On behalf of the Government
and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I salute
the President as he presides over the General Assembly
at its sixty-eighth session. I assure him of the full
support and cooperation of the Nigerian delegation. I
also wish to extend our commendation to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon and to place on record Nigeria’s
appreciation of his focused and committed leadership
of the United Nations system.

This session comes at a particularly trying period
when our world faces a number of critical challenges,
which make it imperative for us to work within
the Charter of the United Nations to address them
meaningfully. It is therefore apt that the theme for this
session, “The post-2015 development agenda: setting
the stage”, signposts our desire and determination to
actively cooperate for the improvement of the overall
welfare and well-being of the most vulnerable citizens
of the States Members of the Organization.

Nigeria appreciates the consultative nature of
designing the post-2015 development agenda. Earlier
in the year, we supported this global outreach through
inclusive consultations and surveys of a number of
Nigerians, who expressed their aspirations with respect
to the world they expect beyond 2015. A major highlight
of that process, which has increased national ownership
of the agenda, is the emphasis on the eradication of

poverty as the overarching principle in the formulation
of the successor framework. Tomorrow, Nigeria will host
a side event on the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), in collaboration with the
United Nations, a number of African countries and our
development partners.

As I had cause to say before the Assembly at its
previous session (see A/67/PV.8), the year 2015 is not
a destination but only a milestone to a better, safer,
healthier and more compassionate world. Let us
therefore renew our commitment to the processes that
will develop the post-MDG framework.

That objective is of particular resonance to us in
Africa, where the challenges of poverty, illiteracy,
food insecurity and climate change continue to engage
the attention of the political leadership. The good
news, however, is that in the past decade, a sustained
democratization process across the continent has
made significant difference in governance processes,
institutions and structures. Today, we have a renascent
Africa, which has moved away from the era of
dictatorship to a new dawn, where the ideals of good
governance and an emphasis on human rights and
justice are beginning to drive State-society relations.
This is the present reality of Africa that must replace
the old prejudices and assumptions about the continent.

We are firm in our conviction that democracy is
fundamental to achieving the requisite stability that
will enable the realization of a sustainable post-2015
development agenda in Africa. This emergent Africa
will require the continued support and partnership of the
international community — an Africa that is no longer
merely a destination for aid but one that is involved in
constructive, multi-sectoral exchanges on the global
stage. Our continent stands ready to continue to engage
the rest of the world as a partner in formulating a global
development agenda that will guarantee peace, security
and stability.

I wish to express my appreciation at Nigeria’s
selection as co-Chair of the Intergovernmental
Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development
Financing. The importance of the Committee’s
assignment cannot be overstated. For the post-2015
development agenda to be realistic, it must be backed
by a robust financing framework, which I hope will
receive the strong backing of the Organization’s better-
endowed Members.

Nigeria’s commitment to sustainable peace and
security propels the country to action along with
member States of our subregional and continental
organizations whenever stability is threatened in
our continent. In recent years, Africa has had its
share of conflicts, notably in Mali, Guinea-Bissau,
the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central
African Republic and Somalia. It is noteworthy that
African leaders, with the support of the international
community, have demonstrated the capacity to work in
concert and decisively in pursuit of long-term solutions
in the affected States. While a lot more still needs to
be done, we are convinced that progress is being made.

The recent presidential elections in Mali herald
a new beginning that should translate into peace and
prosperity for its people and provide a stronger basis
for stability within the subregion. I congratulate
President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who is here with
us today. Similarly, the political transition process in
Guinea-Bissau holds much promise. Among African
leaders, there is a greater determination and focus on
the transformation of the continent. That is the required
impetus for the achievement of development objectives
that will benefit the people, and rebrand the continent
even more positively.

Although our world has not witnessed a global
war since the establishment of the United Nations,
there have been several conflicts with devastating
consequences and impact in virtually all regions of
the world. As global citizens, we have a sacred duty to
free our world of wars, rivalries, ethnic conflicts and
religious divisions. Our collective effort in our drive for
a better world will continue to bind us together.

Nigeria continues to support the efforts of the
United Nations in addressing the global initiative to
combat the menace of the illicit trade in small arms and
light weapons. We have redoubled efforts to address
this onerous challenge within our borders and across the
West African subregion. In doing so, we also recognize
the need for a broad-based global partnership in the
ongoing battle against transborder crimes, including
terrorism and acts of piracy. It is regrettable that
these scourges are sustained by unfettered access by
non-State actors to illicit small arms and light weapons,
with which they foster insecurity and instability across
our continent. For us in Africa, these are the weapons
of mass destruction.

It is therefore in the light of our collective
obligation and unceasing struggle to end this nightmare

that I congratulate Member States on the adoption of
the Arms Trade Treaty in April. Our hope is that, upon
its entry into force, the Treaty will herald an era of
accountable trade in conventional arms, which is critical
to the security of nations. In line with our continued
commitment to that project, Nigeria has signed and
ratified the Treaty. We will continue to engage other
Member States for its successful implementation.

Terrorism constitutes a major threat to global peace
and security and undermines the capacity for sustained
development. In Nigeria, the threat of terrorism in
a few states in the north-eastern part of our country
has proven to be a challenge to national stability. We
will spare no effort in addressing this menace. We
are therefore confronting it with every resource at our
disposal, with due regard for fundamental human rights
and the rule of law. Nigeria would like to place on record
its appreciation to the international community for its
support in that regard. The reign of terror anywhere
in the world is an assault on our collective humanity.
Three days ago, the stark reality of that menace was
again brought to the fore by the dastardly terrorist
attack in Nairobi. We must stand together to win this
war together.

Piracy, like terrorism, is another menace that has
attained worrying proportions, especially in Africa’s
coastal waters. At the bilateral and multilateral
levels, Nigeria has promoted cooperation to mitigate
piracy’s impact on and consequences for the security
and economies of affected coastal States. Indeed, in
June, the leaders of the Economic Community of West
African States, the Economic Community of Central
African States and the Gulf of Guinea Commission
met in Yaoundé and came up with practical steps to
collectively confront the menace of piracy in the Gulf of
Guinea. That effort will no doubt require reinforcement
and wider support and collaborative action on the part
of our international partners.

The situation in the Middle East remains volatile.
The reported use of chemical weapons in the Syrian
crisis is unacceptable. Nigeria condemns, in the
strongest possible terms, the use of chemical weapons
prohibited by international conventions. We applaud the
current diplomatic efforts to avert a further escalation
of the crisis. We urge all parties involved to end the
violence and seek a negotiated solution, including
through the instruments of the United Nations.

The threat that nuclear weapons pose to the
survival of the human race is to be understood not just
in the context of States that aspire to such weapons but
also of the nations already in possession of them. It is
our collective responsibility to urge the international
community to respond to the clarion call for a peaceful
universe in an age of uncertainty. We can attain that
objective if we adopt measures and policies that
promote nuclear disarmament, protect and renew our
environment and push towards an international system
that is based on trust, mutual respect and shared goals.

I believe that I express the concern of many when
I bring up the slow pace of effort and apparent lack of
progress in the reform of the United Nations, especially
the Security Council. We believe strongly that the call
for democratization worldwide should apply not only
to States but also to international organizations such
as the United Nations. That is why we call for the
Council’s democratization. It is desirable in order to
enshrine justice, equity and fairness and to promote a
sense of inclusiveness and balance in our world.

Our support for the Security Council in its primary
responsibility — the maintenance of international peace
and security — has been total and unwavering. In our
previous membership of the Council we demonstrated
both the political will and the capacity to engage in key
Council responsibilities. Nigeria has therefore decided
to seek election to a non-permanent seat on the Security
Council for the period 2014 to 2015, for which I am
pleased to be able to say we have been endorsed by the
Economic Community of West African States and the
African Union. We urge the Assembly to endorse our
candidature.

Our world continues to be confronted by pressing
problems and threats. No statement made during this
session can encompass the extent of those problems.
The world looks to us, as leaders, to provide hope in
the midst of crisis, to offer guidance through difficult
sociopolitical divisions and to ensure that we live in
a better world. We have obligations to the current
generation, but we have a greater obligation to those
yet unborn, who should one day be able to inherit a
world of sufficiency, irrespective of the circumstances
of their birth or where they stand on the globe. We must
work to make that world a reality in recognition of our
common heritage. We must strive to eradicate poverty,
hunger, disease and human misery; we must eliminate
the scourge of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare,
as well as that of small arms and light weapons. We
must dedicate ourselves to working together to address

global, regional and national challenges and to deliver a
more peaceful, equitable and prosperous world for all.
It is our duty. We must not fail.


On behalf of the
Senegalese delegation, I would like to wish you, Sir, all
the best as President at the sixty-eighth session of the
General Assembly.

By focusing its debate on the post-2015
development agenda, the General Assembly reminds us
that there is not much time left before attainment of
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is finally
evaluated. Despite progress after more than a decade
of implementing the MDGs, the magnitude of the
challenges is still overwhelming. In terms of access to
food, housing, education and healthcare, the daily lives of
nearly one billion people have barely improved. Women
continue to die in childbirth. Inequalities persist within
and between countries. The economic crisis continues
and environmental degradation is worsening. We need
to take concrete and resolute actions to transform our
collective ambitions into reality.

