I send my warmest wishes to you from Timor-Leste, a nation that has journeyed from conflict to peace through the very conscious unity. Your focus on building a new wall of conscious unity is not just urgent, it is the defining task of our time.
In a world fractured by conflict, inequality, and fear, this is not a mere ideal. It is a practical necessity for our collective survival. Timor-Leste stands as proof of what is possible. Our past was paved with immense suffering, but it was our shared consciousness and unwavering belief in self-determination, peace, and our common identity that united us.
We learned that true unity is not the absence of difference, but the courageous, conscious choice to embrace a shared future. This was achieved through the powerful force of public diplomacy, through the building of deep people-to-people connections, cultural exchange, and communicating our shared aspirations to the world.
This soft power was our greatest asset. And this unity was secured by the solidarity of the international community. The role of international peacekeeping was vital.
It gave us the space to breathe, to reconcile and to build our institutions. It showed us that security is a collective endeavor. This experience taught us that a stable world feature lies in creating a multipolar world, not as a contest of powers, but as a symphony of diverse voices, cultures, and models, each respected, each contributing to a balanced global community.
But our conscious unity must extend beyond human societies to our very planet. The climate crisis is the ultimate reminder that we all share one fragile island, Mother Earth.
A new world consciousness must therefore be an ecological consciousness. It must recognize that our fates are irrevocably intertwined with the health of our oceans, forests and atmosphere. Protecting our planet is the most profound act of global unity we can offer to future generations.
So let us move forward with courage. Let us consciously choose collaboration over confrontation, compassion over indifference, and our shared humanity over the divisions that seek to define us. Let the story of Timor-Leste serve as a small but powerful example, that even after the darkest nights, a new dawn of unity and peace is possible.
But only if we will intervene together. I wish you a most fruitful Assembly. Thank you.
H.E. José Ramos-Horta
President of Timor-Leste Knight of the Order of Liberty Nobel Prize Laureate