I am
particularly honoured to address the General Assembly
on behalf of His Excellency Mr. José Eduardo dos
Santos, President of the Republic of Angola.
 First, I should like, on behalf of my Government,
to warmly congratulate Mr. Miguel d’Escoto
Brockmann on his election to preside over this organ.
We wish him all success during his mandate and assure
him of the support of my country.
 The present session of the General Assembly is
taking place at a time of serious challenges for the
international community. They include the food crisis,
the rise in fuel prices, unexpected climate change, the
financial crisis, the escalation of cold-war rhetoric and
terrorism. The global scale of those challenges and
their negative effects on the lives of millions of human
beings on all continents indicate that we are at a
critical moment. We must overcome those challenges
through a collective response, with the central role
played by the United Nations. Above all, however,
each State must also act individually.
 With regard to the financial crisis, we must take
measures that help to prevent serious effects on the
global economy, especially the economies of the more
vulnerable countries. Such measures must be effective
and must help to reduce the negative impact on the
progress that African countries have already made by
implementing reforms that have enabled them to have
an annual growth rate of 5 per cent.
 We are also concerned at the rise in food prices.
That has dealt a hard blow to the efforts to fight
poverty, which affects more than 1 billion people. The
rise in food prices is closely linked to climate change,
which is not only causing the destruction of
infrastructure and basic means of subsistence in many
countries, but is also forcing millions of people into
poverty.
 The elimination of distorting elements in
international trade is also fundamental if we are to
resolve the world food crisis. The agricultural subsidies
provided by the wealthiest countries to their farmers
are ruining the farming production in poor countries,
rendering difficult their farmers’ access to international
markets. The failure of the World Trade Organization
negotiations during the Doha Round last July further
aggravated that scenario. The collapse of those talks
eliminated the chances of concluding, in the short term,
a general trade agreement that would remove such
subsidies and other obstacles to international trade
exchanges. The Republic of Angola hopes that
negotiations will resume as soon as possible and that
the main actors will show the necessary flexibility to
allow countries that are underprivileged as a result of
the lack of a global trade agreement to avoid remaining
eternally marginalized from the global economy.
 Turning this extremely dangerous situation
around, particularly for the countries of the South,
requires that the General Assembly intensify its efforts.
Our hope is that the President will steer the debate
towards addressing these concerns. The Republic of
Angola commits itself to contributing, within the limits
of its capacity, to finding solutions to these problems
that affect all States.
 South-South cooperation, including triangular
cooperation, has the potential to contribute to the
eradication of poverty through the establishment of
partnerships for sustainable development, trade,

55 08-52265

investment, tourism, prevention and combating of drug
trafficking, illicit trade in small arms and light
weapons, and transnational organized crime. In that
connection, Angola is honoured to chair the Zone of
Peace and Cooperation of the South Atlantic, an
effective interregional mechanism for cooperation in
the areas of development, peace and security among its
24 member States in Africa and South America.
 I would like to avail myself of the opportunity to
assure our international partners that the Republic of
Angola is motivated more than ever to assume the
responsibilities that arise from membership in the
institutions of the international community, those of the
African continent and those of the United Nations. Our
engagement and commitment will, in the meantime,
continue to lie primarily in the maintenance of peace
and security, the consolidation of democracy, respect
for human rights and sustainable economic
development, on the basis of the social laws of a
market economy that will safeguard the interests and
the satisfaction of the majority of the population.
 Those are the principles that have guided our
trajectory as a country, in particular since the end of
the cold war. A coherent application of those principles
is the basis for the progress that Angola is building in
the political, social and economic domains. As a result,
since 2002, a climate of peace prevails in the entire
country, with the eradication of conflict factors and
important advances in national reconciliation,
emergence of a highly entrepreneurial private sector, a
dynamic civil society and a free, vibrant and active
press.
 In the last five years, Angola has been registering
high economic growth rates. During this period, the
gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an estimated
rate of 14.7 per cent in real terms. The non-oil sector
grew at a rate of 17.4 per cent, faster than the oil
sector, which reached an annual growth rate of 12.7 per
cent. This growth allowed the unemployment rate,
which in the mid-1990s was estimated to be at 45 per
cent, to decrease to an estimated level of 22.5 per cent
in 2007.
 The relative weight of the extractive industry,
dominated by the oil and diamond subsectors, grew at a
significant rate of 61.6 per cent. Moreover, Angola saw
a reduction in inflation levels from 105.6 per cent in
December 2003 to 11.78 per cent in December 2007, as
well as a transformation in public accounts from a
deficit of 7 per cent of the GDP in 2003 to a surplus of
11.4 per cent of the GDP in 2007. These figures
encourage us to be optimistic in relation to the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
 On 5 September of this year, Angola added one
more pillar to its democratic structure by holding
legislative elections in a transparent and totally free
environment. Despite the criticism and the pressure on
the Angolan Government to hold the elections earlier,
independently of the objective and subjective
conditions prevailing at the time, the discernment of its
leader, His Excellency Mr. José Eduardo dos Santos,
demonstrated that the elections were held at the most
appropriate moment.
 With the gradual yet significant improvement in
the quality of life of the people, and with fully
reconciled and peaceful spirits, a climate of tolerance
and political coexistence emerged into its optimal
space. The elections were indeed an expression of the
reaffirmation of our dignity.
 All the efforts involved in the complex electoral
process that led to the success of this historic feat were
made with the human and material resources of the
Angolan Government. We are proud to once more have
given a good example of political maturity, civic
discipline and full popular participation. It gives us joy
to state before this Assembly that, like other peoples of
the world, Africans have the capability and the ability
to build their own destiny and develop participatory
democracy.
 Armed conflicts continue to absorb resources
from both the international community and the parties
involved, resources that could be better utilized for the
well-being of the population in affected territories.
However, for the first time in many years, Africa is
experiencing a significant reduction in conflict,
allowing for improved economic indicators. The
progress in the peace process in Côte d’Ivoire and the
consolidation of peace under way in Sierra Leone and
in Liberia have brought about a new aura of hope.
Furthermore, the progress made in the Democratic
Republic of Congo, despite some tension in the eastern
areas, is manifestly encouraging.
 We hope that the efforts currently being made by
the United Nations and the African Union, as well as
by regional organizations, will help resolve the
conflicts in Somalia and Darfur in a peaceful manner.

08-52265 56

 As Chair of the Organ on Politics, Defence and
Security Co-operation of the Southern African
Development Community (SADC), the Republic of
Angola has given its all, together with the other
countries of that region and the facilitator, to support
the negotiation process with a view ending the political
crisis in Zimbabwe. Angola welcomes the inter-party
agreement reached in Zimbabwe and will continue to
make efforts to help the parties put national interests
before all personal quarrels so as to ease the return to
political stability and to reverse the grim economic
situation that prevails in the country. We appeal to the
international community, particularly to the European
Union, to support the programme aimed at overcoming
the crisis, which will be drawn up by the inclusive
Government resulting from the inter-party agreement.
We also call for the subsequent lifting of the sanctions
imposed on that country.
 However, we must remain vigilant to the
possibility of the eruption of new conflicts due to the
political instability that exists in other countries of the
continent. We must invest in preventive diplomacy and
in the strengthening of rapid alert mechanisms.
 In the Middle East, the latest developments seem
to introduce a light at the end of the tunnel, with regard
to a definitive resolution of the Palestinian and the
Israeli-Arab issues. Angola encourages the parties
involved to engage in a dialogue that will lead to the
de facto and de jure establishment of a Palestinian
State, with recognized borders, coexisting side by side
with Israel.
 My Government maintains its solidarity with the
Common African Position and with all those who
advocate the need to democratize the United Nations
and to reform its system, including the expansion of
the Security Council so that it reflects a fair and
equitable regional representation, with all the rights
inherent in membership.
 I would not like to end my statement without
once again conveying my regret to the General
Assembly over the continuation of the embargo that the
Republic of Cuba is subjected to by the United States
of America. It constitutes a situation that does not
comply with the rules that govern relations between
States. We are in an age of peaceful coexistence among
peoples and nations, and that embargo wounds the
universal collective conscience of our time.


