What were the highlights, key points, priorities and notable excerpts and quotes in Francisco Avelino Vieira de Carvalho's speech at the UN General Assembly?

Francisco Carvalho, 55, is the Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, an island nation of ten volcanic islands off the northwest coast of Africa. He took office after his party, the PAICV (African Party for the Independence of Cabo Verde, a center-left party he leads), won parliamentary elections. He was previously Mayor of Praia, the capital. He holds a doctorate in migration and ethnic minorities from NOVA University Lisbon and delivered this speech in the Cabo Verdean language, Kriolu, making it his country's first general debate address in that tongue.

The day before he spoke, tropical storm Gonzalo had flooded streets on the island of Sal, Cabo Verde's most visited island, sending seawater down the avenue in front of hotels.

Highlights

• Climate change as a justice issue, not just an environmental one. Carvalho's central argument, reported by the Associated Press, was that the countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis bear the heaviest costs. He placed Cabo Verde squarely in that category, calling on the world to convert scientific knowledge into real decisions and action.

• Small islands, existential stakes. Where other leaders spoke in general terms, Carvalho pointed to the storm damage the day before as a live demonstration. He described rising seas, ocean acidification, and drought as present-day realities for Cabo Verde, not future risks.

• International law over force. Jornal Económico reported that Carvalho argued international law must prevail over raw power, a pointed position from a small state with no military leverage of its own.

• UN reform and Africa on the Security Council. He backed reforms to make the UN more effective and explicitly called for greater African representation on the Security Council, the UN's most powerful body, where Africa currently holds no permanent seat.

• Education and youth as peace policy. Carvalho quoted Amílcar Cabral, the philosopher and revolutionary who led the independence movement that freed both Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau from Portuguese rule. Cabral's phrase "always learn" was his frame: giving young people opportunity is, he argued, how you protect the planet and promote peace.

• Ambition without apology. The Associated Press singled out his line: "The size of a territory must never determine the size of its dreams."

Priorities

• Cabo Verde is preparing to take the presidency of AOSIS (Alliance of Small Island Developing States) in 2027 and intends to push for fairer climate financing and stronger ocean protection from that platform.
• He called for a global climate pact, noting that Cabo Verde is already working through the UN to build support for one.
• He called for a fairer international financial architecture that responds to the specific vulnerabilities of small island developing states.
• He backed acceleration of both Agenda 2030 (the UN's Sustainable Development Goals) and Agenda 2063 (the African Union's long-range development framework).
• He committed Cabo Verde to greater youth and women's participation in governance and development.

In his own words

From the AP's compilation of notable quotes from Day 5, as published:

"The size of a territory must never determine the size of its dreams."

On climate, as reported by the AP:

"Cabo Verde speaks with the same voice as other countries that are also living the climate crisis every day. For us, climate change is not a distant risk. It is an existential reality affecting our economies, our food and water security, our coastlines and ultimately our people's future."

On justice and the climate, as reported by Jornal Económico:

"The climate crisis is also a question of justice, because those who contribute least [to the crisis] cannot continue to bear some of its most serious consequences. Science has already shown the way; we must transform that valuable knowledge into decisions and action."

On what the storm proved, as reported by Jornal Económico:

"The climate crisis is already here: in the drought, in ocean acidification, in rising sea levels. We saw what happened [on Friday] in Santa Maria, where the sea came up onto the avenue in front of the hotels."

On the ocean, as reported by Jornal Económico:

"For an island country, protecting the ocean is not just environmental policy: it is protecting territory, economy, and the future."

Worth knowing

This was Carvalho's debut on the world stage as prime minister. He chose to speak in Kriolu rather than Portuguese, a deliberate signal of cultural pride. AOSIS, the alliance he is about to lead, groups the world's most climate-vulnerable small island states and is one of the most vocal blocs at international climate talks. Amílcar Cabral, whom he quoted, is considered one of Africa's greatest independence thinkers and is a national hero in both Cabo Verde and Guinea-Bissau.

Watch Day and read the full speech

The full official text is expected on the Cabo Verde government site and the UN's general debate archive: gadebate.un.org

Watch Day 5 of the 81st UNGA General Debate on YouTube