I wish to extend our sincere
congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as the
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth
session. I also thank the President at the sixty-fourth
session for his excellent stewardship of that session.
His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of
the United Nations, deserves our sincere appreciation
for his commitment and dedication.
 The message of the High-level Plenary Meeting
of last week is still reverberating around this
Assembly: the continuing poverty and hunger in
today’s world, where we have made great strides in all
our endeavours, is unacceptable and must be brought to
an end without delay. It is quite disheartening to note
that the number of poor has surpassed one billion and
that they are concentrated in certain regions and groups
of countries, mostly in least developed countries
(LDCs).
 The commitments expressed by the leaders
attending the High-level Plenary Meeting last week
rekindled our hope that it will be a different world in
2015. Otherwise, the Millennium Declaration
(resolution 55/2) and many other vital documents will
remain only a compilation of lofty promises. Let us
hope that we match our commitments with our deeds.
 International peace and security are our shared
desire and a common responsibility. The challenges are
multiple and complex. In an ever-changing world, the
sources and the threats are varied, and so are the
actors. Political and social conflicts have been
aggravated by abject poverty and disparity. Therefore,
the stabilization of global peace and security also
demands ensuring freedom from want and hunger as a
basic human right and enabling people to realize their
full human potential. Thus we believe that
development, peace and security are inextricably
linked with one other.
 Nepal has consistently and unequivocally called
for general and complete disarmament of all weapons
of mass destruction, under effective international
control. Nepal stands for the complete elimination of
nuclear weapons in a time-bound manner. The
operationalization of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-
Ban Treaty and the early conclusion of a fissile
materials cut-off treaty should be our priority. We
support efforts for the non-proliferation of small arms
and light weapons.
 We welcome the signing in April this year of the
New START treaty between the United States and the
Russian Federation on strategic offensive arms. We
welcome the successful outcome of the 2010 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. However, we
call for reinvigorating the Conference on Disarmament
as a multilateral body, to start discussions on
substantive issues. We also appreciate the efforts of the
Secretary-General to advance nuclear disarmament on
the basis of the five-point action plan he has proposed.
 Nepal strongly believes that regional mechanisms
complement efforts to promote the global disarmament
agenda. The United Nations Regional Centre for Peace
and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, which we are
proud to host, must be strengthened in order to
revitalize the Kathmandu process to facilitate dialogue
and deliberations on confidence-building in the region.
 In today’s world, devastating conflicts are a
constant threat to international security. Despite
progress on many fronts, violence and civil wars

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continue unabated. It is a matter of concern that
intra-State conflicts and extremism have steadily
grown over the years. We should work collectively. In
accordance with the principles and Charter of the
United Nations, we should all contribute to resolving
such conflicts through peaceful means and should help
stabilize situations through peacebuilding efforts.
 In the Middle East, we are encouraged by the
recent direct dialogue between the Israelis and the
Palestinians. We look forward to the success of the
dialogue leading towards an independent Palestinian
State alongside a secure Israel. We would like to see a
peaceful resolution to disputes in the Korean peninsula
through dialogue.
 Terrorism is a threat to all and knows no
geographical boundary. We unequivocally condemn
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and call
for resolute international actions to fight it. Nepal has
been implementing the United Nations Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy and is party to the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation Regional
Convention on Suppression of Terrorism of 1987 and
its Additional Protocol.
 Legitimacy, universality and common ideals have
been the defining features of the United Nations.
Continued adherence to its core principles and
purposes will reinforce sovereign equality, territorial
integrity, non-interference and the peaceful settlement
of disputes. The inspiring values and the lofty ideals
that underpin the United Nations Charter remain as
relevant as ever.
 We live in an era of continuous change. The
economic landscape is also changing with the
emergence of new, yet vibrant, poles of growth.
Globalization has changed the pattern of economic
relations, although its benefits are not widely and
equitably distributed.
 The effectiveness of the United Nations depends
on our collective will to act and to deal with global
issues resolutely. In the face of new and emerging
challenges, it is urgent that the ideals of the United
Nations be translated into action effectively and in a
coherent manner. The theme of this year’s general
debate — “Reaffirming the central role of the United
Nations in global governance” — captures that
essence.
 We underline the centrality of the United Nations
not only in maintaining peace and security, but also in
promoting international cooperation for development.
Its role in shaping policy debate on and establishing
global norms for economic and financial matters must
not be sidelined. The reform agenda needs to strike the
right balance to promote stability in the broadest sense.
Just as security and peace are critical for the
international community, so is the development
agenda. It must be given a focused priority within the
United Nations system.
 United Nations reform should be pursued in a
systematic and holistic manner to further enhance the
Organization’s global standing.
 The realities of the contemporary world call for a
change in the composition and working methods of the
Security Council. We support the expansion of
membership in the Council in both categories to reflect
the current realities of the world. We also call for
transparency in its working methods. We welcome
recent efforts to structure the debates with a view to
starting negotiations by taking into account the views
of all Member States.
 We welcome the ongoing discussions on the
revitalization of the General Assembly in the context of
the balance between the various organs of the United
Nations, as envisioned by the founders. The role of the
Economic and Social Council must be enhanced in
promoting global economic relations and in advancing
the development agenda, in close cooperation with the
Bretton Woods institutions and other relevant
institutions. The Development Cooperation Forum and
the annual ministerial review are a welcome change in
that body.
 We need to make the United Nations more
effective in ensuring coherence and consistency in the
global economic, financial and trading systems. We
call for special support for counter-cyclical measures,
social safety nets to protect the vulnerable, and fiscal
space to mitigate the crisis. We should make all these
steps particularly responsive to the needs and concerns
of vulnerable countries, such as LDCs.
 Nepal welcomes the adoption of the resolution on
system-wide coherence by the General Assembly at its
sixty-fourth session, with a view to strengthening and
streamlining the operational activities of the United
Nations in the field of development (resolution
64/289). We also welcome and strongly support the

53 10-55128

establishment of UN Women as a single consolidated
entity to deal with issues pertaining to gender equality
and the empowerment of women.
 Global peace and stability are our cherished goal.
Guided by that principled objective, Nepal has
extended unflinching support to all major United
Nations initiatives for the maintenance of international
peace and security through its active and consistent
participation in United Nations peacekeeping
operations around the world. In 2008, we celebrated
the fiftieth anniversary of our association with United
Nations peacekeeping operations with a view to further
consolidating our contributions to the cause of
international peace and security. Today, more than
5,000 Nepalese peacekeepers work in 13 different
peacekeeping missions around the world. Nepal’s
involvement in United Nations peacekeeping missions
has been one of the remarkable features of its
international engagement. We continue to participate
with dedication.
 In line with our solemn commitment to the
United Nations Charter and our contribution to
promoting its ideals, I have the pleasure of announcing
at this Assembly that the Government of Nepal has put
forward the candidacy of Mr. Kul Chandra Gautam,
adviser to the Prime Minister of Nepal on the peace
process and international affairs, for the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session.
 The gradual increase in the number of
peacekeeping missions is an indicator of the sombre
fact that the number of conflicts around the world has
increased in recent years. The sustainable way to
resolve conflicts is to look at them comprehensively
and remove the factors that generate and sustain them.
 Nepal’s commitment to human rights is resolute.
We are party to major international human rights
instruments. We are fully aware that the protection and
promotion of all human rights and fundamental
freedoms strengthen the sustainability of peace and
progress. The National Human Rights Commission, an
independent judiciary, a vibrant civil society and the
media have all played an important role in promoting
awareness and protecting human rights in Nepal.
 Our fellow South Asian country Pakistan recently
suffered tragic loss of lives and destruction due to
unprecedented floods. Similarly, fellow LDC Haiti
faced a devastating earthquake. Those disasters have
wiped out hard-earned gains, and therefore we call for
full sympathy and support to them in their hour of
need.
 Climate change has become a challenge to human
existence, a multidimensional threat to human lives
and all living things, the global ecosystem and human
civilization. It has a direct impact on our efforts to
eradicate poverty and hunger and to preserve the
ecological balance.
 My country, which is a least developed
landlocked country with mountainous terrain, is highly
vulnerable to climate change. The Himalayas remain
the perennial source of freshwater for over a billion
people living in South Asia. Global warming has
precipitated the melting of snow in the Nepalese
Himalayas, and about two dozen of our glacial lakes
could burst their banks any time, causing a huge loss of
lives and property. Moreover, we face extreme weather
events, floods, soil degradation and desertification.
Because of their fragility, mountain countries face
special vulnerability to climate change.
 Countries like Nepal contribute the least to
climate change, yet we bear a disproportionate impact,
and it is the poor and vulnerable people among us who
face its severe effects. We cannot wait for action
forever. At the national level, we are pursuing
afforestation programmes and promoting the use of
alternative sources of energy, as well as hydropower
generation.
 There is an urgent need to make progress on
climate negotiations through an ambitious and
comprehensive outcome in Cancún, Mexico, later this
year. The international community should agree on
new, predictable, transparent and substantially
enhanced resource mobilization and a fast-track
provision to ensure resources for mitigation,
adaptation, technology transfer, reducing emissions
from deforestation and degradation — REDD-Plus —
and capacity-building in the least developed countries.
LDCs must be given priority so that they may
withstand the sweeping impact of climate change on
their people’s livelihoods.
 International responses to the special needs and
concerns of LDCs have had limited success. The
implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action
has produced mixed results. The overall performance
of LDCs in the Millennium Development Goals and
other internationally agreed development goals stands
well below their expectations, despite some progress.

