I should like to congratulate you,
Mr. President, and your country, Uganda, on assuming,
on behalf of the continent of Africa, the responsibilities
of President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. The theme that you have chosen for this general
debate and the sixty-ninth session, namely, “Delivering
on and implementing a transformative post-2015
development agenda”, is timely and most appropriate.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
galvanized and mobilized the international community
and the United Nations in a manner never seen before.
We have good stories to tell about the journey of the
past 15 years of implementing the MDGS. In Africa,
we seized the opportunity and adopted the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), our
sociodevelopment blueprint. The African Union’s
Vision 2063 will, together with NEPAD and other
socioeconomic development programmes, be the
cornerstone and foundation of Africa’s development
agenda going forward. South Africa has also made
significant progress in achieving the MDGs. Reducing
by half the number of people earning less than a dollar
a day has been achieved, while the proportion of those
experiencing hunger has also been halved. South
Africa has attained Goal 2, namely, to provide access
to primary education for all.

By official international indicators, South Africa is
also doing well on MDG 3 to promote and empower
women. South Africa has recorded impressive progress
through the expansion of its health infrastructure
and improved access to health services for all South
Africans.

On the reduction of child mortality, MDG 4, and the
improvement of maternal health, MDG 5, significant
progress has also been recorded, but more work remains
to be done. In fact. more work remains worldwide to
fully achieve those goals, especially in the developing
world. We have to confront the underlying root causes
that continue to make it impossible for our people to
have a better life.

In spite of the progress that we have made thus far,
reports continue to show that Africa is lagging behind
in the attainment of some of the MDGs. It is for that
reason that we appreciate the crafting of a post-2015
global development agenda that will carry forward the
unfinished business of the MDGs. The post-2015 global

development agenda will provide a frame of reference
for our collective agreement on what has to be done.
We reiterate that developed countries should be reliable
partners and meet their commitments to development
goals, such as contributing 0.7 per cent of their
gross national income towards official development
assistance. We say that because it does not matter
what the great Organization has achieved in the past
six decades if we do not deal comprehensively with the
scourge of poverty, unemployment and diseases. The
poor of the world will then consider everything done
to have been a failure. Indeed, we would have failed in
our duty if we succeed in preventing another world war
but continue to have children dying of malnutrition and
treatable diseases.

The recent outbreak of Ebola in some West
African States and the number of lives that have
been unnecessarily lost provide a clear example of
the challenges that developing countries continue to
contend with. We believe that Ebola would have been
contained within a few days had the outbreak been in
the developed world. But now it has become a pandemic
that threatens the economies of affected African States.

The outbreak has thus exposed the challenges
resulting from lack of capacity, lack of infrastructure
and other limited resources in Africa. We are pleased
that the United Nations, under the leadership of the
Secretary-General, is deploying a mission to coordinate
efforts to combat the virus. South Africa stands ready to
continue to provide whatever resources we have at our
disposal to assist the people and Governments of our
sister countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
We add our voice in calling for more resources to be
deployed so as to ensure that the virus is contained.

The role of the United Nations in supporting the
struggles of self-determination and freedom has been
remarkable. South Africa is a shining example. Twenty
years ago, President Nelson Mandela thanked all
nations for support from this very podium when South
Africa was readmitted to the United Nations as a free
and democratic State. We are reminded of that fact on
this important day, which is National Heritage Day in
my country.

Since 1994, South Africa has made significant
progress in transforming the apartheid State into a
democratic one, founded on the values of human dignity,
non-discrimination, non-racialism and non-sexism, the
rule of law and universal adult suffrage, as enshrined in
the Constitution. Given our history and heritage, we are
mindful of our historic and moral responsibility in the
global struggle against racism, racial discrimination
and other intolerances. We will, in this regard, continue
to be at the forefront of efforts to eliminate all forms of
racism, racial discrimination and any other intolerance,
including xenophobia and anti-Semitism.

The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action
remain the primary framework adopted by a United
Nations conference in the fight against racism. We
will continue to support the struggles for freedom
and self-determination, including the struggles of the
peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara, who continue
to experience occupation and colonialism of different
forms. The people of Cuba also hold a special place
in our hearts because of that country’s sacrifice for
African freedom. We will therefore continue to support
their struggle for economic liberation.

While the United Nations has done remarkably well
in supporting self-determination, when it celebrates 70
years of existence next year, this body may be found
wanting by the people of Palestine. The Israeli-Palestine
question is one of the oldest items on the United
Nations agenda, but progress remains elusive. In the
past few months in particular, the world has witnessed
a devastating conflict that left a humanitarian crisis
of shocking proportions. People in Palestine were left
homeless, with no medical facilities, no safe drinking
water, bereaved and having to care for the wounded
after a trail of destructive military actions by Israel.

South Africa has condemned the actions of both
Israel and Hamas, and we have called for an immediate
cessation of hostilities. Our strongly held view is
that there can be no military solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian question. We should all remain committed
to the two-State solution, based on the 1967 borders,
with Palestine and Israel coexisting side by side in
peace.

Of concern in this matter has been the helplessness
displayed by the United Nations, especially the Security
Council during the current conflict. The United
Nations has the moral authority and legitimacy to unite
the world in promoting the quest for peace, justice and
self-determination for the people of Palestine, while
addressing whatever security concerns Israel may have.
This body must play its role without fear or favour and
be a beacon for all who suffer oppression in the world.

Let me reiterate that the seventieth anniversary of
the United Nations next year provides an opportunity
for us seriously to reflect on the need to reform this
august body, moving beyond words to action. Ten years
ago, world leaders celebrating the sixtieth anniversary
of the United Nations agreed on the need for reform
of the Security Council in particular. The decision
remains valid and must be implemented. When we
convene here next year, in the seventieth year of the
United Nations, we should be able to adopt a concrete
programme that will guide us towards a strengthened
United Nations and a reformed Security Council. Some
contentious aspects of the United Nations system,
including the power of veto and the exclusion of regions
such as Africa from the Security Council, are some of
the critical matters that cannot be ignored in the quest
for transformation.

Among the achievements of the Organization in its
recent history is the cooperation between the African
Union and the United Nations, particularly since the
formation of the African Union Peace and Security
Architecture. In this regard, the full implementation
of Security Council resolutions 1809 (2008) and 2033
(2012), on cooperation between the United Nations
and regional organizations, particularly the African
Union, remains crucial. Progress has been made in a
number of areas where this cooperation is in place, for
example in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The
two affected subregional organizations, the Southern
African Development Community and the International
Conference on the Great Lakes Region, continue to
take significant strides with the support of the United
Nations.

This body celebrated the formation of a new State
of South Sudan not long ago. Recent developments and
the ongoing conflict in South Sudan have resulted in
loss of life and other dire humanitarian consequences.
We will continue to contribute as much as we can to
finding solutions working with the African Union and
this body. South Sudan should not be allowed to regress.

Next year marks 20 years since the the Fourth
World Conference on Women adopted the Beijing
Platform for Action. The anniversary provides an
opportunity for the United Nations and the international
community to reflect and take forward the struggle
for the emancipation of women from all forms of
discrimination.

Last December, the world descended on South
Africa to pay last respects to our beloved Madiba.
Those who did not come to South Africa honoured
Madiba in various ways. We will continue to work with
the world to promote Madiba’s legacy and passion for
justice, freedom, equality and human rights. We are
grateful to the General Assembly and the President of
the Assembly at the sixty-eighth session for the decision
to establish the United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela Prize that will be awarded to an outstanding
individual who will have demonstrated a commitment
to the aims, objectives and principles of the United
Nations Charter. The Prize is a great testament to the
outstanding individual that Madiba was and will always
be.

As we recommit to the Millennium Development
Goals, let me once again borrow from the words of
Madiba uttered on his historic inauguration day in 1994
when he said:

“We understand it still that there is no easy
road to freedom. We know it well that none of
us acting alone can achieve success. We must
therefore act together as a united people, for
national reconciliation, for nation building, for the
birth of a new world. Let there be justice for all.
Let there be peace for all. Let there be work, bread,
water and salt for all. Let each know that for each
the body, the mind and the soul have been freed to
fulfil themselves.”


We come together at a
crossroads between war and peace, between disorder
and integration, between fear and hope. Around the
globe, there are signposts of progress. The shadow of
the Second World War that existed at the founding of
this institution has been lifted, and the prospect of war
between major Powers reduced. The ranks of Member
States have more than tripled, and more people live
under Governments that they elected. Hundreds of
millions of human beings have been freed from the
prison of poverty, with the proportion of those living
in extreme poverty cut in half. And the world economy
continues to strengthen after the worst financial crisis
of our lives.