In the quest for sustainable development, a
conference on climate change in 2015 in Paris will
provides us with another opportunity to pull ourselves
together, by reversing the negative effects of climate
change on Earth, our common habitat.

Addressing the challenges of sustainable
development and building the future we want, in
the spirit of the Rio+20 Conference, require a more
sustained effort than the fight against poverty.
We should invest more in education, as the Global
Partnership for Education expects of us. We need to
modernize agriculture, make electricity accessible to
everybody and develop infrastructure to foster trade and
investment. These are the pillars that underpin growth
and prosperity. It is precisely this vision that the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD) seeks
to promote through its Programme for Infrastructure
Development in Africa (PIDA).

As part of that programme, 51 priority projects
have been identified and established throughout the
continent. Overall, they will cost $68 billion between
2012 and 2020. As Chairperson of NEPAD’s Orientation
Committee, I am pleased with the consensus that our
partners have built around PIDA, namely, the Group of
Twenty and the Group of Eight (G-8) and with Brazil,
Russia, India and China.

I also welcome the very strong signal which the
G-8, meeting in June in Lough Erne, sent concerning
the need for a concerted campaign against tax evasion
and other fraudulent practices affecting our economies.
We must now push ahead and launch the mechanisms
we have agreed on for improving transparency in
international transactions, including the mining
industry. This is the best way to support Africa’s efforts
to mobilize domestic resources in order to finance its
development.

Similarly, Senegal calls for the reform of
international economic and financial governance,
notably the terms for accessing credit and obtaining
financing for economic and social development
projects. Let us not pave the road to the future with
the instruments of the past. While plummeting official
development assistance no longer meets Africa’s needs,
the trend towards progress should lead us to explore
other innovative financing mechanisms available to
our countries. Africa is no longer a zone of turmoil
and humanitarian emergencies. Africa has become an
emerging centre of opportunities and investments for
innovative and mutually beneficial partnerships.

The world has changed; Africa has also changed.
Let us therefore change our paradigms and visions; let
us change the way we look at the continent.

Change is also needed for the reform of the Security
Council. The Council’s legitimacy is not derived
only from its status as the guarantor of the collective
security system; it is also and especially derived from
the representativeness that justifies its action in the
name of and on behalf of all Member States.

This time last year, Mali was doubly affected by
a coup and a terrorist attack reminiscent of a bygone
age. They were a source of great concern for us.
Senegal, which remains active within United Nations
Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission
in Mali, welcomes the restoration of the territorial
integrity and constitutional legality of Mali. We
congratulate the people of Mali and their political
leaders for that happy outcome. We strongly support
the national reconciliation efforts being made by the
Government in the spirit of the Ouagadougou Political
Agreement.

Today, while the armed groups have been
defeated, the terrorist threat to the Sahel has not yet
been definitively ended. It is only through ongoing,
coordinated and sufficiently deterrent action that we

will be able to address the emerging security challenges
on the African continent. It is urgent to make operational
the African rapid response force, proposed at the last
African Union summit.

In Guinea-Bissau, Senegal is supporting the
Government’s efforts to successfully carry out the
electoral process. We urge our partner countries and
institutions to pursue their support for the definitive
resolution of the Guinea-Bissau crisis through the
country’s economic recovery, the crucial reform of
the defence and security sector, and the fight against
illicit drug trafficking. We hope that similar attention
will be paid to the Central African Republic and to the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in the legitimate
aspiration to peace, stability and the preservation
of territorial integrity. Throughout Africa, we are
committed to upholding respect for the African Union
principles against anti-constitutional changes of
Government, regardless of the process used.

In regard to the Middle East, Senegal expresses its
deep concern over the untold suffering of the Syrian
population. We urge the Syrian Government to exercise
restraint and to comply with the Chemical Weapons
Convention in the control and destruction of its arsenal
of chemical weapons.

In its capacity as Chairman of the Committee on
the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian
People, Senegal is following the resumption of the
Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. It is a courageous
and responsible act because it translates the vision of
two States, Israel and Palestine, living within secure
and internationally recognized borders. We therefore
call for a halt to acts likely to affect that perspective,
notably the ongoing establishment of settlements on
Palestinian land by the Israeli Government.

On 24 September, Senegal joined other countries
in launching the international campaign for the fight
against sexual violence in armed conflict. Sexual
violence in conflict is an act of unbearable cruelty for
the victims and their families. It is a war crime and
a serious violation of human dignity and universal
conscience. In the name of our common humanity, it
is time to act to prevent and stop such horrors. It is
time to act so that victims will no longer feel alone in
their suffering, which destroys the very foundations of
society. It is time to act so that the perpetrators and
their accomplices in those crimes are tracked down
everywhere, prosecuted and punished in a manner
commensurate with the atrocities of their crimes.


I wish to join other delegations
at this gathering in congratulating you, Mr. President, on
your election to the presidency of the General Assembly
at its sixty-eighth session. I am sure that under your
guidance and through your excellent diplomatic skills
we will have a rich exchange of ideas and a fruitful
outcome. I also wish to extend my congratulations and
gratitude to your predecessor, Vuk Jeremi., for his
successful stewardship of the previous session of the
General Assembly. My deepest appreciation also goes
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, whose
passion and commitment have been instrumental in the
work of the organization.

I will start by taking the Assembly back a few years.
All here will certainly remember how not too long ago
the world waited in anticipation and hope for the clock
to push past midnight to the year 2000. As with most
fresh starts, the new millennium brought with it a sense
of promise and, indeed, something extraordinary was
taking place.

For the first time in history, Governments
had committed themselves to “walk the talk” by
adhering to a set of measurable targets aimed at
lifting millions out of poverty by the year 2015. The
so-called Millennium Development Goals were bold
and ambitious. They became national and global
priorities, setting Government policies and generating
a strong commitment across wide areas towards their
attainment. Failure, it was felt, was not an option.

Undoubtedly, there have been remarkable
successes. The number of people living in extreme
poverty has fallen, as have poverty rates. Access to
sources of clean water has improved. The proportion
of urban slum dwellers has declined substantially, and
there has been visible improvement in the areas of
health and education.

Yet, as significant as those achievements are, we
are now at a watershed moment. The international
community has already recognized the need to push
the Goals further, beyond 2015, and to see that they
become sustainable development goals. An important
stock-taking exercise has been taking place so as to
ensure that no one is left behind, that no human being
feels merely like a scrap of life, living at the edge of
existence.

It would be easy for us to think of poverty as
belonging elsewhere, if we did not see it all around us.
We have the luxury of exercising wilful blindness to
malnutrition and disease, pretending that they belong
to a different culture, to a different nationality, to a
fictitious world that is wiped away as easily as flipping
a television channel. It would also be easy for us to think
that we can be altruistic, since we are lucky enough to
live without want.

But we are not here today to be blind. What brings
us together at the General Assembly, year after year,
to hear speech after speech, is a longing to belong. We
want to be part of something bigger, something that
goes beyond our self-imposed borders of language,
culture and tradition. We want to belong to that global
sea of peoples sharing a single purpose. That longing or
need to come together tugs at our hearts with hope and
empathy for those at the margins of humankind. We
want to do something worthwhile. We want to commit
our intelligence to being effective agents of change.
“Make poverty history,” we once heard, and indeed we
have worked towards that aim.

But, as we hold those noble aims high, we also
question whether our plan is a priority, whether it
will fit within our national budget or our political life
cycles. And then we pause to consider our options, to
choose what will hurt us the least. The poor do not have
the luxury of granting us time to take our decisions.
Humankind cannot wait for a better time, when there
is no financial crisis. We, the international community,
need to forge ahead with determination to reach all our
goals.

I am proud to note today Malta’s long-standing
history of solidarity with other nations all over the
world. Our accession to the European Union took that
solidarity a step further, and my country assumed

responsibilities and obligations in the context of
providing overseas development assistance to
developing countries. That remains a cornerstone of
Malta’s international relations, and we remain firmly
engaged in seeking the eradication of poverty and the
sustainable development of societies in need. We are
proud to form part of the European Union, which is the
world’s largest donor of development aid, and we are
committed to reaching the goals that we have set and to
being a reliable partner for those in need.

I am equally proud to recall that this year marks the
twenty-fifth year since Malta proposed to the General
Assembly that climate conservation should be part of
humankind’s shared concerns, a concept that launched
the process leading to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. Malta is proud to have
been at the forefront of that discussion. We are adamant
about keeping the issue alive, for we are conscious of
the fact that climate change hits hardest the world’s
most vulnerable.

In defining a common vision for the future, we
believe that the eradication of poverty and the promotion
of sustainable development must be at the heart of the
post-2015 development framework. In the words of the
former President of South Africa, Mr. Nelson Mandela,

“[o]vercoming poverty is not a gesture of charity.
It is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid,
poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be
overcome and eradicated by the actions of human
beings.”
Malta is committed to continuing to engage with its
international partners in developing a post-2015 global
development agenda that delivers on the promise of a
better and fairer world for all.
Malta also understands the need to act in other
very tangible ways. When rickety boats laden with
irregular migrants reach our shores, which happens
each and every day, we see the suffering, we feel the
loss of dignity etched on people’s faces. We understand
that they are caught in a web of poverty and criminal
exploitation. We feel for those fleeing persecution and
poverty. They are desperately searching for safety and
prosperity. We do everything we can to provide them
with the help they need, offering refuge and respite.