10-55128 54

That is primarily because we continue to face structural
handicaps and constraints, as well as a critical resource
gap in our development efforts.
 Mutually reinforcing and exacerbating food,
energy, economic and financial crises, together with
the adverse and disproportionate impacts of climate
change, have further worsened the conditions of LDCs.
Limited economic activity, stagnant growth, the early
stage of industrialization, heavy reliance on
subsistence agriculture as the mainstay of the national
economy and a lack of employment opportunities in
other sectors have made poor countries highly
vulnerable to external shocks.
 Such challenges cannot be overcome without a
renewed and scaled-up global partnership for
development. The fulfilment of all commitments to
official development assistance in a predictable,
transparent and accountable manner, the enhanced
provision of duty- and quota-free market access for all
LDCs, and the early conclusion of the Doha Round
with an ambitious, balanced, equitable and
development-oriented outcome and early results in
provisions aimed at LDCs will help generate economic
growth through equitable trade. Enhanced debt relief
measures, an increased flow of foreign direct
investment, technology transfer and investment in
building long-term productive capacity will be
critically important in order to ensure resources for the
financing of sustainable development in LDCs.
 The United Nations will host the fourth United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries
in Istanbul next year. The Conference must aim to have
an ambitious, comprehensive, forward-looking and
results-oriented outcome. As the Chair of the LDC
Coordinating Bureau, I call upon the international
community to make the Istanbul outcome a turning
point in addressing the multidimensional challenges
and constraints that LDCs face today. The success of
the Conference will be measured by its contributions to
making a difference in the conditions of the millions of
poor in our countries.
 Nepal is also a landlocked country. Therefore, our
development challenges are further compounded by
that reality, which increases the cost of our
international trade substantially. Therefore, specific
support measures to improve infrastructure and trade
facilitation in line with the Almaty Programme of
Action for landlocked developing countries will be
critical to promoting their development needs.
 I will now touch on the political situation and the
ongoing peace process in my country. Nepal is passing
through the arduous transition from a 10-year conflict
to sustainable peace and stability with a nationally
driven peace process. We have come a long way since
June 2006, when the peace process started, with some
ups and downs, which is only natural for a complex
peace process. Yet our national determination remains
strong and unwavering, and we are fully committed to
bringing the ongoing peace process to a meaningful
conclusion by resolving all outstanding issues.
 From a longer-term perspective, Nepal has
achieved some remarkable progress since the signing
of the Comprehensive Peace Accord on 21 November
2006. The promulgation of the interim constitution, the
election of the Constituent Assembly and,
subsequently, the declaration of Nepal as a federal
democratic republic stand as notable achievements.
 Today, the 601-member Constituent Assembly of
Nepal, a third of whom are women, is one of the most
inclusive assemblies. The Assembly comprises
representation from different ethnic groups, backward
regions and traditionally marginalized communities,
among others.
 Historic and unique as it is, Nepal’s peace
process is not confined only to the issue of signing the
Peace Accord and the elections to the Constituent
Assembly. The next important task is to write a new
constitution for the newly born republic. That will
consolidate the gains made over the years in
establishing the people as the real source of
sovereignty and State authority and in guaranteeing
multiparty democracy, human rights, a federal structure
and inclusive governance. Therefore, the process
encompasses a much broader agenda, leading towards
the historic transformation of Nepal’s political,
economic and social structure.
 The people of Nepal nurture the hope of a better
future, which they rightly deserve. Political
transformation needs to be complemented by social
transformation and economic prosperity. While
ensuring political stability, we are making efforts to
revive the economy with new and focused initiatives
for the acceleration of economic activities, including
through the celebration of Nepal Tourism Year in 2011.
We hope that visitors will enjoy the flora and fauna of

55 10-55128

Nepal, including tours to Lumbini in Nepal, the
birthplace of Lord Buddha. To that end and to
revitalize and accelerate our economy, we look forward
to ambitious recovery measures with support from the
international community.
 Recently we have made some progress in
addressing the core issues of the integration and
rehabilitation of the former Maoist combatants. In that
context, I am pleased to inform the Assembly that the
Government and the Unified Communist Party of
Nepal-Maoist have agreed to complete the process
within four months, under the monitoring and
supervision of the Special Committee, formed on the
basis of national consensus, as per the Constitution.
 We anticipate accomplishing the outstanding
basic tasks in the peace process within the coming four
months, with the positive contributions of national
stakeholders and the goodwill and support of the
international community. Earlier this year, we also
achieved remarkable success, with the help of the
United Nations, in releasing the disqualified minors
living in cantonments, based on the action plan signed
on 16 December 2009.
 The United Nations Mission in Nepal has been
involved in support of Nepal’s nationally driven peace
process. We express our appreciation to the United
Nations for its consistent support of our peace process.
 Nepal’s commitment to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations Charter is total and
unflinching. For us, the United Nations is the best
expression of multilateralism. It has served the
international community in the past and continues to
work as a linchpin of international relationships today.
We have no doubt as to its indispensability.
 However, it needs to do more in this globalized
world. Global problems require global solutions. That
is possible only through multilateralism, based on
inclusiveness and equity. We look for an enhanced and
coherent role of the United Nations in dealing with all
global issues, but in particular those that affect the
lives and livelihoods of the poor around the world.


On behalf of
Ukraine, I sincerely congratulate His Excellency
Mr. Joseph Deiss on his election as President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. I am
convinced that his rich experience will contribute to
the achievement of significant results in our joint work.
 We have started our work in New York on a high
note. The Millennium Development Goals summit has
just successfully concluded. The summit outcome
document (resolution 65/1), the Millennium
Declaration (resolution 55/2) and the 2005 World
Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1) have become our
road map for sustainable development and a better
future. Their rigorous and coherent implementation is a
common task for all Member States. Ukraine is ready
to work actively to this end.
 Ukraine approaches with full responsibility the
issues of poverty eradication, providing high-quality
education, developing proper conditions for preserving
the environment, improving maternal health and
reducing child mortality, curbing HIV/AIDS and
tuberculosis, and ensuring gender equality. Our
achievements as well as the problems we face are set
out in the national report on implementation of the
Millennium Development Goals, which we presented
at the summit.
 Today my country is undergoing profound
internal changes. We have finally achieved political
stability and have launched comprehensive economic
and social reforms. In short, Ukraine has been given a
new progressive impetus, allowing us to take real
practical steps towards transformations that are long
overdue. I am confident that it will enable us to
participate more actively in the implementation of the
principles of the United Nations, to which Ukraine has
been committed all along.
 The world economic crisis has become a major
problem that has slowed progress in Ukraine as well as
in other countries. Global challenges require a global
response. The world must develop a new financial and
economic system of relations. Further trade
liberalization, prevention of protectionist measures,
new solutions and transparent tools for safeguarding
global competition can contribute to the economic
recovery.
 We believe it is necessary to support further
global processes that expand the free movement of

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people, goods, services and capital. New free-trade
areas and visa-free travel regimes are an important
component of the appropriate response to the global
challenges of today.
 We all know that sustainable development is
impossible without security and that security is
impossible without development. Ukraine has always
been an active contributor to peace and security
worldwide. I believe that our contribution in that
regard is beyond doubt.
 This year Ukraine declared its non-bloc status.
That helped to significantly reduce tension in the
region and to establish a zone of stability and strategic
balance around Ukraine.
 In 1994 we were the first in the world to
voluntarily give up our nuclear arsenal, the third most
powerful in the world. Sixteen years have passed, but
that decision by Ukraine has not diminished in
importance. In April of this year, Ukraine took the next
step at the Nuclear Security Summit, held in
Washington, D. C., by announcing its decision to get
rid of all its stocks of highly enriched uranium.
 The experience of recent decades shows that
nuclear weapons do not always increase security.
Moreover, countries that try to acquire nuclear
weapons may be exposed to the impact of new risks
and become more vulnerable. The best way to counter
the proliferation of nuclear weapons is to gradually
eliminate them completely. We welcome the signing of
a new START treaty between the United States and
Russia and further reductions of their national nuclear
arsenals.
 Today there is also an urgent need for concrete
steps to reduce the risks related to the proliferation of
nuclear materials and technology. We encourage all
Member States to follow our example in the area of
global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
 In view of the steps I have just mentioned,
Ukraine hopes to see our international partners
unswervingly comply with their obligations concerning
security guarantees for my country, that is, primarily,
the Budapest Memorandum of 1994. Ukraine insists
that security guarantees for States that have disposed of
their nuclear arsenals and for countries that do not
belong to any military alliance should be reflected in a
legally binding international instrument. That is the
best way to discourage regional nuclear ambitions.
 The principles of peaceful coexistence, respect
for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Member
States, good neighbourly relations and equality have
always been the cornerstone of Ukraine’s foreign
policy. We believe that the spirit and letter of the
United Nations Charter are the foundation for any
regional agreements and arrangements in the area of
security architecture. Yet our Organization can make
greater use of the potential of existing regional security
mechanisms so as to strengthen global security.
 We have never distinguished between our own
woes and those of others. From the very first years of
its independence, Ukraine has actively participated in
United Nations efforts to maintain international peace
and security. We strongly support the strengthening of
United Nations peacekeeping capabilities. Ukraine also
intends to keep working to improve legal protection for
the Blue Helmets. We welcome support for our
initiatives by the Member States.
 In our opinion, we also need to develop
mechanisms to respond to new or changing challenges
to international peace and security. One of these is
piracy and armed robbery at sea. I am convinced that
that threat can no longer be underestimated. Without
effective and decisive intervention by the international
community, that evil will only gain force. The United
Nations should play a key role in the fight against
maritime piracy. Ukraine is determined to continue its
efforts to increase international maritime security and
the protection of sailors’ social rights, and we call upon
all Member States to cooperate to that end.
 Today, humanity is increasingly confronted with
so-called soft security challenges. The word “soft”
should not mislead us, though. Climate change
constitutes a global threat to the very future of
mankind. The experts are saying today that some of
those changes are irreversible. That is why the
international community should immediately make all
possible efforts to avoid the worst-case scenario. The
political will of all Member States should be
mobilized. By signing the Copenhagen Accord,
Ukraine has taken a step in that direction.
 The Earth is our common ship, and it should not
become a Titanic. We believe there should be an
effective international mechanism to protect the
environment of the Earth as our only planet. The world
needs a standing global environmental organization
with universal membership.