Today, whether you live in downtown Manhattan or
in my grandmother’s village more than 200 miles from
Nairobi, you can hold in your hand more information
than the world’s greatest libraries. Together, we have
learned how to cure disease and harness the power
of the wind and the sun. The very existence of this
Organization is a unique achievement, with the people
of the world committing to resolve their differences
peacefully and to solve their problems together. I often
tell young people in the United States that, despite
the headlines, this is the best time in human history
to be born, for you are more likely than ever before to
be literate, to be healthy and to be free to pursue your
dreams.

And yet there is a pervasive unease in our world — a
sense that the very forces that have brought us together
have created new dangers and made it difficult for any
single nation to insulate itself from global forces. As we
gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public
health systems in West Africa and threatens to move
rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe
recalls the days when large nations trampled small
ones in pursuit of territorial ambitions. The brutality
of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the
heart of darkness.

Each of those problems demands urgent attention.
But they are also symptoms of a broader problem:
the failure of our international system to keep pace
with an interconnected world. We, collectively, have
not invested adequately in the public health capacity
of developing countries. Too often, we have failed
to enforce international norms when it has been

inconvenient to do so. And we have not confronted
forcefully enough the intolerance, sectarianism and
hopelessness that feeds violent extremism in too many
parts of the globe.

Fellow representatives, we come together as
United Nations with a choice to make. We can renew
the international system that has enabled so much
progress, or we can allow ourselves to be pulled back
by an undertow of instability. We can reaffirm our
collective responsibility to confront global problems, or
be swamped by more and more outbreaks of instability.
And for America, the choice is clear — we choose hope
over fear. We see the future not as something out of our
control, but as something we can shape for the better
through concerted and collective effort. We reject
fatalism or cynicism when it comes to human affairs.
We choose to work for the world as it should be, as our
children deserve it to be.

There is much that must be done to meet the test
of this moment. But today I would like to focus on
two defining questions at the root of so many of our
challenges. Will the nations represented here today
be able to renew the purpose of the United Nations
founding, and will we come together to reject the cancer
of violent extremism?

First, all of us — big nations and small — must meet
our responsibility to observe and enforce international
norms. We are here because others realized that we
gain more from cooperation than from conquest. One
hundred years ago, a World War claimed the lives of
many millions, proving that with the terrible power of
modern weaponry, the cause of empire ultimately leads
to the graveyard. It would then take another World War
to roll back the forces of fascism, the notions of racial
supremacy, and form the United Nations to ensure that
no nation can subjugate its neighbours and claim their
territory.

Recently, Russia’s actions in Ukraine have
challenged that post-war order. Here are the facts. After
the people of Ukraine mobilized popular protests and
calls for reform, their corrupt President fled. Against
the will of the Government in Kyiv, Crimea was annexed
by Russia. Russia poured arms into eastern Ukraine,
fuelling violent separatists and a conflict that has killed
thousands. When a civilian airliner was shot down from
areas that those proxy forces controlled, those forces
refused to allow access to the crash site for days. When
Ukraine started to reassert control over its territory,
Russia gave up the pretence of merely supporting the
separatists and moved troops across the border.

That reflects a vision of a world in which might
makes right; a world in which one nation’s borders
can be redrawn by another and civilized people are
not allowed to recover the remains of their loved ones
because of the truth that might be revealed.

America stands for something different. We believe
that right makes might, that bigger nations should not
be able to bully smaller ones and that people should
be able to choose their own future. Those are simple
truths, but they must be defended. America and our
allies will support the people of Ukraine as they develop
their democracy and economy. We will reinforce our
NATO allies and uphold our commitment to collective
self-defence. We will impose a cost on Russia for its
aggression, and we will counter falsehoods with the
truth. And we call upon others to join us on the right
side of history, for while small gains can be won at the
barrel of a gun, they will ultimately be turned back if
enough voices support the freedom of nations and the
right of peoples to make their own decisions.

Moreover, a different path is available — the path of
diplomacy and peace, and the ideals that this institution
is designed to uphold. The recent ceasefire agreement in
Ukraine offers an opening to achieve those objectives.
If Russia takes that path — a path that for stretches of
the post-Cold War period resulted in prosperity for the
Russian people — then we will lift our sanctions and
welcome Russia’s role in addressing common challenges.
That is, after all, what the United States and Russia
have been able to do in past years — from reducing our
nuclear stockpiles to meeting our obligations under the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and to cooperating to
remove and destroy Syria’s declared chemical weapons.
That is the kind of cooperation we are prepared to
pursue again, if Russia changes course.

That speaks to a central question of our global
age — will we solve our problems together in a spirit of
mutual interest and mutual respect, or will we descend
into the destructive rivalries of the past? When nations
find common ground — not simply based on power, but
on principle — then we can make enormous progress.
And I stand before the Assembly today committed to
investing American strength and to working with all
nations to address the problems we face in the twenty-
first century.

As we speak, America is deploying our doctors and
scientists, supported by our military, to help contain
the outbreak of Ebola and pursue new treatments. But
we need a broader effort to stop a disease that could
kill hundreds of thousands, inflict horrific suffering,

destabilize economies and move rapidly across borders.
It is easy to see that problem as a distant problem,
until it is not. And that is why we will continue to
mobilize other countries to join us in making concrete
commitments, significant commitments to fight the
outbreak and enhance our system of global health
security for the long term.

America is pursuing a diplomatic resolution to the
Iranian nuclear issue, as part of our commitment to stop
the spread of nuclear weapons and pursue the peace
and security of a world without them. But that can take
place only if Iran seizes this historic opportunity. My
message to Iran’s leaders and people has been simple
and consistent: do not let this opportunity pass. We can
reach a solution that meets Iran’s energy needs while
assuring the world that Iran’s nuclear programme is
peaceful.

America is and will continue to be a Pacific
Power, promoting peace, stability, and the free flow
of commerce among nations. But we will insist that
all nations abide by the rules of the road and resolve
their territorial disputes peacefully, consistent with
international law. That is how the Asia-Pacific region
has grown. And that is the only way to protect the
progress going forward.

America is committed to a development agenda that
eradicates extreme poverty by 2030. We will do our part
to help people feed themselves, power their economies
and care for their sick. If the world acts together, we
can make sure that all of our children enjoy lives of
opportunity and dignity.

America is pursuing ambitious reductions in
its carbon emissions, and we have increased our
investments in clean energy. We will do our part and
help developing nations do theirs. But the science tells
us that we can succeed in combating climate change
only if we are joined in that effort by every other nation,
by every major Power. That is how we can protect the
planet for our children and our grandchildren.

In other words, on issue after issue, we cannot rely
on a rule book written for a different century. If we lift
our eyes beyond our borders, if we think globally and
if we act cooperatively, we can shape the course of this
century as our predecessors shaped the post-World War
Two age.

But as we look to the future, one issue risks starting
a cycle of conflict that could derail so much progress.
That is the cancer of violent extremism, which has
ravaged so many parts of the Muslim world. Of course,
terrorism is not new. Speaking before the Assembly,
President Kennedy put it well:

“Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout
history it has been used by those who could not
prevail either by persuasion or by example.”
(A/PV.1013, para. 96)
In the twentieth century, terror was used by all
manner of groups who failed to come to power through
public support. But in this century, we have faced a
more lethal and ideological brand of terrorists who have
perverted one of the world’s great religions. With access
to technology that allows small groups to do great harm,
they have embraced a nightmarish vision that would
divide the world into adherents and infidels — killing
as many innocent civilians as possible and employing
the most brutal methods to intimidate people within
their communities.

I have made it clear that America will not base its
entire foreign policy on reacting to terrorism. Instead,
we have waged a focused campaign against Al-Qaida
and its associated forces — taking out their leaders
and denying them the safe havens they rely on. At the
same time, we have reaffirmed again and again that the
United States is not and never will be at war with Islam.
Islam teaches peace. Muslims the world over aspire to
live with dignity and a sense of justice. And when it
comes to America and Islam, there is no us and them,
there is only us, because millions of Muslim Americans
are part of the fabric of our country.

So we reject any suggestion of a clash of
civilizations. Belief in permanent religious war is the
misguided refuge of extremists who cannot build or
create anything and therefore peddle only fanaticism
and hate. And it is no exaggeration to say that the future
of humankind depends on our uniting against those
who would divide us along the fault lines of tribe or
sect, race or religion.