Yet Malta cannot do that alone. The international
community must do more in the face of an ongoing
situation that is nothing but tragic evidence of our global
failures. It would be easy to flip channels once again,
to “park it in someone else’s back yard”. But it is not
someone else’s problem. Irregular immigration, human
trafficking and modern-day slavery are everyone’s
problem. We all have to play a part in solving it, not
only regionally but also globally.

There needs to be a sustained evolution in our
thinking. At the threshold of the year 2015, we urge
fellow nations not only to think beyond the current
Millennium Development Goals and how to ensure
their sustainability, but also to think of other goals that
could be included. There can be no unfinished business.
There can be no sustainable development goals without
peace, without fighting corruption, without respect for
human rights and without economic equality, which is
the social justice issue of our time.

The news headlines may not shock us anymore, but
those living in fear of losing their lives and those of
their families do not live in order to make news. They
look to survive. Whether scrapping for food or seeking
shelter from bullets, whether hiding their daughters to
prevent them from falling victim to rape as a tool of
war or keeping sons from being forcibly recruited as
child soldiers, millions of people all over the world live
dreading tomorrow. Each day they die a little bit more.

We bear responsibility for not safeguarding their
sense of belonging as equal human beings on this planet.
Malta firmly believes that the United Nations can and
must do more to safeguard human dignity and stir the
conscience of humankind. No undertaking can be as
fundamental as addressing the needs of the peoples of
the world, and no organization is better situated to see
that that can be done than the United Nations.

Malta’s geostrategic location makes it look most
closely at that which surrounds it. We are proud to be a
people of the sea, of a Mediterranean Sea that has given
us life and marked our history. We are proud of our
contributions towards the health of that sea, the many
exchanges that we support and the good relations we
maintain with all our neighbours, North and South.

But we are also troubled by the conflicts and
suffering that we see around us. Waves of new
tomorrows and hopeful struggles for democracy in
North Africa have given way to new realities that were
unthinkable when the Millennium Development Goals
were drawn up. Sectarian strife, religious tensions and
power struggles have halted or reversed the progress
of development. It is almost correct to say that the

Mediterranean Sea is at a boiling point and that the
next conflict — one over scarce resources, contested
borders or even cultural offences — is just waiting to
happen. But there can be no stalemate or acceptance of
the status quo if we truly believe that the peoples of the
Mediterranean deserve better. No violations of human
rights or shaky institutions can be accepted if we are
to look truly holistically at a new positive agenda for
humankind. The deepening links between the lives of
peoples across countries demand coordinated global
action. We must face that challenge.

Malta firmly believes that more can be done by
the community of nations gathered here to support the
fragile democracies that are struggling to take root
where dictators formerly ruled. More can and should
be done to ensure that the economies of the region are
able to flourish, that intraregional trade is supported
and that cultural exchanges are fostered. More needs
to be done to stop the violence and bloodshed that risk
becoming the norm for those of us who see the evolution
of events.

Malta calls upon the international community to
look with compassion on the innocents in Syria. That
is a humanitarian catastrophe with no end in sight — a
horrendous and indiscriminate tragedy. Each child’s
death and each mother’s wail should shame us all. People
are morally outraged around the world, and justifiably
outraged, for there can never be any justification for the
appalling suffering that is taking place.

The Mediterranean Sea basin remains awash with
promise but polluted with pain and prejudice. The
Middle East remains a hate-filled maelstrom and the
most explosive region in the world. How many more
need to die, not just in that region but everywhere
else because of conflict and terrorism? How many
more need to leave all their belongings to join hurried
convoys, fearful of losing their lives? How much longer
can the rights of others be ignored and trampled upon
while others enjoy their perceived rights? We need to
stop that wildfire. We need to stop the further descent
into brutality and carnage. Those responsible must be
brought to international justice.

Malta is convinced that we cannot start talking of
a post-2015 agenda if we cannot solve our differences
today. We do not have a carte blanche privilege to be
immune and indifferent, for the cost of our inaction
is greater than the cost of our effort and commitment.
Conflict saps the focus from our goals. It drains our
resources and stifles our potential. The United Nations
family, committed as it is to the purposes of peace and
prosperity among nations, understands that.

Malta firmly believes that true peace in our time
needs to be the overriding goal, the one target to which
we should all aspire and for which we should all work.
We need to ensure stable and peaceful societies if
we want to take the Millennium Development Goals
further. The opportunities for all to thrive are at hand.
The United Nations is and should be the force field to
which all nations gravitate in order to solve differences
and push boundaries together.

Our global goals and commitments cannot be solely
time-bound but must also be outcome-oriented. We
need to think inclusively and holistically. Post-2015, we
should not be looking towards rebooting, but towards
continuity with greater purpose and greater ambition.
Fewer people dying every day is a great achievement,
but more people truly living is an astounding victory
for all.

However, to get there we have to realize that
everyone has an equal voice. People need to be involved
in decision-making, since it affects their lives and their
livelihoods. They should be foremost in our minds as we
consider the world’s natural resources and tackle global
concerns such as climate change. There is never only
one way of doing things. We can achieve our targets
only if we listen to the people whom we are meant to
represent and make them part of the decision-making
process.

A few weeks ago, a young girl, Malala, from
Pakistan, spoke in this very Hall of her dream for
girls to get an education and wield the power of the
pen. Yesterday, at a gathering I attended, she said that
everyone should send books, not bombs.

Thirteen years ago, our leaders had a dream: to live
up to the millennium moment and to better peoples’ lives.
As we approach the year 2015, we need to remember the
hope and determination we felt as we crossed into the
new millennium, that determination to make the world
a somewhat better place through the goals we reach
together. We need to carry that forward and continue
to make dreams happen. Every day, millions of people
around the world dream of something more than a scrap
of a life. Indeed, there are no scraps of life.


I am extremely
pleased that a son of the Caribbean — and one with such
a wealth of experience and tested diplomatic skills — is
presiding over the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth
session. I commend the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his untiring efforts
to promote international peace and development, and I
thank him for his exemplary leadership.

The theme for our debate, “The post-2015
development agenda: setting the stage”, catapults
development to the centre of the United Nations
agenda, impelling us to elaborate a meaningful and far-
reaching development framework for the benefit of all.
Our deliberations and actions during this session must
therefore send a clear message of hope to the many
millions who, sadly, are still living in poverty and
inequity. Let us redouble our efforts to fight against the
scourge of poverty. It was the late Jamaican national
hero, Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who aptly said:

“Poverty is a hellish state to be in. It is no
virtue. It is a crime. To be poor is to be hungry
without possible hope of food; to be sick without
hope of medicine; to be tired and sleepy without
a place to lay one’s head; to be naked without the
hope of clothing; to be despised and comfortless.
To be poor is to be a fit subject for crime and hell.”
Too many of the world’s citizens are facing that
reality. We need to fulfil the Millennium Declaration
(resolution 55/2), which entrusted to us the responsibility
to chart a path towards development underpinned by
a commitment to eradicate poverty on the basis of a
global partnership.

As the deadline for the attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals draws near, with under 1,000 days
remaining, we face many challenges, including the
global economic and financial crisis, climate change,
natural disasters, high levels of debt and conflict.
With the limited time remaining, it is imperative for
us to accelerate our efforts. Anything less would be a
disservice to our people.

While we contemplate a post-2015 development
framework, we must also complete unfinished business

in the reduction of extreme poverty and hunger,
combating HIV/AIDS, halting and reversing the
incidence of malaria and tuberculosis and increasing
access to reproductive health care. In our deliberations
on a post-2015 development agenda, we must determine
how best to shape a global compact that is universal and
people-centred and that strikes the balance between
the need for robust economic growth, job creation
and poverty eradication and the equally important
need to preserve and protect the environment. Our
deliberations have to take into account the special needs
of disadvantaged groups of countries, in particular the
vulnerable group of small island developing States
(SIDS), which are grappling with climate change, sea-
level rise and the need to deal with new and emerging
economic and social situations.

We are pleased that international attention will
be focused on small island developing States in 2014,
when the international community will observe the
International Year of Small Island Developing States.
The success of the Samoa Conference in 2014 will
depend on strong international support for and the
mainstreaming of SIDS issues in all activities across
the United Nations system.

A sustainable approach to development should
include people with disabilities in the post-2015
development agenda. It should also provide for the
prevention and control of non-communicable diseases
and additional financial resources to sustain the global
fight against HIV/AIDS.

Another major threat to development is the high
incidence of road crashes. I call on all countries to
take the challenge of reducing injuries and fatalities
resulting from road crashes and traffic accidents more
seriously as a crucial policy issue.

There is an urgent need for innovative and
sustainable financing to underpin our development
efforts. Reforms should be undertaken in a manner
that will assist middle-income developing countries
to deal with the challenges they face. Those reforms
must address public debt sustainability and review the
classification system of middle-income developing
countries with a view to coming up with more relevant
and appropriate measures of development.