41 10-54827

 Against the backdrop of environmental, financial,
economic and energy challenges, the peaceful use of
nuclear energy is becoming increasingly crucial. States
that possess nuclear technologies bear a huge
responsibility towards their own people, their
neighbours and all mankind.
 Next year, the world will commemorate a sad
date — the twenty-fifth anniversary of the accident at
the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. That tragedy is still
an open wound for us. Overcoming its consequences
remains a serious challenge for the international
community, as the scale of the problem requires a
coordinated effort involving all of our international
partners.
 Ukraine plans to host a high-level international
conference on the theme “Twenty-five years after the
Chernobyl disaster: security for the future”. We intend
to hold it in Kiev in April 2011, with United Nations
participation. The forum should assess the progress
made in the restoration and normalization of life in the
affected regions and discuss nuclear safety issues. I
invite all Members to take part in the conference.
 Today’s world is changing at an ever-increasing
pace, and our Organization has to change along with it.
The United Nations should be not an observer but an
architect of events. For that to happen, it urgently
needs to undergo comprehensive reform. Ukraine
welcomes the progress we see in the organizational
consolidation of the United Nations, in particular in the
areas of gender equality, protection of women’s rights
and peacebuilding.
 However, far-reaching changes are impossible
without modernization of the core of the United
Nations: the Security Council. The transformation of
the Security Council into an entity that is more
representative and balanced in composition, with
improved working methods and higher transparency, is
an essential precondition for increasing its
effectiveness and for adapting the United Nations to
the world’s current practices and procedures.
 Ukraine stands ready to discuss all progressive
concepts relating to Security Council reform. We
believe that the key to success is to take into account
the interests of all the underrepresented regional
groups, including the Eastern European States. I would
like to take this opportunity to confirm Ukraine’s
intention to obtain membership in the Security Council
for the period of 2016-2017.
 I am confident that the work of the sixty-fifth
session of the General Assembly session will be an
important step on the road towards a peaceful, safe and
prosperous world — a world of freedom, democracy
and effective international cooperation. To achieve
those ends, we have strong political will, a clear
understanding of the challenges and a common vision
of the problems. I believe in our success.


It is my
honour to speak here and to participate for the first
time in the Assembly’s general debate. The moment is
all the more significant for us because Romania is
celebrating 55 years of membership in the United
Nations. My country and its people have always been
firm believers in the ideal of countries working
together for peace, prosperity and a better life for
humankind.
 Nicolae Titulescu, one of the great Romanians of
the twentieth century, once said that hardship creates
the true brotherhood of nations. He said those words in
September 1931, as President of the League of Nations,
in a time of crisis. Today we are burdened again by
immense challenges and have to live up to great
responsibilities placed upon us by present and future
generations. Communities all over the planet face
mounting threats, which are often interrelated. Climate
change exacerbates food and energy insecurity, health
and population issues increase migration, while
poverty puts pressure on regional security and stability.
 At the same time, we are heartened to see an ever
increasing commitment on the part of the world’s
nations to act collectively and to share vision and
willpower to overcome difficulties.
 Climate change must be our next mobilizing
issue. We must not let differences and the enormous
complexity of interests define our drive. Negotiations
in Cancún and thereafter, building upon the
Copenhagen Accord, must pave the way for the timely
adoption of a comprehensive and legally binding post-
Kyoto agreement. Romania, including in its capacity as
Chair of the Commission for Sustainable Development,
will provide its unrestrained support and attention to
international efforts to alleviate our planet’s
environmental perils.
 While climate change will hit us ever harder, a
global recession has just battered us. The crisis
revealed the flaws of our national and international
financial and economic systems. It has become obvious
that the world’s financial system is no longer
compatible with the realities of global competition, nor

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can it handle the misuse of free market principles.
Indeed, the system needs to be revised.
 Sometimes, with sufficient resources,
development can be achieved quickly. But
development without good governance is less likely to
be lasting. A country whose citizens do not enjoy
equality and dignity can never be wealthy. From its
own past Romania knows very well the negative
impact that the lack of genuine democracy, human
rights and freedom has on long-term development
prospects. That is why we must never lose track of a
milestone document — the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights — adopted by this very Assembly,
62 years ago, in Paris. The principles, the values and
the generous ideals enshrined in that Declaration must
remain the underlying foundation of our governance
efforts. Romania plays an active role in promoting
those fundamental values in our part of Europe and
wherever its experience can prove useful and needed.
 One must not forget that democracy starts with a
basic step: free and fair elections. Electoral processes
can be improved, including in the most advanced
countries. States must be ready to accept that
improvements are sometimes needed and be able to
listen to and understand the calls for change, from
within our societies or from outside.
 Out-of-country voting is a sensitive and
challenging issue, including in my country. Romania
works in cooperation with the United Nations Electoral
Assistance Division, European institutions and the
Community of Democracies to develop knowledge and
codify best practices in the field of out-of-country
voting. We hope that the results of a first seminar on
this topic, hosted by Romania this summer, will be
multiplied and shared by many countries and regions.
 Conflict prevention and peacebuilding are
priorities in today’s world. Neither of them can be
isolated from efforts to stabilize and reconstruct areas
and societies affected by conflicts. To be successfully
put into practice, that conceptual framework needs the
complement of a consolidated United Nations
operational instrument to which all Member States
must contribute to the best of their ability. For this
reason my country has taken a keen interest in, and
offered substantial contributions to, civilian and
military missions under the United Nations mandate
and has started to develop dedicated capacities, of
essentially civilian nature, in the area of stabilization
and post-conflict reconstruction.
 Just a couple of weeks ago, Bucharest hosted an
international conference to officially open the
Romanian Training Centre for Post-Conflict
Reconstruction. The Centre will be open to
international participation, and we hope to develop
enhanced cooperation with the United Nations Office
for Partnerships.
 Today, Romania is honoured and proud to have
consistently contributed to the management, through
international cooperation, of a number of conflict
situations and areas of instability. I pay my deepest
respect to the men and women of Romania who have
lost their lives and those who are risking their lives in
conflict areas, as well as to all the military, police,
gendarmes and civilian personnel serving all over the
world to bring peace and security.
 We must reaffirm our determination to
accomplish the commitments made at the outset of the
United Nations-mandated international mission in
Afghanistan. While we welcome the results of the
latest conferences in London and Kabul and note the
progress in ensuring the stability, security and
development of that sorely tried nation, we look
forward to the moment when the Afghan authorities
will be ready to assume the entire spectrum of
responsibilities incumbent upon them.
 Romania firmly supports the continued
involvement of the United Nations and the
international community in the reconstruction of Iraq
and is ready to carry on helping. The success of the
sovereign development of Iraq depends on national
reconciliation and the development of harmonious
relations with its neighbours.
 As regards the issue of Kosovo, Romania
continues to uphold politically and practically the
essential United Nations mandate there, as well as the
roles of the European Union and NATO in ensuring the
progress, stability and security of the area. While
respecting the advisory opinion of the International
Court of Justice, Romania considers that the opinion
does not examine the core of the issue, which is the
legality of the creation of an alleged new State.
Romania maintains the view that unilateral secession is
not possible under international law. Accordingly,
Romania will maintain its position of non-recognition
of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence.