But this is not simply a matter of words. Collectively,
we must take concrete steps to address the danger posed
by religiously motivated fanatics and the trends that
fuel their recruitment. Moreover, the campaign against
extremism goes beyond a narrow security challenge.
For while we have worked methodically to degrade
Al-Qaida at its core and have supported a transition to
a sovereign Afghan Government, extremist ideology
has shifted to other places, particularly in the Middle
East and North Africa, where a quarter of the young

people have no job, where food and water could grow
scarce, and where corruption is rampant and sectarian
conflicts have become increasingly hard to contain.

As an international community, we must meet this
challenge with a focus on four areas. First, the terrorist
group known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant
(ISIL) must be degraded and ultimately destroyed. It
has terrorized all those whom it has come across in Iraq
and Syria. Mothers, sisters and daughters have been
subjected to rape as a weapon of war. Innocent children
have been gunned down. Bodies have been dumped into
mass graves. Religious minorities have been starved to
death. In the most horrific crimes imaginable, innocent
human beings have been beheaded, with videos of
the atrocity distributed to shock the conscience of the
world.

No god condones such terror. No grievance
justifies such actions. There can be no reasoning or
negotiation with that brand of evil. The only language
understood by killers of that kind is the language of
force. So the United States of America will work with
a broad coalition to dismantle that network of death. In
this effort, we do not act alone, nor do we intend to send
United States troops to occupy foreign lands. Instead,
we will support Iraqis and Syrians fighting to reclaim
their communities. We will use our military might to
roll back ISIL in a campaign of air strikes. We will train
and equip forces fighting those terrorists on the ground.
We will work to cut off their financing and stop the flow
of fighters into and out of the region. And more than
40 nations have already offered to join the coalition.
Today, I ask the world to join in this effort. Those who
have joined ISIL should leave the battlefield while they
can. Those who continue to fight for a hateful cause
will find that they are increasingly alone. For we will
not succumb to threats, and we will demonstrate that
the future belongs to those who build, not to those who
destroy. So that is an immediate challenge, the first one
we must meet.

The second challenge is that it is time for the
world, especially Muslim communities, to explicitly,
forcefully and consistently reject the ideology of
organizations such as Al-Qaida and ISIL. It is one of
the tasks of all great religions to accommodate devout
faith with a modern, multicultural world. No children
are born hating, and no children anywhere should be
educated to hate other people. There should be no
further tolerance of so-called clerics who call on people
to harm innocents because they are Jewish or Christian
or Muslim. It is time for a new compact among the
civilized peoples of this world to eradicate war at its
most fundamental source, and that is the corruption of
young minds by violent ideology.

That means cutting off the funding that fuels such
hatred. It is time to end the hypocrisy of those who
accumulate wealth through the global economy and
then siphon funds to those who teach children to tear
it down. That means contesting the space that terrorists
occupy, including the Internet and social media. Their
propaganda has coerced young people to travel abroad
to fight their wars and has turned students — young
people full of potential — into suicide bombers. We
must offer an alternative vision. That means bringing
people of different faiths together. All religions have
been attacked by extremists from within at some point,
and all people of faith have a responsibility to lift up the
value at the heart of all great religions. Do unto your
neighbour as you would do — as you would have others
do — unto yourself.

The ideology of ISIL or Al-Qaida or Boko
Haram will wilt and die if it is consistently exposed
and confronted and refuted in the light of day. Look
at the new Forum for Promoting Peace in Muslim
Societies, whose purpose Sheikh Abdallah Bin Bayyah
has described as “We must declare war on war, so
the outcome will be peace upon peace”. Look at the
young British Muslims who have responded to terrorist
propaganda by starting the #notinmyname campaign,
declaring that ISIL is hiding behind a false Islam. Look
at the Christian and Muslim leaders who came together
in the Central African Republic to reject violence; listen
to the imam there who said that, while politics may try
to divide the religious in that country, religion should
not be a cause of hate, war, or strife.

Later today, the Security Council will adopt a
resolution that underscores the responsibility of States
to counter violent extremism. But resolutions must
be followed by tangible commitments, so that we are
accountable when we fall short. Next year, we should
all be prepared to announce the concrete steps that
we have taken to counter extremist ideologies in our
own countries — by getting intolerance out of schools,
stopping radicalization before it spreads and promoting
institutions and programmes that build new bridges of
understanding.

Thirdly, we must address the cycle of conflict,
especially sectarian conflict, that creates the conditions
that terrorists prey upon. There is nothing new about

wars within religions. Christianity endured centuries of
vicious sectarian conflict. Today it is violence within
Muslim communities that has become the source
of so much human misery. It is time to acknowledge
the destruction wrought by proxy wars and terror
campaigns between Sunni and Shia across the Middle
East. And it is time that political, civic and religious
leaders rejected sectarian strife. So let us be clear. This
is a fight that no one is winning. A brutal civil war in
Syria has already killed nearly 200,000 people and has
displaced millions. Iraq has come perilously close to
plunging back into the abyss. The conflict has created
a fertile recruiting ground for terrorists, who inevitably
export such violence.

The good news is that we also see signs that the tide
can be reversed. We have a new, inclusive Government
in Baghdad and a new Iraqi Prime Minister welcomed
by his neighbours; we see Lebanese factions that reject
those who try to provoke war. Such steps must be followed
by a broader truce. Nowhere is that more necessary
than in Syria. Together with our partners, America is
training and equipping the Syrian opposition to be a
counterweight to the terrorists of ISIL and the brutality
of the Al-Assad regime. But the only lasting solution
to Syria’s civil war is political — an inclusive political
transition that responds to the legitimate aspirations of
all Syrian citizens, regardless of ethnicity, regardless
of creed.

Cynics may argue that such an outcome can never
come to pass. But there is no other way for the madness
in Syria to end, whether one year from now or 10. And it
points to the fact that it is time for a broader negotiation
in the region, in which major Powers address their
differences directly, honestly and peacefully across
the table from one another, rather than through gun-
wielding proxies. I can promise the international
community that America will remain engaged in the
region, and we are prepared to engage in that effort.

My fourth and final point is a simple one. The
countries of the Arab and Muslim world must focus on
the extraordinary potential of their people, especially
the youth. And here I would like to speak directly to
young people across the Muslim world. You come
from a great tradition that stands for education, not
ignorance; innovation, not destruction; the dignity of
life, not murder. Those who call you away from that
path are betraying that tradition, not defending it. You
have demonstrated that when young people have the
tools to succeed — good schools, education in math
and science, an economy that nurtures creativity and
entrepreneurship — then societies will flourish. So,
America will partner with those who promote that
vision.

Where women are full participants in a country’s
politics or economy, societies are more likely to
succeed. And that is why we support the participation of
women in parliaments and peace processes, schools and
the economy. If young people live in places where the
only option is between the dictates of a State or the lure
of an extremist underground, then no counterterrorism
strategy can succeed. But where a genuine civil society
is allowed to flourish — where people can express their
views and organize peacefully for a better life — then
you dramatically expand the alternatives to terror.

And such positive change need not come at the
expense of tradition and faith. We see that in Iraq, where
a young man started a library for his peers. “We link
Iraq’s heritage to their hearts”, he said, and “give them
a reason to stay”. We see it in Tunisia, where secular
and Islamist parties worked together through a political
process to produce a new constitution. We see it in
Senegal, where civil society thrives alongside a strong
democratic Government. We see it in Malaysia, where
vibrant entrepreneurship is propelling a former colony
into the ranks of advanced economies. And we see it in
Indonesia, where what began as a violent transition has
evolved into a genuine democracy.

Ultimately the task of rejecting sectarianism and
rejecting extremism is a generational one, and a task
for the people of the Middle East themselves. No
external power can bring about a transformation of
hearts and minds. But America will be a respectful
and constructive partner. We will neither tolerate
terrorist safe havens nor act as an occupying Power.
We will take action against threats to our security and
our allies, while building an architecture of counter-
terrorism cooperation. We will increase efforts to lift
up those who counter extremist ideologies and who
seek to resolve sectarian conflict. And we will expand
our programmes to support entrepreneurship and civil
society, education and youth, because ultimately those
investments are the best antidote to violence.