There is an urgent need for greater focus on job
creation, including for unemployed youth. I note that
the International Labour Organization has estimated
that global unemployment will rise to 202 million
this year. That alarming statistic is overshadowed by
estimate of the global working poor, which is in the
order of 869 million, almost 400 million of whom
live in extreme poverty. Growth in joblessness is
reflected in rural and urban pockets of poverty and
social deprivation. Increased investment in developing
countries with a focus on job creation is an avenue that
must be actively pursued.

We need to provide more assistance for people
to cope with daily life, as growth and prosperity are
unevenly distributed and the most vulnerable are at
risk of falling through the cracks, being overlooked
and failing to achieve a decent quality of life. Social
protection schemes should work effectively to provide
for basic needs and encourage target groups to pursue
self-advancement while facilitating empowerment
and fostering greater inclusiveness. As countries like
Jamaica implement strategies to deal with indebtedness
and also encourage growth and investment, it is
critical that international financial institutions and
multilateral and other development partners recognize
the importance of social protection mechanisms.

As we forge the agenda for development for the
next decade and beyond, we do so in part on behalf of
a group that is very close to my heart — our children.
The future we want, the future we craft, the future we
achieve will be our legacy to our children. We must
redouble our efforts to safeguard their rights and
enhance their development. Despite limited resources,
Jamaica continues to make every effort to meet its
obligations to its children. We condemn violence and
abuse against our children and reaffirm our commitment
to safeguarding and promoting the rights of children
everywhere. We must leave no child behind.

The issue of human trafficking is of paramount
concern. I am always mindful of the horrors and evils
of slavery, both in history and in its modern-day form.
I am particularly moved by the knowledge that young
girls and boys are torn daily from the bosom of their
families, taken to strange lands, placed in subhuman
conditions and forced to perform unspeakable acts. We
must unite in our efforts to eliminate that transnational
scourge and bring an end to human trafficking among
our women, men and children. We must ensure that in
these modern times we do not have a re-enactment of
slavery.We must stamp it out wherever it exists and bring
the perpetrators to justice. We must protect our future
generations. Never again should anything resembling
slavery be tolerated anywhere.

Jamaica is proud to lead the efforts, in collaboration
with the countries of the Caribbean Community and
members of the African Union, to have the permanent
memorial to the victims of slavery and the transatlantic
slave trade erected here at the United Nations. The
unveiling of the winning design of the permanent
memorial earlier this week signals an important chapter
in our journey to honour the memory of the millions of
men and women who were subject to untold atrocities.
When I attended the unveiling I was reminded of the
words of our reggae icon, Bob Marley:

“Old pirates, yes, they rob I;
Sold I to the merchant ships,
Minutes after they took IFrom the bottomless pit.
But my hand was made strongBy the hand of the Almighty.
We forward in this generationTriumphantly.”
We are grateful for the generous contributions
towards the erection of the memorial, and we encourage
the international community to continue to show
financial support for that important initiative.

Jamaica supports the call for an international
discussion in a non-confrontational manner on the
question of reparations. We fully support the initiative
to proclaim a decade for people of African descent.

The quest for development will not be complete
without requisite attention being paid to peace and
security. My heart goes out to the families of the victims
of the horrific attack in Kenya. Transnational organized
criminal enterprises wreak havoc on economies and
challenge the capacity of States to deal with those
threats. No country is immune to the direct or indirect
effects of the scourge of transnational crime. Increased
collaboration is necessary in confronting such threats
to human development. To that end, we welcome the
recent opening for signature of the landmark Arms
Trade Treaty in June of this year, which represents one
of many steps that the international community must
take towards defeating terrorism, crime and violence.
Jamaica is currently embarking on the process leading
to ratification of the Treaty.

Bilateral and regional cooperation through
information-sharing, capacity-building and assistance
are integral to dealing with crime, violence and security
issues.

We remain deeply concerned about the suffering of
the people in Syria and join the international community
in condemning the use of chemical weapons. We
welcome the recent positive steps taken by the Security
Council. Jamaica remains firmly committed to a just,
lasting and peaceful solution to the situation in the
Middle East.

Turning closer to home, the trade and economic
embargo against our neighbour Cuba has caused its
people untold hardship. It has no place in the twenty-
first century. We reiterate our call for an end to the
embargo against Cuba and to extraterritorial measures
that target third-party countries.

Jamaica has never lost faith in the influence for
good that exists here at the United Nations. We are
fully aware that the expectations and aspirations of
peoples rest in our hands. At this pivotal moment in
history, let us revitalize the partnership on which this
great institution is built. I draw on the words of the civil
rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., when he said,

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he
stands in moments of comfort and convenience
but where he stands at times of challenge and
controversy.”
The challenges and expectations of our time are
indeed great. It falls to our generation to take a stand.
Now is the time to act.


Allow
me, at the outset to extend sincere my congratulations
to Ambassador John Ashe, President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. We are confident
that he will ably guide the work of the Assembly during
this session. I also extend my thanks and gratitude
to Mr. Vuk Jeremi., President of the Assembly at
the previous session, for his efforts. We wish to
thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his wise
leadership of the Organization and for his interest in
the developments taking place in the world and in my
country.

It is a felicitous coincidence that the sixty-eighth
session of the General Assembly coincides with the
celebrations in my country in honour of the September
and October revolutions. Allow me, from this important
international rostrum, to congratulate the great and
valiant people of Yemen on this important occasion
and to commend the country and people of Yemen for
their resilience and their sacrifices in emancipating
themselves from the yoke of colonization, injustice,
oppression and despotism.

I also wish to congratulate the people of Yemen for
wisely and patiently forging ahead on the path of change
and modernization for more than 50 years and for their
determination to rid themselves of all the remnants
of the past. I commend them on their stewardship of
the historic political change, chief among them the
implementation of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)
initiative, with the support of international and regional
communities. From this rostrum, I wish to commend
my country’s youth for its leadership throughout the
transition process in building institutions, enhancing
and promoting freedom and democracy, and building a
new Yemen where justice, liberty and good governance
prevail.

The values of justice, freedom and equality, respect
for human rights and the maintenance of international
peace and security are the main pillars and principles
on which the United Nations was established. Because
of our firm belief in those values and principles, we
have always sought to implement and promote United

Nations instruments and to support peaceful coexistence
among nations. Perhaps the lofty and noble purposes
and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations and all its instruments served as inspiration in
the political settlement and the comprehensive national
dialogue that we have been pursuing for more than six
months.

Those purposes and principles are also reflected in
two aspects of the current situation. First is our desire
for coexistence and consensus, our rejection of violence
and our preference for the language of dialogue and
logic and reason. The second aspect is the fact that
Yemen is considered a unique model that should be
followed, given the tremendous change being witnessed
in our region. The acute crisis that befell Yemen in 2011
reflected internal understanding and tolerance and a
desire for coordination with regional and international
partners.

In that context, we wish to reiterate our thanks
and appreciation to all those who stood by the people
of Yemen and by the political settlement embodied in
the Gulf initiative, chief among them the Custodian of
the Two Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz
Al-Saud; the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council
and the GCC Secretary General, Mr. Abdul Latif bin
Rashid Al Zayani. I also extend my thanks to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon and to Security Council members
for visiting Yemen on two occasions.

As my country is a unique model among the
countries in which the Arab Spring is unfolding, those
visits have enhanced the new approach, which is based
on the GCC initiative and Security Council resolutions
on Yemen. We thank the five permanent members of the
Security Council for their unified vision with regard to
Yemen, which made it possible for us to forge ahead
with the political process and crown it with success.
We also extend our appreciation to the League of
Arab States, the European Union, Germany and all the
relevant international organizations and institutions, as
well as to the Special Adviser of the Secretary-General
on Yemen, Mr. Jamal Benomar, for his efforts to achieve
reconciliation between the parties in Yemen.

As the Assembly is aware, my country has made
great strides in the implementation of the GCC initiative
and its mechanisms. We are now turning to the second
phase, that of concluding the work of the comprehensive
National Dialogue and forging ahead with our plan to
shape our future. The results of this endeavour will lay
the foundations for the establishment of a new, modern
Yemen where democracy, the peaceful transfer of
power, the promotion of freedom, justice, partnership,
equality and equal opportunities for all citizens prevail.
Those foundations will enhance the authority of the
State, the rule of law, security, stability and the unity
of Yemen.

We are also forging ahead with strengthening
security and stability in our country and restructuring
the military and security institutions, so as to bolster
their main national task — to be loyal to the State
rather than to parties or individuals. We are certain that
our brethren and our friends will assist us in our new
endeavour, namely, the drafting of the new constitution
and the holding of a referendum on it, as well as in our
preparations for the next presidential and parliamentary
elections.

The achievements being made and that will be
made, in the ongoing political process depend heavily
on the support of the international community and on
enhanced partnership and cooperation between the
international community and Yemen, especially as
there are internal and external parties that continue
to attack the will of the Yemeni people. Those parties
are making every effort to obstruct the achievement
of political settlements and to target all the factors of
stability and the foundations of development in my
country. Such acts require the appropriate international
measures so as to deter and punish all those who are
trying to defeat this unique model in the region.

