It is a privilege and a
great honour for me today to address this unique forum
where great and small, powerful and less powerful
nations speak with one voice; a forum we undoubtedly
expect to result in dialogue and leadership in order to

39 10-54965

deal with the challenges to peace and security, hunger
and development, human rights and climate change.
Success will be possible only by overcoming
individual interests. I am convinced that today more
than ever, each of us individually and all of us together
have reasons to turn our words into actions.
 Let me first congratulate Mr. Joseph Deiss on his
election as the President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-fifth session and assure him of my delegation’s
readiness to cooperate during his term. I also
congratulate the former President, Mr. Treki, on
successfully presiding over the Assembly at its sixty-
fourth session. At the same time I would like to take
this opportunity to acknowledge the engagement and
the efforts made by the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban
Ki-moon, to strengthen the role of our Organization.
 At the outset, I would like to say a few words on
the consequences of the global financial and economic
crisis, and I will refer in particular to the role of the
United Nations in this context.
 The global economic and financial crisis
threatened to reverse the progress made in achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
efforts to attain peace in all regions. I think that all we
Member States and the United Nations system in
general successfully dealt with it. Timely, joint and
adequate solutions were found to many of the
problems. Processes were initiated to mitigate the
effects of the crisis and to face possible future crises.
Actions were taken to help the most affected,
according to the agreed action plans and with
appropriate support and cooperation, often resulting in
successful outcomes. Let us not forget that economic,
financial and social security is a foundation on which
sustainable development, national and global security
and prosperity rest.
 Five years remain before the deadline for the
implementation and realization of the Millennium
Development Goals. That objective is still before us —
an objective we must not give up on achieving now,
despite the decelerated pace of implementation. We are
all aware of the high stakes and potential benefits. I
welcome the outcome of the High-level Plenary
Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals held
last week, when we all pledged to strengthen our
efforts to attain the ultimate goal.
 The Republic of Macedonia, as before, remains
strongly committed to achieving the Goals, as reflected
at the national level in the Government’s strategy for
economic and sustainable development and in national
legislation, which is adapted to the current obligations
deriving from international treaties and agreements.
 On the other hand, global climate change is both
a serious threat to our planet and survival. Frequent
natural disasters and humanitarian catastrophes have
made it clear that nature reacts to the irresponsible
attitude that humankind has adopted towards it.
However, the struggle to preserve nature must not only
be a matter of declarations; it must enjoy global
leadership and be visible in every small town, every
State, and the strict observance and development of
national strategies. Successful formulas must be
transformed into in a common global struggle to
preserve our way of life, side by side with the needs of
the planet.
 The Republic of Macedonia stands ready to
contribute adequately to the global efforts. Many
initiatives have been undertaken. We are truly focused
on the best possible weapons in this struggle:
awareness-raising and education on and a culture of
reducing the use of electricity by using alternative
energy sources and reductions in harmful emissions. As
a party to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change for over a decade, my country has
worked actively to achieve the Convention’s
objectives.
 Unfortunately, the world still does not live in the
desired peace and prosperity. Unfortunately, every day
we continue to witness disturbances to peace and
security in certain regions in the world, both in old and
frozen conflicts and in the emergence of new tensions
in several regions in the world. If the fundamental
institutional goal and essential objective of this
Organization is to spare humanity from suffering, wars
and conflicts, then we should ask ourselves whether
our efforts have been sufficient to secure peace and
prosperity. The answer is no, neither globally nor
regionally.
 The consequences of the global financial and
economic crisis and the slow pace of implementation
of the MDGs have had a serious impact on the essence
of conflicts, often because of a lack of democratic
processes and rule of law in certain areas. Only by
promoting peace, human rights and the rule of law
through dialogue and tolerance can we make the world
a just and fair place to live in.

10-54965 40

 In the context of what I have just said, I welcome
the relevance of this session’s theme, which should
help create effective responses to global crises and
restore the role of the United Nations in global
governance. The genuine vision of the founders of the
United Nations should be restored. They have left us a
legacy.
 The Republic of Macedonia strongly supports the
joint efforts to improve the overall coherence of the
United Nations system. I believe that we all agree that
it was and remains necessary to redefine the
functioning of the United Nations system in order to
respond to the demands and priorities of the Member
States in the best and most effective manner possible.
We should create a highly functional global governance
organization that has no overlapping of mandates, but
achieves maximal effect through an appropriate and
transparent use of existing resources.
 Since gaining independence, the Republic of
Macedonia has been fully committed to substantial
reforms in all areas aimed at promoting democracy and
improving the standards of living of its citizens, based
on historical traditions of respect for multiethnic
coexistence, dialogue and mutual understanding.
 Our achievements in this context have been
validated and internationally recognized. Therefore, the
Republic of Macedonia rightfully expects a date to be
set to begin negotiations on its accession to the
European Union (EU) and an invitation to join NATO.
We have enforced the necessary reforms to join NATO,
we have been an EU membership candidate country for
five years, and last year we received a positive
recommendation to start negotiations with the EU.
Unfortunately, our citizens have not yet felt the full
benefits of that. And yet, the reforms that brought us to
the front doors of these organizations were not at all
easy. In addition, my country is actively committed to
regional cooperation and to building good-neighbourly
relations. Macedonia accepts and promotes dialogue as
the only mechanism for overcoming all outstanding
issues in the region.
 The Republic of Macedonia has directed all its
available capacities and resources towards
implementing our top strategic foreign policy goals:
integration into the EU and NATO membership. I
would like to remind the Assembly that, 15 years ago
here in New York, the Interim Accord was signed with
our southern neighbour, whereby Greece agreed not to
obstruct my country’s membership of and integration
into international and regional organizations.
Nevertheless, I must note that my country is still
waiting at the doors of these two organizations due to
the actions of our southern neighbour, which are
contrary to the obligations under the 1995 Interim
Accord.
 The Republic of Macedonia is fully committed to
the process of resolving its differences with Greece
within the framework of the mechanism established by
United Nations resolutions. Our name is at stake, as is
our right to self-identification and human dignity. We
have done our utmost to nurture close and friendly
relations with our neighbour Greece and its people. A
solution will be reached only if the United Nations
Charter, the relevant resolutions and international law
and its principles, on which the international order
rests, are respected.
 The Republic of Macedonia and its citizens
deserve to enjoy the benefits of NATO membership and
to start EU accession negotiations.
 Yesterday, here at the United Nations, I had a
meeting with the Greek Prime Minister, which sought
to build a climate of mutual trust and understanding. I
hope that, as two neighbouring countries that have
lived and will live with one another, we will be able to
find a mutually acceptable solution. It will be a big
step not only for us but also towards fulfilling our
common vision for the whole region.
 I must say that I am encouraged by the situation
in our region. The more intensive communication and
cooperation efforts are, the better understanding and
respect will be. By accepting dialogue as the only way
to overcome inherited problems and open issues, we
create a new climate. Proof of this was the second
Balkan Leaders Forum, which was held here in New
York City a couple of days ago. Slowly but surely, the
Balkans is restoring its impaired dignity. The Balkans
again aspires to become part of the European space,
where European values, European criteria and
European principles will be respected. The Balkans has
been, is and will be Europe.
 Let me conclude with the statement that the
Republic of Macedonia believes in the United Nations
and the postulates upon which it rests. I believe that the
United Nations can maintain the stability of
international order and relations and successfully meet
current and future global challenges. The Republic of

41 10-54965

Macedonia stands ready to further provide its
constructive contribution to the implementation and
realization of these goals.


It is a
great honour for me to address, on behalf of
Switzerland, the General Assembly, which this year is
presided over by my compatriot, Mr. Joseph Deiss. I
would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the
President on his election. His election is a great honour
for Switzerland and is not only a personal recognition
of President Deiss and his work but also of our
country’s commitment to the United Nations as a
member of the Organization and a defender of
multilateralism.
 We find ourselves today in a building that is
undergoing renovations. The architectural makeover of
the United Nations prompts me to ask: what kind of
United Nations are we building for the next 10, 20 or
30 years? We need a United Nations that can face the
challenges of the future for the good of all. We need a
United Nations that will contribute effectively to
solving the world’s problems. We need Member States
that are ready to take full responsibility for building a
better world.
 The future of the United Nations must reflect the
world of tomorrow. Today, nearly one billion people
are still malnourished. There will be many more people
sharing this planet in the future, and no doubt we will
have to make do with fewer resources. Thanks to new
developments in technology and information, our
citizens participate more directly in the challenges
facing our societies. They are increasingly better
informed and feel that at least some of the legitimacy
of this universal Organization depends on its ability to
respond effectively to those challenges. They demand
accountability.
 In a more globalized world, we must treasure and
defend the principles of the United Nations Charter. We
must take care to ensure the proper functioning of this
common structure in a spirit of solidarity, respect and
responsibility.
 A strong international community requires
solidarity. That means more than providing assistance
to countries when they are unable to help their own
citizens. It also means reminding States of the
responsibilities they have towards their own people in
areas such as security, the rule of law, human rights
and democracy, and all that in respect for the United
Nations Charter. Every woman, every man, every
citizen must make his and her contribution to the
structure we are building together. At the same time
every Member State must be able to place its national
interests second to the common good. That is the only
way we will be able to find solutions that are in
everyone’s interest.
 Every day we are reminded of the growing and
increasingly complex global challenges confronting us:
the economic and financial crisis, climate change,
energy and food security, development and poverty,
and peace and security. The search for sustainable
solutions to those challenges calls for real governance,
governance, moreover, that must reflect the new
realities in the world. The new-found prosperity of
some must go hand in hand with new responsibilities.
States whose economic success enables them to play a
more active role in the governance of the world must
accept the new responsibilities that go with that active
role.
 The United Nations enjoys a unique legitimacy
because of its universal membership. Its legitimacy
also derives from the issues it addresses, which
concern us all. This week’s agenda is the best possible