45 10-54965

 We continue to be concerned with the protracted
conflicts in the extended Black Sea area and South
Caucasus. While solutions to these conflicts continue
to be explored in the agreed formats, they must also be
monitored by the larger United Nations membership, as
a way to encourage dialogue and to ensure that
developments remain within the boundaries of
international law and United Nations resolutions.
 In Georgia, which is among Romania’s top
priorities, the United Nations must continue to play an
important role, along with other actors such as the
European Union, which through its Monitoring
Mission contributes immensely to the stability of the
area.
 Furthermore, we support the Middle East peace
process on the basis of the principles and provisions of
the relevant Security Council resolutions and of the
road map. We express our hope that the current direct
discussions will lead to the goal of two States living
side by side in peace and security. We also hope that
Israel and Syria and Israel and Lebanon can identify
the means needed to find solutions to improve their
respective relations.
 Concerning the crucial role of the United Nations
in the area of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms
control, I would like to underline the need to both
strengthen the relevance of international law and to
fully implement it.
 Romania welcomes the new United States-
Russian Federation treaty on nuclear arms reduction
and the adoption of the Final Document of the 2010
Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which contains
concrete actions to advance international cooperation
in the field of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation
and peaceful use of nuclear energy. The entry into
force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
and future negotiations for a fissile material cut-off
treaty continue to be issues of high interest for my
country.
 The efforts evoked in my address require a
vibrant multilateralism with a strong United Nations at
its core. That premise demands, in turn, improved
functional relations between the United Nations and
other international organizations with a global or
regional vocation.
 The roles of the European Union, NATO, the
African Union, the International Organization of la
Francophonie and others in working jointly with the
United Nations in the field and at Headquarters must
be supported and reinforced by all Member States. At
the same time, the wide-ranging process of realignment
and reform of the United Nations and its bodies must
maintain the same pace.
 In that context, I would like to warmly welcome
the creation of the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women as a
significant step in United Nations reform. We
congratulate Madame Michelle Bachelet, former
President of Chile, for her appointment as head of that
entity and wish her every success. At the same time, I
would like to commend Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon and the entire Organization for their
exceptional dedication and commitment to the
advancement of women.
 The sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly
gives us another year in which we must accelerate the
Assembly’s renewal and work out historic decisions on
Security Council reform. Romania shares the view that
the overarching goal of Security Council reform must
be to create a more effective, transparent and
representative body, and my country will join any
pragmatic move in this direction. We strongly believe
that the Eastern European Group deserves better
representation on the Security Council in any
enlargement format.
 Let me conclude by saying that our role and
position in the world’s affairs are not defined by our
greatest achievements, but by how we use those
achievements to strengthen the most vulnerable among
us. That has been and still is the noblest mission and
vocation of the United Nations, and of us all.


Allow me to convey to the
President and to this noble Assembly the greetings of
His Excellency Mr. Fradique Bandeira Melo de
Menezes, the President of the Democratic Republic of
Sao Tome and Principe, who cannot attend this meeting
for scheduling reasons. Since this is his last term as
President on constitutional grounds, President de
Menezes would have much liked to participate in this
sixty-fifth session in order to personally express his
sincere and heartfelt thanks for the support and
cooperation of our Organization provided to him
during the period of his presidency.
 On behalf of the delegation of the Democratic
Republic of Sao Tome and Principe, which I have the
honour to lead, I would like to congratulate the
President of the General Assembly on his election to
chair this sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly.
His election is proof that the Member countries of this
Organization recognize the contribution that he and his
country, Switzerland, have made to the cause of peace
and to upholding the noble ideals of freedom,
democracy and human rights in the world. We are
therefore convinced that he will guide our work with
dexterity, clarity and success. We also congratulate him
for the relevance of the theme “Reaffirming the central
role of the United Nations in global governance”,
which merits the attention of all present here on
account of its timeliness.
 We salute the very distinguished Secretary-
General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for
the efforts, dedication and skill with which he has
guided our Organization, despite the enormous
political, economic and social challenges that the world
is facing, in particular with regard to the issues of
peace, international security, underdevelopment,
extreme poverty, climate change, food security and the
continuation of some regional conflicts. It is our deep
conviction that, in order to collectively face such
challenges, we must reaffirm and strengthen our
confidence in the role of the United Nations in
promoting peace and justice in the world.
 The defence of multilateralism is of vital
importance in seeking solutions based on the principles
of the United Nations Charter. The role of the United
Nations in preventing and resolving conflicts,
promoting peace and supporting development should
be bolstered. In that regard, it is vital to strengthen the
role of the United Nations, including reforming the
system and the Security Council, in order to provide
responses that are more consistent with the challenges
facing humanity today.
 We echo the concerns expressed in this Assembly
Hall by the President of Malawi and Chairperson of the
African Union in that regard. The consensus to date on
the question of Western Sahara leads us to urge the
parties involved to continue on the path of dialogue in
pursuit of a peaceful settlement of that conflict.
 Our global security is vital to the sustainable
development of our countries. The international
community must be cautious and aware of the risks
that the Palestinian conflict could spread and endanger
the entire Middle East region and ultimately
international peace and security in the larger world.
 Sao Tome and Principe welcomes the resumption
of the dialogue on the Palestine question and
encourages the Government of the State of Israel and
the Palestinian Authority to continue on that course in
the hope that the peoples of Israel and Palestine will
live side by side in peace in the future. My country
would also like to acknowledge and welcome the
personal commitment of President Barack Obama to
finding a permanent solution to that conflict.
 The world faces other risks, such as transnational
crime, piracy and drug trafficking. For us, a small
country surrounded by a vast expanse of sea, that is a
significant reason for concern. Sao Tome and Principe
will therefore continue to pay particular attention to the
regional integration organizations to which we belong,
as well as to give priority to conflict-prevention, -
management and -resolution mechanisms in order to
ensure security and peace in Central Africa.
 The profound changes taking place in
international politics, which are the result of structural
changes in the global economy and have important
geopolitical implications, have been affecting Sao
Tome and Principe in various ways. As a small island

10-55128 44

State, Sao Tome and Principe therefore calls for greater
access to various economic opportunities, in particular
official development assistance and international
investment. Moreover, we support the conclusion of a
new international trade agreement on a more equitable
and fairer basis, as well as the conclusion of the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
 We welcome the appointment of Ms. Michelle
Bachelet, former President of Chile, to oversee matters
relating to women and gender with a view to promoting
their participation in global challenges.
 At the Millennium Summit in 2000, world leaders
committed themselves to creating an environment
conducive to development and the eradication of
poverty, both nationally and internationally. The
adoption of the Millennium Declaration was followed
by other international conferences, which, although
they reaffirmed the commitment of both the donor
community and the countries receiving aid to seek
innovative funding sources and alternatives, did not
have the desired effect of alleviating world poverty
levels. However, it is vital that we create a new spirit
of partnership and a better concept of cooperation for
development. To that end, there is a need for additional
efforts in the area of official development assistance.
 The High-level Meeting that has just taken place
here in New York is proof of our concern about the
benchmarks to be achieved for the attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals. For our part, the
results in the area of education and health are fairly
encouraging, particularly when it comes to reducing
child mortality and combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other diseases.
 With regard to education for all, our net enrolment
rate in the first cycle of primary education — for children
aged one to four — is estimated at 98 per cent.
Literacy rates in the 15 to 24 age group are high as
compared to most African countries, namely, 96 per
cent for females and 95 per cent for males.
 The results in reducing child mortality have been
equally encouraging. In 2009, we recorded 38 deaths
per 1,000 live births. That is a significant reduction
compared with past years. For example, there were 61
per 1,000 live births in 2002. The mortality rate for
children under five fell from 138 to 101 deaths per
1,000 live births in 2002, further dropping to 63 in
2009. The number of children immunized against
measles has increased substantially, with 84 per cent
vaccinated in 2009 as compared to 70 per cent in 2000.
 With regard to the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, it is
still contained but can spread rapidly. The prevalence
rate in the 15 to 24 year age range is 0.7 per cent, but
among the total population aged 15 to 49 it is 1.5 per
cent. The prevalence rate of malaria has been reduced
dramatically, from 478 cases per 1,000 inhabitants in
2002 to about 34 cases in 2009.
 It is true that our country has made significant
progress in the areas I have mentioned, but we are
aware that much more remains to be done in order to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
 Sao Tome and Principe believes that it is our
collective responsibility to take measures to address
the adverse effects of climate change, although we
welcome the political willingness of Member States to
continue the process of building the necessary
consensus on the various themes discussed at the
Copenhagen Summit. We recognize the efforts made at
the recent meeting held in Bonn, as well as the
prospects for the opening meeting to be held in
Mexico.
 Sao Tome and Principe expresses its concern at
attempts to use nuclear energy for non-peaceful
purposes. We hope that those who utilize nuclear
energy do so in accordance with existing mechanisms
for international regulation and supervision.
 Climate change has caused imbalances in the
microclimate of our country, with dramatic impact on
our domestic production. That poses a threat to the
food security of Sao Tome and Principe. The
authorities of my country would therefore like to
continue to count on the invaluable support and
willingness so far expressed by the international
community, in general, and in particular by specialized
bodies of the United Nations.
 I would be remiss if I concluded my statement
without addressing the situation along the Taiwan
Strait. We recognize the efforts made by both sides
along the Strait aimed at reducing political tension and
creating a favourable climate that is conducive to
peace, security and development in the region. Despite
those positive developments — including the signing
of an economic treaty regulating trade relations
between the two sides, opening up airspace to
commercial traffic and promoting stronger links

45 10-55128

between the two peoples — there are still some aspects
that must be addressed in order to allow greater
involvement by Taiwan in the international community.
 We call on Members of the United Nations, and
in particular its specialized agencies, to find ways to
make possible Taiwan’s greater participation in
specialized agencies and other bodies and machinery,
such as the International Civil Aviation Organization
and the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. We believe that Taiwan’s participation
in those two forums will strengthen both those
mechanisms and better serve our common interests.
 In consolidating its democratic process, the
Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe has
just conducted yet another elections process, from
which a new Government and Assembly have emerged.
The new Government, whose programme has just been
approved by the National Assembly, has identified four
key areas for attention, namely, good governance,
credibility and combating corruption; economic
growth; national cohesion and organization; and State
authority. To achieve those objectives, the Government
of Sao Tome and Principe would very much like to
count on the continued support of the international
community.
 We believe that the international community, and
in particular the United Nations system, knows how to
respond to the new challenges of a changing world by
seeking out mechanisms, instruments and policies
aimed at promoting international cooperation,
innovative partnerships and international solidarity. In
that collective effort, I want to reaffirm that Sao Tome
and Principe is ready and willing to make its
contribution to the realization of the noble principles
and objectives that were at the heart of the creation of
the United Nations.