There are a multitude of factors at play, particularly
the increasing unemployment rate, growing levels
of poverty, and poor social services in general. All
those factors exacerbate instability and create a fertile
environment for the actions of extremist groups such
as Al-Qaida. However, eliminating them effectively
requires all kinds of logistical, financial and technical
support through practical programmes and plans that
do address not only the symptoms, but also the root
causes of those phenomena.

We need the international community’s support
in implementing our national counter-terrorism
strategy. That is why the fulfilment of pledges by donor
countries and the Friends of Yemen must be accelerated,
particularly since the Government of Yemen has been
working in partnership with donors to earmark and
allocate all those funds to various development areas.

I wish to take this opportunity to thank all our
donors, especially those who have already made good

on their pledges and financial commitments to Yemen.
That is particularly important in view of the fact
that Yemen, owing to its geographic location, social
composition and economic status, has been plagued
by various problems and challenges. They include the
activities of Al-Qaida and of cross-border organized
crime and national and international criminal groups
trafficking in drugs, weapons and people, as well as
the piracy off Yemen’s coasts. Addressing all those
problems requires international cooperation for the
security of the country and the region as a whole.

We would also like to bring up the issue of refugees
in Yemen, especially from the Horn of Africa. We
have been hosting more one million of them, with
all the economic, social and security difficulties that
such a situation entails. We are therefore calling on the
international community and relevant organizations to
help us to deal with the issue and mitigate its negative
impact on Yemen. We must find new ways and means
to help the Government care for the refugees and help
them to return to their homes, especially since those
countries have lately seen their stability restored to
some degree.

Conflicts and bloody events, especially in the
Middle East, are contrary to the lofty goals of the United
Nations, which is why the international community
must revisit the structure and working methods of the
Organization and make the reforms necessary to enable
it to effectively discharge its responsibilities for the
maintenance of international peace and security and
to revitalize its role. In that regard, we should mention
the despair and frustration of many Arab and Muslim
nations over the failure to end the Israeli occupation
of Palestine, arrive at a just solution to the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict and put a stop to all the occupying
Power’s oppressive measures and practices and attempts
to Judaize the holy city of Jerusalem, expand settlement
activities, detain Palestinian citizens and excavate
illegally around the Al-Aqsa Mosque.

We also wish to denounce the use of chemical
weapons, especially in Syria, by any party. We
call on all the parties in the Syrian conflict to stop
the bloodshed, agree to a dialogue and to work
towards a political settlement and reconciliation
and reconstruction. We call on the international and
regional parties concerned to intensify their efforts to
achieve a peaceful settlement of the crisis. A “Geneva
II” conference should be convened as soon as possible
in order to put an end to the violence, killings and
bloodshed in Syria. Recent events have demonstrated
the challenges facing the United Nations in this area,
particularly regarding the disagreement between
permanent members of the Security Council, which was
a pretext for certain groups to opt for unilateral action
outside the international legitimacy represented by the
United Nations. The Council needs thorough reform for
it to be able to carry out its primary task, which is the
maintenance of international peace and security and
the peaceful settlement of conflicts.

Concerning the brotherly country of Somalia
and our support for it, we call on the international
community to continue to stand by it in order to enable
it to overcome its long legacy of conflict and suffering.

Finally, I would like to thank the President and the
Secretary-General once again.


It is a great honour for me to address the Assembly
today on behalf of Montenegro and to reaffirm our
commitment to the United Nations and its Charter.

I wish to congratulate President Ashe on his
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at
its sixty-eighth session and to express the full support
of the Montenegrin delegation to him personally and
for the programme he has put forward. I wish also to
extend my gratitude to the President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, Mr. Vuk Jeremi.,
our neighbour, for his energetic efforts and leadership,
which contributed to dynamic and constructive
discussions on various issues on the United Nations
agenda. It is a special pleasure for me to pay tribute
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his
tireless efforts to build a safer and more prosperous
world.

The numerous challenges that the United Nations
is currently facing are far more complex than previous
ones. Those challenges are such that all of us have to
ensure, through joint efforts, coordinated and efficient
action to overcome them. That is our moral, collective
obligation towards the well-being of future generations.

The challenge of achieving sustainable development
and integrating its three dimensions is the greatest of
them all. It is encouraging that the General Assembly,
bound by the Rio outcome document (resolution
66/288, annex), is successfully addressing this priority.
With the establishment of the Open Working Group on
Sustainable Development Goals, the Intergovernmental
Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development
Financing and the High-level Political Forum, the
institutional framework as a platform for substantive
work has been strengthened.

In that context, the role of the United Nations
and the results of efforts to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 are becoming
more important than ever. I am certain that the United
Nations, guided by the synergy and pragmatic approach
of its Members and all stakeholders, will be able to
respond to that highly complex challenge. Such an
approach will contribute to our well-being and a safer
future for all of us, further strengthening the central
role of the United Nations in the system of global
governance.

To that end, poverty eradication and the other
unmet MDGs must remain at the heart of the post-
2015 development agenda. We must define future
sustainable development goals on the basis of the
experience and lessons learned from our success or
failure in accomplishing the tasks set by the Millennium
Declaration (resolution 55/2). Montenegro is working
diligently on the MDGs and is close to meeting them.

Our sustainable development goals must be clear,
universal, flexible and coherent, and represent a central
part of the post-2015 global development agenda. They
must clearly reflect political commitment to sustainable
development and promote economic development,
social inclusion, the sustainable use of natural resources
and protection of the environment as well peace and
security. As a member of the Open Working Group
on Sustainable Development Goals, Montenegro is
working assiduously to define those goals, taking into

consideration national characteristics and capacities
and individual countries’ development priorities.

After three years of strong economic growth in
Montenegro, the global economic and financial crisis
affected us, too, leading to a drop in investment, banks’
credit activities and foreign trade. The patterns of
economic growth have changed, so we have adapted
our economic policy to the new circumstances. At the
same time, the Government has adopted a medium-
term development plan modeled on the European
Union’s Europe 2020 strategy. The three pillars that
Montenegro will base its sustainable development on
are smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive
growth. The national plan will make our structural and
institutional reforms more consistent with development-
oriented public measures and investments. Aware of
the importance of that issue, we are setting up a centre
for sustainable development in Montenegro that will
become operational in early 2014. We hope that in time
it will take on a regional role and become part of the
Sustainable Development Solutions Network, based on
the outcome of the 2012 United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development.

One issue that is inseparable from the post-2015
development framework is that of climate change.
Montenegro is committed to intensifying its efforts
to promote the adoption by 2015 of a comprehensive
and legally binding agreement that would apply to all.
We call on every country, in particular the major world
economies, to step up their efforts related to mitigating
the impact of climate change and reaching a global
climate agreement. In that regard, we emphasize our
full support for the Secretary-General’s initiative in
convening a conference on climate change in September
2014.

The maintenance and promotion of international
peace and security is a continuing challenge for the
United Nations. We note that in some crisis areas, such
as Mali, significant progress has been made in reducing
violence and instability, while the situations in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African
Republic, the Sudan and South Sudan still need the
continued attention and efforts of the Security Council
and other relevant actors.

Due to the overall consequences for the country
itself and for the broader region, the crisis in Syria
regrettably still monopolizes the attention of the global
body politic and is at the top of the agenda of the United
Nations. We are deeply concerned about the continuing
deterioration of the situation in Syria and most strongly
condemn any form of violence, killing of civilians and
violation of human rights. We especially condemn the
use of chemical weapons confirmed by the United
Nations inspection team, which Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon has labeled a war crime. We urge that those
responsible for crimes in Syria and for violations of
international law be brought to account.

The agreement reached between the United
States and the Russian Federation gives us hope for
a diplomatic solution to the crisis and an end to the
conflict in Syria through resolute action on the part
of the Security Council. We believe that a political
solution and a democratic transition are the only way
to end a tragic conflict that has led to a humanitarian
crisis of incalculable proportions, affecting the whole
region.

The case of Syria, among others, highlights the
importance of preventive measures and mediation
in preserving international peace and security.
Strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to
achieve an early response and suppress threats before
they become a source of conflict will be key to dealing
with similar situations in future. Montenegro supports
the promotion of the concept of the responsibility to
protect and its operationalization, with prevention as
an integral element. We are in favour of continuing the
debate on the international community’s responsibility
for taking timely and decisive action to prevent mass
suffering.

In the context of the situation in the Middle East,
we are particularly pleased by the resumption of
Palestinian-Israeli negotiations after several stalled
years, and we commend the mediation efforts of the
United States Secretary of State. Montenegro believes
that direct negotiations are the best way to reach a
comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

With the intention of taking on additional
responsibilities and contributing to the promotion
of global peace and security and the observance of
universal values, rights and freedoms as a responsible
and proactive member of the international community,
Montenegro is seeking a non-permanent seat on the
Security Council for 2026-2027.

Besides its strong support for improving the
conception and structural development of United
Nations peacebuilding and peacekeeping capacities,
Montenegro recognizes the importance of the rule of

law and the protection of civilians, particularly women
and children, and urges United Nations missions to
consistently fulfil their mandates in that area. We
condemn all forms of violence, especially sexual
violence against women and girls in conflict situations,
and we therefore support the implementation of the
agenda on women and peace and security and, in that
context, Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and
other relevant resolutions.

The adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty as the first
legally binding instrument in that area will undoubtedly
contribute to global efforts in the field of disarmament
and non-proliferation. I am pleased to emphasize that
Montenegro was a firm supporter of a comprehensive
and strongly worded Arms Trade Treaty from the outset
and was among the first 65 countries to sign it. We are
conscious of how important it is that the Treaty enters
into force as soon as possible and will therefore make
every effort to ensure its speedy ratification.

The increased integration of human rights into
every aspect of the work of the United Nations, ensuring
universal respect for human rights, and the effectiveness
of the United Nations system in the area of human rights
constitute the guidelines for action for Montenegro,
especially through the Human Rights Council, of which
my country is a member. By cooperating actively with
the Council and its special proceedings, as well as with
Member States, we contribute to timely and efficient
deliberations on issues relating to the promotion of
human rights and responding adequately to cases of
human rights violations.

At the national level, we are striving to strengthen
a political, social and economic environment that
allows for the free exercise of human rights without
any form of discrimination. We focus particularly
on strengthening the position and role of women in
society and on preventing violence against them and
other vulnerable groups, including children, disabled
persons and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender community. As Chair of the Decade of
Roma Inclusion for 2005-2010, Montenegro has also
focused particularly on improving the position of Roma
in our society.

Montenegro remains committed to an effective
multilateral system in which the United Nations plays
a central role, and we support pragmatically oriented
initiatives and actions for its reform. We believe that
reforming and reorganizing the Security Council, as
the key actor in the maintenance of international peace,
is essential, as are revitalizing the General Assembly
and reforming the Economic and Social Council. In
general, such reform, particularly of the Security
Council, would contribute greatly to strengthening the
position, relevance and authority of the Organization
as a whole and bringing it into harmony with modern
geopolitical processes and challenges.

Montenegro’s work within the Organization is
based on the principle of multilateral cooperation and
respect for the principles and values enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations. We are aware of the
importance to our visibility and effectiveness at the
international level of strong and stable neighbourly
relations and of strengthening cooperation in all areas.

We are successfully implementing the internal
reforms required for the achievement of our main
foreign policy priorities — membership in the European
Union and NATO. The accession negotiations with the
European Union, after the provisional closing of two
chapters, are entering a new and more demanding
phase. The new approach in that phase of the process
is based on reforms in the areas of the rule of law,
strengthening judicial processes and the protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are of
particular importance for the citizens of Montenegro.

In parallel, my country is strongly committed to
Euro-Atlantic integration. As a country that will soon
become a NATO member, we are working devotedly
on the fourth annual national programme and reform
implementation in order to be fully ready by the time
our invitation for alliance membership is formalized.
We believe that membership will also contribute to
reinforcing security in the Balkans, where events of the
recent bitter past can be attributed, in part, to a lack of
strong security arrangements.

Montenegro is seen as a stability factor in our
region, as confirmed by continuing advances in
political, economic, social and cultural cooperation
with all of its neighbours. With regional cooperation
high on our agenda, Montenegro actively participates
in regional organizations. We believe that the recently
launched West Balkans 6+2 initiative, the modalities of
which are the subject of intense discussion, will help
us to focus regional activities on specific development
projects of common interest to participating States that
are aimed at speeding up European integration and
improving the quality of life of our citizens. We believe
that those efforts, together with European Union
synergy, the South-East European Cooperation Process

and the Regional Cooperation Council, will draw the
States of the region closer together and to the common
goal of the European Union.

The international community, led by the United
Nations, with the active participation and decisive
contributions of all stakeholders, must continue its
search for adequate responses and channel its efforts
towards solving the increasingly complex issues and
challenges that we are facing. Each and every country,
irrespective of size, has, without any doubt, a part to
play in finding such solutions, based on the mutual
trust and cooperation necessary to build a better world.


At the outset, it is with pleasure that I extend,
on behalf of the Government and people of the State of
Kuwait, our sincere congratulations to Mr. Ashe and
to his country, Antigua and Barbuda, upon his election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-
eighth session. We are certain that his vast experience
in international affairs will enable him to conduct the
deliberations of this session wisely and ably, and we
wish him success in that endeavour. We extend our
thanks to Mr. Vuk Jeremi. for his great efforts as
President at the previous session.

I should also like to pay tribute to the tremendous
and tireless efforts by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
in leading the Organization and disseminating its lofty
message and in seeking to maintain international peace
and security, in fulfilment of the aspirations of the
States and peoples of the world for a better world that
guarantees a life of dignity for all human beings.

The State of Kuwait condemns the acts of terrorism
committed in a shopping centre in Nairobi on Saturday,

21 September. We extend our sincerest condolences to
the people and Government of Kenya and to the families
of the victims. We also underscore again our support
for Bahrain and all of the measures being undertaken
there to strengthen security.

The maintenance of regional and international peace
and security occupies a position of great importance
among the priorities of the foreign policy of the State
of Kuwait, based on its principles and objectives, the
Charter of the United Nations and the provisions of
international law, which call for the building of bridges
of confidence, good-neighbourly relations, mutual
respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of
States, as well as for the promotion of the concepts
of peaceful coexistence and the pursuit of peaceful
settlements to conflicts and disputes.

In November 2012, the State of Kuwait celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of its
Constitution, which was the result of a distinctive
experience reflecting relations between ruler and
subject. It evolved in a historically seamless manner
into a democratic mechanism involving popular
participation. That process has embodied the essence
and values of political growth based on a commitment
to working for peace, as well as developing and
strengthening relations with neighbouring countries
in accordance with the principles of mutual respect,
common interests and rising above the wounds of the
past in order to chart a better future for the region and
the world.

In that context, I would highlight our bilateral
relations with the Republic of Iraq and to commend the
efforts of the Iraqi Government to fulfil its international
commitments to the State of Kuwait, in implementation
of the relevant Security Council resolutions. Our
bilateral relations have developed in positive and
tangible ways through communications at the highest
level between the leadership of both countries. We
have overcome our past differences and are looking to
the future to strengthen and develop future bilateral
relations for the welfare and interests of the peoples of
both countries.

We also look forward to genuine cooperation
with the Republic of Iraq in order to find the remains
of missing Kuwaitis and third-country nationals and
undertake a serious search for the national archives
of the State of Kuwait, in implementation of Security
Council resolution 2107 (2013). That resolution was
adopted following the understanding reached to transfer
follow-up responsibility for these matters from the
High-level Coordinator on the issue of the repatriation
or return of all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals or
their remains to the United Nations Assistance Mission
for Iraq. In this regard, we commend the efforts of
the Secretary-General and his concern to accelerate
the closure of these two issues, discover the fate of
the remaining missing persons and put an end to their
families’ suffering.

More than two and a half years have passed since
the eruption of the crisis in Syria. This crisis is more
than a humanitarian disaster; it is fast approaching the
definition of a catastrophe, with the increasing numbers
of victims and missing persons, both internally and
externally, and the recurring scenes of bloodshed,
violence, destruction, oppression and violation of
the most basic principles and values of humankind.
The scale of the crisis has become an obstacle to any
possible solution that could contain it, despite the great
and continued efforts at the regional and international
levels. The Security Council has been faced with a
historic and decisive responsibility: to start taking
serious and tangible steps to ensure solutions that can
guarantee an end to the bloodshed of the brotherly
Syrian people, achieve their demands and restore
security and stability in their country.

In January 2013, in response to the suffering of the
Syrian people owing to the exacerbation of the crisis
and its destructive consequences, the State of Kuwait
hosted an international donors conference to support
the humanitarian situation in Syria. This conference
achieved the desired results, and pledges surpassed
the targeted amount of $1.5 billion, of which the State
of Kuwait contributed $300 million. This amount has
been disbursed in full to a number of United Nations
bodies and agencies, which converted it into emergency
relief assistance to the Syrian people, inside and outside
Syria. The State of Kuwait would like to thank all
countries that participated in the donors conference.
Their participation reflected their care and concern
regarding the deteriorating humanitarian situation in
Syria.

We all recognize that the maintenance of peace and
security is the key that opens the doors to a dignified
life, prosperity and human creativity. This is because
factors such as development, in all its economic, social,
environmental, political and cultural aspects, cannot

take place when peace and security are lacking or
ebbing.

Turning to the Middle East region, Palestine is still
facing chronic challenges that have disrupted the vision
of a future based on development and regional and
international cooperation. The political and security
conditions in the region have also been disrupted by
the lack of confidence created by Israel’s continued
policy of building illegal settlements on occupied
Palestinian lands, its continued siege of the Gaza Strip
and the detention of thousands of Palestinians and their
imprisonment in subhuman conditions, in contravention
of the most basic rules of international humanitarian
law. Such practices reached their peak after Palestine
received Observer State status in the Organization.

In this regard, we reiterate that only the international
community will be able to find the difficult formula for
peace. We value in this respect the ongoing efforts of
the United States of America to achieve a breakthrough
in the peace process and hope that persistent efforts and
pressure on Israel will make it accept the resolutions of
international legitimacy.