9 10-54827

proof. But the legitimacy of an organization also
depends on its performance and its ability to respond to
the expectations placed on it.
 By that standard the United Nations sometimes
delivers mixed results. At times it seems ill-equipped
and hesitant to act. The power derived from universal
membership becomes a burden when we Member
States are divided. Our debates should not be limited to
the lowest common denominator. They must lead to
action and to results in the interest of the common
good of humanity.
 If the United Nations fails to act, other groups
representing only a fraction of the countries of the
world will step in, zealous for effective action, and
play a central role in global governance. As far as
Switzerland is concerned, such groups lack legitimacy
by virtue of their limited composition. It is therefore
crucial for the United Nations and its principal organs
to remain at the centre of world governance. That is
why we must take care to ensure that the legitimacy of
this universal body does not suffer from a lack of
efficiency. To make progress in building a better world,
it is our collective responsibility to meet a global
challenge with a global response. Switzerland wants to
contribute to this joint effort.
 Concerted global action is required in the
following areas.
 The Millennium Development Goals must be
implemented rapidly and fully. We know that dropping
a sack of rice from a helicopter is not enough. We must
instead teach people how to grow rice. Still today,
1.4 billion people around the world are living in
extreme poverty. Every day too many mothers and
children die of malnutrition and lack of care. We know
that huge financial means are needed after a disaster.
Money flows in emergency situations, but who is still
concerned three years later? Who is involved in the
reconstruction?
 Binding objectives must be defined as quickly as
possible for reducing carbon dioxide emissions.
Nowadays, we have knowledge and we have clean and
green technology. We must take action, each nation
with measures aimed at its own targets. Waiting for the
industrialized countries to invest in the South will not
lead anywhere. Here too, all must fulfil their own
responsibilities. This year in Mexico we still have an
opportunity to make progress. The recent natural
disasters are unmistakable signs. Switzerland will
reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20 per cent by
the year 2020.
 Thirty years after the Cold War, the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction remains a grave threat
to peace and security. But for civilian populations, the
real devastation is caused by small arms and light
weapons. Terrorists benefit from that situation by
easily supplying themselves in the arms market.
Switzerland, together with other countries, is
supporting the full implementation of the United
Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. That
initiative provides for the involvement of specialists in
humanitarian aid and education.
 Gender equality must at last become a reality.
Access to education and health for women and girls
has been restricted for decades. More than others, they
have been victims of poverty. They have also been the
targets of systematic violence in armed conflicts. It is
high time to make full use of their potential in
mediation and reconstruction in countries affected by
conflict. In that context, Switzerland welcomes the
creation of the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women — UN
Women — which brings us closer to the fulfilment of
this vision.
 We must avoid making the United Nations an
immutable historic monument, but rather turn it into a
dynamic organization. The United Nations is the only
organization in the world with the legitimacy to
represent all nations and all peoples. It is the only
legitimate organization in the world capable of
narrowing differences and restoring a balance between
regions.
 For that to happen, however, every Member State
must accept its responsibilities and start with the task
of putting its own house in order. Discussion and
preparing reports are not enough, however; we need to
act. Each Member State must commit itself clearly
within the Organization to respond to the urgent
questions facing the world of today and of tomorrow.
Such commitments will strengthen confidence in the
United Nations and its credibility.
 Switzerland remains firmly convinced of the
aptness of a multilateral approach, with the United
Nations at its centre. With the contributions of
everyone in this Hall today we will be able to create a
more just, peaceful and prosperous world. I thank all
who are gathered here for their collective commitment.


Yesterday was exactly the fiftieth anniversary
of the first speech of Commander in Chief Fidel Castro
Ruz in this Hall, with that memorable sentence that if
the philosophy of plunder disappears, then the
philosophy of war will have disappeared (see
A/PV.872).

10-55122 46

 Sixty million people had to die in the Second
World War so that the leaders of the time could create
the United Nations with the aim of saving succeeding
generations from the scourge of war.
 Today, the children and grandchildren of that
generation realize that the human race is faced with the
threat of extinction. Within a few decades, the
degradation of living conditions on the planet will be
irreversible. The same could happen in a few hours if
only a small part of the nuclear arsenal were to be
used. Those who met in San Francisco to draft the
Charter of the United Nations could not have imagined
the threat now posed by global warming or the nuclear
winter.
 While we deliberate here, as Comrade Fidel has
warned, powerful and influential forces in the United
States and Israel are paving the way to launch a
military attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran.
For its part, the Security Council, possibly under the
illusion of preventing that, is going ahead with
applying sanctions against that country, which,
together with the unilateral sanctions illegally imposed
by a group of States, seek to strangle the Iranian
economy.
 The recent and politically biased report issued by
the Director General of the International Atomic
Energy Agency has contributed to increasing the
tensions and has provided a pretext for military
escalation. Should that aggression in fact materialize, it
would be a crime against the Iranian people and an
assault against peace and international law that could
ignite a conflict that will certainly turn nuclear. The
toll would be millions of lives and the impact on the
environment, the economy and world stability
incalculable.
 Who could assert otherwise, and on the basis of
what guarantees? How could it be argued that the
present course of events is distancing the planet from
war in the Middle East? The threat is too serious to
trust in the capacity of the Security Council, where the
main actor responsible for the crisis has relied on its
ability to impose its designs.
 The wars against Iraq and Afghanistan
demonstrate that we cannot entrust one or a few
Governments with the authority to decide when all
diplomatic steps to prevent a war have been exhausted,
when the use of force becomes unavoidable, and when
the death of hundreds of thousands or millions of
people and the destabilization of a large area of the
planet — or all these things together — are inevitable.
Sanctions, sieges and conflict are not the way to
preserve international peace and security. On the
contrary, dialogue, negotiation and adherence to the
principle of the sovereign equality of States are the
only way to avoid war.
 Cuba commends and encourages the efforts of all
those countries, such as China, Russia, Brazil and
Turkey, that strive to find peaceful solutions, and calls
on the international community to support such
initiatives. It is the duty of this General Assembly to
officially support those efforts.
 The United Nations must be radically reformed
and the powers of this General Assembly restored. The
Security Council must be recreated. It must be
reiterated that the Secretary-General and all senior
officials of the international agencies, including the
International Atomic Energy Agency, answer to all
Member States, as set out in clear mandates adopted in
accordance with the Charter and the rules of procedure.
 The serious threat posed by nuclear weapons will be
solved only with their total elimination and prohibition.
The manipulation surrounding non-proliferation — based
on double standards and political interest, the existence of
a club of the privileged and the denial to the countries of
the South of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy — must
stop. We urge the United States, the main nuclear Power,
to stop opposing the negotiation of binding agreements
that could rid us once and for all of this threat within a set
time frame. Given the great lethal power and the ongoing
development of conventional weapons, we will also have
to fight for complete and general disarmament.
 In order to move ahead on those tasks, the
Non-Aligned Movement submitted a proposal that has
gone unheeded. The proposal envisages a plan of
action that includes the establishment of nuclear-
weapon-free zones. It is urgent to establish such a zone
in the Middle East, where Israel is the only country
that opposes it. Success in this effort would contribute
significantly to dispelling the threats of conflict and
nuclear proliferation and to achieving lasting peace in
that region.
 The floods that have affected Pakistan, Central
America and many other countries in the most diverse
latitudes, as well as the droughts and extreme
temperatures that have devastated Russia, are a tragic
reminder of the threats of a climate out of balance. In