My delegation associates
itself with the compliments extended to Mr. Miguel
d’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the presidency
of the General Assembly at the present session, to his
predecessor and to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

13 08-53129

 We greatly welcome the convening and the
outcomes of the two high-level meetings — one on
Africa’s development needs and the other on the
Millennium Development Goals — that have been held
during the course of this session of the General
Assembly. Let us not lose the momentum generated by
those two meetings.
 Let me also thank the President of the General
Assembly for advancing a very appropriate theme,
“The impact of the global food crisis on poverty and
hunger in the world as well as the need to democratize
the United Nations”. The decision of the Secretary-
General to establish the High-Level Task Force on the
Global Food Security Crisis demonstrates the
determination of the United Nations to champion a
unified response to the current food crisis. That is
indeed emboldening, and we welcome the progress that
has been achieved so far by the Task Force in
producing the Comprehensive Framework for Action.
 The food crisis poses a serious threat to the
fragile progress that is being made towards the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It
can also be a source of political instability in
developing and often vulnerable countries. Policy
initiatives that should be implemented by relevant
stakeholders to overcome the crisis were adequately
articulated in the outcome documents of the High-
Level Conference on World Food Security: the
Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy, held in
Rome in June 2008. There, the bottom line was clearly
drawn that, while current energy needs are real and
urgent, they cannot and should not be allowed to
compete with the call to ensure food security. The
stakes are too high in many developing countries,
Lesotho included, where abject poverty, malnutrition
and the spread of HIV and AIDS have reached
unacceptable levels. All humankind has a right to food,
and hunger constitutes a violation of human dignity.
 That is why my delegation regrets the lack of
progress in the implementation of previous
international commitments to fight hunger, particularly
those contained in the outcomes of the 1996 and the
2002 World Food Summits. The Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) of reducing by half the
number of undernourished people by 2015 will not be
achieved unless there is visible movement from
rhetoric to action.
 Lesotho was encouraged by the G8 Statement on
Global Food Security that was recently issued at the
Hokkaido Toyako summit. The Statement highlighted
the importance of stimulating world food production
and of increasing investments in agriculture. Hope-
raising pledges were made at that summit and earlier
ones. What remains to be done as a matter of great
urgency is to deliver on those promises. Also, we call
upon other development partners, including the Bretton
Woods institutions, to scale up their efforts to help
farmers in the least developed countries, particularly in
sub-Saharan Africa, to raise agricultural production and
productivity.
 The preparedness of the African continent to
shoulder its responsibilities in this regard was clearly
reflected in a declaration entitled “Responding to the
Challenges of High Food Prices and Agriculture
Development” that was recently adopted at the African
Union summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in July this
year.
 The establishment by the World Bank of two
international Climate Investment Funds in May 2008,
intended to provide innovative financing for
developing countries to pursue cleaner development
paths and also to help protect themselves from the
impact of climate change, was another encouraging
development. Our hope is that the Climate Investment
Funds will be additional to existing official
development assistance, which is so sorely needed by
the developing countries to achieve the MDGs.
 Peace and development are closely interrelated
and mutually reinforcing. The United Nations cannot
afford the luxury of complacency in its mandate for the
maintenance of world peace and stability. Most
importantly, let us not forget that the United Nations
was born from the ashes of devastating world wars.
Indeed, the primary purpose of the United Nations was
and continues to be to prevent future wars and to create
sustainable international security, but every year we
witness the emergence of new hotspots and designer
wars as some big and powerful States resort more and
more to the use of force. Every time those States try to
pursue the illusory goal of imposing their will by force
on others, they create a more unstable and dangerous
world.
 Let me now address an issue of concern to my
delegation — the abuse of the principle of universal
jurisdiction. The Sharm el-Sheikh assembly of the

08-53129 14

African Union was seized with the issue of the abuse
of the principle of universal jurisdiction by some
countries that seem inclined to use the principle to
target certain African leaders.
 Of course, lest I be misunderstood, we do
recognize that universal jurisdiction is a principle of
international law whose purpose is to ensure that
individuals who commit such grave offences as
genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity are
brought to justice. That noble principle should be
impartially and objectively applied so that it will not be
abused for the political ends of some individuals or
countries, as that could endanger international order
and security.
 It is a trite fact that the need for the application of
the principle by individual States has been rendered
unnecessary by the creation of the International
Criminal Court (ICC). If a State is unable or unwilling
to deal with certain grave situations, such a matter
should be referred to the Court, which will deal with it
impartially. As we know, even the Security Council
refers certain situations to the ICC. We need only
emphasize that the ICC was created by this world body
and must enjoy the support and trust of the entire
membership of the United Nations. It must also be
immune from any external influences.
 As we respond to the invitation to comment on
the second part of our theme, “The need to democratize
the United Nations”, we do so against the background
of the integrity and credibility of the Security Council.
We raise the issue of the integrity and credibility of the
Council, recognizing fully its responsibility to uphold
the three pillars of the United Nations: human rights,
development and peace, and security.
 The working methods of the Security Council
continue to interest us precisely because the Council is
the most powerful institution within the United Nations
setting. It is charged with the responsibility for the
maintenance of world peace and order and it is a
custodian of human rights. In order to fulfil that
mandate, the Security Council needs to always
preserve its integrity and credibility. It is only when all
Member States are convinced of its integrity and
credibility that they will have confidence in it.
 The Security Council can enjoy such confidence,
however, if and only if it is seen to be transparent and
democratic in its structures and accountable and
responsible to the entire membership of the United
Nations; if and only if it submits itself to the rule of
law; if and only if it is objective and impartial in its
work; if and only if the membership of the United
Nations is convinced that it is not used as a policy
instrument of any one State or group of States; and
finally, if and only if it subjects all States Members of
the United Nations to the same and equal treatment.
 The Security Council should thus not turn a blind
eye to a situation in one country and then act when a
similar situation obtains in another. It must be an
honest arbiter in conflicts. We all owe it to ourselves to
work towards such reform of the Security Council that
will help to preserve its integrity and credibility so that
it can perform its lofty mandate more efficiently.
Needless to say, the question of numbers, particularly
numbers representing the African continent, is at issue,
but I need not dwell on it as it has been amply covered
by previous speakers.
 Lesotho is also concerned that the Security
Council continues to be seen to be encroaching on
matters that fall within the powers and prerogatives of
other organs of the United Nations, including the
General Assembly. We believe that the Council must
desist from assuming the legislative role of the General
Assembly and from adopting binding resolutions that
dictate domestic law for Member States. In some
instances, the Council has sought to interfere in purely
internal political matters that do not pose a threat to
international peace and that, in any case, are being
dealt with at the regional level. In our view, the
usurpation by the Council of the mandates of other
organs, including the Assembly, is not justifiable.
 A few days ago, we witnessed a positive
development in the southern Africa subregion when the
leaders of the people of Zimbabwe put aside their
political differences and joined hands to form a
Government of national unity. We congratulate the
people of Zimbabwe on that historic feat. We urge the
international community to support the people of
Zimbabwe in rebuilding their economy and in
determining their destiny in an atmosphere of national
harmony and peace. We also urge the leadership of
Zimbabwe to ensure adherence to the principles of
democracy, respect for human rights and the rule of
law, as such adherence will have a catalytic effect on
socio-economic initiatives in which Zimbabwe is
involved.

15 08-53129

 Finally, we urge the Security Council to support
efforts to bring to an end the unilateral economic and
financial embargo that has, for decades now, been
imposed against Cuba. We further urge the Council to
intervene more decisively on behalf of the people of
Palestine and Western Sahara, who have, also for
decades, been denied the right to self-determination.
 Lesotho is supportive of any efforts that will
bring about lasting and sustainable peace in the Middle
East and in other conflict areas in Africa, the Balkans
and around our globe. We recall that in his report “In
larger freedom: towards development, security and
human rights for all”, former Secretary-General Kofi
Annan said: “Our guiding light must be the needs and
hopes of peoples everywhere” (A/59/2005, para. 12).
 Such is the call and challenge staring the United
Nations in the face: to ensure a peaceful, safe,
dignified and prosperous world in our time and for
posterity.


