UN General Assembly
2008

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Pascal Couchepin, who had to cancel his trip to New York at the very last minute. Since its foundation, the United Nations has embodied the hope of all people to live in peace, freedom and dignity. As Members of the United Nations and as representatives of our peoples, we are under an obligation not to disappoint those hopes. Three years ago in this Hall, we decided in the 2005 World Summit Outcome to ensure that human beings would live in freedom and dignity, free from poverty and despair. We ought now to ask ourselves the following questions: Have we kept that promise? Have the expectations been fulfilled? Have we done enough to bring about peace and security, development and the realization of human rights? According to a recent World Bank report, the number of people living in poverty has fallen by 500 million since 1981. Their proportion of the total population has fallen from 52 to 26 per cent.