranean’s southern and eastern shores have a younger demographic profile.
This makes these societies vibrant, but if instability deepens, a high unemployment rate and lack of political and social inclusiveness could drive young people to lose their hope for a prosperous future and become susceptible to violent extremism and crime. To prevent this from occurring, a comprehensive approach based on national ownership, the empowerment of all individuals, including youth, and addressing root causes is imperative, as stressed in the Open Debate on peacebuilding and conflict prevention held last month under Japan’s presidency in this chamber.
In the Mediterranean, international partnerships are strengthened by multifaceted cooperation between the AU, EU, and League of Arab States while upholding regional ownership. United Nations bodies can further enhance such partnerships through sound multilateralism and promotion of the rule of law. These efforts will help regional countries ensure the full, safe, and meaningful participation of youth in political and social spaces so that they will not despair.
Mr. President,
Sea level rise, floods, and droughts caused by climate change constitute serious and imminent threats to countries and people in vulnerable situations, thus impacting human security.
For example, the floods that hit eastern Libya last year led to a great loss of life. To better prepare for natural disasters, it is imperative to build trustworthy and capable institutions that reflect the voices and needs of women and youth, who are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
More than one century after the Japanese delegation to Europe, Japan and Malta established its diplomatic relations in 1965. Malta opened its Embassy in Tokyo in 2020, and this year 2024 commemorates the opening of Embassy of Japan in Malta. Building upon this history, Japan will cooperate for peace in the region with Malta, a fellow maritime nation, and other countries on the Mediterranean Sea.
I thank you.
I also express our gratitude to your Excellency for convening this important meeting.
And I also thank USG DiCarlo, Mr. Kamel, and Ms. Messaoudi for their insightful briefings.
In the year of 1862, 162 years ago, after Japan turned around its two-century-long isolation, the first Japanese delegation was dispatched to Europe to open relations with the international community.
They navigated through the Mediterranean Sea and visited Malta.
Throughout history, the Mediterranean, where Malta is situated at its center, has been the nodal point connecting two oceans and three continents together, namely the Atlantic and Indo-Pacific Oceans, and Africa, Asia, and Europe, respectively. Because of this connectivity, the stability and prosperity of the region is of great importance for maintaining international peace and security. This is also true for countries in the Indo-Pacific, including Japan.
However, the region is witnessing turbulence.
Vessels transporting refugees, migrants, and asylum-seekers on dangerous journeys from Africa to Europe are often overcrowded and unseaworthy, resulting in tragedies due to shipwrecks and abandonment.
We hear multiple reports of trans-continental migrant smuggling networks that not only exploit these migrants for illicit profit but also often subject them to abuses such as human trafficking, violence, or exposure to hazardous conditions. In the wider context of maritime security, the Houthis have repeatedly attacked commercial vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which connect the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific.
Mr. President,
The countries on the Mediterranean’s southern and eastern shores have a younger demographic profile.
This makes these societies vibrant, but if instability deepens, a high unemployment rate and lack of political and social inclusiveness could drive young people to lose their hope for a prosperous future and become susceptible to violent extremism and crime. To prevent this from occurring, a comprehensive approach based on national ownership, the empowerment of all individuals, including youth, and addressing root causes is imperative, as stressed in the Open Debate on peacebuilding and conflict prevention held last month under Japan’s presidency in this chamber.
In the Mediterranean, international partnerships are strengthened by multifaceted cooperation between the AU, EU, and League of Arab States while upholding regional ownership. United Nations bodies can further enhance such partnerships through sound multilateralism and promotion of the rule of law. These efforts will help regional countries ensure the full, safe, and meaningful participation of youth in political and social spaces so that they will not despair.
Mr. President,
Sea level rise, floods, and droughts caused by climate change constitute serious and imminent threats to countries and people in vulnerable situations, thus impacting human security.
For example, the floods that hit eastern Libya last year led to a great loss of life. To better prepare for natural disasters, it is imperative to build trustworthy and capable institutions that reflect the voices and needs of women and youth, who are among the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
More than one century after the Japanese delegation to Europe, Japan and Malta established its diplomatic relations in 1965. Malta opened its Embassy in Tokyo in 2020, and this year 2024 commemorates the opening of Embassy of Japan in Malta. Building upon this history, Japan will cooperate for peace in the region with Malta, a fellow maritime nation, and other countries on the Mediterranean Sea.
I thank you.