On behalf of the
Government and people of Belize, I congratulate you,
Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-third session. It is a
distinct honour for all Central American and Caribbean
peoples. I assure you of Belize’s fullest support during
your term of office.
 I would also wish to thank your predecessor,
Srgjan Kerim, for the sterling manner in which he
presided over the sixty-second session. I also wish to
pay tribute to our very capable Secretary-General, who
works so assiduously to discharge the multifaceted
responsibilities of the United Nations.
 Belize accepts with pride and humility the
invitation so kindly extended to us to share our vision
of how we should address the great challenges of the
day and how we can achieve the unity we need in order
to do so effectively.
 Being a very small State in a world that has long
been characterized by greed, indifference, arrogance,
apathy, selfishness and myopia, Belize is no stranger to
crises. In our evolution from colonialism to
independence, we have had far more than our fair share
of them and we survived them all.
 Thus, while we join in the consensus, so
forcefully articulated over the past week, that never has
there been a time in the recorded history of humankind
that the world has been beset at one and the same time
by so many crises of potentially catastrophic
proportions as it is today, we remain convinced that the
solution to those crises is not beyond the collective
wisdom of humankind. On the contrary, we are
convinced that our world leaders, who gathered within
these hallowed walls this past week, possess the moral,
intellectual and financial capacities to overcome the
present challenges and to secure the future of our
planet Earth and of all who dwell upon it. We therefore
look to the future with optimism.
 My Government believes that there are a number
of preconditions that must be satisfied before we can
hope to successfully combat the challenges we face.
The first is the acceptance by all peoples that we are
our brothers’ keeper and that, as you, Sir, so poignantly
stated, “either we treat each other as brothers and
sisters or we witness the beginning of the end of our
human species” (, p. 5).
 The second and equally important precondition is
the acceptance by all peoples that we are heirs to and
owners of the Earth and of all the resources thereon
and that no individual race or nation has a greater
claim to them than anyone else. And the third and
perhaps most important precondition of all is the
acceptance by all peoples that our planet as we know it
is not indestructible, that it can be mortally damaged, if
not destroyed, by what we do to it, and that none of us
would escape the consequences of such a tragic turn of
events.
 The experience of our own country, Belize, bears
out the fact that the treatment we mete out to each
other determines to a large extent our own destinies.
The hardships and deprivations which Belizeans
suffered in the past and continue to suffer even today
have been caused in large part not by nature dealing us
a bad hand but by the human exploitation and

7 08-53141

selfishness of which we are the victims. Nature itself
has been bountiful to us — so much so that our
national poet, Samuel Haynes, who penned the lyrics
of our national anthem, was moved to begin one of the
stanzas with the following line, “Nature has blessed us
with wealth untold”.
 Yet with all our abundant natural resources, it is
very doubtful whether we will, despite our best efforts,
be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
by the year 2015. We are not in a position to say today
with any degree of certainty that by 2015 all the
children in our country, boys and girls alike, will
complete publicly funded primary education. Nor can
we forecast that by 2015 we will attain gender equality,
reduce childhood mortality by two thirds and maternal
mortality by three quarters, and reverse the spread of
HIV/AIDS and other diseases.
 The truth is that small countries like ours are not
the masters of our own destinies. We are severely
constrained in what we can do to advance our own
development agendas because we simply do not
possess and cannot readily access the human, financial
or technological resources needed to develop our
people and to secure our futures. And given the
predatory nature of the world we live in today, we will
never be able to attain those resources using our own
devices. We will most certainly need the assistance of
the international community. We live in an
interdependent world.
 While the developed countries may possess all
the human, financial and technological resources we
lack, the crises which now confront us are making it
manifest that not even the richest and most powerful of
them can successfully withstand and combat the
catastrophic consequences of nature’s fury and man’s
excesses by relying on their own devices and
resources. They must join forces with the rest of the
world. That imperative was articulated by Mr. Gordon
Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, on
26 September in this very Hall (see ) when
he stated, in essence, that every global problem
requires global solutions, that we cannot solve the food
crisis, climate change and the pressures on resources
without involving Africa and the developing countries,
and that Africa and the developing countries are not the
problem but part of the very solution to today’s
problems.
 What Gordon Brown speaks to and what many of
the leaders in this general debate have highlighted is
the global leadership challenge we face. In addressing
that challenge, we would propose that we first examine
how our multilateral institutions function. Joseph
Stiglitz in his book Making Globalization Work wrote
that:
 “The nation-state, which has been the center of
political and ... economic power for the past
century and a half is being squeezed today — on
one side by the forces of global economics, and
on the other side by political demands for
devolution of power. Globalization — the closer
integration of the countries of the world — has
resulted in the need for more collective action,
for people and countries to act together to solve
their common problems.”
Stiglitz continued that
 “while the nation-state has been weakened, there
has yet to be created at the international level the
kinds of democratic global institutions that can
deal effectively with the problems globalization
has created.”
 There is no disputing that the interests of the
developing countries are poorly represented and dealt
with in the present global institutions. That is clearly
manifested in the multilateral trade and financial
institutions, where negotiations are closeted in green
rooms and where the fundamental democratic principle
of one vote per country is subverted in a system that
determines voting rights based on economic power. If
the developing countries are to become developed, it
will be imperative to revisit those structures and
transform them into institutions that are representative,
transparent and democratic.
 In addition to the systemic issues that must be
addressed, we must also tackle the crisis of
implementation. If we consider the numerous
conferences and summits that have been convened to
craft global responses to development, sustainable
development, financing for development, trade, climate
change and more recently the food crisis, there is no
want of commitments and common objectives.
 The Millennium Development Goals promised to
the world’s peoples that we would take concerted
action to improve the quality of their lives. The
Monterrey Consensus promised a new global

08-53141 8

partnership that would support those efforts to
eradicate poverty and promote sustainable economic
growth and development. The Doha Ministerial
Declaration promised to put the needs and interests of
the developing countries at the heart of its work
programme.
 But we know from the reports that our progress
towards the realization of the MDGs has been slow and
uneven that the realization of the Monterrey
commitments has been dismal particularly on the part
of developed countries and the international financial
and trade institutions, and that the Doha Development
Round has collapsed. Indeed, were these commitments
not set down on paper, one might question their very
existence.
 We also know that the failure of the full
implementation of our global commitments is not for
want of resources but for want of compassion and
empathy. Globalization may have forced the world into
a closer relationship, but at the political level it has not
managed to calibrate national interests vis-à-vis global
interests. We therefore still act only when it is in our
narrow self-interest to do so.
 However, the current crises are signalling clearly
that we can no longer subsume the global interests
under our own. The challenges we face clearly
demonstrate how our fates are intertwined. As leaders,
we must start now, with a sense of urgency, to take the
necessary action to deliver on the promises of
development. More importantly, we must commit to
submitting our actions to international oversight.
 The United Nations must play the pivotal role in
addressing the global leadership crisis. Belize holds the
view that the way forward is for the United Nations to
concentrate its efforts on convincing the leaders and
peoples of the developed world that the security,
development and well-being of all peoples of the world
afford the best guarantee for their own security, safety
and development and ultimately their very survival. It
is our conviction that the adoption of that view by the
developed world would prove to be the catalyst for
achieving the unity that the world now needs to be able
to address successfully the challenges of our day.
 To that end, the United Nations must be
strengthened so as better to serve to monitor the
implementation of the globally agreed commitments.
Its universality must be reinforced with the
participation of all relevant stakeholders in its
elaboration of responses to our threats and challenges.
In that regard, my Government wholeheartedly
supports the participation of the Republic of China on
Taiwan in the United Nations specialized agencies.
Finally, its decisions must carry the full weight that
impels action.
 The United Nations still represents the great hope
for all our peoples. The principles upon which it was
founded and the objectives for which it was formed are
no less relevant today than they were in 1945. For my
own country, our membership in the United Nations
secured the hope of peace, security and development,
even as we continue to struggle with a long-extant
claim to our territory. It provides the framework within
which we can peacefully settle our differences. Today,
the Governments of Belize and Guatemala have an
opportunity finally to settle that dispute by juridical
means, specifically through referral to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ). We have reached a major
stepping stone, but we are not deluded by the
challenges ahead. Not only must we negotiate a
compromise for the referral of the matter, but the
question of taking the claim to the ICJ must be put to
national referendums in both countries. The road to the
ICJ and the final resolution of the territorial difference
will undoubtedly have many high tolls. Belize appeals
to the international community through the United
Nations for its continued solidarity and support.
 Sixty years ago when we adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, humanity had been
wrested from the throes of war. The Declaration
confirmed in article 1 that
 “All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason
and conscience and should act towards one
another in a spirit of brotherhood.”
The global conscience was awakened and alerted,
because our forebears knew that continued disregard
and contempt for human rights and freedoms would
lead to barbarous acts between peoples and nations.
They foresaw the advent of a world in which human
beings would enjoy freedom of speech and belief and
freedom from fear and want, and proclaimed those
freedoms as the highest aspirations of the common
people.
 My Government holds an unflinching
commitment to those values and aspirations. We are
still soldiers in the battle for freedom, equality and

9 08-53141

justice, but in fighting that battle we no longer need the
crude instruments of war. Instead, we have as our
weapon the power of the rule of law, cooperation and
friendship between peoples and nations and an abiding
faith in multilateralism. Let us be so guided.