We recognize as well that leadership will be
necessary to address the conflict between Palestinians
and Israelis. As bleak as the landscape appears, America
will not give up on the pursuit of peace. Understand that
the situation in Iraq and Syria and Libya should cure
anybody of the illusion that the Arab-Israeli conflict

is the main source of problems in the region. For far
too long that has been used as an excuse to distract
people from problems at home. The violence engulfing
the region today has made too many Israelis ready to
abandon the hard work of peace. And that is something
worthy of reflection within Israel. Because let us be
clear: the status quo in the West Bank and Gaza is not
sustainable. We cannot afford to turn away from that
effort — not when rockets are fired at innocent Israelis,
or when the lives of so many Palestinian children are
taken from us in Gaza. So long as I am President, we
will stand up for the principle that Israelis, Palestinians,
the region and the world will be more just and more
safe with two States living side by side, in peace and
security.

So this is what America is prepared to do: take
action against immediate threats, while pursuing a
world in which the need for such action is diminished.
The United States will never shy away from defending
our interests, but we will also not shy away from the
promise of this institution and its Universal Declaration
of Human Rights — the notion that peace is not merely
the absence of war, but the presence of a better life.

I realize that America’s critics will be quick to point
out that at times we too have failed to live up to our
ideals and that America has plenty of problems within
its own borders. That is true. In a summer marked by
instability in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, I
know the world also took notice of the small American
city of Ferguson, Missouri, where a young man was
killed and a community was divided. So, yes, we have
our own racial and ethnic tensions. And, like every
country, we continually wrestle with how to reconcile
the vast changes wrought by globalization and greater
diversity with the traditions that we hold dear.

But we welcome the scrutiny of the world, because
what you see in America is a country that has steadily
worked to address our problems, to make our union
more perfect, to bridge the divides that existed at the
founding of this nation. America is not the same as it
was 100 years ago or 50 years ago or even a decade ago.
We fight for our ideals and we are willing to criticize
ourselves when we fall short. We hold our leaders
accountable and insist on a free press and an independent
judiciary. We address our differences in the open space
of democracy, with respect for the rule of law, with a
place for people of every race and every religion and
with an unyielding belief in the ability of individual
men and women to change their communities and their
circumstances and their countries for the better.

After nearly six years as President, I believe that that
promise can help light the world. I have seen a longing
for positive change — for peace and for freedom and for
opportunity and for an end to bigotry — in the eyes of
young people whom I have met around the globe. They
remind me that no matter who you are or where you
come from or what you look like or what God you pray
to or whom you love, there is something fundamental
that we all share.

Eleanor Roosevelt, a champion of the United
Nations and America’s role in it, once asked,

“Where, after all, do universal human rights
begin? In small places, close to home — so close
and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps
of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual
person; the neighbourhood he lives in; the school or
college he attends; the factory, farm or office where
he works.”
Around the world, young people are moving forward,
hungry for a better world. Around the world, in small
places, they are overcoming hatred and bigotry and
sectarianism. And they are learning to respect each
other, despite differences.
The people of the world now look to us, here, to
be as decent and dignified and courageous as they are
trying to be in their daily lives. And at this crossroads,
I can promise the Assembly that the United States
of America will not be distracted or deterred from
what must be done. We are heirs to a proud legacy of
freedom, and we are prepared to do what is necessary
to secure that legacy for generations to come. I ask
that the Assembly join us in this common mission, for
today’s children and tomorrow’s.


At the outset,
I would like to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Sam
Kutesa on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. We wish him
success in his mission. I would also like to thank His
Excellency Mr. John Ashe for his work during his
presidency. And I thank His Excellency Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts to promote and
operationalize the role of the United Nations.

The start of this year’s session comes at a time
when recent international developments are affecting
the security and safety of all humankind. In that
regard, it is essential that the United Nations live up
to its role in the maintenance of international peace
and security through all the mechanisms and means
provided for in the Charter of the United Nations,
explore every possible way of preventing conflicts and
addressing their root causes, and work to settle them
by peaceful means. We cannot achieve international
peace and security without a dialogue based on the
principle of equality and compliance with international
law, implementation of the resolutions of international
legality and respect for the principles of human rights
and the rights of peoples.

The Middle East went through an extremely
dangerous phase during the recent war on our
Palestinian brothers. There are no guarantees that it
will not recur. Israel continues to persist in its policies
of occupation and to defy the will of the international
community by confiscating land in the West Bank and
building settlements in an effort to perpetuate that
occupation. Humankind was shocked by the tragic

scenes and unprecedented images of destruction during
the latest round of aggression targeting civilians in
Gaza. Babies were killed in their mothers’ arms, almost
half a million Palestinians were displaced and the Gaza
Strip was virtually destroyed when people had hardly
managed to rebuild after the destruction inflicted on
Gaza during the previous war. Under international
law and international humanitarian law, such acts are
defined as crimes against humanity. The arrogance
of power will not prevail over the resistance of the
Palestinian people. I salute their steadfast resistance in
the face of the occupation in Gaza and their insistence
on regaining their legitimate rights. May the souls of
the Palestinian martyrs rest in peace.

Israel must realize that it can achieve security for
its people only through peace, and that the occupation
is bound to end. The damage caused by Israel’s repeated
acts of aggression in the Gaza Strip in recent years,
the unjust blockade imposed on it and the destruction
wreaked on its infrastructure make it incumbent
on the international community to compel Israel to
implement internationally agreed-on resolutions, fulfil
its obligations and hasten to remove every obstacle
to lifting the blockade and launching the process of
reconstructionn. The State of Qatar will spare no effort
to provide assistance for the reconstruction of the Gaza
Strip, and we urge every country to follow suit.

The international community’s response to the
aspirations of the Palestinian people to freedom
and national independence is vital to affirming the
justice of international legality, especially since the
question of Palestine is the last remaining issue on
the decolonization agenda. In that context, temporary
solutions and piecemeal settlements have proved useless
and unacceptable. Israel’s intransigence compels us to
resort to the United Nations as a framework that can
accommodate all parties.

The Security Council should shoulder its moral
and legal responsibilities by upholding the principles
of international legality and human rights and avoiding
the selectivity that has characterized its approach to
this issue in recent times. It should adopt a resolution,
under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
forcing Israel to end its occupation of the lands it seized
in 1967 and to implement the two-State solution agreed
on by the international community, according to a clear
and time-bound political plan, within the framework of
peace negotiations leading to a permanent settlement of
the Palestinian question through a two-State solution,
in accordance with the Arab Peace Initiative and the
relevant internationally legitimate resolutions. The
world is duty-bound to persuade the Palestinians that
those who killed their children in Gaza will not be
received in diplomatic forums as if they had carried
out a civilized action because they had bombed
Palestinians from the air without staining their hands
with Palestinian blood.

The tragedy of the Syrian people, now in its fourth
year, represents one of the major challenges in the Middle
East. This humanitarian disaster has been exacerbated
and is becoming increasingly dangerous by the lack of
a clear vision for a solution to the crisis, continued acts
of murder and destruction, violations of human rights,
the terrible human suffering and the displacement
of nearly half of the Syrian people. This makes it
incumbent on the international community to strive
to end the bloodshed and the systematic destruction of
Syria by a regime that forces its people to choose
between accepting its presence or burning down their
country.

We have already warned that the continuation of the
regime’s policy of terrorism, genocide and displacement,
as well as the failure to provide support to the Syrian
revolution when it was still a civilian revolution
demanding freedom and dignity, would push many
Syrians to opt for self-defence. We have also warned
the international community from the outset that if no
action were taken about the situation in Syria, we would
reach the point at which we now find ourselves. When
the Syrian people defended themselves with weapons,
we advocated providing them with support before the
regime destroyed their country and before extremist
organizations arose and flourished. No red lines were
drawn to stop the actions of the Syrian regime. The
world remained silent even when Syrian children and
women were killed with chemical weapons and when
its populated neighbourhoods were levelled with barrel
bombs. Eventually, the Syrian people found themselves
stuck between the grip of terrorism of the regime and
that of extremist forces that thrived in the swamp of
violence. The war of genocide waged and the deliberate
displacement carried out by the regime remain major
crimes.

Confronted by this grim reality, the international
community needs to provide all aspects of humanitarian
aid to the Syrian people inside and outside their areas
of refuge. We reiterate our call on the Security Council
to promptly shoulder its legal and humanitarian

responsibilities. It must support the Syrian people
against the two dangers posed by the terrorism and
crimes of genocide of the regime, and by the terrorist
forces that have taken advantage of the prevailing
misery, bitterness and the absence of the State and the
international community. The first danger has begotten
the second.