I am delighted to address
the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly as
Chairman of the African Union.
 I offer my personal congratulations and those of
the African Union to you, Sir, on your election as
President of the United Nations General Assembly at
its sixty-fifth session. I assure you, Sir, of Africa’s
support in your work.
 I pay tribute to His Excellency Mr. Ali
Abdussalam Treki, President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-fourth session for his leadership during his
tenure of office.
 I also commend our Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his exemplary
leadership of our Organization and the excellent
manner in which he continues to discharge his
responsibilities. Africa is particularly grateful for his
continued support of Africa’s development agenda.
 I am happy to say that Africa welcomes the theme
for the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly that
reaffirms the role of the United Nations in global
governance. African leaders believe that the United
Nations, with its universal membership, is well placed
to build political consensus for global governance.
They hold the view that the United Nations has the
potential to bring about solutions to common
governance problems that our global village continues
to encounter, such as managing diversity and
combating terrorism and conflict. I believe that now,
more than ever before, the United Nations needs to
strengthen its institutions to enable it to promote peace
and stability and facilitate balanced growth and
prosperity between developed and developing
countries.
 Africa also wishes to remind the United Nations
not to lose sight of its commitment to fight poverty.
Poverty reduction must remain the central focus of the
United Nations.

10-54827 16

 As we reflect on this year’s theme, the central
role of the United Nations in global governance, I am
fully aware that the Africa the world hears about is that
of incessant calamities and natural disasters.
International media report on the Africa of extreme
poverty, widespread endemic diseases and human
suffering. They constantly portray the Africa of civil
wars, genocide, terrorism and piracy. They glorify the
Africa of underdevelopment and hopelessness.
 But in their reports we do not hear about the
success stories of a number of African Governments.
We do not hear about the successes in participatory
democracy and good governance. We do not hear about
the peaceful multiparty general elections. We do not
hear about the high rates of macroeconomic growth in
some African countries. We do not hear about the
successes in food security in some of them.
 That is why I now want to present another Africa
to the General Assembly. It is the Africa of new hopes
and new possibilities, the Africa of industrial, mineral,
and agro-processing opportunities, the Africa with new
job creation prospects, and the Africa that can produce
enough food for all.
 Yes, this is the Africa I want the Assembly to
know. This is the Africa of the new beginning.
 I want the world to know that we African leaders
have a clear vision of a new Africa free of hunger,
disease and poverty. We have the vision of a new
Africa that is prosperous and full of hope. We have the
vision of African nations determined to contribute
more to global economic prosperity, peace and
stability.
 I want to inform the world that the leaders of the
African Union have decided to unlock Africa’s
combined huge natural resources and human capital to
establish new industries to create new wealth for our
people. That is why this year I have chosen to address
the Assembly on the subject of “Africa of the new
beginning”. I want the United Nations to share our
belief that Africa is not a poor continent; rather, it is its
people that are poor.
 This year, I have come to inform this world body
that Africa has decided to shift from Afro-pessimism to
Afro-optimism. We are going to make Africa better.
 Now, turning to global issues, I want to say that
the world today faces the challenge of producing
enough food to feed the over nine billion people living
on this earth, and it must do this against the backdrop
of rising food prices, global warming, climate change
and environmental degradation. I am pleased to inform
this world body that African leaders fully recognize
these problems and have unanimously agreed to
institute new measures to ensure that five years from
now, Africa will be able to produce enough food to
feed its people. They have also decided that, five years
from now, no child in Africa will die of hunger or
malnutrition.
 In order to meet these targets, the African Union
decided to turn the continent into an African food
basket whose main aim is to encourage allocation of
increased budgetary resources and private sector
investment to agriculture and food production. For that
to happen, African leaders have agreed to redesign
their policy efforts to focus on three priority areas,
namely, agriculture and food security, transport and
energy development, and climate change. It is
envisaged that effective transport structures and
adequate energy supply will enhance agricultural
production and food processing as well as improve
human mobility and the marketing of food and
agricultural products from surplus countries to deficit
countries across the African continent.
 The African food basket concept envisages full
cooperation between Africa and Governments of the
Group of Eight. The United Nations, the Food and
Agriculture Organization, the World Bank, the
European Union and other multilateral institutions will
also cooperate in this effort.
 I now want to briefly raise some issues of major
concern to Africa: the adverse effects of climate
change, fragile peace and security, terrorism and
piracy, maternal, infant and child mortality, and slow
reform of the United Nations.
 African leaders recognize that climate change and
environmental degradation are among the most serious
global challenges that affect Africa negatively. All
countries in the world share the adverse effects of
climate change. All countries in the world are, to
varying degrees, experiencing the adverse impacts of
climate change such as severe cyclones, hurricanes,
rising sea levels and water salinization, prolonged
severe droughts and overall global warming.
 There is enough evidence to show that most
countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America are the
least able and equipped to cope with those challenges.

17 10-54827

The global nature of climate change therefore calls for
an effective, immediate and appropriate international
response. We need to act, and act now.
 The international community has acknowledged
that climate change is a real threat to humanity, and yet
the performance of the major players at the United
Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen
disappointed Africa and developing nations elsewhere
by their intransigency. The leaders of Africa therefore
would like to see the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
be urgently implemented as essential interventions to
address climate change. Those conventions spell out in
detail what is to be done to mitigate climate change.
On behalf of Africa, I call for immediate
implementation of those decisions in order to avert
impending human catastrophe.
 I am glad to note that maternal, infant and child
health and welfare are among the underlying issues of
the theme of the General Assembly this year. That calls
for concerted action for the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals.
 I am pleased to say that the African Union has
reaffirmed its commitments to the reduction of
maternal, infant and child mortality in Africa. African
Governments have undertaken to launch the four-year
Campaign for Accelerated Reduction of Maternal
Mortality in Africa. We also agreed to call on the
Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria
to create a new window to fund maternal, newborn and
child health. Let me, therefore, take advantage of the
General Assembly to appeal on behalf of Africa to our
development partners and donors to replenish the
Global Fund during next month’s meeting and to
increase resources for maternal, newborn and child
health.
 Another global governance issue of major
concern to Africa is the lack of movement on
international trade under the Doha Round multilateral
trade negotiations. Members of the United Nations
agree that trade is a conduit to development in every
country. Therefore we in Africa appeal for an urgent
conclusion of the Doha Round, for we believe that that
is essential to revive global trade and to aid in global
economic recovery. Any outcome of the Doha Round
negotiations must lead to clear benefits for farmers,
producers, exporters and consumers in developing
countries, including in Africa. Nations of the world
must redouble efforts to resolve all impediments to the
successful outcome of the trade negotiations.
 The advancement of women and gender equality
continues to be the cornerstone of the Africa of the new
beginning. Women have played and continue to play a
decisive role in the global, continental and national
agendas for democracy, transition and development. I
am happy to inform the General Assembly that African
Governments have intensified the fight against gender-
based violence, sexual abuse, discrimination and
trafficking in women and girls. The ultimate objective
is to have more coherent and meaningful interventions
that will adequately increase the number of women in
high decision-making positions in the advancement of
growth and development.
 On peace and security, I wish to underscore that
the African Union considers that democracy, good
governance and development cannot be sustainable
without peace and security. African countries have
made significant progress in ensuring that peace and
security prevail on the African continent. Several
countries have conducted peaceful elections, and there
is growing tolerance and accommodation between the
ruling and opposition parties in many countries. That is
encouraging.
 However, Africa has of late witnessed the re-
emergence of coups d’état and other unconstitutional
changes of government. The African Union has taken a
strong collective decision that those negative trends
will not be allowed to continue.
 The African Union is also gravely concerned that
Somalia has had no stable or functioning Government
for a long time. That continuing volatile situation is
being compounded by increasing organized piracy in
the Indian Ocean. That negatively affects not only
Somalia and her immediate neighbours, but the entire
African continent and the rest of the world. I believe
the situation calls for a new approach and new
intervention. More countries should be directly
involved in seeking a lasting solution to the Somalia
crisis.
 The situation in the Sudan presents a special
challenge to the African Union and to the United
Nations. Although some progress has been achieved
towards the implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, the African Union eagerly awaits the
holding of the referendum in January 2011 and the
post-referendum structure of relations in the Sudan.