I take this opportunity to
add my voice to those of numerous speakers who
extended their warmest congratulations to Mr. d’Escoto
Brockmann on his assumption of his responsibilities as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third
session. I am confident that this world body will
benefit from his rich experience and wise guidance.
 I also appreciate the Secretary-General’s
commitment to putting Africa’s urgent needs at the top
of his agenda during his term in office, and particularly
his untiring efforts to assist Somalis in finding a lasting
solution to their conflict.
 In that connection, I propose to confine my
remarks first to what I consider to be the most
important issues surrounding the development needs of
Africa and the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals. Secondly, I will raise some of the
major concerns we have about the current situation in
Somalia. In recent years, a great deal has been said
about Africa and its problems regarding development
needs and policy implementation. I would like to dwell
briefly on three particular areas: aid, the debt burden
and trade.
 On the issue of aid to Africa, we are mainly
concerned with its quantity, relevance and quality. Of
course, we support any measure, be it bilateral or
multilateral, likely to increase the effectiveness,
coordination and coherence of aid. With regard to the
quantity of total official development assistance, most
observers would agree that total aid to Africa in the
coming years is not likely to increase and may even
decrease. Therefore, it would be unrealistic to entertain
exaggerated hopes for development through aid. Most
donor countries have yet to reach the United Nations-
recommended target of dedicating 0.7 per cent of their
gross national income to official development
assistance.
 With regard to the debt burden of many countries
in Africa, especially the so-called highly indebted poor
countries, we believe that the international community
should be doing far more than has been attempted or
achieved in recent years. For one thing, the process of
reducing debt should be accelerated to give credence to
our recognition of the existence of an urgent crisis. We
believe that, in respect of the least developed and low-

53 08-52265

income countries, outstanding debts should be totally
cancelled. We need to free resources for growth and the
achievement of national development goals, including
the Millennium Development Goals.
 With regard to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, we need to take a
closer look at our development policies and institutions
with a view to effecting urgent reforms. Corruption
needs to be controlled and better governance given a
real boost and not just lip service. Priority attention to
agriculture should be reinstated. Africa can and should
produce more food.
 We are convinced that Africa has enormous
potential. We believe that its greatest potential is in the
sphere of trade, and less as a recipient of aid or debt
relief. In that connection, trade barriers against the
agricultural products of Africa should be removed from
the markets of the European Union and North America
if the developed countries are really serious about
aiding the less developed.
 As we are all well aware, the Doha Round of
negotiations is still at an impasse due to the divergence
of interests between the developed and developing
members of the World Trade Organization. At the heart
of the impasse is the existence of huge subsidies given
to farmers in the European Union and North America.
Unless those subsidies are totally eliminated or
substantially reduced, there is little hope for Africa and
developing countries elsewhere to compete in the
markets of the developed countries.
 I would now like to move from major issues
facing development in Africa to the specific problems
and prospects of Somalia. We wish first to reaffirm that
the Transitional Federal Government of the Somali
Republic is fully committed to the implementation of
the road map envisaged under the Somali Charter
adopted in 2004, despite daunting natural and man-
made challenges.
 With regard to reconciliation, we wish to point
out that a peace and reconciliation agreement was
agreed upon and signed between the Transitional
Federal Government and the opposition alliance on
19 August 2008 in Djibouti. We are now in the process
of implementation, we hope without undue delays. But
we are also mindful, after 18 years of conflict, that
delays could occur as a result of the tactics of those
who have developed a vested interest in anarchy and
chaos. It is also important that the leadership, both on
the Government side and on the opposition side, show
resolve and leadership if the process is to succeed —
and succeed it must. We are also determined to ensure
that the efforts of saboteurs and spoilers will not keep
hostage the whole Somali nation and peace in the
region. We hope that we can count on the unambiguous
support of the members of this United Nations body
and the Security Council.
 The situation in Somalia has been on the agenda
of the Security Council for a long time. We urge the
United Nations and the Security Council to play their
part and not to allow opportunities to be lost through a
policy of wait and see. Ultimately, history may not be
very kind to the way the Security Council has been
handling the Somali case when compared to the ways
that it has responded to other crises in comparable
situations. We urgently need the deployment of a fully
fledged United Nations peacekeeping force to restore
peace and stability and to create a secure environment
for institution-building and socio-economic development.
 Let me draw to the Assembly’s attention the
increasing acts of piracy and armed robbery against
vessels in Somali and adjacent waters, which have
resulted in the loss of both human life and property.
My Government has strongly condemned those
criminal acts, which violate international law and the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of
l0 December 1982. Those criminal acts of piracy are
unacceptable and should be put to an end. Since
Somalia has no capacity to interdict vessels or patrol
its long coastline to ensure the security of the sea lanes,
we call on the international community to cooperate
with the Transitional Federal Government in the fight
against sea piracy, in conformity with the provisions of
paragraph 7 of Security Council resolution 1816
(2008). We stand ready to cooperate with all Member
States as well as with the United Nations in
implementing that resolution.
 We believe that the time has come for the world
to take resolute action against the piracy off the coast
of Somalia and to put an end to these criminal acts. It
is unconscionable that, at the dawn of the twenty-first
century, piracy on such a scale has been left unchecked
for so long. We applaud the efforts of the Government
of France, particularly President Sarkozy, in the fight
against the piracy and armed robbery off the coast of
Somalia.

08-52265 54

 Finally, I would like to touch on the dire
humanitarian situation in Somalia, which is the result
of conflict, drought and acts of piracy, as well as
flooding in some regions. I appeal to the international
community to provide more humanitarian aid to the
Somali people. I wish to thank the Governments of
France, Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada for
escorting ships carrying humanitarian aid to Somalia. I
would also like to express our profound thanks to all
countries that are currently providing humanitarian aid
to our country.
 Permit me to conclude by emphasizing the
importance of conflict prevention, conflict resolution
and conflict management, not only in Somalia, but also
throughout Africa and the developing world. It is hard
to imagine that any meaningful socio-economic
development could take place without peace or
security. It is not realistic to expect countries in a state
of conflict to achieve all or any of the agreed-upon
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Therefore, it
is incumbent upon all developing countries, the United
Nations and the Security Council to promote the
conditions for effective development. Otherwise, the
MDGs will appear to be an exercise in wishful
thinking.


I should
like to start by congratulating Mr. d’Escoto Brockmann
on being elected to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session. I am certain that he
will steer the work of this session wisely and
successfully, and we wish him every success in his
work. I also wish to pay tribute to his predecessor,
Mr. Srgjan Kerim, and thank him for his constructive
efforts and the results that he achieved at the sixty-
second session. On the occasion of the feast of
Ramadan, I wish to extend my warmest greetings to the
Islamic community and to all States of the world. May
that feast bring prosperity, peace and security to all.
 Without doubt, representatives closely monitored
the terrorist acts perpetrated on the United States
embassy, which were combated by our courageous
Yemeni security forces. While we join the international
community and the Security Council in condemning
that terrorist act, we welcome the readiness of many
countries to work on a daily basis to counter terrorism.
We hope that such positive attitudes will translate into
genuine support that will enhance human development
projects and enable Yemen to overcome poverty by
also strengthening the Yemeni security forces, so that
they can play an effective role alongside the
international community in countering terrorism. We
also need increased cooperation and coordination
among security and intelligence services at the
international level so as to close all the gaps that have
enabled terrorists to continue their destructive
activities, which are alien to the values of religion and
human morals.
 Because of the exorbitant costs that we have had
to bear in the field of security, Yemen has paid a heavy
toll in terms of lives and material damage in the anti-
terrorist activities that we undertake. Terrorist activities
carried out by Al-Qaida and Islamic jihad elements, as
well as by rebel movements, have caused tremendous
economic losses of over $2 billion to the Yemeni
Government and impeded the implementation of
development projects and Government measures to
reduce poverty. We therefore call on donor States,
international organizations and Yemen’s partners in