Many areas of the world suffer from the terrorism
being perpetrated under different pretexts and slogans
that threaten the security and stability of the world and
hamper the achievement of the desired development. No
civilization has been spared terrorism in the modern era.
There is no doubt that the most affected communities
are those in which this evil seed had grown. This
phenomenon is hostile to the diversity and pluralism
that enrich communities. In the case of the affected
Arab and Islamic societies, terrorism affects innocent
people, impoverishes our societies by depriving them
of humanitarian and religious diversity, muzzles the
real demands of the peoples, and offends religion with
its superficial and apostatic interpretations.

Therefore we must all redouble our efforts to fight
this phenomenon whatever its forms, target or source
might be. It has been proved beyond any doubt that
terrorism can be defeated only in its social environment.
If societies are to stand with us in the fight against
terrorism, we need to be fair and not push them to
choose between terrorism and tyranny, or between
terrorism and sectarian discrimination. We cannot win
the war on terror if peoples are not satisfied that it is
their war and not a war to stabilize a regime that is
oppressing them.

The Syrian people have suffered from tyranny and
terrorism. The international community did not heed
the cries for help of the Iraqi people, who have been the
first victims of terrorism in Iraq. But those who fought
terrorism and defeated it found themselves prone
to marginalization and abuse by terrorist sectarian
militias. It is therefore imperative to persuade the Iraqi
people that they will not pay the a thousandfold price,
and that when they defend their homeland they are
merely defending their rights, dignity and freedoms,
which must be guaranteed. This is what the majority
of the Syrian people must be persuaded of after being
soaked in the blood spilled by the Syrian regime for
daring to demand freedom and dignity.

In this context, the international community
needs to stand firmly by brotherly Iraq in confronting
terrorism and ending its ordeal. Preserving its
sovereignty, territorial integrity and the diversity of
its sects can be achieved only by defusing sectarian
conflict and achieving Iraqi reconciliation that lays the
foundations for a society free from sectarian and ethnic
conflicts, with the participation of all political forces,
without exclusion.

In this context, the international community must
also assist fraternal Libya in ending its current ordeal
by making a serious effort to respect the will of the
Libyan people and meet their legitimate aspirations
for security and stability through reconciliation and
the inclusion of all Libyan factions. From this rostrum,
I call on all Libyan political forces to follow the path
of national dialogue and to hammer out a formula for
governance that meets the aspirations of the Libyan
people, who have sacrificed so much for their freedom.

On this occasion, I cannot but hail the nascent
Tunisian experience, which augurs well for our future
and owes its progress to the awareness and unity of the
Tunisians and their insistence on the success of their
experiment, despite continuous attempts by Powers that
do not want pluralism to succeed in our region. Another
successful instance of the peaceful transfer of power
has been seen in Yemen. We were encouraged by the
outcome of the national dialogue under the auspices of
the United Nations and with the support of the Security
Council, which adopted a resolution emphasizing
commitment to the process and condemning those
undermining its implementation.

But it would seem that there are forces who are
joining ranks in an attempt to thwart that experiment.
Some oppose any change at all and would prefer to turn
back the hands of the clock; others prefer sectarian
conflict and sectarian and factional interests over
justice and good governance for Yemen. Experience
has shown that the use of violence and political action
from a factional or sectarian perspective does not lead
to a change towards a better system of governance, but
poses a threat to the political entity itself.

We call on our Yemeni brothers to preserve the
achievements of the young people of Yemen, and
those of national dialogue and wisdom, and not to
abandon what they have accomplished. They must not
allow anyone to drag them onto the path of sectarian
violence. We also call on the United Nations to work
on implementing its decisions on the achievements of
the national dialogue, including rebuilding the army so
that it can defend the legitimate institutions and stop
the phenomenon of armed militias in Yemen. It has

become clear that such forces would lead to civil strife
and derail the process of peaceful transition.

Many countries of the world still suffer from
poverty and face difficulties in promoting their
development at the desired pace. This holds true for the
new post-2015 sustainable development goals, which
constitute a common vision for future generations. I
stress that the State of Qatar will pursue its efforts to
build a partnership with the United Nations in order
to adopt a post-2015 development plan that meets the
aspirations of the peoples of all countries and regional
blocs.

I would also like to note that the State of Qatar
has made progress in its national development plans
and strengthened its regional and global partnerships,
as confirmed by the United Nations 2014 Human
Development Index. The State of Qatar has been
ranked thirty-first globally, and today we continue the
implementation of the comprehensive national strategy
for human development based on the Qatar Vision 2030,
aimed at achieving development in various fields.

The State of Qatar will pursue its active policy
of providing a space for dialogue in areas of conflict
and for mediation between the various parties, as we
believe in solving conflicts by peaceful means and
have established a tradition of peaceful mediation. We
will continue to provide a platform for dialogue among
political currents, cultures and religions.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the
commitment of the State of Qatar to work with the
United Nations to address common challenges and
achieve the goals we all seek.


At the outset,
on behalf of the Republic of the Sudan, I would like to
convey to Mr. Sam Kutesa our sincerest congratulations
on his election as President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. I also extend thanks and
appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. John Ashe, for
his wise and patient conduct of the deliberations of
the previous session. We hope that this session will
culminate in concrete results on important, universal
issues, in particular the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and the implementation
of the post-2015 development agenda, which is a major
topic of discussion at this session.

Today, I address the Assembly at a time when the
Sudan is on the threshold of an important new phase of
comprehensive political participation that excludes no
party, faction or group. On 27 January, His Excellency
the President of the Republic of the Sudan, President
Omer Al-Bashir, launched an initiative for an inclusive
national dialogue, calling on the representatives of
the Sudanese people to sit at the same table to discuss
six major priorities: unity and peace, the economy,
fundamental freedoms and rights, their identity,
foreign relations and the issues of governance and
the implementation of the outcomes of the national
dialogue.

The President’s appeal enjoyed an unprecedented
response on the part of all political forces in the Sudan
and the international community in view of the fact that
both the Government and the opposition were convinced
that dialogue was the only option at that time, as agreed
by the people of the Sudan. There followed a succession
of organizational and procedural consultations in order
to translate the statement of His Excellency the President
into concrete steps. The initiative even found a positive
response among the armed groups that still existed. I
would like to affirm the State’s intention to move the
dialogue forward in the hope of achieving a national
consensus on the political future of the country.

In that regard, we greatly appreciate the ongoing
efforts of the African Union and the African Union
High-level Implementation Panel on the three major
political, security and economic tracks. We call on
the international community to promote a positive and
constructive role in support of the Sudanese economy,
in particular by lifting the unilateral sanctions, and by
cancelling the Sudan’s accumulated debt, in line with
the aspirations for broader political participation.

The Sudan has continued to play an effective
and positive role at the regional level on the African
continent, with a view to establishing peace and
stability in neighbouring States. When a conflict
broke out in the Republic of South Sudan, the Sudan
adhered to the principle of non-interference in the
internal affairs of that country. The Sudan was the first
State to provide humanitarian aid to those affected in
South Sudan, and continues to do so. The Sudan is
participating effectively with the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development so as to put an end to the war
and to conclude a reconciliation agreement between the
two parties to the conflict in South Sudan. My country
has received more than 100,000 internally displaced
persons from South Sudan.

In that context, we recall the Sudan’s constructive
efforts for the restoration of peace and stability in the

Central African Republic, thereby complementing other
international and regional efforts. The Sudan is also
actively working with Libya’s neighbours in assisting
the Libyan parties to reach an agreement on a solution
to the Libyan crisis. Internationally, I underscore the
trilateral cooperation among the Sudan, Ethiopia and
the Arab Republic of Egypt in order to ensure the
common enjoyment of the waters of the Blue Nile and
to avert any negative repercussions in that country.

In that regard, we also stress the efforts of the
Sudan in the area of border control and demarcation
with neighbouring States in order to strengthen the
border posts and border monitoring and security
and to prevent transnational crime, including illegal
immigration and the illegal transfer of small arms
and light weapons. In that context, we appreciate the
experience of the joint border forces of the Sudan and
Chad, the Sudan and the Central African Republic, and
the Sudan and Libya as models of successful regional
security cooperation between neighbouring States in
the interests of peace and stability. In that connection, I
would like to recall that in mid-October 2014, the Sudan
will host a conference, in partnership with Italy, the
European Union and the African Union, on preventing
illegal immigration, smuggling and human trafficking.