10-54827 18

 One of the most immediate options in the Sudan
is to consolidate the prevailing peace and stability
there. The African countries are concerned that while
efforts to secure lasting peace in the Sudan are
ongoing, the International Criminal Court seems to
push for a pound of flesh by insisting on arresting
President Omer Hassan Al-Bashir. There is general
consensus in Africa that that would have a negative
effect, polarizing the different positions of the
stakeholders and thereby driving them away from a
peaceful settlement. The African Union therefore
strongly appeals to the General Assembly to amend
Article 16 of the Rome Statute to enable it to assume
the powers of the Security Council to defer the case
against President Al-Bashir for one year to allow
ongoing negotiations and dialogue to succeed.
 On behalf of the African Union, I wish to express
appreciation for the contribution of the United Nations
to the promotion of peace, security and stability in
African countries. The United Nations has performed
very well in many parts of Africa, including the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Sudan, Chad
and West African countries. Those efforts in the search
for solutions to the ongoing conflicts on the continent
are highly commendable.
 The sanctions against some members of the
African Union and the Non-Aligned Movement have
caused great economic hardship, especially to the poor
and more vulnerable people in those countries. The
African Union feels that the ideological justifications,
if there ever were any, have outlived their time.
Sanctions are also inconsistent with the emerging
dialogue for the reform of the United Nations.
Sanctions are also inconsistent with the obligations of
United Nations Member States to promote social
progress and better standards of life, as promulgated in
the Preamble to the Charter of the United Nations.
 The African Union therefore appeals for the
immediate lifting of sanctions against the Republic of
Zimbabwe and the Republic of Cuba. We believe that
would enable ordinary poor Zimbabweans and Cubans
to begin a life of new hope and new prospects.
 As to the development of nuclear energy for
peaceful purposes, the African Union supports the
position taken by the Non-Aligned Movement calling
for justice and equal treatment for all nations
concerned.

 With regard to the reforms of the United Nations
and the Security Council, the African Union believes
that for the Organization to be effective in fulfilling its
mandate as an honest broker, the proposed reforms
must be implemented in the spirit of equity and
fairness. In this regard I would like to reiterate the
African Union’s request for two permanent seats with
full veto powers and five non-permanent seats. The
African Union should also have the right to determine
the selection of Africa’s representatives on the Council.
Once implemented, that would enable Africa to
effectively participate in the global governance that the
United Nations is now propagating.
 In conclusion, I wish to reaffirm Africa’s strong
belief that a reformed United Nations and specialized
agencies are likely to play a more effective role in
global governance and in a more equitable global
trading and financial system. I believe that the United
Nations in its new governance role should support the
Africa of the new beginning. A strong Africa —
industrially, economically and politically — is a better
trading partner for the G8 countries and the rest of the
world than a weaker one. I also believe that the Africa
of the new beginning with its combined vast mineral,
agricultural and human resources will provide the
safety valve for a boiling international monetary and
financial system. Think about these things.


I bring
a message on behalf of the President of the Republic of
Benin, His Excellency Mr. Boni Yayi, who was not
able to come to New York because of scheduling
conflicts. He shares the ambition of the President of the
General Assembly at the sixty-fifth session to build a
United Nations that is strong, inclusive and open as a
guarantor of global governance. I am convinced that
the productive experience of the President of the
General Assembly at the head of the Swiss
Government, which enabled his beautiful country to
enter the United Nations, will be a valuable asset to us.
From this perspective, Benin will make its contribution
to the work of this session and, in so doing, will strive
to promote the ideals of the Charter, to which my
country reiterates here its full support.
 I would also like to express to Mr. Deiss my
warm congratulations on his election as President of
the General Assembly at the sixty-fifth session. His
predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali Treki, who
brilliantly led the work of the General Assembly with
respect to Africa, strove to find appropriate solutions to
the great challenges facing humankind with skill and
tact throughout his mandate. We pay tribute to him for
his good and loyal service to the international
community.
 I would also like to welcome the courageous and
determined action of His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
Secretary-General of the United Nations, and commend
him for having taken the measure of the grave crises
affecting the world and for his ongoing commitment to
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
by 2015. Thanks to his bold initiatives to promote
international cooperation, he has been able to revive
the virtues of multilateralism as the optimum way to
manage world affairs in an inclusive and participatory
framework that stresses the uniqueness of our world
and the common responsibility of human beings to
maintain the fundamental balances on which human
survival on Earth depends and the sustainability of the
biosphere.
 The trail blazed by the founding fathers of the
United Nations in the areas of international peace and
security, the promotion of human rights and
development is that of dialogue, cooperation and a
global partnership to promote the common good of
humankind.
 The raison d’être of the United Nations is not
only to provide a framework of reference and universal
convergence to coordinate national policies, but also
and above all to address interests with respect to the
parameters that define areas of tension between
aspirations and the demands of our peoples and States
in all their diversity.
 If the United Nations did not exist it would have
to be created, because we cannot imagine a world
today without the United Nations. I would therefore
like to express Benin’s commitment to the
irreplaceable role of the United Nations and its funds,
agencies, programmes and various specialized
institutions, which provide an invaluable service to
humankind as a secular extension of our collective
conscience.

10-54833 50

 The High-level Plenary Meeting on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) convened by
the Secretary-General defined a programme of action
to achieve the Goals by 2015. In implementing these
measures, it is important to take continuously into
account the deadlines set for the achievement of the
MDGs in the light of the additional difficulties related
to the current crises of the financial and economic
system and to previous crises.
 It is the duty of the international community to
mobilize the resources necessary to address the grave
distortions that caused these crises. Vulnerable
countries must make investments to relaunch
sustainable agricultural production and maintain
sustained growth capable of generating long-term
prosperity and sustainable human development,
because the achievements of the Millennium
Development Goals must be guaranteed in perpetuity.
 The United Nations must now, and with a sense
of urgency, use its full influence to provide the means
to help countries in difficulty ensure the survival of
threatened populations and vulnerable groups that
could be decimated by famine and disease if nothing is
done to help them. The time has come to give
substance to the right to food because it is
unacceptable that hunger should persist among the
causes of human suffering in the twenty-first century.
In the short term, priority focus should be on
strengthening social protection systems in low-income
countries and on reactivating dormant local production
capacity by promoting small and medium-sized
agricultural businesses in order to avoid a drastic
increase in the number of people living in extreme
poverty.
 In the medium and long terms, it is necessary to
rethink policies to promote investments in agriculture
in order to re-establish the balance between cash crops
and food products and thus ensure food security in
countries, taking their cultural specificities into
account.
 The international community must begin to
evaluate the effectiveness of its strategic monitoring
mechanisms in order to strengthen their ability to
foresee systemic shocks. What is predictable should be
predicted in order to define a long-term approach and
to build, on the basis of available scientific data, a
desirable future for our countries and peoples, who
must cooperate to that end.
 In this respect, the proposal to increase the
agricultural share of official development assistance from
3 per cent to 10 per cent is a strategic approach that
should be implemented with common political will
commensurate to the challenge. Here, I pay tribute to
countries that have already made concrete commitments
to providing additional resources to that end.
 Benin is an agricultural country, and agriculture
must serve as a springboard for its development. In that
regard, the Government of Benin is working to promote
synergistic growth and the fight against poverty in order
to align democracy and new-found freedoms with shared
prosperity by carrying out the social transformations
necessary to ensure the effective participation of all
sectors in national development efforts.
 The Government of Benin is working to promote
agricultural mechanization, but given that the latter
cannot have the desired impact without water
management, we are also planning for rational
management of that resource in order to maximize its
use and ensure its sustainability. These investments
will allow us to make the work of farmers less difficult
and to limit post-harvest losses in order to ensure that
agricultural production covers national needs and
generates surplus for export.
 In the framework of efforts to diversify
agricultural production, the Government of Benin is
also working to promote crops for marginal farming
land to produce biofuel. The goal is to reduce
dependence on and the rising cost of hydrocarbons,
which have been exacerbated by the drastic drop in
hydroelectric power caused by climate change, which
has also seriously affected the country’s economic
activity in recent years.
 West Africa has been deeply affected by soil
degradation, coastal erosion and the effects of frequent
floods due to climate change. Here, we express our
appreciation for the awareness-raising undertaken by
the secretariat of the United Nations Convention to
Combat Desertification. It is important to devote more
resources to implementing the Convention in the
framework of fighting climate change.
 Adaptation and mitigation measures should be
implemented with a sense of heightened urgency in
order to help regions affected. Financial and
development institutions should pay special attention
to programmes to revitalize soil and to promote
irrigation farming and reforestation, using species that

