UN General Assembly
2003

strong leadership in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Papua New Guinea has signed and ratified both the United Nations Climate Change Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol paves the way forward for developed countries to fulfil their obligations under the Climate Change Convention. We believe that the larger developing countries also have an obligation to take concrete actions in reducing their gas emissions. We welcome the support of Japan, the European Community and China for the Kyoto Protocol. We urge the United States, the Russian Federation and Australia to join the global efforts aimed at addressing that issue, including ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Papua New Guinea is also not immune to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Tuberculosis and malaria are again on the rise, so there is an urgent need to find preventive measures for those diseases. I am, however, pleased to report that the Papua New Guinea Parliament this year enacted legislation aimed at dealing with the scourge by assisting with prevention and awareness programmes to reduce and limit the