Concerning the situation in the Middle East, the
question of Palestine has continued to present a real
challenge for the international community for decades.
It has now reached a stage that requires the exceptional
and prompt action of the international community in
order to contain the situation and to move it forward
towards sustainable peace in the Middle East, through
the achievement of the legitimate and urgent demands
of the Palestinian people, in particular the protection
and reconstruction of what the Israeli war machine has
destroyed. The entire world’s ongoing disregard for the
genocidal war in Palestine and its failure to intervene to
protect the Palestinians and their rights fuel extremism
in the region and throughout the world. As long as
the Palestinian people opt for a peaceful solution, it is
imperative to support that direction in order to prevent
despair from spreading and the pursuit of destructive
solutions.

We fully accept and support the theme of the
post-2015 development agenda as a major topic for
discussion at this session. However, there remain only
a few months until the end of 2014 and we still have not
achieved all the MDGs. We nevertheless remain very
hopeful that we can overcome the obstacles that have
impeded us from achieving those Goals and that the
deliberations will culminate in a thorough preparation
for the development of viable post-2015 sustainable
development goals.

In the United Nations Millennium Declaration
(resolution 55/2), adopted in 2000, the Heads of State
and Government unanimously agreed a set of principles
and goals that laid the foundation for an international
partnership to put an end to people’s suffering and
poverty. The year 2015 was designated as the deadline
for eradicating poverty and for ensuring well-being.
However, the achievements reached on the eve of the
end of 2014 are still short of our aspirations, since
poverty, suffering, need, environmental deterioration
and unemployment persist.

The agreement of the world’s leaders with regard
to mitigating poverty requires that the obstacles to
achieving such development be overcome. However, the
development partners that drafted the Declaration have
adopted actions that run counter to its provisions and
to human rights. Such coercive measures as unilateral
sanctions outside the framework of international
legitimacy have flagrantly damaged the content of
the Millennium Declaration. That has had an adverse
impact on the noble principles and purposes of the
Declaration.

Indications of the current situation in human
development are that the Sudan has achieved concrete
progress in several fields, especially in peace, health
care, education and the standard of living. While
acknowledging uneven degrees of progress between
rural and urban areas, the Sudan has implemented a
federal system to promote the role of local communities.
However, such progress has been greatly damaged as a
result of coercive and unilateral measures illegally and
unjustifiably imposed against the Sudan, which have
aggravated and delayed initiatives, thereby negating
the Sudan’s role, and which continue to shackle the
country’s economy. In that regard, I recall that the
international consensus, achieved after the referendum
in South Sudan that led to the separation of South Sudan,
had been to cancel the Sudan’s debts. A number of
States were assigned to do so in order to promote peace
and development after the end of the war. However, that
agreement has not been implemented so far.

In the Sudan, in the context of our established
commitment to the MDGs, we have formulated the
required policies, which have gone a long way towards
promoting several poverty-eradication projects and

initiatives, such as the establishment of a funding
portfolio for small families and those with limited
income; programmes to recruit graduates and young
people in capital projects; the promotion of the role
of women in governance and management; and the
strenghtening of the role of the zakat fund in promoting
quick and short-term funds and other projects, which
have resulted in helping thousands of families to play
a productive role in paying the zakat. That is now
under consideration by the Organization of Islamic
Cooperation, so that it can be applied throughout the
Islamic States.

However, we must affirm from this rostrum
the importance of the commitment to a common
responsibility in achieving development objectives,
because the international community must support
and assist developing countries, especially the least
developed, which represent the segment more in need
of support and capacity-building. That is why, in the
light of declining development assistance, we hope that
deliberations at this session culminate in our taking
practical steps in financing development for developing
countries, especially those emerging from conflict. On
the basis of those measures and in order to guarantee
serving the objectives of development, my delegation
feels it important to include the following requirements
in the post-2015 development agenda.

First, we should consider debt cancellation, providing
the necessary funding and renouncing discrimination
and exclusionary political considerations. Secondly,
we should facilitate the transfer of development-
related technology and information through advanced
communications technology. Thirdly, we should
suspend coercive measures, sanctions and all kinds of
illegal measures imposed unilaterally by States outside
the framework of international legitimacy. Fourthly,
we should launch feasible initiatives in North-South
relations, such as funding food-security projects,
where my country can play a pioneering and effective
role in their success. Fifthly, we should help the United
Nations and its various organs to play an effective role
in achieving their desired development objectives by
providing the mechanisms enabling them to do so.

This year’s general debate coincides with the
United Nations Climate Summit, the outcomes of which
we hope will provide a strong impetus for the current
efforts to address climate change and to turn the grave
challenge facing humankind into an opportunity for
joint action in order to achieve a binding international
commitment to supplement the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, take
practical steps towards a green economy, and reduce the
carbon emissions that threaten the safety of our planet.
In that regard, the Sudan, a State affected by the climate
change phenomenon, accords special importance to
the environment issue. We recall that the drought and
desertification that have hobbled Africa north of the
equator are the living examples of the effcts of climate
change, which have led to tribal conflicts over sources
of water and pasture. The Sudan’s involvement in the
United Nations Environment Programme over the past
40 years has been consistent with our concern in that
regard.

The Sudan remains in an effective global
partnership in the fight against terrorism at the national
level. We have come a long way in harmonizing our
laws with international legislation and in working with
international law and instruments relevant to fighting
terrorism. We commit ourselves to those international
laws and reaffirm our commitment against all forms
and manifestations of terrorism. At the same time, we
condemn any attempt to identify terrorism with any
religion, race or culture and call for the redoubling of
efforts to enhance international and regional cooperation
to stand up to terrorism. The phenomenon of terrorism
can be addressed and overcome only through a balanced
international system based on equality and respect
for the established principles of international law and
the Charter of the United Nations. In that context, we
feel that any unilateral action based on politicizing
terrorism will not eliminate but exacerbate it. There are
numerous instances supporting that conclusion.

In conclusion, the Sudan affirms that international
and regional security is an integrated, interconnected
system and that the Organization has invested enormous
efforts and resources in peacekeeping operations. It is
now time to do so, and we have significant experience
in that regard. It is time for the Organization to invest
in peacemaking and peacebuilding by supporting
developing countries and building the capacities of least
developed countries so that they can achieve the MDGs
and peace and development can supplement each other.


It is a great honour for
me to address the General Assembly on behalf of His
Excellency Mr. Armando Emilio Guebuza, President of
the Republic of Mozambique, who could not attend this
gathering owing to national commitments. However, he
wishes the General Assembly successful deliberations
at this session.

I take this opportunity to congratulate Mr. Sam
Kutesa, a distinguished son of our sisterly country,
Uganda, on his unanimous election to preside over this
session of the General Assembly. We firmly believe
that his vision, wisdom and leadership will guide us
to a comprehensive and results-oriented transformative
development agenda. I assure him of the full support
and collaboration of the delegation of Mozambique in
the fulfilment of his noble mission.

I also wish to pay tribute to Ambassador John
William Ashe for his devotion and for the pragmatic
manner in which he presided over the sixty-eighth
session of this body, and for his relentless efforts
constructively to guide the ongoing debate on the
architecture of the next development agenda.

The year 2015 will be a historic one, since the
United Nations will reach the landmark celebration
of its seventieth anniversary. That celebration will be
enriched by the goal set in the year 2000 to halve poverty
rates in the world by the year 2015, the conclusion
of the next development agenda, and the adoption of
a new framework for climate change. In that regard,
we welcome the theme for this session, “Delivering
on and implementing a transformative post-2015
development agenda”, as it will enhance the ongoing
deliberations under the United Nations umbrella on the
next development agenda, galvanized by regional and
subregional visions on that important topic.

In our deliberations, the results and challenges
experienced in the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) will undoubtedly be
referenced in shaping the next development agenda. We
recognize that much has been done in the framework
of the MDGs. However, apart from accelerating the
achievement of all goals, it is important to guarantee
the sustainability of those that were achieved and
accelerate the implementation of those that are still
lagging behind. It is our strong belief that the principle
of inclusiveness must also be taken into consideration
in order to build a common vision and to ensure
global commitments and shared responsibilities in the
implementation of the next development agenda.

To that end, Mozambique undertook a national
consultation process on the post-2015 development
agenda, a process that echoes our vision that
sustainable development can be achieved only with
a shared responsibility between Governments, civil
society and the private sector. Mozambique’s national

consultation process resulted in a robust call for the
next development agenda to list the eradication of
poverty as its overarching objective. To achieve that, it
should ensure the promotion of equitable, sustainable
and inclusive economic growth, focusing on women
and youth.