47 10-55122

the face of such a serious threat, no selfish interests or
narrow political agendas that prevent the adoption of
concrete and binding agreements at the next
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change should
prevail. The developed countries, which bear the
greatest responsibility for global warming, should
accept more ambitious goals for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions and refrain from destroying the
framework established by the Convention and its
Kyoto Protocol.
 It would be very irresponsible of the
Governments of the industrialized countries to ignore
the legitimate claims of the non-governmental
organizations and social movements that were brutally
suppressed in Copenhagen and later met in
Cochabamba barely five months ago to defend Mother
Earth, or to again seek to deceive public opinion by
blaming the emerging economies.
 We call for the full support of the international
community for Venezuela in its struggle. The victory in
yesterday’s parliamentary elections demonstrates the
broad majority support of the people for President
Chávez and the Bolivarian revolution, which have
suffered North American interference and the scorn and
disinformation campaigns of the oligarchic groups and
media empires.
 Now that the television cameras have left Haiti,
we call for the pledges of international assistance to be
honoured. The noble Haitian people need resources for
reconstruction and, above all, for development.
 The United States Government is aware of Cuba’s
readiness to coexist in a climate of peace, respect and
sovereign equality, which we have expressly conveyed
through official channels and which I reiterate here on
behalf of President Raúl Castro. I am convinced that
the development of relations based on international law
and the purposes and principles of the United Nations
would enable Cuba and the United States to address
many of their differences and to resolve others. It
would help to create an atmosphere conducive to trying
to solve the problems of our region and, at the same
time, provide significant support to the interests of our
respective peoples.
 The agenda for dialogue and bilateral cooperation
initiatives submitted to President Obama’s Administration
on 14 July 2009, which I publicly announced in this Hall
exactly a year ago (see A/64/PV.11), have yet to receive a
response. The North American Government has shown no
willingness to address essential matters on the bilateral
agenda, so the official talks that have been held without
great progress have been limited to specific issues.
 Contrary to expectations, even within the United
States itself, its Government does not seem willing to
amend even the most irrational and universally rejected
aspects of its policy against Cuba. The main element in
our bilateral relations is the economic, commercial and
financial blockade that the United States Government
imposes against my country directly and through the
extraterritorial application of its laws. The blockade
has been the subject of 18 resolutions that, with the
almost unanimous support of Member States, have
consistently called for its end.
 However, in the past two years, there has been no
change in the policy of blockade and subversion
against Cuba, even though all know that the President
of that country is vested with sufficient authority to
make real change and enjoys the broad majority
support of the North American people in that respect.
 For United States citizens or foreigners residing
in that country, travelling to Cuba remains illegal. It is
impossible to sell Cuban products or products
containing Cuban components or technology to the
United States. With very limited exceptions, Cuba is
forbidden to acquire, here or in any other country, any
product containing a fraction of American input or
technology. Financial transactions in United States
dollars, whether linked to Cuba or not, can be either
confiscated or frozen and the banks involved may be
fined. Fines worth several millions are imposed on
United States and foreign companies for violating the
venal blockade laws.
 In addition, and in open contradiction of
international norms, Cuba’s broadcasting space
continues to be violated and radio and television
broadcasts continue to be used for subversive purposes,
while millions in federal funds are used to foment
political instability in my country. Part of Cuba’s
territory has been seized by the United States, which
has imposed a military base in Guantánamo that has
become a centre of torture beyond the jurisdiction of
international humanitarian law.
 United States immigration policy towards Cuba,
based on the Cuban Adjustment Act, is a politically
motivated exception that encourages illegal migration
and costs human lives. Cuba’s inclusion on the United

10-55122 48

States’ spurious list of countries that sponsor
international terrorism is deeply immoral.
 Our demand, and the universal appeal concerning
it, is well known. The five Cuban anti-terrorists who
have been incarcerated in the United States for 12 years
as political prisoners must be immediately released.
Setting them free would be an act of justice that would
enable President Obama to show his true commitment to
combating terrorism in our own hemisphere.
 The President of the United States still has the
opportunity to make a historical rectification of an
utterly futile 50-year genocidal policy left over from
the cold war. It would be an act of resolve that could
only encourage the support of those who elected him
for change and of the community of nations that votes
for it every year. Whatever the circumstances, the
Cuban revolution will unyieldingly and tenaciously
pursue the sovereign path chosen by our people and
shall not cease in its endeavours, based on the precepts
of Martí and Fidel, to overcome all injustice.


When I arrived yesterday
in New York, I received a phone call from the chairman
of one of the Jewish organizations, who asked me how
I was coping with all the pressure that is being placed
on Israel. “Surely”, he said, “it must be very difficult”.
I recalled an old joke, which tells of five Jews who
changed the way we see the world: Moses, law is
everything; Jesus, love is everything; Marx, money is
everything; Freud, sex is everything; and Einstein,
everything is relative. So, I told him that everything is
relative. On one hand, it is very difficult. On the other
hand, it is easier than before, because now we have a
stable coalition and a stable Government and we have
the support of a majority of Israel’s citizens. We are
ready for a fair solution and we are ready to cooperate
with the international community. However, we are not
ready to compromise our national security or the vital
interests of the State of Israel.
 At the outset, I want to emphasize that, contrary
to what is often presented in the international media,
the political arena in Israel is not divided between
those who seek peace and those who seek war.
Everyone wants peace, and the controversy in Israel
centres on the specific question of how to achieve this
peace, how to reach security and stability in the region.
And the question is: why, in the 17 years since we
signed the Oslo Accords, have we not arrived at a
comprehensive agreement signifying the end of the
conflict and the removal of future mutual claims?
 Despite all of the efforts of all the good people
with the best of intentions, including Yitzhak Rabin,
Shimon Peres, Benjamin Netanyahu, Ehud Barak, Ariel
Sharon and Ehud Olmert; despite the summit meetings
at Camp David between Ehud Barak and Yasser Arafat
with the presence of former President Bill Clinton; and
despite the Annapolis Summit between Ehud Olmert
and Mahmoud Abbas, we are today still in deadlock.
 In fact, contrary to the prevalent view that the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the heart of the instability
in the Middle East or is the main reason for the
region’s numerous conflicts, the reality is entirely
different. More than 90 per cent of the wars and war
victims of the Middle East since the Second World War
did not result from the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and
are in no way connected to Israel. Rather, they stem
from conflicts involving Muslims or conflicts between
Arab States. The Iran-Iraq war, the Gulf war, the wars
between North and South Yemen, the Hama atrocities
in Syria, and the wars in Algeria and Lebanon — these
are just a few examples from a list that goes on and on.
 The second flawed explanation for the
long-standing conflict between Israel and the
Palestinians that has gained popularity is that the root
of the problem is the so-called occupation, the
settlements in Judea and Samaria and the settlers
themselves. Only the establishment of an independent
Palestinian State in Judea, Samaria and Gaza, so the
argument goes, will ensure peace in the region.
 It is sufficient to state a number of well-known
facts in order to refute that claim. First, all of Judea,
Samaria and Gaza were under Arab control for
19 years, between 1948 and 1967. During those
19 years, no one tried to create a Palestinian State.
Peace agreements were achieved with Egypt and
Jordan, despite the presence of settlements. And the
opposite is also true: we evacuated 21 flourishing
settlements in Gush Katif and transferred more than
10,000 Jews. And, in return, we have Hamas in power
and thousands of missiles landing on Sderot and
southern Israel.
 Another misguided argument is the claim that the
Palestinian issue prevents a determined international
front against Iran. This argument is not only flawed, it
is completely irresponsible. The same argument could
be made that the Palestinian issue prevents action on
North Korea, piracy in Somalia, the humanitarian crisis
in Sudan or the challenge of Afghanistan.
 Just as the Khomeini Revolution had nothing to
do with the Palestinian issue, neither is the Iranian
decision to develop nuclear weapons related. In truth,
the connection between Iran and the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict is precisely the contrary. Iran can exist without
Hamas, Islamic Jihad and Hizbullah, but the terrorist
organizations cannot exist without Iran. Relying on
those proxies, Iran can, at any given time, foil any
agreement between Israel and the Palestinians or with
Lebanon.
 Thus, in searching for a durable agreement with
the Palestinians, one that will deal with the true roots
of the conflict and will endure for many years, one
must understand that, first, the Iranian issue must be
resolved. One must deal first with the root cause of the
problem, and not its symptoms. There are, of course,
yet other problems that must be solved; solving that
one would not be sufficient, but it is nevertheless a
necessary condition.

9 10-55264

 In trying to resolve the conflict between Israel
and the Palestinians, we are dealing with two types of
problems: emotional problems and practical problems.
That is why the solution must also be a two-stage one.
 The emotional problems are, first and foremost,
the utter lack of confidence between the sides and
issues such as Jerusalem, recognition of Israel as the
nation-State of the Jewish people, and refugees. Under
those conditions, we should focus on coming up with a
long-term intermediate agreement, something that
could take a few decades. We need to raise an entire
new generation that will have mutual trust and will not
be influenced by incitement and extremist messages.
To achieve a final status agreement, we must
understand that the primary practical obstacle is the
friction between the two nations.
 As is true everywhere, where there are two
nations, two religions or two languages with competing
claims to the same land, there is friction and conflict.
Countless examples of ethnic conflict around the world
confirm this, whether in the Balkans, the Caucasus,
Africa, the Far East or the Middle East. Where
effective separation has been achieved, conflict has
either been avoided or has been dramatically reduced
or resolved. Consider the cases of the former Yugoslav
republics, the split-up of Czechoslovakia and the
independence of East Timor as cases in point. Thus, the
guiding principle for a final status agreement must not
be land-for-peace but rather, exchange of populated
territory. Let me be very clear: I am not speaking about
moving populations, but rather about moving borders
to better reflect demographic realities.
 This is not an extraordinary insight and is far less
controversial than some may seek to claim. In fact,
precisely this notion — that a mismatch between
borders and nationalities is a recipe for conflict — has
long been accepted as a virtual truism in the academic
community. Leading scholars and highly respected
research institutions have even coined the term “right-
sizing the State” to capture the idea that States and
nations must be in balance in order to ensure peace.
This is not a controversial political policy. It is an
empirical truth.
 But beyond empirical truth there is historical
truth, namely, the almost 4,000 years during which the
Jewish people were born in the land of Israel and
developed the corpus of ethical and intellectual
treasures that have been instrumental in the rise of
Western civilization. The 2,000 years of forced exile
and interim conquest by Byzantines, Arabs,
Mamelukes, Ottomans and others cannot and never will
impair the unbreakable bonds of the Jewish people to
its homeland. Israel is not only where we are, it is who
we are.
 In closing, let me remind everyone in this Hall of
the quote on the plaza across from the United Nations,
words spoken in Jerusalem almost 3,000 years ago by
the Jewish prophet Isaiah:
 “They shall beat their swords into plowshares and
their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not
lift up sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more.” (Isaiah 2:4)
 Inspired by the deep wisdom embodied in these
words, let us hope that the path to true peace
prophesied by Isaiah will guide our two peoples, in two
nation-States, living in peace and security.