13 08-53135

counter-terrorism to assist Yemen generously and to
help it carry out the development projects and poverty-
reduction programmes that are key components in
countering terrorism, especially since terrorists exploit
poverty, need and ignorance to polarize people and
recruit individuals.
 In the war on terrorism, in its various forms,
many people have falsely found a pretext to mobilize
against the Muslim religion, since Islam is the religion
of dialogue, tolerance and moderation. In that
connection, the Republic of Yemen fully supports the
initiative of His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia with
regard to dialogue among religions — an initiative that
attracted great attention at the Madrid conference.
There is also a crucial need to fight terrorism around
the world by reviewing counter-terrorism mechanisms
so that the war on terror will not harm the lives of
innocent citizens and cause human rights violations.
 The Republic of Yemen, which is one of the least
developed countries, continues to progress towards
democratization through political plurality and freedom
of expression, and is striving to promote the role of
non-governmental organizations and civil society and
the principle of the peaceful sharing of power. Yemen
is moving from a local administration system to
one of local governance that grants broad prerogatives
in the area of decentralization and power-sharing.
Parliamentary elections will take place in 2009 with
the participation of various political parties. The
Republic of Yemen, in that regard, intends to take all
measures to safeguard the integrity of those elections,
complying with international standards and welcoming
the participation of international observers.
 This session of the General Assembly is taking
place in difficult international circumstances, with a
new cold war threatening to return to the world and to
undermine global peace and stability. We believe that
this important international forum should be an
instrument for resolving all issues and challenges and
their implications for international relations. We trust
that, through dialogue, non-interference in the internal
affairs of countries and respect for the interests of all,
we will be able to prevent a return to the age of
alliances, because the world now has a crucial need for
international cooperation in a spirit of pluralism and
partnership instead of further tension and polarization.
 The changes on the international scene are
multiple. The most important facets are related to the
international economic situation, which has confronted
us with a number of unprecedented challenges. Among
those challenges is the severe shortage of foodstuffs,
the increase in the cost of food internationally and the
rise in energy prices. Those acute crises threaten to
affect the economies of poor countries, in particular by
increasing the number of hungry people around the
world. They are further compounded by industrial
States’ growing use of biofuels, which poses a threat to
the world’s current food reserves. While we agree that
biofuels do help to reduce damage from global
warming, that equation might change entirely if we
were to take into account the potential effect on a large
proportion of the world’s population, who may be
facing famine. Food must be produced in the interests
of the mass of humanity.
 Poor countries are facing a major challenge
because of the increase in the prices of food and
energy. Whenever there are glimmers of hope on the
horizon for developing countries, they find themselves
facing new obstacles to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). There can be
no doubt that, in order to address such difficulties, we
need increased international solidarity and cooperation.
We call on the major economic Powers and countries
that produce energy and food to fully shoulder their
responsibilities vis-à-vis the poorest countries and to
help them to achieve development and the MDGs
adopted by this Assembly in 2000.
 The difficult humanitarian situation of the
Palestinian people, whose rights continue to be denied
and trampled by Israel, is a source of grave concern for
us. Moreover, Israel’s expansionist policies of building
illegal settlements on Palestinian and Syrian territories
and of the racist separation wall in the West Bank,
which have been condemned by the international
community and the International Criminal Court, are
creating further problems and placing new obstacles in
the path of the peace process in the Middle East. We
call on all parties, including the Quartet, to act to build
a climate favourable to the restoration of trust among
the parties concerned in the peace process so as to
attain comprehensive and just peace.
 It is high time to put an end to the procrastination
policies of Israel. We greatly deplore the fact that
Israeli occupation forces are committing offences in
the holy sites in Jerusalem, which are among the most
sacred to Muslims. We warn the occupying Israeli
forces not to persist in such measures because, besides

08-53135 14

their potential impact on the peace process, they may
also have uncontrollable and unforeseeable
consequences. We believe it essential to adopt
resolutions without delay to provide for the protection
of the holy places and religious symbols, whatever they
may be, while firmly condemning any prejudice or
damage that may be done to them.
 We warmly welcome the positive developments
in Iraq. We also welcome the improved security
situation and hope to see greater political stability in
that fraternal country. From this rostrum, we welcome
measures taken by the Iraqi Government to establish a
timetable to end the presence of coalition forces on
Iraqi territory as a major step towards its recovery of
security, peace and stability and in order to protect its
Arab identity and strengthen its national unity and role
in the region.
 We are also closely monitoring with great
satisfaction the positive results achieved in Lebanon
and the work being carried out by the Arab Group
under the auspices of sisterly Qatar. We hope that the
agreement between the various Lebanese parties and
between the Syrian Arab Republic and Lebanon will
also be successful. Security and stability must be
strengthened in that region, and we hope that those
agreements will play an important role in enhancing
prosperity and peace for our neighbours in Iraq and
Lebanon.
 The Republic of Yemen is deeply concerned by
attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the
Sudan, and we reaffirm the importance of respecting
the sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence
of that country. We call on the international community
to fully assume its responsibilities in Darfur, and we
encourage dialogue between the Sudanese Government
and the various factions, considering any party that
rejects dialogue and reconciliation and that resorts to
violence to be a terrorist entity imperilling peace and
stability. We also welcome the African and Arab efforts
to resolve the Darfur problem and to nullify the
negative impact of the decision of the Prosecutor of the
International Criminal Court. We once again express
our repudiation of politicized decisions by international
judicial and humanitarian organizations that infringe
on the sovereignty of States and interfere in their
internal affairs.
 Instability in Somalia has negatively affected
countries of the region and is threatening the safety and
security of navigation in international waters, as a
result of the worsening phenomenon of piracy.
 As members are aware, the number of refugees is
constantly rising. Those refugees, who number
approximately 500,000, have come to Yemen from the
Horn of Africa. Millions in Somalia and in the Horn of
Africa are threatened by famine, which could increase
the number of refugees and thus the burden borne by
the Government of Yemen. Therefore, we call for
greater international support to help Yemen cope with
the waves of refugees and to help Yemeni coast guard
forces to combat piracy.
 The situation in Somalia poses a challenge to the
international community and requires serious efforts to
achieve peace and security for the Somali people in
order to enhance security and stability in the Horn of
Africa. In that connection, we welcome Ethiopia’s
readiness to withdraw its forces from Somalia and
reaffirm the need to deploy international forces to
restore stability there. We also call on all Somali
parties to seek reconciliation and end their disputes,
bearing in mind the interests of the Somali people, and
we urge all external actors to refrain from interfering in
Somalia’s internal affairs.
 My delegation stresses the need to continue the
process of United Nations reform. We reaffirm our
resolve to join all other countries of the world in
contributing effectively to the attainment of that
objective. We believe that such reform is necessary and
important and that all must join in the efforts to
achieve it. Of particular importance is reform of the
Security Council, which should not be limited to
expanding its membership, but should ultimately result
in more rational use of the right of veto so that it can
no longer be used to block resolutions approved by the
vast majority of the membership.
 In closing, on behalf of Yemen, I wish to thank
the Secretary-General for his unstinting support, efforts
and guidance at the head of the Organization.


It is perhaps fortuitous
that my own Deputy Prime Minister happens to be
presiding over the Assembly at the time when I address
the Assembly for the very first time. But it is not true,
as someone suggested to me just before I came to the
rostrum, that we have come to the sixty-third session of
the General Assembly believing that we are still at the
Olympics in Beijing. Neither is it true that my name is
Usain Bolt. My name is Bruce Golding.
 I offer Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann my
congratulations on his presidency and I ask you,
Mr. Vice-President, to convey those congratulations to
him. He has assumed that office at a time when the
world faces challenges of crisis proportions. Much will
be demanded of his leadership, and I want you, Sir, to
assure him of Jamaica’s full support and cooperation in
all of his endeavours.

21 08-52272

 We have convened amid worrying global
developments. The hopes of the new millennium are in
danger of fading as the ideals of international harmony
and shared global prosperity remain elusive.
Globalization, despite its promise of expanded
production and trade, has been uneven in the spread of
its benefits and, for many countries, marginal in its
impact. Indeed, the gap between rich and poor has
widened within and among countries.
 The global economy now appears to be headed
for a severe downturn. Developments in the global
financial system, the painful increase in oil and
commodity prices and the escalating food crisis
threaten to plunge vast sections of the world’s
population deeper into poverty. Fiscal challenges and
the crippling burden of debt render many countries
incapable of responding to the crisis. Countries like
Jamaica are called upon to respond within our limited
capacity to protect the most vulnerable.
 In the long term, however, our hopes for survival
will require huge investments, improved productivity,
better access to the world’s markets and human
capacity-building. Developing countries cannot be left
to find their own solutions. The situation requires a
collaborative, coordinated and global response. That is
not mere altruism. It is an indisputable truth that, if
developed countries assist developing countries to
improve their economies, their productive capacity and
the purchasing power of their people, they will expand
the markets for their own goods and services. It is the
interdependency that we share and that is manifested in
so many other areas, from climate change to global
epidemics, organized crime and human trafficking.
 Solving the problem of developing countries
requires more than mere liberalization of trade, more
than mere privatization of the economy and more than
the mere free flow of capital. It requires a sincere and
sustained effort that focuses on the limitations that
bedevil developing countries. Global development, not
just global markets, must be at the centre of our
priorities.
 Poverty and wealth should not have to coexist.
Poverty can be eradicated. The tools of development
exist and are capable of transforming the world,
empowering the poor and enabling them to rise from
their poverty. We must therefore commit ourselves to
creating a world in which not everyone may be rich,
but no one has to be poor.
 In 2001, we committed ourselves to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015. We are now
at the halfway mark and we are behind schedule. It is
time to take stock to see where we are, who is falling
behind, and what must be done to make up lost ground.
 A critical success factor must be the partnership
between developed and developing countries as
defined in the 2002 Monterrey Consensus on financing
for development, integrating aid, debt relief, market
access, good governance and foreign direct investment.
Those initiatives were carefully calibrated. Proceeding
with some elements without the others will not achieve
the goals we have set. Indeed, it might make it worse.
 We must all pull up our socks if we are to reverse
the slippage we have suffered. Developing countries
must ensure that their priorities are properly structured.
Developed countries must live up to their commitment
to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross national income to
official development assistance. That is a modest
amount, yet only five countries have so far done so.
 The focus of development cooperation cannot, I
submit, be too narrowly defined. The varied economic
and social profiles of developing countries require a
more flexible response that recognizes investment in
human capital, infrastructure and the transfer of
technology as critical elements in reducing poverty in a
sustained way.
 That is particularly important to developing
countries that are classified, based on per capita
income, as middle-income countries. That
classification deprives them of access to concessionary
financing and creative measures to reduce the crippling
debt burden that afflicts so many of them. If we are to
reduce poverty, the peculiar circumstances of those
countries cannot be ignored since that is where more
than one third of the world’s poor are to be found.
 We call on the international community to devise
strategic programmes to address the peculiar needs of
middle-income countries with deep pockets of poverty.
Because of those factors and because of our exposure
to frequent natural disasters, which in the matter of a
few hours can reverse gains that took years to
accomplish, Jamaica and its Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) partners are proposing the international
recognition of CARICOM States as a special category
of small vulnerable and highly indebted middle-income
countries.