The consultation also emphasized the need for the
eradication of poverty and hunger, translated into the
improvement of living standards through access to
better social services such as education, health, social
welfare, safe drinking water, sanitation and energy;
the preservation of peace and political stability, the
promotion of democracy and the protection of human
rights; economic diversification and transformation to
speed up technological modernization in sectors such
as agriculture, industry, tourism and infrastructures;
the protection of marine and land biodiversity,
including the sustainable use of natural resources;
effective partnership for development, particularly for
access to science, technology and innovation; further
enhancement of North-South cooperation, in the
framework of global partnership in order to commit the
developed countries to meeting their internationally
agreed development goals obligations; the strengthening
of South-South cooperation; and, finally, agreement
on a common methodology to monitor and evaluate
national progress.

In addition, the experiences and challenges we faced
in the implementation of the MDGs — particularly in
the accomplishment of Goal 8, “A global partnership
for development” — underline the need for a greater
commitment on the part of our development partners
to increase their official development assistance, and
for funding climate resilience and disaster-prevention
efforts in developing countries. A transformative post-
2015 development agenda should include the need to
strengthen its financing mechanisms, concomitant
with the need to raise the contribution for domestic
financing. Those expectations coincide with the
emerging common vision at the subregional, regional
and global levels. Therefore, we have a premonition
that the agenda will be adequately inclusive and bring
the much-needed transformation to deliver a world that
is truly fit for all.

At this critical juncture, the successful conclusion of
the Doha Development Round is a matter of urgency. Its
contribution to the materialization of the development
agenda as a whole cannot be overemphasized. In that
regard, we are encouraged by the attempts of the World
Trade Organization to restore the Doha negotiations
and by the adoption of the Bali package, which are
fundamental steps in the architecture of the Doha
Round.

We are also encouraged by the positive trends in
the development of Africa. As the Secretary-General
states in his report on the work of the Organization
(A/69/1), Africa continues to make steady development
gains. Economic growth reached 4 per cent in 2013 and
is projected to reach 5.3 per cent in 2014. Foreign direct
investment increased, and substantial progress has
been made towards the attainment of the MDGs.

If those positive developments are to be sustained,
a transformative development agenda should reflect
Africa’s priorities and special needs, as expressed in its
Common Position on the post-2015 development agenda.
In addition, that encouraging environment can be
possible only in the context of peace, political stability,
democracy and respect for human rights. Therefore, we
regret that conflict prevention, peacekeeping and the
rebuilding of war-torn States remain among the most
complex challenges facing the United Nations and the
international community at large.

Indeed, this session takes place in the context
of grave instability and conflicts in the world, with
enormous economic costs and severe humanitarian
consequences that are unacceptable. Additionally,
the complexity of some conflicts poses a challenge to
the authority of the United Nations and consequently
undermines the founding principles of the Organization
as well as the role of multilateralism in addressing
global concerns.

We have been challenged by the dramatic evolution
in the strands of terrorism threats, which spare no part
of the world. Therefore, Mozambique welcomes the
adoption, at the 7272nd meeting of the Security Council,
held on 24 September, of resolution 2178 (2014), which
calls for an urgent boost in international cooperation to
prevent the support and flow of terrorist fighters to and
from conflict zones.

As we craft our collective strategy to deal with
all forms and manifestation of that human scourge,
we should not lose sight of the following elements.
First is the need to strengthen multilateral approaches
in full compliance with the Charter of the United
Nations. Secondly, the root causes of terrorism must
be addressed, as that scourge cannot and should not be
associated with any religion, nationality or civilization.

Thirdly, it is necessary to address the underlying
conditions, such as poverty, injustice, social exclusion
and marginalization, that serve as fertile ground for
extremist ideologies to breed and thrive.

In an interdependent and globalized world,
multilateralism refers to the collective and cooperative
actions needed to address global challenges in a
transparent, inclusive and effective manner, thereby
contributing to order, stability and predictability. In
that context, the United Nations must be strengthened
in order to continue effectively to play its role as the
epicentre of multilateralism. Today more than ever
before, we must take concrete actions to reinforce the
strategic role of the United Nations in the architecture
of the global world.

Notwithstanding the prevailing challenges to the
maintenance of international peace and security, we are
encouraged by the efforts in place for the restoration of
peace and stability in Mali, Somalia, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic,
the Sudan and South Sudan. We are also encouraged
by the latest developments in Guinea-Bissau as a
result of the general elections that prompted the
promising first steps towards much-needed political
stability — a precondition for that sisterly country to
progress towards socioeconomic development. These
achievements call our attention to the importance
of cooperation and coordination between the United
Nations and the African Union and with the subregional
bodies in effectively addressing the range of conflict-
management problems through preventive diplomacy
and mediation initiatives that allow for rapid responses
to regional and subregional crises.

The principle of the right to self-determination
continues to be central to the full enjoyment of human
rights. In that context, the United Nations ought to
continue to be engaged in the fulfilment of those
rights by the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara.
Mozambique reiterates its full support for a just and
lasting solution to the problem of Palestine through
peaceful means, in accordance with international law
and all the relevant resolutions of the United Nations.

With regard to Western Sahara, we are encouraged
to note the initiative taken by the Chairperson of
the African Union in appointing His Excellency
Mr. Joaquim Alberto Chissano, former President of the
Republic of Mozambique, as a special envoy to the five
permanent members of the Security Council plus Spain,
in an effort to step up the search for a solution that will
ensure the fulfilment of the right of the Saharan people
to self-determination, for which Mozambique reaffirms
its unconditional support.

As I mentioned at the beginning of my statement,
the advent of 2015 represents a historic opportunity for
the United Nations to reshape global commitments in
many ways. As we celebrate the seventieth anniversary
of the Organization, we must use the momentum to take
concrete steps to accelerate, in a sustained manner, the
ongoing process of reforms in the Organization, in
particular the reform of the Security Council.

The inability of the United Nations to solve conflict
situations and political instability in the Middle East
and Eastern Europe poses a challenge to its authority
as the universal entity and multilateral political forum
for fostering dialogue in a multilateral framework. The
situation is worsened by the lack of substantive progress
in the reform of the Security Council, almost 15 years
after the international community recommitted itself to
that important endeavour. It is our hope that at its sixty-
ninth session the General Assembly will deliver the
much-awaited reform to democratize its representation
and working methods and to strengthen its role in
conflict prevention and the promotion of international
peace and security.

Freedom of choice with regard to political systems
and to trade is an inalienable right of all States,
irrespective of their size. In that connection, the need to
bring to an end the economic, commercial and financial
embargo imposed by the United States of America
against Cuba continues to be a matter of concern, for it
is politically motivated and hinders the socioeconomic
development of Cuba. For those reasons, Mozambique
joins all those countries that demand the immediate
termination of that unfair unilateral measure.

Mozambique is fully committed to the global
agenda for peace and security, democracy and
sustainable development. At the national level that
commitment is translated into our political will to
strengthen democracy in the country and to adopt a
poverty-reduction strategy that is people-centred and
promotes sustainable development. The regularity
with which elections at different levels are held shows
our unquestionable determination to consolidate the
democratic system and defend its underlying values. As
a result, on 15 October Mozambique will hold its fifth
multiparty general elections to elect the President and
the Parliament, and its second elections for provincial
parliaments.

In the economic sphere, Mozambique has enjoyed
steady economic growth for more than a decade.
Coupled with the support of our development partners,
including the United Nations, that has allowed for an
improvement in social services delivery and enabled
us to be on track to attain the majority the MDGs. In
addition, recently discovered natural resources represent
a challenge and an opportunity to further advance
national socioeconomic progress. The development
of new sources of clean and renewable energy such
as bio-fuels is a priority for the Government, and due
attention is being paid to prevent competition with
food-production initiatives.

Therefore, we are emphasizing the following
areas: the improvement of agriculture production and
productivity in a sector that will continue to play a
key role in our development efforts; human capital
development to address the new emerging economic
challenges; and the promotion of a strong private sector
to take advantage of the opportunities brought about by
the discovery and exploitation of natural resources. It
is our firm conviction that, with peace and stability, we
will continue successfully to address the development
challenges facing Mozambique, which have poverty
eradication and sustainable development at their
epicentre.

Finally, as part of our commitment to peace and
stability, in June Mozambique hosted the third Review
Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on
the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production
and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction, also known as the Ottawa Convention.
I should like to take this opportunity to thank all
participants as well as all partners that contributed
to making that event a success, because it was. We
are engaged in continuing our efforts to declare the
country free of landmines and thus to contribute to the
fulfilment of one of the most important steps in our
obligations under the Convention.

To conclude, I wish to reiterate Mozambique’s
commitment to continue to be engaged in international
efforts to address current global problems.