At the regional level, concerning Iran’s nuclear
programme, the State of Kuwait supports the ongoing
efforts to peacefully resolve this issue in a manner a
that will preserve the right of the Islamic Republic
of Iran and all countries in the region to use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes under the supervision and
monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). We also call upon the Islamic Republic of
Iran to cooperate fully with international efforts and
work on implementing the relevant Security Council
resolutions. We also call on Iran to cooperate with the
IAEA and implement its resolutions to find a definitive
solution to this crisis, which had cast it shadow on this
region for many years, given rise to doubts and created
an atmosphere of instability and tension.

This year, the State of Kuwait celebrated the
fiftieth anniversary of its membership in this enduring
Organization. Ever since then, and driven by its belief
in the importance of common international action, it has
sought to provide highly effective support to many of
the agencies, bodies and entities of the United Nations
system. This is particularly true in view of the growth
and increase in challenges facing the Organization at
all levels and putting the international community,
represented by the United Nations, to the test, a test of
international will and global partnership in facing these
challenges.

The adoption of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) represented a major shift in the ability
of the United Nations to mobilize the global will to
eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development,
thus clearly expressing how ambitious the will of the
international community really is and the feasibility of
this global partnership.

However, major new challenges have emerged
that are related either to security disruptions resulting
from instability and the violations of human rights
that accompany them, or to the steady environmental
deterioration that threatens our world, together with
other serious and urgent challenges. This requires the
international community to take up the inevitable task
of rethinking our preparations for a comprehensive and
ambitious development plan.

We must complement the efforts aimed at achieving
the MDGs by formulating new goals and incorporating
them in the post-2015 development plan. This will enable
us to take a quantum leap towards a renewed global
partnership that will complete the process under way
on the scientific bases of the Millennium Declaration
(resolution 55/2) and the principles and outcome of the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
(resolution 66/288, annex) held in Brazil. It should help
our peoples, to whom those goals represent the hope of
creating an ideal world and a better life, particularly in
the least developed countries or those still recovering
from wars and conflicts. In this respect, we refer to
the importance of the international community paying
careful attention to supporting the foundations of
development in order to achieve security and stability
in Somalia and Afghanistan.

While the State of Kuwait is considered a
developing country, it has been independent since
1961 and given a great deal of attention to providing
financial and material assistance to the developing
and least developed countries, through many different
mechanisms and initiatives. The Kuwait Fund for Arab
Economic Development is a central Kuwaiti institution
firmly committed to implementing its promises and
policies on international cooperation and assistance to
needy people by on the ground. Since its establishment,
and having outgrown its regional Arab scope, the Fund
has expanded its activities and development assistance
to Asian, African and Central and Latin American
countries.

In that regard, the State of Kuwait has provided
provisional funding of $500 million to the Republic
of Yemen for development projects in the 2012-2014
provisional programme. The contribution seeks
to support a peaceful transition of power pursuant
to the Gulf Cooperation Council initiative and its
Implementation Mechanism, which are aimed at
ending the crisis in Yemen, re-establishing security
and stability there, and rehabilitating the development
sectors in order to fulfil the legitimate aspirations of
the Yemeni people to live in peace and security through
the consolidation of democracy and good governance.

The State of Kuwait, through its great interest in
promoting and intensifying regional and international
multilateral activities by reviewing cooperation and
coordination measures in many important and political
fields, has hosted many regional and international
summits, meetings and conferences. All haved focused
on a multiplicity of issues, challenges, hopes and
aspirations and supported initiatives aimed at creating
better conditions for the peoples of the region and the
world.

In order to expand that approach, built on
coordination and a spirit of entrepreneurship, in
November the State of Kuwait will host the third
Arab-African Summit under the theme “Partners
in Development and Investment”. We hope that
this initiative will achieve results that deepen the
foundations of Arab-African cooperation and open
new horizons in the name of stability, development
and cooperation between the people and countries of
these two regions. The State of Kuwait will also host
the thirty-fourth session of the Supreme Council of the
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf
in December, as well as the twenty-fifth Summit of
League of Arab States in March 2014.

In conclusion, I reiterate the commitment of the
State of Kuwait to the international multilateral system
and to the purposes and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations, as well as its belief in the importance
that all States fulfil the obligations to which they
have committed in international agreements and
conferences. That will help in the search for just and
equitable solutions to the global threats and challenges
confronting us in order to achieve the lofty objective of
maintaining international peace and security.


First of all, I would like to
congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth
session, as well as members of your team, and to extend
to you my full support in your future work.

Plenary meetings of the General Assembly have
always been an opportunity for Heads of State to gather
and exchange their opinions about the world situation
in order to try to find solutions for contemporary global
problems.

My country’s strategic goal of establishing a formal
relationship with and membership in the European
Union (EU) is based upon its ambition to become part
of the big family of democratic States and therefore
assure the full functionality of its own institutions and
its further development on the basis of a free market
and the rule of law, and especially human rights. Based
on the direction and foreign policy activities of Bosnia
and Herzegovina, our focus remains on furthering
our relationship and institutional relationship with the
European Union, according to the Stabilization and
Association Agreement and its full implementation.
Bosnia and Herzegovina’s aspiration to become a
member of the European Union is based upon broad
political census.

The fact that the process of European integration
demands comprehensive political, institutional and
legal adjustments in order to reach European standards
in all areas is of fundamental importance to my country.
We are also fully aware that the active participation
of all segments of society of Bosnia and Herzegovina
is necessary to expedite the process of European
integration. I expect that expediting the remaining
activities and the implementation of the Sejdi.-Finci
ruling of the European Court of Human Rights will
lead to the fulfilment of the requirements for Bosnia
and Herzegovina’s application for accession to the
European Union.

I also hope for a positive development in the process
of fulfilling the conditions for activating the NATO
membership action plan and further integrating Bosnia
and Herzegovina into NATO security structures. I would
also like to emphasize that Bosnia and Herzegovina is
in the final phase of negotiations for accession to the
World Trade Organization.

Allow me to emphasize again that Bosnia and
Herzegovina has a very clear stance with regard to war
crimes. All those accused of war crimes will be held
responsible for the crimes of which they are accused
before either international or domestic courts.

Bosnia and Herzegovina puts great emphasis on
regional and subregional cooperation and dialogue
among neighbouring countries, whose cultures
and traditions have been present in the Balkans for
centuries and who are currently at different stages
of transition and democratic reform. Bosnia and
Herzegovina is turned towards the future and to
cooperation with neighbouring countries on the basis
of mutual respect, as well as respect for sovereignty
and territorial integrity. The development of bilateral
relations with all of our neighbouring countries and
other countries in the region is focused on several key
areas: Euro-Atlantic integration, advancing economic
cooperation, strengthening regional cooperation and
finding constructive solutions for current issues.

Our emphasis on regional cooperation is on the
development of communications infrastructure as a
basis for better economic, cultural and scientific ties, as
well as overall regional development. The potential for
regional economic ties is especially strong in the areas
of industry, tourism, agriculture and energy.

I would like to especially emphasize our bilateral
relations with the Republic of Croatia, which gained
a new dimension and dynamic with the Croatian
accession to the EU, which was marked by eagerness
on both sides to find solutions that are in best interests
of both our countries.

I must point out that we continue to live during
one of the greatest economic and financial crises in
contemporary history, which is certainly the greatest
threat to global peace and security. We must do
everything in our power to tackle its negative effects
and consequences. Although the latest indicators show
that some developing countries are coming out of the
recession, that is not the case in poor and developing
countries, where the consequences of the crisis are very
harsh.

The institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina have
been strategically working towards achievement of

the Millennium Development Goals. We believe that,
despite the difficulties caused by the world economic
situation, there will be no obstacles in reaching our stated
targets by 2015. Bosnia and Herzegovina has finalized
the development strategy for Bosnia and Herzegovina
and the social inclusion strategy for Bosnia and
Herzegovina, while the strategy for poverty eradication
has already been designed and implemented. All of that
has been done in cooperation with the relevant United
Nations agencies in the country, whom we would like to
thank for their close cooperation.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is ready to contribute to
global efforts to define a development framework and
then to implement it in order to readily face economic,
social and environmental challenges. Considering
that the importance of the three aspects of sustainable
development I have mentioned crosses national
borders, Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that regional
cooperation is crucial for the successful preparation of
the new post-2015 development framework.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as all the other
Western Balkan countries at this stage of integration,
follows European Union policy and views with regard to
the new development agenda. Bosnia and Herzegovina
consistently supports the position that sustainable
development is possible only in harmony with nature.
I am of the opinion that economic and political
interests must not be an obstacle to achieving global
consensus on a true beginning of the global fight for the
preservation of the natural balance of planet Earth. It is
often forgotten that climate change has a direct impact
on development, poverty and hunger, and consequently
on global peace and security. Short-term solutions will
have long-term consequences, and the steps we take
today will be our legacy for generations to come.

All of us present here agree that the United Nations
needs continuous and comprehensive reform, which
should be conducted with great caution, assuring a
wide consensus of Member States. United Nations
reform should provide for efficient and coordinated
functioning of all segments and bodies of the system.