Vanuatu is very pleased
that we are meeting under your presidency, Sir, and, on
behalf of my Government and of the Pacific Islands
Forum, I extend my warm congratulations to you, and
we wish to assure you of our full confidence and
cooperation.
 I should also like to take a moment to pay tribute
to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali
Abdussalam Treki, for his exceptional service and
leadership during the sixty-fourth session of the
General Assembly and for the considerable and
important achievements of that session.

15 10-55128

 In the same spirit, I take this opportunity also to
commend the Secretary-General for his vision,
leadership and tireless efforts in working towards
achievements in the common interest of all humanity.
 Many innocent lives continue to be wasted, with
good people killed or wounded and multitudes
displaced by heinous acts designed to undermine and
destabilize the collective efforts of the international
community to achieve peace and security for our
societies. These many unprecedented events continue
to test the very foundation of our Organization.
 As we prepare to enter the second decade of this
twenty-first century, it is vital now more than ever that
our membership affirms its confidence and faith in the
purposes and principles of the United Nations. It is
important that we continue to assert our support for
fundamental human rights and the peaceful coexistence
of our nations. The range and urgency of the challenges
that now confront the international community in our
globalized and interdependent world demand, at the
very least, our steadfast support for and commitment to
peace and security for our communities and peoples,
and for future generations.
 If we are to effectively guarantee human rights
and achieve peace and security and social and
economic justice for all, we need to be united in this
endeavour, and our cooperation and multilateral joint
efforts need to be durable and effective. My
Government and people of Vanuatu are steadfast in our
belief that the United Nations remains uniquely suited
to the pursuit and coordination of global initiatives to
attain these objectives.
 Vanuatu hosted the forty-first annual Pacific
Islands Forum in our capital, Port Vila, last month. As
current Chair, I wish to inform the Assembly that the
Pacific Islands leaders again noted that transnational
crime remains a threat to national and regional
stability, in particular the proliferation of small arms
and light weapons and illicit drugs. Consequently, the
Pacific Islands Forum has strengthened cooperation in
counter-terrorism measures and emphasized national
efforts and regional cooperation in combating
transnational organized crime and in strengthening
border control capacities. The Pacific Islands Forum
remains committed to collective arrangements and
mechanisms to assist regional Governments recovering
from national conflicts and crises. The value of those
efforts is evident in the positive results of the Regional
Assistance Mission to the Solomon Islands, created
under the Biketawa Declaration with the assistance of
contributing member States, which would not have
been successful without the strong leadership and
commitment of the Solomon Islands Government.
 While many of our member countries have not
ratified the United Nations Convention against
Corruption (UNCAC), Forum leaders recognize the
important role that the Convention offers in providing
an internationally agreed framework for effective anti-
corruption activities around the world. I am pleased to
say that our regional organizations are working with
the various United Nations agencies to advance work
to promote the Convention.
 While known as a region characterized by
oceanic isolation, smallness and general vulnerability,
the Pacific region is one of only a few in the world to
have experienced nuclear weapons testing. Therefore,
advancing the cause of nuclear non-proliferation and
the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty — also
known as the Treaty of Rarotonga — remains critical
and relevant to our signatory member States. The South
Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty reflects our region’s
deep commitment not only to international peace and
security but also to collective international action to
ensure peace and security. In endorsing the successful
outcome of the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review
Conference, Forum leaders also welcomed the
announcement by the United States of America of its
intention to ratify all protocols of the Treaty of
Rarotonga.
 Notwithstanding their size, national obligations
and circumstances, our respective Forum members
value and are proud of their contributions to United
Nations peacekeeping efforts. My own country is proud
to contribute to United Nations peacekeeping missions
in East Timor, Haiti, the Sudan, Bosnia, the Peace
Monitoring Group and the Bougainville Transition
Team in Bougainville, and to the Regional Assistance
Mission to the Solomon Islands.
 Terrorism is an offence to humanity and contrary
to the core values of the United Nations. We must be
resolute in our national and collective efforts to combat
terrorism in all its forms. For my own country, I
reaffirm our strong support for the relevant Security
Council resolutions against terrorism. Those
resolutions provide a clear signal of our determination

10-55128 16

to suppress terrorist activities, including training,
international movement and financing.
 All of us present here today have described the
various stages of our progress to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For our
island countries, our increasing vulnerability to threats
and challenges, underscored by the impacts of the
global economic, financial, fuel and food crises, is
exacerbated by the current and impending impacts of
climate change, as well as our inherent limited capacity
to respond. This is not to say, however, that we have
not made progress in achieving any of those goals.
With respect to Goal 2, the primary education systems
of the Pacific region are characterized by high
enrolment, with six of our countries currently
displaying net enrolment ratios of over 90 per cent.
Most, if not all, of our Pacific island countries are
expected to meet the goal of gender equality in
education by 2015. We have been able to achieve those
goals because we have localized the global indicators
by adjusting them to suit our local circumstances and
priorities.
 While we remain concerned about the pace of our
progress towards the Millennium Development Goals,
we are committed to accelerating progress towards
achieving them by 2015. The Port Vila Declaration on
Accelerating Progress on the Achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, which was adopted by
Pacific Forum leaders at their meeting in Vanuatu last
month, recognizes that the MDGs are extremely
important, as is also the incremental path towards
achieving those Goals — a path that should recognize
and accommodate the special circumstances and
challenges we face in the Pacific. The Port Vila
Declaration also highlights the importance of
mainstreaming the programme of support for the
sustainable development of small island developing
States — which is captured in the Barbados
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development
of Small Island Developing States and the Mauritius
Strategy for the Further Implementation of the
Barbados Programme of Action — as an accelerator for
achieving the MDGs in the Pacific and addressing the
specific vulnerabilities that we face. To ensure the
success of the Port Vila Declaration, we call for the
support, collaborative action and commitment of the
international community and our development partners —
particularly an improved understanding of and ability
to address our vulnerabilities and for improved
coordination of efforts towards achieving the MDGs.
 Advancing the Pacific islands’ work with respect
to the Millennium Development Goals is closely and
inextricably linked to the Mauritius Strategy. The
development and endorsement of the Pacific Plan by
the Forum leaders in 2005 underscored the critical
need for creating stronger and deeper linkages between
our countries and for identifying sectors where the
region could gain the most by sharing resources in the
area of governance and by aligning policies. While we
believe that we have made some excellent progress in
effectively implementing the Mauritius Strategy at the
national and regional levels, we also acknowledge our
shortcomings, some of which are beyond our control.
The growing vulnerabilities of our Pacific island
countries are exacerbated by the impacts of the global
economic crisis, climate change and natural disasters,
and those factors affect our abilities to respond.
 Climate change remains the greatest threat to the
livelihoods, security and well-being of the peoples of
the Pacific. Continuing and concerted efforts by Forum
members are being made at the national, regional and
international levels to address the impacts of climate
change on Pacific communities and peoples. The
degree of urgency for real commitments to emissions
reduction must be commensurate with the science and
with the associated impacts of climate change on the
most vulnerable communities. This issue must not be
viewed with an eye to short-term impacts on traditional
industrial growth or political tenure, but rather with a
longer-term consideration of the sustainability of
economies, societies and peoples the world over. A
meaningful, legally binding agreement on emissions
reduction must be reached urgently and without delay.
Recognizing the importance of effective coordination
and implementation of climate change adaptation and
mitigation efforts at all levels — and particularly at the
national level — Forum leaders have endorsed a set of
principles that will guide Forum island countries and
development partners in this regard, bearing in mind
existing and ongoing efforts in the region. Those
principles are consistent with the Cairns Compact and
the Pacific Islands Framework for Action on Climate
Change, and they reflect recognition by Forum leaders
of the important role that regional and international
arrangements play in supporting national adaptation
and mitigation through the enhancement of capacity
and access to resources.

