Today we have adopted a landmark resolution, which created an International Negotiating Committee (INC) to develop a global treaty addressing plastic pollution. 

I would like to thank all Member States for their dedication and commitment to the negotiation process. 

It is this spirit of cooperation we have witnessed here at UNEA that will lead us to success in developing a treaty to end plastic pollution. 

However, we know that the real work now begins. That’s why a like-minded group of nations has come together to create the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. The coalition will work with the INC, and advocate for urgent action to protect human health, biodiversity, and our climate. 

The goal of the coalition is to drive ambitious action during the negotiating process.

The HAC includes countries from around the world - both coastal and land-linked - a reflection that plastic pollution is a planetary crisis, a threat which affects us all.

The coalition recognises the shared responsibility of the international community to address the root causes of this crisis, and will work to ensure a united response. It will support interventions across the entire life-cycle of plastics - from production, to distribution, to disposal and management.

I am grateful to Norway for agreeing to co-chair the Coalition and the following nations who we approached and have expressed their commitment to join: Peru, Finland, Malawi,  Zambia, Fiji, Chile, Kenya, Ecuador and Uruguay - to name a few. 

I invite all Member States to join the High Ambition Coalition and we look forward to tomorrow’s Ministerial Breakfast to be hosted by Norway and Ecuador where we will share more information about the coalition and the next steps. 

I wish to thank the UNEP Secretariat for their excellent organisation of UNEA 5.2. 

We can all be very proud of what we have achieved. 

Murakoze cyane. Thank you.