08-52272 22

 The international financial system, designed more
than 60 years ago in the context of those times, has
undergone very little change in its governance,
structure and practices. However, the world has
changed and that requires a re-engineering of the
global financial system. Jamaica supports the call for
reform of the existing financial infrastructure to reflect
the new global realities and make it more proactive and
responsive to the needs of the entire world community.
I want to suggest, however, that it must involve more
than merely expanding the membership of an exclusive
club. It must be development-driven, recognizing that
poverty anywhere is a threat to prosperity elsewhere. It
must include mechanisms to detect signs of global
crises and must be able to institute preventive
measures.
 The crisis currently rocking the world’s financial
markets reflects the inadequacy of the regulatory
structures that are essential to the effective functioning
of any market. But it is more than that. It represents the
failure on the part of the international financial system
to facilitate the flow of resources into areas where they
can produce real wealth, not paper wealth. The world is
not short of capital. What it lacks are the mechanisms
to ensure the efficient utilization of that capital.
 I want to suggest that another urgent task is the
creation of a viable and equitable international trading
system. Jamaica is deeply disappointed that the Doha
Development Round has failed to deliver on the
promise of an open, fair and predictable multilateral
trading system. We urge all parties to resolve the
outstanding differences, particularly on the removal of
trade-distorting agricultural subsidies, and to address
the need for special safeguard mechanisms for
economically challenged countries.
 The need for more concerted action on global
warming is impatient of debate. Developing countries
are the most vulnerable, but they are also the least
capable of mitigation measures. Countries that are the
major pollutants must bear the major share of the
responsibility for corrective action. They must make
binding commitments to fulfil that responsibility. The
purchase of carbon credits, especially from developing
countries, must not exculpate them from that
responsibility.
 Jamaica calls for a fair, equitable and balanced
long-term scheme to bind emission caps within a new
international framework beyond 2012, when the Kyoto
Protocol expires.
 The impact of climate change on agricultural
output, and the frequency and intensity of natural
disasters to which countries like Jamaica are
particularly vulnerable, point to the need for a global
environment management structure that establishes
clear standards and enforces compliance.
 Jamaica is concerned that political instability in
many parts of the world, often fuelled by extremism
and intolerance, continues to threaten regional and
international peace and security. They are neither
limited in scope nor confined to national borders.
Resolving those conflicts requires effective diplomacy
and global cooperation, and the United Nations must
continue to use its good offices to secure just and
peaceful settlements.
 Our intense focus on combating terrorism and
transnational organized crime, and eliminating nuclear
arms and other weapons of mass destruction must not,
however, marginalize the need for decisive action to
curb the illicit trade in small arms, which facilitate
internal violence in many of our countries and result in
high levels of homicide. Jamaica supports the
establishment of an arms trade treaty to impose strict
controls on the illegal trade in small arms and
ammunition.
 The persistent humanitarian crisis in Darfur
continues to be a matter of serious concern to all of us.
We are disappointed that the African Union-United
Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur is not yet fully
operational. We urge all parties to desist from actions
that could deepen the crisis, jeopardize the safety of
the civilian population and of United Nations personnel
and prevent access to humanitarian relief.
 Jamaica remains irrevocably committed to
finding a just, lasting and peaceful solution to the
Middle East conflict — a solution that must ensure the
security of Israel and the establishment of a viable
Palestinian State.
 The United Nations must continue to play a
pivotal role through its peacekeeping missions in the
creation of sustainable peace in post-conflict situations.
Jamaica will use its membership in the Peacebuilding
Commission to underscore the importance of sustained,
long-term economic development in rebuilding and

23 08-52272

transforming countries that have been wracked by
conflict.
 The devastation wrought in Haiti by recent
hurricanes has aggravated the already harsh conditions
under which the Haitian people are forced to live.
Much more needs to be done not only in providing
emergency relief, but also in addressing the long-term
social, economic and development needs of that
country, as a sustainable solution to the fragile
humanitarian situation that exists there. Haiti needs and
deserves the support of the entire international
community.
 We are gathered here this week as Members of
that union we call the United Nations. What is the state
of that union? We must not ignore the cynicism that
exists in some quarters about the continued value of the
United Nations. Those cynics have not bothered to
contemplate what the world would be like if the United
Nations did not exist. But we have contributed to that
cynicism, so often bending the facts to suit our own
design, breaking the rules to secure a particular
advantage and making commitments without the will to
honour them.
 Reform of the structure and procedures of the
United Nations is an imperative whose time has long
come. Let us not bury it in procrastination and
incessant squabbling. It is time for constructive,
consensus-building dialogue. The need for changes in
the structure and scope of the Security Council has
been under discussion for almost 15 years, bogged
down in polarized, adversarial positions.
 We have a compelling duty to put in place
systems that can secure peace and prosperity for the
future. We therefore welcome the unanimous adoption
of decision 62/557, contained in paragraph 23 of
document A/62/47, which, we hope, will provide
resolve for the early commencement of
intergovernmental negotiations within a specified time
frame and in the context of an informal plenary
meeting of the General Assembly.
 The sixtieth anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights serves to remind us of
the central role of the United Nations in promoting
human rights and fundamental freedoms. Those are
essential components of the environment required for
sustained development. It was consistent with that
principle that we launched the initiative to erect a
monument to honour the victims of slavery. I thank the
Secretary-General and the members of the committee
for their support and assistance. I also thank Member
States that have made or pledged contributions. We
invite other States to do likewise.
 Six decades ago, the founding fathers of the
United Nations agreed that the Organization should be
a mechanism for harmonizing the actions of nations in
the achievement of our common goals: peace and
prosperity throughout the world, respect and tolerance
among the powerful and support for the weak and
vulnerable. That remains our mandate, our unfinished
business. Fulfilling that mandate and advancing that
mission will require a more proactive United Nations,
one that is more responsive to the needs of Member
States and gives equal attention to issues of peace,
security and development. The hopes of people
everywhere in the world depend on us, the leadership
that we provide and the will that we exert for the times
in which we live. We must not fail them.


Allow me
to extend my congratulations to Mr. D’Escoto
Brockmann on his election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its sixty-third session. I wish him
success in his great work responsibilities and projects.
I hope he will be able to work for the interests of States
Members of the United Nations. I would like also to
thank his predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for presiding
over the last session of the General Assembly.
 It is with honour and pleasure at this major
international gathering that I convey greetings from the
Government of the Republic of Iraq and its people.
Iraq’s former regime left behind security and political
conditions that had become a drain on the energy of the
Iraqi people and that led to a deterioration of the
country’s economy. Those conditions also left behind
significant environmental and social damage. The
foreign policy of the former regime and its domestic
practices dragged the country into futile wars, leaving
behind millions of victims and the destruction of
economic and state institutions.
 While the Iraqi people are building a new federal
State on the basis of democracy, pluralism and the
peaceful distribution of power, they have been subject
to and affected by a series of terrorist acts targeting all
Iraqis, be they Sunni or Shia Arabs, Kurds, Turkmen or
Chaldo-Assyrians, and attempts to ignite sectarian
strife, undermine the political process and stability of
the country, and return Iraq to the days of tyranny,
backwardness, oppression and dictatorship.