17 10-55128

 I am also pleased to say that, ahead of the Cancún
climate change meetings this November and December,
the Government of Kiribati will be hosting the Tarawa
Climate Change Conference in November. We
anticipate bringing together representatives of
countries vulnerable to the impact of climate change,
as well as representatives of major economies.
 Allow me at this juncture to make a few remarks
pertinent to Vanuatu’s position on a number of issues.
We are meeting here at this Assembly session to once
again renew our commitment to the United Nations and
to the principles enshrined in its Charter. However, the
need to reform the United Nations to ensure that it
effectively responds to the needs of its Members
remains imperative.
 In that regard, I wish to commend the Secretary-
General for advancing the work on the reform of the
Security Council. We note the work done by the Chair
of the intergovernmental negotiations on the question
of equitable representation and increase in the
membership of the Security Council and other matters
related to the Council. So we join all like-minded
States in encouraging the United Nations to pursue
equitable reforms in its institutions in order to
minimize the democratic deficit in the multilateral
arena.
 My Government also joins all other heads of
Governments that are Members of the United Nations
family in congratulating the Secretary-General on
bringing to a reality the efforts over four years to
create the office of UN Women, a new entity formally
established by the General Assembly within the United
Nations created in July of this year. That decision gives
more prominence to women and their place in our
society.
 Vanuatu celebrated 30 years of political freedom
last July. This year marks the end of the Second
International Decade of Decolonization. My
Government wishes to question the progress on some
important processes of self-determination. It is
disturbing to think that we may legitimize practices
that contravene the very principles on which this
Organization has been founded. Are we to assume that
decolonization issues may be ignored in the years to
come so as not to unsettle the status quo?
 Issues relating to decolonization and severe
human rights violations must be effectively and
impartially addressed. We call upon the United Nations
to strengthen its efforts in working towards full
decolonization of Territories that are still under the
control of administrating Powers. Where there are
serious reports of human rights violations, there must
be a stronger United Nations role in investigating all
allegations of human atrocity. We are reminded that the
noble task of our multilateral Organization is to
reaffirm our commitment to and respect for
fundamental human rights and the dignity of the human
person.
 We are encouraged to see emerging nations, such
as Kosovo, rising from the turmoil of restraint to take
up their position in the midst of the independent
nations of the world. It is in the spirit of democratic
freedom that justice must prevail for those peoples
whose right to political freedom continues to be
suppressed by colonial and illegitimate administrating
Powers. That includes for those countries whose
political freedom to claim their rights to territorial
sovereignty under the United Nations Convention on
the Law of the Sea and those whose political freedom
to rightfully claim an extended continental shelf under
the Convention are suppressed by colonial
administrative rule.
 As we applaud calls for a peaceful resolution of
the conflict between Israel and Palestine, my country
also calls for the lifting of the embargo on Cuba, which
will enable the good people of Cuba to improve their
lives.
 My country, together with other least developed
countries in the Pacific, has consistently argued in this
forum that the mechanisms and criteria for assessing
graduation eligibility must not be isolated from the
permanent and inherent vulnerabilities of our countries.
It is unrealistic for United Nations agencies to look at
the progress and make projections without taking into
consideration the issues of permanent vulnerabilities
and capacity to sustain growth in our countries.
Indicators for most Millennium Development Goals
clearly demonstrate little progress in human
development. Climate change, volcanic eruptions and
other disasters will continue to be significant factors
inhibiting human development in our islands. Such
factors are critical, and we therefore reiterate our
position that they must be carefully weighed in the
vulnerability graduation criteria.
 In the case of our very close neighbour, Fiji, my
Government believes that all players are interested in

10-55128 18

seeing positive political progress there, which must
continue to genuinely engage the good people of Fiji.
We have learned that multilateralism offers some
constructive innovations in diplomatic practice, but it
may also complicate conflict resolution by increasing
tension between actors.
 Finally, in the spirit of reconciliation through the
Pacific way, I call upon all international and regional
diplomatic actors to assist in ways that will not
polarize the region. Instead, our diplomatic approaches
should help to give genuine dialogue and engagement a
more credible opportunity. There should be genuine
and renewed commitment to fostering relations in the
Pacific region, commitment that promotes greater
freedom, regional cooperation, friendship and
integration, as envisaged in the Pacific Plan document.
 In conclusion, I take this opportunity to express
my gratitude to all our development partners for the
support that they are providing in building our
economies. I believe more can be done to assist the
Pacific island countries in addressing the growing
challenges confronting the region.


The
Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis has looked
forward to this sixty-fifth session of the General
Assembly with much anticipation. We welcome the
opportunity to share in the usual rich general debate, to
strengthen existing relationships and to build new ones.
 This environment, we believe, facilitates the
exchange of views on issues of common interest. We
look forward, particularly, to the views on the work
still ahead in tackling the insidious global challenges.
 The tasks I have in mind are: mitigating the
negative impact of the ongoing economic crisis on our
countries and peoples, and dealing with its many
implications for vulnerable small economies like ours;
tackling the prolonged tightening of credit markets;
protecting the environment from degradation;
promoting human security; and redressing the global
epidemic of interpersonal violence.
 These are but a few of the problems with which
Governments across the globe must grapple. And we
must do this against a backdrop of uncertainty, while
established centres of power are shifting. Governments
must now reconcile the pursuit of statecraft and
national interests with rapidly changing and less
predictable relations among States.
 Additionally, the 2008 economic and financial
crises, whose effects are still very real today, have
undermined confidence in our financial market systems
and in what we had hitherto hailed as sound economic
models.
 Similarly, since the global recession, poverty
ranks across the world have been swelling. The

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percentage of working poor has reached unprecedented
levels, and millions more, now unemployed, see little
prospect for hope or relief. As a consequence, many
have lost faith in governance methods and in our long-
established financial systems.
 We have all become painfully aware that
environmental degradation is not country-specific and
that the actions of individuals and enterprises in one
country ultimately harm ecosystems and threaten
livelihoods in others. Hence, as countries pursue
national agendas, we need to be mindful of the
common interests and ties that connect our societies
and peoples, and we must use every opportunity to
work towards a realistic convergence of our respective
interests.
 There can be little doubt that we have established
a solid foundation that allows us to envision new and
exciting horizons. Reaching these horizons, however,
requires that, as we contemplate bold initiatives
appropriate for the challenges confronting us, the
United Nations must itself be prepared to further
deepen its engagement with Member States, regional
and national systems, and international financial
institutions.
 My delegation believes that this is one way to
help provide new opportunities, to facilitate greater
access to the resources needed to implement national
policies and meet international obligations.
 The United Nations, created out of the ruins of
war, has over the past six and a half decades, been
providentially guided by an unfaltering spirit of
partnership and prevailing common sense. Despite
countless challenges, that spirit is alive and well today.
We must therefore work even harder to fulfil the dream
of its architects and to live out their vision. The United
Nations, then, must remain that vital nexus, fostering
the necessary partnerships for the greater good.
Perhaps that would provide us with a more visible
presence on the global stage, furthering the effort to
build a better future for us all. We have seen this
partnership in action on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). We saw it as we worked to address the
global financial crisis, which threatened large
economies and almost crippled the economies of small
island States. We saw it when Governments and
peoples across the globe came to the assistance of our
brothers and sisters in disaster-stricken Haiti, the
magnitude of whose tragedy we had not experienced
before in this hemisphere.
 In the context of repositioning the United
Nations, we began, earlier this month, a process of
review. It is through improved partnerships that the
United Nations has an opportunity to bring
international business communities and civil society
together with Member States in a more structured way,
allowing for the practical exchange of ideas, the
sharing of expertise and best practices, and the
promotion of development and prosperity. Saint Kitts
and Nevis welcomes such a dialogue and partnership
and recognizes the extent and reach of the United
Nations in helping to build capacity, in the face of
challenges such as the brain drain, which robs
developing countries of their invaluable human
resources. Through such advocacy, the United Nations
can help also to safeguard gains in social and economic
development. Saint Kitts and Nevis encourages
Member States to embrace this idea of a multipronged
partnership as a way to bolster development processes
and strengthen global governance and accountability.
 Cognizant of the spirit of cooperation, the
Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis thanks the
Government and people of Taiwan for their continued
outstanding support, international cooperation and
development assistance over several decades. I
welcome the recent passage in that country’s
Parliament of their international cooperation and
development law, which incorporates the essence and
principles of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness
and the United Nations MDGs. We owe them a debt of
gratitude for their efforts and for sharing their
development experience through public projects and
social, agricultural and private sector development.
 We note that, despite being successful before the
World Trade Organization dispute settlement body,
Antigua and Barbuda, a fellow CARICOM member
State, has yet to benefit therefrom. In the spirit of
cooperation, we urge the parties involved to seek
quickly to resolve the situation and to arrive at a
negotiation settlement that is fair and just to Antigua
and Barbuda and its nationals.
 2010 has so far been a year of epic global natural
disasters. The regularity and ferocity of floods,
hurricanes, typhoons, sea-level rises and other
catastrophic events are stark reminders of the
consequences of climate change. This is of particular