It is a widely held belief that Security Council reform
is crucial for core reform of the world Organization.
That reform, carried out with the consensus of the
Member States, is necessary for reasons of efficiency
and credibility, and it can be achieved only by taking
into account the contemporary geopolitical reality,
which differs from that of 1945. Only a Security
Council reformed in that way can have full authority
and responsibility in addressing the most important
issues of international peace and security. That is the
mandate entrusted to the Council by the Charter of the
United Nations.

Dialogue and compromise are the best way to
ensure the widest possible support, and Bosnia and
Herzegovina supports the opinion that Security
Council reform should be moved from a standstill
as soon as possible. We also believe that a reformed
Security Council should have an additional seat for a
State from the Eastern European Group, as the number
of countries in that group has more than doubled in the
past two decades.

In accordance with that position, I would also like
to emphasize that more engagement in preventative
diplomacy is expected from the Security Council. We
believe that more activity in the area of preventive
diplomacy would help solve many problems and crises
before they intensify, which would be a more efficient
way for the Council to work. Encouraging dialogue
to resolve critical issues by compromise, while acting
against any kind of exclusiveness, especially in the
area of human rights and human life, is of the utmost
importance. Timely and efficient conflict prevention,
rather than reaction to a crisis that has already escalated,
is definitely a more effective and less costly approach
to international peace and security.

We are eager to share with others the positive and
the negative of our post-conflict and peacebuilding
experience. Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that
every crisis should be studied carefully, with careful
consideration for the roots of conflict, the culture,
religion and local customs and every other factor in
order to find a just and long-term solution. There are no
universal solutions for any crisis, and each one should
be attended to and considered separately.

Bosnia and Herzegovina believes that it is necessary
to take concrete steps to prevent nuclear proliferation
around the world. In spite of visible obstacles of the
past decade, there are new initiatives giving new
momentum to the disarmament and non-proliferation
process. We believe that nuclear disarmament can be
achieved by encouraging Member States parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to
respect their obligations under the Treaty.

Bosnia and Herzegovina will sign the Arms Trade
Treaty during the Treaty event.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is gravely concerned about
the continuing violence in Syria, which has worsened the
humanitarian crisis and caused unacceptable suffering
for the Syrian people. We call on all the parties to
comply with their obligations under international law
and human rights law.

Resolving the crisis in the Middle East continues
to be one of the most important priorities of the world
Organization. We believe that all possible steps should
be taken to create a positive climate in order to achieve
a just and comprehensive peace in the region. We expect
all sides to refrain from any rash actions and to focus on
launching this very important dialogue.

In order to play a constructive role in international
relations and to contribute to self-sustainable peace
and stability, Bosnia and Herzegovina participates in
the International Security Assistance Force mission in
Afghanistan. In support of international efforts, we also
actively participated in the United Nations missions in
Liberia, South Sudan and Cyprus.

I would also like to emphasize that Bosnia and
Herzegovina remains very concerned that terrorist
attacks around the world continue to take the lives
of innocent victims. We are committed to fighting
terrorism and believe that results in that regard can be
achieved only through comprehensive cooperation and
a partnership of as many Member States as possible.

Bosnia and Herzegovina is also following the
situation on the African continent with great interest.
We expect that despite the world financial and economic
crisis, most developed countries will continue to
increase their contributions to the official development
assistence that is essential for capacity-building in poor
African countries. Therefore, we welcome the activities
of the United Nations through the New Partnership
for Africa’s Development and other efforts aimed at
putting Africa on the road to stable and sustainable
development, especially with regard to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals. That particularly
applies to the countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

We also support all efforts of the African Union,
African Governments and the United Nations to improve
the rule of law and democracy and to strengthen civil
society and its institutions, in order to improve all
aspects of society. We wish to point out that continued
and greater financial aid to Africa is just as important
as improving the efficiency and transparency of the use
of aid funds for sustainable development.

In today’s world, with political and social processes
more dynamic than ever, we face challenges quite
different from those of only a few decades ago. It is
becoming clear that only a strong multilateral approach
can produce good solutions. In its more than six decades
of existence, the United Nations has seen many trials
and tribulations, but it has always been, and continues
to be, the only guide to a better future. It is still the
only organization capable of providing solutions to the
global problems we face.

It is up to us to make it stronger and more efficient,
for only the United Nations — the most comprehensive
and inclusive organization — can help bring progress
and well-being to our planet. If we work together to
implement all our agreements reached in this hallowed
place, there is no doubt that we will live in better and
more just conditions than exist today. On that path,
we need to return to the basic values and principles
of human rights, equality and world peace that are the
foundation of the United Nations.


Last week a heinous terrorist
attack was perpetrated against the Republic of Kenya,

resulting in the death and injury of dozens innocent
civilians as well as the destruction of property. We
condemn this senseless attack and express our fraternal
solidarity with the people of Kenya.

The theme for the sixty-eighth session is “The
post-2015 development agenda: setting the stage”. It
echoes the words of the Preamble to the Charter of the
United Nations: “to promote social progress and better
standards of life in larger freedom”. As leaders, we
are therefore challenged to ensure that the post-2015
development agenda promotes sustainable development
and a secure future for current and future generations.

When the Millennium Summit adopted the
Millennium Development Goals in 2000, it emphasized
the urgency of making the world a better place for all
humanity. That promise gave hope to millions who live
in abject poverty and deprivation in many parts of the
world. As we approach the 2015 deadline, we should ask
ourselves whether we have lived up to the commitments
that we made in 2000. We believe that the post-2015
development agenda should be people-centred and
inclusive, with a focus on the provision of health care,
education, food security and nutrition, energy, potable
water, gender equality and the empowerment of women,
young people and people with disabilities.

The challenges of climate change and
environmental conservation should continue to be
a focus of our attention. During the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development in 2012, we
made commitments to create a new global partnership
characterized by a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation
and mutual accountability. The outcome document of the
Conference, entitled “The future we want” (resolution
66/288, annex), identified poverty eradication as the
greatest global challenge facing the world today and an
indispensable requirement for sustainable development.

As I speak, the eleventh session of the Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Convention
to Combat Desertification is about to conclude its
deliberations in our capital city, Windhoek. We
believe that the outcome of the Conference will further
strengthen the Convention’s role in mitigating the
effects of desertification and droughts, particularly on
the continent of Africa.

While developing countries have made
commendable advances in the areas of social and
economic development, many challenges remain.
Namibia holds the view that the post-2015 development
agenda should take into account the valid concerns
and challenges faced by middle-income countries,
such as access to grants and concessional funding for
developmental purposes. The post-2015 development
agenda should also embrace the protection of
fundamental human rights and freedoms, the rule of law
and the maintenance of international peace and security.
I wish to emphasize that sustainable development
requires adequate and predictable financing at the local
and international levels.

Namibia is concerned about the conflict situations
and growing instability in many parts of the world.
We welcome the signing of the Peace, Security and
Cooperation Framework for the Democratic Republic
of Congo and the Region. Namibia urges all signatories
to the Framework to work together in good faith
towards its full implementation. We commend the
efforts of the Intervention Brigade to restore peace in
the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and call on
the international community to give its full support to
achieving the success of that important mission. We
also appeal to the international community to provide
humanitarian assistance to the communities affected by
the conflict.

Namibia welcomes the decision of Madagascar’s
reformed special electoral court, paving the way for
holding presidential and parliamentary elections there
next month. We call on the international community to
provide the financial, technical and logistical support
necessary for those elections to be successful.

Our Government continues to support the efforts
of the African Union (AU), through the African Union
Mission in Somalia, to stabilize the situation in Somalia.

The Southern African Development Community
and AU election observer missions have declared
the harmonized elections that recently took place in
Zimbabwe to be free, peaceful and credible. In that
context, Namibia calls for the unconditional lifting of
all sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe.

We welcome the holding of democratic elections in
Mali and congratulate President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita
on his election. We commend the Economic Community
of West African States and other international partners
for the leading role they have played in resolving the
crisis in that country.

I take this opportunity to reiterate our steadfast
solidarity with the people of Cuba, who have endured

harsh conditions due to the illegal economic blockade
imposed on their country. We once again call for the
unconditional lifting of the embargo on Cuba.

The attainment of self-determination of peoples
living under foreign occupation is one of the principles
that this Organization was founded on. In that regard,
we reaffirm our solidarity with the people of Western
Sahara, and call for the implementation of the United
Nations settlement plan for that country. Similarly, we
call for the implementation of relevant United Nations
resolutions on Palestine.

Namibia condemns the use of chemical weapons
against the civilian population in Syria, as confirmed
by the United Nations inspectors. We welcome the
agreement reached between the Russian Federation and
the United States of America to place Syrian chemical
weapons under the control of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. We also support
the efforts of the Joint Special Envoy of the Secretary-
General and the League of Arab States to help the
Syrian parties find a peaceful solution to the conflict
in their country.

The process of reforming the United Nations system,
especially the Security Council, must be accelerated in
order to make it representative and democratic.

This session of the General Assembly presents an
historic opportunity for the international community to
take concrete steps to eradicate poverty and enhance
international peace and security in order to create a
world free of want, as envisaged in the Millennium
Development Goals. Let us summon the necessary
political will to act now.

I congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and
assure you of the full support of my delegation.