27 08-51845

 Terrorism is a blind danger that threatens
everyone. At a time when the Iraqi people call upon the
representatives of their elected national Government to
combat the remnants of terrorism, they call upon the
international community, and in particular
neighbouring countries, to support Iraq in its efforts to
suppress violence and terrorism and to promote peace,
security and stability. That would have a positive
impact on the stability and security of the region and
on the interests of its peoples and of the international
community as a whole.
 The acts of terrorism committed by the enemies
of freedom will not discourage our people from
creating a new democratic experience. Our people have
paid a heavy price for embracing that experience. Our
position requires the support and assistance of
countries around the world if we are to build a modern
nation that ensures justice, equality, strengthened the
rule of law, respect for human rights and participation
by women in all spheres of life.
 The Iraqi Government continues to impose the
rule of law throughout Iraq with determination,
disarming militias and armed gangs, fighting sectarian
conflict and building State institutions on the basis of
national unity.
 The initiative for reconciliation and national
dialogue launched by the Iraqi Government among the
various stakeholders in Iraq — be they Muslim,
non-Muslim, Arab, Kurd, Turkmen, Chaldo-Assyrian,
Shiite or Sunni — draws its strength from the heritage
of the Iraqi people, which has rendered great services
to humanity. Iraqis have coexisted in a spirit of
fraternity, love and tolerance since the dawn of history.
Their religious, sectarian and national diversity has
been a driving force in promoting national unity.
National reconciliation is a shared responsibility
between political forces, decision makers, religious
scholars, intellectuals, civil society organizations and
all active actors in Iraq.
 Progress has been achieved on the ground thanks
to ongoing national reconciliation activities that have
brought about the end of sectarian killings and an
improvement in the security situation, along with the
return of thousands of displaced families to their
homes, the launch of construction projects and the
provision of services to citizens.
 The proper preparation and continuous training
given to security and military forces have greatly
impacted their efficiency and capacity to respond to
criminal gangs, militias and terrorist organizations.
Those forces conducted successful security campaigns
to enforce the law in Baghdad and thereby eliminated
most of the armed militias and gangs and terrorist
groups, which greatly helped us to restore security and
stability. We also undertook similar and successful
campaigns in Basra, Mosul, Diyala and other
provinces.
 The Iraqi security forces have taken over security
duties from the multinational forces in many of Iraq’s
provinces, most recently in Anbar. We are currently
assuming full responsibility for defending and
preserving the democratic achievements of our people.
The Government is aware that those efforts have not
fully attained our objectives and aspirations and that
there is still much work ahead of us before we achieve
the stable and prosperous Iraq to which we all aspire.
Therefore, we call upon the international community to
support and assist Iraq in achieving those noble goals.
We are determined to assume responsibility for all
security tasks by the end of this year.
 The national unity Government has sought to
improve Iraq’s relations with other countries
throughout the world, in particular our neighbours, in
accordance with the principles set out in the new Iraqi
Constitution. It calls for the establishment of good
relations with neighbouring countries that share our
interests, on the basis of non-interference in their
internal affairs, diplomacy, direct dialogue and the
peaceful settlement of disputes. Therefore, Iraq is no
longer a threat to international peace and security. We
call on the international community to ensure that Iraq
is no longer subjected to action under Chapter VII of
the Charter of the United Nations, putting an end to all
Security Council measures against Iraq, including with
regard to compensation.
 We thank our neighbouring countries for
participating in three large regional conferences, the
most recent of which was held in Kuwait in April 2008.
We also thank them for their continued cooperation and
coordination to support the efforts of the Government
and the people of Iraq to restore peace, stability and
prosperity, by promoting ongoing dialogue in the areas
of national reconciliation, combating terrorism,
strengthening the rule of law and increasing political
participation. Those conferences have given
participants the opportunity to reaffirm their
commitments to Iraq’s territorial integrity, unity, full

08-51845 28

sovereignty and independence and to non-interference
in its internal affairs, as well as their pledges to honour
those commitments. We are currently preparing for a
forthcoming meeting among Iraq’s neighbours to be
held in Baghdad, at which we will be able to set forth
guiding principles for future positive cooperative
efforts in the political, economical and security fields.
 Thanks to Iraq’s new policies, our country has
become a meeting place for dialogue for regional and
international adversaries. We would like to enhance
that positive role and to adopt a policy that will help to
further reduce tensions and wars not only in the region
but also in the world at large. This year, senior Iraqi
officials made important high-level visits to
neighbouring countries and other nations. Iraq was also
visited by senior officials from the region, and their
consultations promoted balanced and stable political
and economic policies that increased the Arab
diplomatic presence in Iraq. Therefore, we call on all
nations — especially given the great improvement in
our security situation — to open or reopen diplomatic
missions and to enhance existing ones by increasing
the level of their representation.
 Furthermore, in its foreign policy, Iraq has made
it a priority to enhance its role in the international
community through effective participation in meetings
and conferences held by United Nations agencies and
funds on various international issues. Iraq has also
acceded to many United Nations conventions and
treaties, including the Chemical Weapons Convention,
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Kyoto
Protocol and protocols and conventions related to the
fight against terrorism.
 Given the nearly 50 per cent increase in the Iraqi
budget compared with last year, and in view of our
future aspirations and the improvements owing to
increased revenues derived from our natural
resources — including our fertile agricultural lands and
abundant water, mineral, and human resources — we
signed the International Compact with Iraq, aimed at
achieving economic prosperity and social justice in
partnership with the international community. That
document represents a new stage in the establishment
of balanced relations between Iraq and the other
nations of the world. The First Annual Review
Conference of the International Compact, held in
Stockholm in May 2008, saw a high level of
international participation. Its outcomes included a
proposal to establish a new international development
partnership that would include a joint financing
mechanism for new programmes with international
partners in Iraq, as well as an effort to identify critical
areas for cooperation on issues such as human
development, human rights, reconstruction and
economic governance, as points for departure in
developing new patterns of international cooperation
and assistance with regard to Iraq.
 The Government of Iraq would like to thank the
international community for assisting us in our efforts
to address our crises and challenges. We would also
like to thank the countries that have cancelled Iraqi
debt and to thank the Secretary-General Secretary for
his good efforts to that end.
 The Government of Iraq is eager to cooperate
with the United Nations and would like to reactivate
the Organization’s work in our country so that the
international community can strengthen its efforts to
rebuild Iraq and to support national reconciliation and
our democratic experience. We thus call on the United
Nations to enhance its presence in Iraq so that those
efforts will yield greater results.
 We agree with the world’s leaders regarding the
need to reconsider and reassess the international
situation and current political, economic and
environmental crises. Indeed, the world has become a
village and all events are interlinked, which means that
an event in one region of the world will affect events in
other regions. Therefore we must engage in dialogue,
cooperation, coexistence and understanding in order to
emerge from such crises. We also wish to highlight the
role of international and regional organizations as
mechanisms for promoting dialogue and cooperation.
Those are lessons that we have learned from the Iraqi
experiment and our own difficulties, and we see no
alternative to such an approach in addressing the
current complex world situation. Therefore we call on
international organizations to rebuild and reactivate
their structures and to reduce their routine and
bureaucracy.
 The problems of the Middle East can be resolved
through constructive and meaningful dialogue, in
accordance with the resolutions of international
legitimacy and the principles of international law.
Therefore the Government of Iraq supports the struggle
of the Palestinian people to exercise their inalienable
rights, including the right to establish an independent
State. We call for the implementation of the resolutions

29 08-51845

of international legitimacy in returning the occupied
Arab territories. We consider the Arab Peace Initiative
endorsed by the Arab Summit to be a good and just
basis for the settlement of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Therefore, and in order to enhance peace and security
in the region, we call for the establishment of a Middle
East zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
 The Government of Iraq attaches great
importance to reform of the United Nations, in
particular the Security Council, to improve its
performance. While we believe that it is important to
expand the Council’s membership to make it more
representative and more responsive to the great
increase in the number of Member States in
comparison with 60 years ago, we also believe that it is
essential to improve the Council’s working methods in
order to enhance its effectiveness and capacity to
perform, which affect the interests of all Member
States. At any rate, the increase in the membership of
the Council must not affect its effectiveness or
efficiency. Promoting stability and prosperity calls for
enhancing cooperation among the countries of the
world.
 We need to improve relations among the
sovereign countries of the world and develop the
international system so that it will be fairer and better
able to assist development programmes in poor and
developing countries through increased support from
wealthy countries.
 In conclusion, allow me on behalf of my country
and the people of Iraq to extend congratulations to the
President of the General Assembly. We are confident
that his wisdom and remarkable qualities will bring
about success in the current session of the General
Assembly.