35 10-55122

concern to us, as small island developing States are
hardest hit by the consequences of climate change. In
the light of the facts, it should be a matter of some
importance to develop a proactive coordinated
approach, in collaboration with financial institutions,
insurance companies and other catastrophic-event-
mitigation stakeholders. It is clear that the disaster
preparedness, mitigation and response paradigms
incorporated into our national development strategies
are in need of urgent strengthening. Indeed, my country
is committed to a comprehensive approach in disaster-
risk abatement and mitigation, through capacity-
building and through the creation of internal
mechanisms that would ensure more effective
responses. I urge Member States to continue exploiting
and exploring technology and best practices, as we
work in partnership to find sustainable solutions to this
problem.
 We believe that stronger political commitment,
greater cooperation and less apportioning of blame are
required if we are to succeed in this endeavour.
Therefore we hope that the global partnership and
solidarity evidenced in the aftermath of this year’s
many disasters will continue to prevail.
 Four months ago, in May 2010, the General
Assembly adopted resolution 64/265 on the prevention
and control of non-communicable diseases. That
resolution seeks to halt the growing trend of premature
deaths from these diseases — mainly, diabetes,
cardiovascular diseases, cancers and chronic respiratory
diseases. Saint Kitts and Nevis applauds that resolution.
At the same time, however, we seize the opportunity to
remind this Assembly of another public health and
public security issue that begs attention and resolution.
Many will recall our efforts last year to focus attention
on the issue of the global epidemic of interpersonal
violence and its implications for development, health,
security and governance. The data reveal that
interpersonal violence accounts for about 4,300 deaths
per day, one every 20 seconds, one half of them being
due to homicide. In some countries homicide rates are as
high as 60 to 70 per 100,000. The human, social and
financial costs of violence are unacceptably high and are
escalating.
 The World Health Organization has been playing
a key role in this field through its Milestones of a
Global Campaign for Violence Prevention programme,
and the General Assembly has adopted individual
resolutions on violence against children, violence
against women and armed violence. There is still,
however, no General Assembly resolution that calls for
an integrated approach to all forms of interpersonal
violence; there is no resolution that speaks to youth
violence, one of the major contributors to high murder
rates and social breakdown; and there is no resolution
that emphasizes the necessity of a multisectoral
response to this problem. Saint Kitts and Nevis is
therefore once again soliciting your support for such a
resolution. We are calling for an integrated and
multisectoral response to all forms of interpersonal
violence and recognition of the causes, with a view to
its placement on the General Assembly agenda for
debate next year, 2011. As we celebrate the
International Year of Youth, I can think of no better
time to introduce such a resolution.
 Saint Kitts and Nevis guards zealously the
effective management and care of our resources. Our
primary resource is our people, particularly our youth —
our future. In preparing them for the promises and the
potential perils of tomorrow, we have been investing
strategically in education — education with relevance.
 I applaud the establishment of the United Nations
Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of
Women (UN Women). The occupying of high office
and decision-making roles by women has been the
norm in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and we remain
committed to gender-equal opportunities at home and
abroad. We look forward to participating actively in
UN Women in the coming years and would be most
pleased to share our experiences.
 As we move forward through this sixty-fifth
session of the General Assembly, I encourage us to
remain committed to the ideals that have brought us to
this point. Let us marshal the courage to do the things
that ought to be done if this indispensable global
institution is to be able to deliver at its very best.
 In conclusion, permit me to congratulate you,
Mr. President, and the Government of Switzerland, on
your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. I thank you, Sir, for
your readiness to preside over this General Assembly
at a time of great challenge. We feel confident that you
will rise to the occasion with great fortitude and
determination.
 Permit me also to thank Mr. Ali Abdussalam
Treki, President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

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fourth session, for his leadership and commitment
during the past year.
 I trust that under your leadership, Mr. President,
we will seize the moment for change — this
compelling moment for reform and one that is reflected
in the deliberations of the recent Meeting on the
Millennium Development Goals — as we draw closer
to the 2015 target. I assure you, Sir, of my
Government’s full support for your stewardship.


I would first like to
congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to

10-55122 6

preside over the sixty-fifth session of the General
Assembly. Please be assured of my delegation’s full
support and cooperation. I would also like to take this
opportunity to offer our appreciation to both your
predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, for the
exemplary manner in which he guided the work of the
sixty-fourth session, and to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon for his leadership of the United Nations over
the past four years.
 Last week, I had the opportunity to report on the
Maldives’ progress towards attainment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). My report
demonstrated that while we have achieved five of the
eight MDGs — namely, Goals 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 —
several others remain challenges, and some
achievements are increasingly becoming threatened.
For example, the Maldives has made great strides in
eliminating poverty, in education and in improving
mortality rates among mothers and infants. However,
we have yet to make significant gains in the area of the
empowerment of women. We are also still struggling to
provide for our environmental and development needs.
Moreover, religious extremism runs counter to notions
of equality and social justice and endangers our
achievements in gender parity. All the while,
environmental and economic vulnerabilities threaten to
diminish our gains.
 Those gains, among others, have improved the
lives of the Maldivian people and contributed to a
situation that has led to our imminent graduation from
the United Nations list of least developed countries
(LDCs) this year. While we look forward to our
graduation, we are also concerned about the sudden
withdrawal of some of the benefits afforded to LDCs
that have helped sustain our development efforts for
the past four decades. Those include preferential
market access and concessionary financing. While we
were very encouraged by the pledges made by our
partners at the donors conference held in the Maldives
in March this year to invest in urgent development
projects, we anxiously await the speedy disbursement
of the promised aid.
 Furthermore, we look forward to working with
our development partners to achieve consensus on a
transitional model that provides for a gradual reduction
of benefits to avoid the disruption of our development
efforts, as stipulated in resolution 59/209. As a country
on the verge of LDC graduation, we look forward to
adopting a development strategy that places emphasis
on greater independence and economic stability
through private investment and public-private
partnerships. Our Government’s policies on
privatization and our employment of commercial
diplomacy are designed to achieve this transition.
However, like many other small island States, our
geopolitical and socio-economic circumstances will
continue to render the Maldives vulnerable.
 The impact of the recent global recession clearly
demonstrates those vulnerabilities. As a country
primarily dependent on tourism and fishing, the
Maldives was severely affected by decreases in
consumption in our traditional markets. As a result, the
Government was compelled to implement severe
austerity measures that cut public spending and
undertook massive economic reforms. Nevertheless,
our people continue to face formidable development
challenges, and thus the Maldives will continue to push
for greater recognition within the United Nations for
the plight of small island developing States.
 The economic transition in the Maldives
complements an ambitious political transition from
autocracy to democracy. Although this is a daunting
task, we have been successful in achieving important
milestones over the course of these past two years. In
fact, the two-year period of transition stipulated in our
new Constitution concluded in August. This process
resulted in the establishment of our Supreme Court and
the creation of other relevant institutions. While our
transition process was accompanied by some political
discord, it was largely peaceful.
 Our friends in the international community
helped us find peaceful solutions during this somewhat
tumultuous period in our politics. I would like to thank
all members of the international community for their
continued engagement and assistance, and especially
President Mahinda Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka for his
constructive contributions.
 The Maldives’ transition to democracy has been
accompanied by our evolution from an abuser of
human rights to a staunch advocate for them. We are
proud of what we have achieved, but are the first to
recognize that there is no shortage of challenges that
require our immediate attention. These include the
need to abrogate the use of torture, the need to
safeguard the rights of women, children and the
disabled, and the need to improve our capacity to deal
with human trafficking in our region.

7 10-55122

 The Maldives is proud to have been elected to the
Human Rights Council in May, and we are cognizant of
the trust and responsibility conferred upon us by the
overwhelming support demonstrated by United Nations
Members across all regions. We will continue to
uphold our pledge to use our membership to promote
human rights through positive engagement and to
address sensitivities in our collective quest to protect
the most vulnerable. Moreover, the Maldives is
undergoing its own universal periodic review this year,
and we consider this exercise to be an opportunity to
further strengthen human rights protections at home.
 While our interest in human rights is rooted in
our ambition to improve the lives of our own citizens,
it also emerges from our rising concerns about life in
our now interconnected global village, where the need
to compel tolerance, understanding and respect for
human dignity is greater than ever before. We support
the initiatives for a culture of peace, dialogue among
civilizations and tolerance among different faiths.
 As a Muslim country, we lament the rising tide of
Islamophobia in non-Muslim States. The people of the
Maldives certainly appreciate the difference between
Government-sanctioned incidents and those anti-Muslim
activities that can be attributed to marginal segments of
non-Muslim societies. However, we believe that
religious intolerance, negative stereotyping, racial
profiling and discrimination thwart this institution’s
mission for peace and prosperity among all societies.
Therefore, we must intensify our efforts to promote a
culture of tolerance and understanding while pursuing an
effective dialogue to expand the scope of rational
discourse between the Islamic world and other
civilizations.
 Some of the gravest threats facing humankind
today do not occupy their rightful places in the
headlines, nor do they gain the significant attention
they require. We believe that climate change is such a
threat. For the Maldives, the effects of global warming
pose an overwhelming threat to our infrastructure, our
economy and our very existence.
 In an attempt to implement adaptation measures,
the Maldives has invested in water and sanitation
projects and coastal defences and is attempting to
develop voluntary resettlement programmes to more
viable islands within the country. We are also investing
in a low-carbon future that emphasizes renewable
energy and other green projects to achieve our goal of
becoming carbon neutral by 2020.
 It is obvious that our actions alone cannot save
us. The global community must act. Regional
initiatives that complement United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) processes
must be pursued. Weeks before Copenhagen, the
Maldives convened a group of countries and formed
the Climate Vulnerable Forum to declare our concerns
with a united voice. I am pleased to report today that
Kiribati will take over the leadership of this group
ahead of the sixteenth session of the Conference of the
Parties to the UNFCCC in Cancún this year, and that
Bangladesh will steer it to the seventeenth session in
South Africa next year.
 The Asian region is one of the most vulnerable to
climate change. We recognize that failure to extend
emissions targets beyond 2012 will leave 60 per cent of
the world’s population without durable solutions for
the global warming effects already being felt. Threats
to food and water security for the world’s most
susceptible populations will undoubtedly perpetuate
disease, exacerbate conflicts and threaten to erode
decades of hard-won successes achieved by countries
throughout the region.
 While we have high hopes for the ensuing
sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth sessions of the
Conference, we believe that alternative solutions that
harmonize the development needs of industrial States
with the human and economic rights of vulnerable
peoples should exist. Therefore, the people of the
Maldives and Timor-Leste call for an Asian initiative
that would forge a consortium of Asian countries and
regional partnerships. This will aim to enable our
region to aid the world’s most vulnerable States.
 The Maldives believes that it is time to let go of
the mistrust and blame that has plagued the UNFCCC
process. We welcome the recent voluntary initiative of
India to curb its emissions and its commitment to
promoting green energy without waiting for others to
follow suit. We call upon all nations large and small to
come together in a cooperative spirit in Cancún so that
we may effectively establish and promote mitigation
activities that will restore our native carbon sinks,
increase energy efficiency, reduce emissions and
preserve our ecosystems.
 The Maldives would also like to state its support
of the Group of Four position for reform of the