51 10-54833

can increase food availability. We reaffirm our
sympathy for countries that have been struck this year
by natural disasters, in particular earthquakes, and
Haiti in particular, with which we share close lineage
and cultural ties.
 My country, Benin, will hold presidential and
legislative elections in March 2011. After 20 years of
democracy during which elections have been organized
on the basis of manually recorded lists, my country’s
Government, in collaboration with the United Nations
and its development partners, has finally decided to
create a computerized permanent electoral list that will
ensure transparent elections and significantly reduce
complaints and other post-electoral difficulties. The
political class of Benin agrees unanimously on the
need for such a computerized list, but differences
remain with respect to the process, the timing of its
implementation and its use for the presidential and
legislative elections in March 2011.
 I am confident that, through dialogue and Benin’s
creative genius, which ensured the outstanding success
of the national conference of political stakeholders in
February 1990, Benin will be able to meet this
challenge and once again surprise the world. I call on
the United Nations and the international community to
continue to support the efforts of the Government of
Benin to work successfully to address the major
challenges of today and the future.
 We must maintain international peace and
security. This is the first of the major tasks assigned to
the United Nations. In spite of the tireless efforts of the
Organization alongside regional organizations,
humankind continues to suffer as a result of ongoing
armed conflicts, the destructiveness of which leads to
unimaginable suffering for affected populations.
 Terrorism, which we condemn without
reservation in all its forms and manifestations, also
continues to indiscriminately afflict innocent civilian
populations, including humanitarian workers and
United Nations personnel despite the specific
international protection they enjoy.
 We are concerned by these serious infringements
of the humanitarian principles relevant to conflict
situations. We must work to strengthen the authority of
international humanitarian law and the multilateral
international justice institutions in order to increase
their deterrence capacity with respect to serious crimes.
 Here my country reiterates the importance it
assigns to the responsibility to protect, and we will
spare no effort to ensure its operationalization in
accordance with the fundamental principles of the
Charter of the United Nations.
 We appeal to all peoples and to all citizens of the
world to respect the value of human life and to work in
a spirit of peaceful coexistence and good-neighbourliness
to resolve their disputes through cooperation, exchange
and seeking mutual understanding, promoting a culture of
peace and dialogue among religions for the common good
of all humankind, at peace with itself.
 To this end, we must pay greater attention to
efforts to eradicate the underlying causes of conflict
and in particular to put an end to the illicit trade in
small arms and light weapons that leads to their
proliferation and thus to lawlessness and insecurity in
our towns and countryside.
 Respect for human rights and civil liberties
means that human beings must be placed at the centre
of sustainable development efforts, and it is the duty of
the international community to ensure this. It is
essential that respecting human rights become a way of
life and the essential standard that validates human
behaviour on a daily basis so as to promote mutual
respect, equal opportunities in life and the full
realization of the potential of every individual.
 In this context, I would like to highlight the
important role young people and women have to play
in the development of our countries. In declaring the
year that began 12 August 2010 as the International
Year of Youth, the General Assembly highlighted the
contribution that young people make to society. We
urge all Member States to give concrete substance to
the International Year of Youth, in line with the
situation in their countries.
 The theme of the Year, “Dialogue and Mutual
Understanding”, aims, moreover, to foster alliances
among the generations. The Government of Benin is
determined to make its modest contribution by
supporting the effective holding of the United Nations
Conference on Youth, which is currently being
prepared, to mark the Year.
 With a view to ensuring that the potential of
women, who represent more than half of the population
of my country, is fully realized, the Government has set
up a National Institute for the Promotion of Women. A

10-54833 52

microcredit programme for the poorest women was also
launched to ensure the promotion of their economic
activities. To date, this programme has helped to
empower almost 600,000 women by providing income-
generating activities. The programme should be
expanded, which will require additional financial support
from the international community and, in particular, from
technical and financial partners.
 Promoting the rule of law at the international
level requires the effective participation of all peoples
in the management of world affairs in the interest of
current and future generations. In particular, the
representation of developing countries should be
strengthened in the decision-making bodies of the
international financial institutions, as should their
accountability. Their institutional mandates should be
redefined so that they better help to mobilize resources
in support of the development of the least developed
countries, while ensuring the stability of the
international financial system.
 The Security Council is an essential instrument
for global governance. Its long-awaited reform cannot
be postponed indefinitely. Reform efforts are being
held hostage by the inherent contradictions in today’s
international relations and remain hopelessly at a
standstill despite the crucial importance we all
recognize them to have for the effectiveness of the
Organization. The ongoing negotiations towards reform
must be carried out in good faith and with a keen sense
of responsibility in order to preserve the credibility of
the Organization, which has been beset by heavy
liabilities.
 Let us avoid trite formulations that evade the very
essence of reform, which is to ensure the equitable
representation of States in both categories of membership
and to guarantee that the Council’s decisions have the
transparency, legitimacy and authority necessary for it
more effectively to uphold its primary responsibility for
the maintenance of international peace and security.
 In this respect, Benin reaffirms, from this
rostrum, Africa’s legitimate aspirations. The
democratization of the United Nations also means a
stronger commitment to respect for national and
international law on the part of Member States.
 Here Benin renews its firm commitment to
continuing to contribute to the ongoing adaptation
efforts of the Organization, which is solidly anchored
in its main principles of the sovereign equality of
States, respect for human dignity, the promotion of
development cooperation and the search for the best
solutions to the world’s problems.
 In this spirit, I should like to conclude by making
an urgent appeal for the strengthening of international
cooperation. International cooperation is neither a form
of social assistance nor an organized hybrid system of
begging and deception. It should be based on
legitimate mutual interests — a joint effort towards a
contract of solidarity, which would enable us together
to attain the means to forge conditions for humanity to
live in greater dignity and with ever-greater creativity.
This is the thought that inspires us in this year when
we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the
independence of 17 African countries.


At
the outset, allow me to convey to Mr. Joseph Deiss, on
behalf of my country, our heartfelt congratulations on
his election to the presidency of the General Assembly
at this session. His proven experience and skill will
ensure that our deliberations are successful. I thank his
predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki,
for the excellent manner in which he discharged his
mandate. To the Secretary-General, His Excellency
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, I reiterate the support of Gabon for
his tireless involvement in building a world that is
more free, just and united.
 I take this opportunity to express from this
rostrum my gratitude to all here and the entire
international community for the solidarity they
extended to the people of Gabon when my predecessor,
the late President Omar Bongo Ondimba, passed away.
I am also grateful for the many forms of support
extended to us throughout Gabon’s process of
democratic transition, which has highlighted the
credibility and reliability of our institutions and our
people’s sense of responsibility.
 For almost a year now, I have engaged Gabon in
broad-ranging economic, social and political reforms
centred on promoting our environmental heritage and
industrial sector and on making the service sector more
dynamic. When I took office, I presented the three
strategic pillars of an emergent Gabon: Green Gabon,
Industrial Gabon and Services Gabon.
 By putting Green Gabon at the head of that list, I
wanted to underscore the central role that this sector
will play in Gabon’s economy. I see Green Gabon as a
cross-cutting approach that underlies our overall
development strategy. Industrial Gabon draws upon
efforts to promote our natural resources, while
respecting the basic principles of environmental
preservation. Services Gabon highlights the country’s
ownership of new information and communications
technology, the promotion of tourism, transportation
improvements and the development of human
resources.
 In the light of this vision, we have established a
climate council to mainstream the issues of climate
change into our national development policies. In the
same vein, we have just entered into a partnership with
Brazil and with France to establish a satellite imaging
facility to monitor the forest cover of the Congo basin,
which comprises more than 2 million square kilometres
of equatorial rainforest.
 The many initiatives in which I have engaged my
country are aimed in particular at improving
governance, fighting corruption, reducing State
expenses and preserving the environment, all of which
requires international support. We bear in mind, of
course, that our future depends above all upon our own

10-54959 8

efforts to manage our resources, achieve good
governance and serve the greater good.
 Beyond our desire to mobilize further national
and international resources, we continue to be firmly
committed to the quest for peace and security, both
regionally and globally. Through our membership in
the Security Council, we are fully shouldering our
responsibilities and making our contribution to the
quest for a world that can look to the future with
confidence.
 The theme of our debate gives us yet another
opportunity to assess the role of the United Nations in
global governance. Our world still bears the scars of
the terrible financial and economic crisis of 2008,
which spared no country. The rapid and robust
mobilization of the international community, and the
United Nations in particular, in the face of this crisis
demonstrated its ability to respond when it is motivated
and supported by genuine political will. Such
international solidarity should be made systematic, and
we hope it will be renewed in efforts to deal with the
emerging challenges that we face today.
 Given the complexity of the new crises we face
today, we need to design a new approach to conflict
management. Peacekeeping has not had just successes;
quite the contrary, there are many cases in which, for
lack of resources and ambition, the United Nations has
been unable to intervene and thus abandoned
defenceless populations to rebels and other armed
groups.
 It is time for us to move beyond peacekeeping so
that we can adopt, when circumstances require, a
philosophy of imposing peace. We need to give
ourselves the capacity to deploy robust peace missions
commensurate with the nature of the conflicts that
continue to destabilize certain States. Peacekeeping in
and of itself will not be able to meet the challenges of
security. I reiterate my call for a culture of conflict
prevention, which has the advantage of both averting
many casualties and saving the modest resources that
are so necessary to our countries’ development.
 The quest for peace and security remains a
constant concern in Africa and elsewhere. The
imminent referendum on Southern Sudan appears to be
clouded with uncertainties. Indeed, the hope of a
political settlement to that thorny regional issue is
paralleled by the fear of the balkanization of a
continent that has already suffered too many divisions.
The stakes in the Sudan today perhaps foreshadow a
cycle that will mark Africa’s future. I appeal to the
parties and the international community, in the interests
of the populations involved, to take full stock of their
responsibility to ensure the success of a process
leading up to the referendum.
 Here, I commend the commitment of the United
Nations and the African Union to supporting the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement, to which my country remains committed.
Specifically with respect to Darfur, I call on all parties
to be further involved in the Doha political process. I
take this opportunity to pay tribute to the State of Qatar
for its efforts to that end.
 In Somalia, I commend the support of the United
Nations for the efforts of the African Union Mission in
Somalia to put an end to instability in that country.
Yesterday’s mini-summit on the situation in that
country attested to the United Nations ongoing interest
in reaching a settlement on the question of Somalia.
 In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
reconfiguration of the mandate of the United Nations
Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo — now
the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo — essentially
aimed at enhancing protection for civilian populations,
should be highlighted. It demonstrates the willingness
of the United Nations to adapt to changing situations
on the ground. I call on the countries of the region and
the international community to support the efforts of
the Congolese Government in its determination to
ensure security and stability throughout its territory.
 With respect to the situation in Western Sahara, I
encourage the parties to restart the Manhasset talks,
under the auspices of the Secretary-General, in order to
end the current stalemate and move towards a political
solution acceptable to all.
 Finally, with respect to Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea,
Niger and Madagascar, I urge the international
community to support them in holding free, democratic
elections in accordance with the various arrangements
reached to that end.
 The search for peace in the Middle East is
another area of concern to the international community.
I commend the diplomatic efforts undertaken by the
United States, which have brought about the
resumption of direct talks between Israelis and