I would like to join other
delegations in congratulating you, Sir, on your
unanimous election to preside over the sixty-third
session of the General Assembly. I am sure that with
your experience and diplomatic skills you will chart a
successful outcome of this session.
 I also take this opportunity to express my
appreciation to Mr. Kerim, President of the Assembly
at its sixty-second session, for his leadership and
dedication in guiding us diligently throughout his
tenure.
 Human security and the dignity of every man and
woman require us to continue the discussion in order to
build consensus on the principle of the responsibility to
protect, particularly in relation to genocide, war
crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity,
as agreed by the 2005 World Summit. While we realize
the sensitivity of the issue, Malta agrees with the
Secretary-General that we need to move from
declarations of commitment to practice and
implementation.
 Likewise, the fight against terrorism must remain
high on our agenda. We should not lower our guard.
We must always be vigilant and ready to take
collective and practical action on a daunting, complex
and politically sensitive issue. Terrorism has no
boundaries, and the unspeakable acts of terrorism can
strike anywhere, at any time, in poor and rich
countries, with innocent victims paying for these
vicious terror attacks, such as that perpetrated in
Pakistan last week, attacks which undermine the
human rights and fundamental freedoms of the
individual and of society itself.
 Malta, as a State party to the International
Criminal Court, believes that the work carried out so
far by the Court is commendable and merits our
continued cooperation and commitment towards the
maintenance of international peace and security.
 Malta feels that the continuing recruitment and
use of children in armed conflict and other grave
offences against children merit our full condemnation.
In this regard, we welcome the sustained activity of the
Security Council Working Group on Children and
Armed Conflict as well as the sterling work being
carried out by the Secretary-General’s Special

08-52265 2

Representative for Children and Armed Conflict,
Ms. Coomaraswamy.
 The protection of the human being brings with it
the responsibility to protect the environment. One of
the issues which have been described as the defining
challenge of our times, and also a matter described as
the flagship issue of the debate at the sixty-second
session, is climate change.
 Next December we shall commemorate the
twentieth anniversary of the Assembly’s adoption, on
the proposal of Malta, of resolution 43/53, entitled
“Protection of global climate for present and future
generations of mankind”, in paragraph 1 of which the
Assembly recognized that “climate change is a
common concern of mankind”. Malta is proud that the
seminal proposal launched in 1988 found universal
support, which eventually led to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change and the
Kyoto Protocol.
 The fact that the Assembly met earlier this year,
after high-level panel discussions, for a thematic
debate on “Addressing Climate Change: the United
Nations and the World at Work” continues to give
credibility and authority to the will of the
overwhelming majority of States to respond urgently to
climate change.
 The process initiated at the Bali Conference last
year established a clear road map with a view to
agreeing on a new multilateral, comprehensive,
coherent and effective post-2012 agreement, which we
hope will be reached by 2009, in order to avoid any
implementation gap.
 Malta reiterates its conviction that we have a
common obligation and responsibility to support
ambitious and urgent action, at the national, regional
and international levels, within the United Nations
Framework Convention so as to stop and overturn in
these coming years the accumulation of greenhouse
gases, which are causing detrimental climate change.
The vulnerability of small island States like my
country to the negative impacts of climate change
needs to be underlined.
 For obvious reasons, Malta continues to direct its
efforts towards making the Mediterranean a region of
peace and cooperation.
 We welcome and recognize the important
developments on the Cyprus question; the renewed
vigour in Israeli-Palestinian negotiations; the indirect
negotiations between Israel and Syria, with Turkish
mediation; the formation of a national unity
Government in Lebanon; and the improved relations
between Lebanon and Syria.
 Since we met here last year important
developments have taken place on the negotiations for
a permanent settlement of the Palestinian question. The
Annapolis Conference, held in November 2007,
renewed hope when there was otherwise a bleak future
with regard to the resolution of this question. Malta
feels that all United Nations Member States, without
exception, should continue to support the Secretary-
General in his quest, together with the Quartet, to
resolve the issue of Palestine refugees and that of the
permanent status of Jerusalem, as well as the other
important issues of settlements, borders, water and
security.
 The Paris International Donors Conference for
the Palestinian State, the formal start of Israeli-
Palestinian negotiations and the series of meetings
between Prime Minister Olmert and President Abbas
have given a most welcome meaning to the efforts
being made to resolve all outstanding issues, including
all core issues without exception.
 Malta’s hosting of a United Nations International
Meeting on the Question of Palestine, held in June this
year, followed shortly afterwards by the visit to Malta
of President Mahmoud Abbas in July, came at an
important — indeed, crucial — phase in the ongoing
efforts to implement the Road Map and its
commitments, as well as the obligations for a
permanent two-State solution. We shall continue to
lend our support to all initiatives that would bring
everlasting peace to both the Israeli and Palestinian
people.
 We welcome all initiatives which create a bond
between European and Mediterranean countries. A case
in point is the Parliamentary Assembly of the
Mediterranean, with its headquarters in Malta, aiming
to bring together all the littoral States of the
Mediterranean on an equal footing to examine
questions and take decisions on issues of direct interest
to the countries in the region.
 An important development in the Euro-Med
partnership was the launching last July, on the
initiative of President Sarkozy of France, of what is
now known as the Union for the Mediterranean within

3 08-52265

the Barcelona Process. Malta believes that this
initiative will be a significant milestone in our common
efforts to promote security and prosperity in the Euro-
Mediterranean region, to the equal benefit of all
European Union member States and Mediterranean
partners. Malta looks forward to working
constructively with other members of the Union to
address some of the problems which the Mediterranean
confronts, including in particular development, food
security and the provision of water and energy.
 While referring to these problems, I must
highlight also the unprecedented increase in the influx
of irregular immigrants that have been arriving in
Malta mainly from the African continent. Malta is well
aware of its responsibility in this area. However, as has
been highlighted on numerous occasions, it is
extremely difficult for us to continue to carry such a
burden, which is so acutely disproportionate to the size
of the country and its population.
 It is for this reason that Malta has continuously
requested assistance in tackling this problem through
the principles of solidarity and sharing of
responsibilities by Europe and other countries, as well
as the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. Malta is grateful to those countries that have
come forward to assist us in coping with this
phenomenon. Nevertheless, much more needs to be
done by us all, including the countries of origin and the
countries of transit.
 Africa continues to present us with a formidable
challenge. It is a challenge not only for African
countries themselves, but for the whole of the
international community. While noting with
satisfaction the success stories in the reduction of
poverty, Malta remains very concerned that progress in
Africa is still lagging behind. We have an obligation to
enhance efforts to assist African countries to meet their
legitimate goals of sustainable development.
 It has been acknowledged that the Millennium
Development Goals and the protection of human rights
share a number of characteristics which require our
constant attention. Recent phenomena, such as climate
change, rising food prices and international financial
instability, add further obstacles to the attainment of
these Goals. Poverty eradication and the achievement
of all the Millennium Development Goals are to be
priorities of our times which should be addressed in a
multidimensional way, both through the conduct of
political and economic decision-making and through
social and environmental factors related to different
facets, such as culture and gender equality, geography,
climate and energy.
 Malta strongly believes that the pledges made at
the Millennium Summit in 2000 on the attainment of
the Millennium Development Goals remain the
overarching objective of our global agenda. Besides
being a signatory to the Call to Action launched by
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Malta is also actively
working to reach its targets for official development
assistance set by the European Union.
 The United Nations is passing through exciting
but challenging times. Under the able leadership of the
Secretary-General, the search for a reinvigorated
Organization that will provide the whole membership
with a sound basis to look to the future with vigour and
determination has been endorsed and accepted by
Member States.
 During the sixty-second session, Member States
continued to consider a series of critical issues in the
process of reforming our Organization, including
advancing a system-wide coherence, reviewing all
mandates originating from resolutions of the General
Assembly, management practices, the revitalization of
the General Assembly, and giving the Security Council
a more equitable representation.
 We all recognize that the transformation of the
United Nations into a stronger Organization requires
from all of us determination and conviction that only a
concerted effort by all Member States can achieve. The
reform of the United Nations is an evolving exercise
which requires on our part not only understanding, but
also solidarity and partnership which we as Member
States must engage to overcome the new and emerging
challenges facing humankind.
 In a few weeks, Member States will be
celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sixty
years have passed since that historic day in 1948, six
decades which have witnessed great political,
economic and social upheavals in the lives of our
peoples. Throughout these years, this family of nations
has also increased fourfold, an increase bringing with it
a diverse community, large and small countries, rich
and poor, but with the sole aim of upholding the
fundamental premise of the Universal Declaration that

08-52265 4

“all human beings are born free and equal in dignity
and rights”.
 This anniversary on 10 December 2008 will
provide us with the opportunity to rededicate ourselves
to the pledges and commitments we made when we
became Members of this Organization. It is a
recommitment which as Prime Minister of Malta, and
on behalf of the Maltese people, I solemnly make
today.