10-55122 8

Security Council. We believe that an expansion of
permanent membership to reflect the realities of our
contemporary international system will improve
representation in the Council and better serve to
address a panoply of concerns facing nations in all five
regions today.
 The Maldives also continues to grapple with
traditional security threats. The scourge of terrorism
and the growing menace of piracy threaten national,
economic and maritime security throughout our region
and around the world. Yet deficits in the capacity to
attribute criminal accountability to the perpetrators of
terrorism persist. Our failure is marked by the advances
in the modus operandi of terrorists, the proliferation of
illegal technology transfer, and the surge in the trade of
illicit weapons. The Maldives cannot stress enough the
importance of this Assembly’s finalizing the draft
convention on terrorism.
 Our geographical location in the Indian Ocean
makes the Maldives particularly vulnerable to threats
to its maritime security, as our vast open waters
continue to prove difficult to police. We are deeply
concerned over the surge in piracy that has moved
beyond the Gulf of Aden into the Indian Ocean. If the
international community does not increase its efforts,
we fear that piracy may end up turning into an
uncontrolled threat to security in the region. Thus, we
were particularly encouraged by the adoption of
Security Council resolution 1897 (2009) and are
pleased with the work of the Contact Group on Piracy
off the Coast of Somalia. We feel, however, that it is
important for the Group to urgently establish an easily
accessible legal toolkit for States that enables them to
fill the vacuums in their national legal systems and
address piracy in a comprehensive manner.
 The continued suffering of the Palestinian people
deeply saddens the Maldives. They have been denied
their right to self-determination and their right to live
in peace and freedom in their own independent State
for far too long. While recognizing the rights of the
Palestinians, we also appreciate and support the right
of the people of Israel to live in peace and security
alongside an independent and sovereign State of
Palestine. We continue our call for all sides to use the
ongoing peace talks as an opportunity to resolve their
differences, and are therefore heartened by the new
initiatives being pursued by the United States in its
pursuit of a Middle East peace treaty. Furthermore, we
call for continued support for the Governments of
Jordan and Egypt in their work on the Arab Peace
Initiative, which we believe may provide an enduring
solution to the conflict for the people of the region.
 Additionally, our pursuit of a more secure and
just world and our respect for international law were
the basis of the Maldives’ recognition of the
independence of Kosovo, declared on 17 February
2008. The Maldives believes that the declaration of
independence by the people of Kosovo reflects a last-
resort remedy that embodies the best prospects for
peace and stability in the region. The Maldives also
welcomes the advisory opinion of the International
Court of Justice on the unilateral declaration of
independence in respect of Kosovo, issued on 22 July
2010, which concluded that that declaration of the
independence of Kosovo did not violate international
law. While we have been disappointed by recent efforts
to reverse this judgment, the Maldives welcomes the
alternative solution, contained in the unanimously
adopted European Union-sponsored resolution 64/298,
as a positive step towards Kosovo’s assumption of full
United Nations membership.
 Closer to home, the Maldives has borne witness
to advances in democracy, sustainable development,
and peacebuilding throughout the region of the South
Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. Notably,
we praise the progress made by the Islamic Republic of
Afghanistan, including the development of democratic
institutions, as well as improvements in the areas of
health, education and the status of women. We wish the
Afghans continued success in their efforts to rebuild
their long-suffering nation, and implore the
international community to maintain their support of
the Afghan people.
 Furthermore, the Maldives welcomes Sri Lanka’s
success in its ongoing consolidation of peace and
democracy, and we call upon the international
community to support that country in its reconciliation
efforts, as well as in its efforts to rebuild a nation torn
apart by 25 years of sustained conflict.
 We are a small nation with big dreams. Our
dreams are rooted in the vision of the Charter that
binds the membership of this Assembly together here
today. Our hopes are inextricably linked to the fears of
the past that inspired this body and to the hopes of
those who dream of a future grounded in justice,
equity, opportunity and peace for peoples of the North
and South, in nations large and small. Our humanity

9 10-55122

defines our obstacles, but we believe that our dreams
for a better future defy our limitations.


The theme of the sixty-fifth
session of the General Assembly, “Reaffirming the
central role of the United Nations in global
governance”, is appropriate and timely. Today’s
transnational challenges, including issues of peace and
security, development, human rights, the environment
and health require genuine global governance that
encompasses all United Nations Member States.
 In this regard, Kenya fully reaffirms the central
role of the United Nations in global governance,
consistent with its Charter and international law. It is,
therefore, imperative that the ongoing United Nations
reforms be accelerated in order to ensure that this
institution of multilateral engagement is representative
and transparent, is accountable to its 192 members and
optimally achieves the aspirations of today’s world.
 When I last addressed the General Assembly two
years ago, I briefed this august body on the major steps
taken by my country to resolve the political difficulties
following our general elections in December 2007.
Since then, we have made tremendous progress in
implementing far-reaching reforms that will entrench
democracy and secure our peace and stability. Top on
the reform agenda has been the enactment of a new
constitution, which was promulgated on 27 August
2010 following a successful national referendum.
 The new Constitution greatly improves the
structures of governance and lays a firm foundation for
political stability and economic prosperity. It has
created new vitality and a sense of renewal. We believe
that this step will go a long way in contributing
towards the pursuit of the Millennium Development
Goals. It is also our hope that this historic development

10-54827 30

will contribute to the continued consolidation of
democratic governance in our region.
 Ten years ago, world leaders meeting here in New
York committed themselves to pursue the Millennium
Development Goals in response to the world’s main
development challenges of poverty, ignorance and ill-
health. Two thirds of the time allotted for the
attainment of these Goals has lapsed. With only five
years left to the targeted year 2015, the urgency of
bridging the remaining gap is a reality we must now
confront.
 As I indicated in my statement to this Assembly
three years ago, Kenya has invested significant
resources in the pursuit of the Millennium
Development Goals. We have recorded substantial
progress in poverty reduction and education, in
reducing maternal and child mortality, in the fight
against HIV/AIDS and malaria, and in promoting
gender equality and the empowerment of women.
 Climate change continues to hamper our
development aspirations. In recognition of this
challenge, my country has taken major steps to
enhance environmental sustainability, such as
reclaiming and protecting our five major water towers;
undertaking investments in wind, solar and geothermal
energy; and making comprehensive commitments to
green our economy.
 Despite these efforts, Kenya is facing many
negative consequences of climate change. Our crop-
and livestock-based agriculture, on which the vast
majority of Kenyans depend, is now at the mercy of
unpredictable weather patterns. It is with a deep
concern, therefore, that we note the international
community’s inability to make headway in the critical
negotiations on climate change. It is Kenya’s hope that
the world will recognize the urgency of concluding
these negotiations in the interest of the survival of
humanity. I look forward to positive outcomes from the
upcoming meetings on climate change in Mexico and
South Africa.
 I now wish to turn to one of the major obstacles
to the pursuit of peace and development, including the
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, in
our subregion, namely, the continuing political
instability in Somalia that is festering beyond that
country.
 Since the early 1990s, Kenya has borne the full
weight of insecurity in Somalia. Today, as this
Assembly meets, the security situation in Somalia
continues to deteriorate and threaten peace and
stability across the entire region and beyond. Needless
to say, the threat posed by today’s Somalia to
international peace and security is greater than that of
any other conflict in the region. Yet Somalia continues
to suffer benign neglect from the international
community, leading to many lost opportunities to
resolve the crisis. The perceived reluctance of the
Security Council to engage with Somalia has been a
matter of great concern for those of us who suffer the
worst consequences of the conflict. Today, I wish to
draw the attention of this Assembly to yet another
opportunity that should not be lost.
 In July of this year, the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development (IGAD) Summit identified
critical elements of engagement and took a number of
decisions on the way forward. These decisions were
endorsed by the African Union summit in Kampala in
July 2010. Unfortunately, the support needed to
implement these decisions by the international
community has not been forthcoming.
 It is against this background that Kenya urges the
United Nations and the entire international community
to seize the opportunity created by the African regional
initiative and lend support to the proposed measures,
which include the appointment of an eminent high-
level personality for Somalia, the effective deployment
of the proposed 2,000 troops, a review of the current
mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia to
enhance its peace enforcement capacity, and the
extension of support to the Transitional Federal
Government to bolster its effectiveness countrywide.
 As the Chair of the IGAD Committee on the
Sudan, I have remained actively engaged with the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA). I have done so because we in the
IGAD region believe that the CPA holds the key to
peace and stability in the Sudan and the region.
 I wish to inform this Assembly that I have
received assurances from both President Omer
Al-Bashir and First Vice-President Salva Kiir to remain
on course with respect to the preparations for the
referendum. I am pleased to further inform the
Assembly that both reaffirmed their commitment to
resolve all the outstanding issues, to hold the

31 10-54827

referendum on 9 January 2011, and to accept the
outcome of the vote. We in the region are looking
forward to the holding of a successful and peaceful
referendum that promotes regional peace and stability.
 These efforts by the neighbours of the Sudan and
the African Union have created a momentum that is
critical to the full implementation of the CPA. It is
crucial that the world stand in support of these
initiatives as Sudan takes vital steps in relation to its
future governance. I believe that continued engagement
with the leadership of both the National Congress Party
and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement is the
only way towards the peaceful resolution of the
challenges facing the Sudan.
 In view of this perspective, I wish to inform this
Assembly that I will convene the second IGAD Special
Summit on the Sudan in November 2010, in order to
take stock of progress, ensure the process remains on
course and support efforts relating to the post-
referendum arrangements.
 In conclusion, I wish to express my hope that
through our unity, solidarity, cooperation and
commitment, the challenges facing the international
community will be overcome. Let us rise to the
occasion and demonstrate our political will and ability
to work together for the good of all humankind.


