UN General Assembly
2014

Fourteen years ago, we, the States Members of the United Nations, made a historic commitment to eradicating extreme poverty and to improving the health and welfare of the world’s people within 15 years. The new development agenda should go further. We must address global challenges, such as conflicts, terrorism, inequalities, the absence of the rule of law, climate change and natural disasters. The social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability should be addressed in a balanced way. I thank the Secretary-General for his personal engagement in bringing together representatives of Governments, business, industry, finance and civil society to discuss climate change this week. Latvia supports the initiatives of the Secretary-General. The post-2015 agenda must be consistent with all human rights and be underpinned by the rule of law. It should address inequalities and discrimination, including by means of the advancement of information and communications technology. Those are key enablers for all spheres of development. Gender equality is essential to shaping respectful and equal relationships in society. Those values are important for Latvia. As