9 10-54959

Palestinians. I also thank the other Quartet members
and Egypt for their involvement in that process. It is
my hope that these consultations will continue and lead
to the establishment of a Palestinian State, living side
by side with Israel within secure and internationally
recognized borders.
 The terrorist threat, unfortunately, continues to
weigh heavily on international peace and security. No
nation large or small is spared. Defeating this scourge
will require effective cooperation among all Member
States, with the assistance of the United Nations and its
specialized institutions. We will also need to give
ongoing attention to other cross-cutting threats to
international peace and security, such as piracy, the
proliferation of weapons, drug trafficking and
transnational organized crime. We commend the efforts
already undertaken by the United Nations in this area,
particularly the strengthening of the legal regime and
mechanisms to counter those threats.
 With respect to the issue of climate change,
together with other heads of State and Government in
Copenhagen, I undertook the quest for a consensus on
the idea of a legally binding instrument. We support the
negotiations undertaken in Copenhagen and continued
in Bonn and hope that they will lead, in Cancún, to the
reaffirmation of the commitments taken, particularly in
terms of financing for the fight against climate change
in developing countries and the 20 per cent reduction
of greenhouse gasses in the industrialized countries by
2020.
 The advancement of women is undeniably one of
the areas in which the United Nations has made
genuine progress. The recent establishment of a new
institution called UN Women, the primary mission of
which is to better coordinate all the activities related to
gender issues, clearly illustrates the fact that our
Organization is addressing this concern. I take this
opportunity to convey my sincere congratulations to an
extraordinary woman, Ms. Michelle Bachelet, for her
appointment as head of this new entity.
 Given the many challenges facing humanity, we
owe it to ourselves to work together in a coordinated
manner to provide a global response that matches the
aspirations of our peoples. The universality of the
United Nations symbolizes the shared destiny of the
world’s people, and the Organization thus has a central
role to play, both in global governance and in the
emergence of a more just economic and social order.
From that standpoint, I reaffirm the need to adapt our
Organization to the changing international context.
Revitalizing the work of the General Assembly,
reforming the Security Council and ensuring the
coherence of the United Nations system are areas that
have to be dealt with to strengthen the central role of
our Organization.
 At a time when we are realigning our common
efforts with the current international environment and
when democratizing global governance is emerging as
a necessity, I would like to reaffirm, from this rostrum,
Africa’s aspiration to fully take its place among the
family of nations. We fervently call for the
democratization of the United Nations system in order
to adapt it to today’s realities.
 Indeed, we believe that it is an anachronism that
Africa is under international pressure to reaffirm
democratic values while those same laudable values
cannot be applied within our own Organization. I
believe the time has come for Africa to shoulder all its
responsibilities, stop its continual reliance on
assistance from its partners and take its own destiny in
hand. This affirmation of Africa’s place on the
international scene leads me to call for its permanent
presence in the Security Council. We are prepared to
meet that challenge in order to treat the wounds of a
history replete with injustices done to the continent.
 Beyond the democratization of the United
Nations system, which we wholeheartedly call for, the
credibility of our efforts also requires that we meet the
development promises made to humankind.
 Africa’s destiny assuredly hangs on compliance
with the commitments undertaken in Monterrey,
Gleneagles, Doha, Paris and, more recently, in
Muskoka and Toronto. Those commitments should not
be postponed indefinitely.
 As humanity is one in its essence and varied in its
forms, it is important that the management of the
world’s affairs be done with the collaboration of all, in
order to ensure that the generations to come can look to
the future with confidence.


I would
like to convey to you, Sir, the warmest congratulations
of the delegation of the Principality of Monaco on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-fifth session. I would like to reiterate to you that,
in my capacity as a member of the Bureau, I will spare
no effort to contribute to the success of your mandate
in the service of the Member States and the
Organization.
 We are preparing to begin our work on an
optimistic note because of the international
community’s unfailing recommitment to the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as of
the belief, reaffirmed in the general debate now
drawing to a close, that the United Nations is at the
heart of global governance and remains, despite the
many difficulties, our best hope for ensuring peace,
development and justice.
 Economic growth, which is indispensable to
development and therefore to peaceful international
relations, cannot take off in the absence of well-defined
and fair international rules and without respect for the
rule of law at the national level. Our Organization has
contributed tirelessly in recent years to strengthening
the capacities of Member States to enable them to
provide their citizens with the institutions necessary for
them to flourish in their communities. The rule of law
is also a guarantee that the fight against corruption is
not just a vain promise, that respect for human rights is
universal and that justice is independent and impartial.
 The benefits of economic growth must be shared
and equitable. They must take into account the needs of
the most deprived and contribute to social cohesion
with a view to attaining the MDGs and involving the
full participation of all partners.
 That is the thrust of Monaco’s commitment
within the Global Governance Group — the 3G —

5 10-55408

whose members are convinced of the need to involve
the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the
work of the Group of 20 (G-20), given relevance of the
General Assembly agenda to international governance.
In that regard, I draw attention to the ministerial
declaration of the Global Governance Group adopted
on 27 September, with a view to contributing to the
reflections of the working group on the development of
the next G-20 summit, in Seoul in November.
 As His Serene Highness Prince Albert II recalled
before the Assembly, the Principality is determined to
act as a responsible partner in solidarity and will
continue its mobilization efforts, both through its
official development assistance as well as through the
provision of emergency assistance to populations
struck by natural disasters (see A/65/PV.4).
 At a moment when the presence and activities of
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees are increasingly needed and increasingly
dangerous, the cause of refugees and displaced persons
must more than ever be placed in our policies and be
backed unconditionally by the international
community. Here we wish to express our recognition of
the devotion of the thousands of people who labour
under the banner of the United Nations, at times
risking their lives, both in humanitarian emergency
situations and in peacekeeping operations.
 The role of women in driving development is
now clear to all. I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-
General and the Deputy Secretary-General for having
strengthened the role of women within the United
Nations. Monaco welcomes the appointment of Ms.
Michelle Bachelet to head up UN Women and assures
her of our full support.
 The Principality has also endorsed the conviction
that investing in the health of women and children is
indispensable for building societies that are more
stable, more peaceful and more productive, for
reducing poverty and for stimulating economic growth.
In that vein, we support the Global Strategy for
Women’s and Children’s Health, which represents an
additional step towards the full empowerment of
women.
 As atrocities continue to be perpetrated against
civilians, especially the cowardly crimes of sexual
violence, we pay tribute to the courage of Special
Representative Ms. Margot Wallström and her
commitment to making the international community
aware of its responsibility and to ensuring the effective
implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) as we
approach the tenth anniversary of its adoption.
 With your leadership, Mr. President, and our
common will, the General Assembly has the means to
demonstrate its central role in the major themes for our
future at a moment when we are all aware of the
shameful damage caused to the planet by the
overexploitation of its wealth and biodiversity. We
therefore attach the greatest importance to the
preparation of the Rio+20 Conference and hope that
the green economy and the opportunities it affords will
become a major vehicle for sustainable development.
 You can also count on the support of our
delegation, Sir, with regard to the upcoming summit on
non-communicable diseases and the consultative
process on revision of the statute of the Human Rights
Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, which
must take into account the presidential statement
adopted at the ministerial-level meeting of the Security
Council on 23 September (S/PRST/2010/18).
 At the beginning of the twenty-first century, our
deliberations must contribute to bringing together and
harmonizing our actions. Only our Organization
possesses both the means and the legitimacy to
successfully establish effective global governance, and
we must all show pragmatism and work in a
constructive spirit to achieve our goals.
 The interdependence of the global challenges
which all of us are facing requires us to define together
a set of rules aimed at coordinating our policies and
managing relations between Governments, the private
sector and civil society. We share your belief,
Mr. President, that our Organization should be at the
heart of that new multilateralism, which should be
founded on integration and solidarity.