I would like to begin my remarks by conveying our

greetings to Mr. Sam Kutesa, President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. At the same time, I
wish to express our appreciation to Mr. John Ashe for
his recognized leadership and exceptional performance
as President at the sixty-eighth session. I should
also like to take the opportunity to congratulate the
Secretary-General for his stewardship and especially
for the success of the recent United Nations Climate
Summit 2014.

Since September 2013, when the President of
Guatemala, Otto Pérez Molina, addressed the General
Assembly (see A/68/PV.12), 12 months have passed with
significant progress for Guatemala in three priority
areas of our domestic policy, in spite of our having to
face some new challenges, including a recent prolonged
drought.

First, I can report that we have advanced in the
battle against chronic malnutrition among children.
According to an independent investigation, in one year,
the program Zero Hunger has succeeded in reducing
chronic malnutrition on the same scale as that achieved
during the past decade, that is, by almost 2 per cent.
That means that, should that trend be maintained,
by the end of this Administration we will have been
able to reduce the rate of chronic malnutrition beyond
that achieved since 1985, proving that democracy and
appropriate policies would have enabled us to make
progress for Guatemalan children.

Secondly, I would like to say that the Administration
of President Pérez Molina has also advanced in
complying with the Pact for Peace, Security and
Justice. For the third consecutive year, the number
of homicides in Guatemala has decreased, with a
cumulative contraction of 25 per cent between 2011
and 2014. With that, we are coming closer to achieving
the same levels of security recorded after the Peace
Accords were signed in 1996. That progress shows that
the measures taken are producing the expected results
and that Guatemalan democracy is slowly winning its
battle against crime and impunity, in the framework of
respect for the law and compliance with human rights.

With regard to that second achievement, once more
we express our appreciation for the support received
from the International Commission against Impunity
in Guatemala (CICIG), an entity that has strengthened
criminal prosecution against mafia networks, some
of which even infiltrated the security and justice
establishment. As the final year of the mandate of CICIG
approaches, after nearly eight years of cooperation
with three democratically elected Governments, our
assessment is that international cooperation programme,
supported by the United Nations, was fully justified,
since Guatemalan institutions today are better prepared
to take on their constitutional role.

Moreover, this last year will be critical to
ensuring the institutional sustainability of the judicial
investigations and procedures already under way.
We thank the United Nations and the international
community for joining us and leaving that great
legacy for Guatemala. Our country will now have the
responsibility of strengthening a system of security and
justice capable of reducing impunity and ensuring the
total separation between criminal networks and our
public institutions.

A third advancement that I would like to share
with the Assembly has to do with competitiveness and
the business climate. In the past two years we have
advanced eight steps in the Global Competitiveness
Index, established by the World Economic Forum. In
fact, the World Bank has highlighted us for the second
consecutive year as one of the most reformed countries
in the world in terms of improving the business climate,
jumping 19 positions in the respective report. That
is due to the actions of the present Administration
in the framework of the Pact for Oversight and
Competitiveness.

That improvement in the business climate is
above all the result of administrative improvements
that have reduced bureaucratic procedures, supported
additionally by a progressive improvement in the
country’s infrastructure. In addition, as we informed
the Climate Change Summit, our commitment
regarding economic progress is made within the context
of increasing sustainability. The change in the energy
matrix towards more sustainable and environmentally
friendly energy sources and away from fossil fuels,
which produce greenhouse gases, is being achieved by
bringing into the system more plants that depend on
the sustainable use of water, geothermal sources, solar
energy and even natural gas.

In that context, we have gone ahead with various
strategic agreements with our neighbouring countries.
For example, with Mexico, we can report on the projects
to reconstruct and modernize border crossings on land
and the signing of a historic agreement for a project
that will transport gas from the Gulf of Mexico to
Guatemala and all of Central America. With Belize, we
are moving forward and have negotiated 15 important

bilateral agreements in all areas, which we will sign
in December. They will strengthen the relations not
only between our Governments but also between our
peoples. In the Central American Integration System,
we are making progress in consolidating our integration
process, and the next goal is to establish a customs
union. In addition, relations between Central America
and the Caribbean are becoming increasingly intensive,
guaranteeing greater markets and improved economic
and political relations among our countries.

In the context of advances in the social, economic,
security and justice areas, we cannot forget some
challenges that have gained a higher profile during the
current year. In that regard, I must refer to the crisis
of the Central American child migrants on the border
between the United States and Mexico. The crisis,
provoked by diverse factors in both Central America
and the United States, has alerted us to the need to move
more quickly on the path towards greater prosperity, in
particular for children and adolescents.

We trust that the people and Government of
the United States understand that the migrant crisis
requires a strategic response that attacks the structural
roots of the phenomenon and provides sustained
actions. That implies working together to promote
development and prosperity in Guatemala, Honduras
and El Salvador and intelligent management of seasonal
work for migrants that both satisfies the demands of
the labour market in the United States and provides for
workers from Central America. It is also important to
make the necessary efforts to regulate the situation of
undocumented persons in the United States. Above all,
migrants must not be criminalized, because migration
is neither a sin nor a crime. It is the networks of human
traffickers that are criminal, promoting corruption,
extortion, kidnapping and sexual abuse.

In the same vein, I cannot fail to mention the
challenge posed by the shortage of rain this year in all
the Central American region. The drought has led to the
loss of crops of basic foods for hundreds of thousands of
families, and addressing the food crisis will incur a cost
of close to $50 million for Guatemala alone during the
next eight months. It is clear that the drought is a result
of climate change and that, without decisive action by
our Government and the solidarity of the international
community, many families will find themselves in a
very vulnerable situation due to hunger. The speeches
during the Climate Change Summit must translate
into direct humanitarian assistance that reaches the
most needy communities in Central America and the
Caribbean. It is time to transform rhetoric into action.

I would like to mention three important processes
driving the United Nations that Guatemala strongly
supports.

First is putting together a post-2015 development
agenda that must clearly embrace inclusive and
sustainable development goals, including those related
to promoting justice for all. In that context, we must
also incorporate specific goals to avoid man-made
climate change.

Secondly, Guatemala is committed to supporting
the 2016 special session of the General Assembly
to discuss the world drug problem. President Pérez
Molina, together with other Presidents of the Western
Hemisphere, is determined to promote, through
leadership, a frank and sincere debate on this issue,
utilizing as a main reference the two declarations
emanating from the General Assembly of the
Organization of American States during the past 18
months. During the most recent extraordinary session,
held a few days ago in my country, I was charged with
transmitting to the presidency of this General Assembly
and to the United Nations Commission on Drugs and
Crime the text of the resolution, which I will do in due
time. Our focus must be comprehensive, objective and
evidence-based. And our goals must be realistic and
measurable — no more dead products of the war against
drugs, no more false promises. A comprehensive focus
is necessary.

Thirdly, Guatemala will follow up on the resolution
and recommendations of the World Conference on
Indigenous Peoples (resolution 69/2) and work to see
that the world recognizes the rights of the indigenous
peoples as one of the basic platforms of the international
legal architecture of human rights.

Like many of the heads of delegation who preceded
me in speaking, I view with growing concern the
deteriorating security landscape facing various parts of
the globe. The exceptional cruelty of militant jihadist
groups leaves us astonished, and we energetically
condemn those crimes. We support all measures to
combat them, including in particular the elimination of
the root causes that lead many people to those levels of
fanaticism.

We are also profoundly troubled by the instability
in the Middle East, especially by the prolonged conflict
in Syria, which has already taken an immense toll in

lives and human suffering. We are concerned that in
Central Europe principles enshrined in the Charter
of the United Nations, such as respect for territorial
integrity, are being put to the test. We also remain
concerned about tensions in various countries on the
African continent and on the Korean peninsula.

We believe that the United Nations offers the ideal
venue in which to address those conflicts and tensions,
and we reiterate our hope that dialogue, agreement
and preventive diplomacy will take precedence over
the use of force. In that respect, we pin our hopes on
a negotiated outcome of the long-standing conflict
between Israel and Palestine with the emergence of two
States, living in peace within secure borders.

I end my remarks by repeating what President
Otto Pérez Molina said last year to the Assembly,
when he congratulated the United Nations system for
its ongoing commitment to seek peace and justice
worldwide. Guatemala aligns itself with that statement
and those same goals and can affirm with pride that we
are and will always be a country that is guided by the
principles set out in the Charter of the Organization.
That sentiment is reflected in our commitment to
peacekeeping operations.