I am indeed honoured to
address this Assembly for the first time as Prime
Minister of the Republic of Slovenia. I reaffirm my
country’s commitment to the United Nations and its
Charter.
 Let me also congratulate you, Sir, on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-fifth session. We all rely on your political
wisdom and experience, and I assure you of my
country’s utmost support in the coming weeks and
months.
 In the past few years, numerous national leaders
have spoken in this very Assembly about new global
challenges that threaten our security, prosperity and
freedom. There is a general consensus that more
effective and coordinated global action is required to
address such challenges. For Slovenia, strengthening
global governance means renewing our common
commitment to multilateralism and its principles of
inclusion, legitimacy and transparency.
 The United Nations must keep its place at the
core of global governance structures. However, this
Organization also needs to adapt to the contemporary
reality of an interconnected world and the resulting
new challenges and threats. As many of my colleagues
have already said, reform of the United Nations has
been long undervalued. The composition of the
Security Council is visibly out of date and the work of
the General Assembly needs revitalization. Progress in
peacekeeping reform would strengthen all other United
Nations activities relating to the maintenance of
international peace and security, including preventive
diplomacy and post-conflict peacebuilding.
 The reforms of international economic and
financial systems must continue at an accelerated pace,
reflecting global development needs. Our endeavours
should aim at increasing accountability, responsibility
and solidarity, while taking into account the need for a

23 10-55103

stronger voice for and better participation of
developing countries, which should be fully included
in the international response to the crisis. Together, we
must build a world in which economic indicators are
not the only measure of a prosperous society. Human,
social and environmental values should also become
principal elements of our criteria. In this connection, I
encourage closer cooperation and coordination between
the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions
and between the United Nations and the Group of 20 in
finding the best possible responses to the crisis and in
addressing the needs of the most vulnerable.
 It is unfortunate that, as a result of far-reaching
developments, we continue to face an even greater
challenge in climate change. Indeed, the past year has
been a year of lost opportunities. However, this should
not be a reason to lower our ambitions. Climate change
is real, the loss of biodiversity is unprecedented and
the consequences are already being felt by far too
many people around the world. In some cases, the very
existence of individual countries, States Members of
the United Nations, is at stake. This year, we must do
better and do more in Cancún to reach a comprehensive
post-2012 climate agreement that will limit global
warming to below 2°C, as stated in the Copenhagen
Accord, and improve adaptation to the adverse effects
of climate change. Our responsibilities differ, but we
must all shoulder our share of the common burden.
 After the fall of the Berlin Wall, the countries of
Western Europe decided to open their ranks to the
States of Central and Eastern Europe. This decision
was instrumental in building a modern Europe of key
democratic values. The choice of enlargement of Euro-
Atlantic institutions was thus a choice for stability on
the continent.
 Unfortunately, the financial and economic crisis
and international debates in many European States
pushed aside some of the topics that are important and
of strategic interest to the continent as a whole. The
need for a continued process of enlargement of the
European Union and NATO is one of them. I would
therefore like to underline that the commitment to
enlargement to the Western Balkans needs to be
honoured, and all the more so since the situation in the
region today has changed for the better. Obvious and
tangible progress has been made.
 In this connection, I would like to recall that only
a couple of weeks ago this Assembly adopted
resolution 64/298 by consensus, acknowledging the
content of the advisory opinion of the International
Court of Justice, which was rendered in response to a
submitted request on the issue of the declaration of
independence of Kosovo. I am particularly glad that
the resolution paved the way for dialogue, which the
European Union is ready to facilitate. It is the historic
responsibility of the democratically elected leaders of
the countries of the Western Balkans to pursue
reconciliation and the rebuilding of mutual trust.
 In order to promote the necessary confidence, I
therefore decided, together with the Prime Minister of
Croatia, to launch the so-called Brdo process several
months ago in Slovenia. I think the results and
consequences of this decision have so far been very
good. Our aim is to encourage dialogue and
cooperation among the political leaders with a view to
discussing mutual support and further steps on the road
to the Euro-Atlantic integration of the entire region. I
believe that we are on the right track, and we will
continue to work in this direction.
 Slovenia plays an active role in the international
community and takes its responsibilities seriously. I
would therefore like to confirm once again our
dedication to our candidacy for a non-permanent seat
on the Security Council, for the period of 2012-2013,
at the elections to be held next year in this Assembly.
Slovenia views its candidature as an opportunity to
contribute further to the maintenance of international
peace and security, as well as the peaceful settlement
of disputes. We intend to build on our international
commitments and experience gained in recent years.
We are committed to upholding the rule of law, respect
for human rights, international law and international
humanitarian law, and we continue to foster open and
transparent international dialogue in the spirit of
cooperation and consensus-building.
 Our candidature therefore underscores the great
significance Slovenia attaches to the role of the United
Nations in an increasingly interdependent and complex
world. Furthermore, it indicates Slovenia’s desire to
utilize its rich multilateral experience to enhance the
goals and principles of this universal, international
Organization.
 Finally, let me say once more how honoured I am,
as the Prime Minister of Slovenia, to be present in this
Assembly. Extraordinary historical circumstances have
shaped the development of my country, which

10-55103 24

therefore attaches great importance to the constant
promotion of the noble purposes and principles of
international relations, as defined in the Charter of the
United Nations. I am therefore all the more pleased to
have been able to participate in the general debate
devoted to the reaffirmation of the central role of this
Organization in global governance.


I am delighted and
privileged to address this Assembly. I believe that this
is the right place to discuss the issues of greatest
concern to the international community. Recent years
have been marked by many challenges. All countries,
large and small, had to tackle the financial and
economic downturn. They also had to deal with the
painful consequences of natural and man-created
disasters. In a global world, all our countries must
share responsibility for the future. The scale of our
deeds and the openness of our hearts will make the
difference, not the size of our countries and territories.
Here, I would like to share some views of my country,
Lithuania.
 Let me start with our proposals in the fields of
security and the environment. Lithuania has launched
an initiative to introduce in the General Assembly a
draft resolution on sea-dumped chemical weapons.
Lithuania wants to strengthen international efforts in
raising public awareness about dangerous munitions
buried in the sea. It is in every country’s interest to
support a voluntary information exchange in order to
strengthen common security. Everyone must be aware
how lethally dangerous these dumped chemicals still
are. We need to have guidelines on how to behave in
case of disaster. That is why United Nations
involvement and an eventual resolution on this issue
are so indispensable. That is why I call on the United
Nations to take a much more active role in very
concrete projects, even if they may not seem big
enough for global attention.
 Gender equality is another topic of vital
importance for the nations of the world. We decided to
promote it in the framework of the Community of
Democracies. That is another example of precisely
focused action. Gender equality issues are rarely
associated with issues like overcoming the economic
crisis or stopping climate change. However, it has been
estimated that the elimination of gender discrimination
in the labour market in Europe, for example, could
increase gross domestic product by as much as 30 per
cent.
 It seems that the Lithuanian people have decided
to test this estimate in practice, and I can give an
example. It is no surprise to us that women in
Lithuania hold a number of top positions in politics and
business. It is only natural that Lithuanian women have
made their own the famous saying: When the going
gets tough, the tough get going. But we still need much
more coordinated effort. Gender equality on a global
scale will become possible only when a certain level of
security and economic development is achieved. Let us
all put all our efforts together to eradicate intolerance
and discrimination, which so often are the main
reasons for the many conflicts in the world. By doing
this we also pave the road to achieving the Millennium
Development Goals that we all aspire to. European
Union activities such as the European Institute for
Gender Equality, based in Lithuania, can serve to lead
other regions. I strongly hope that the high-level
meeting on gender equality issues which will be held
within the framework of the Community of
Democracies in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 30 June next
year will explore many more new ideas and good
practices.
 Security, the environment and gender equality: all
are interdependent, and all need to be adequately
addressed on the international agenda. That is a

10-54833 34

prerequisite for ensuring sustainable development. The
European Union has been for years the largest and
most responsible donor worldwide, the best example
for any country willing to contribute. These European
values are very dear to my country, which has been a
member of the European Union since 2004. Lithuania
has limited resources, but we have provided
humanitarian aid to Haiti, Pakistan, Moldova, Ukraine,
Russia and other countries.
 We have engaged in such difficult initiatives as
the training of the national security forces of
Afghanistan. Working together with the people of Ghor
province in Afghanistan, Lithuania has funded a
number of community-based education programmes,
built 19 schools which have opened up their doors also
for girls, founded the first public library in the
province’s capital of Chaghcharan. That is our modest
contribution, but it works. I am sure that each time we
implement a concrete project we move closer to
achieving our global objectives all together.
 I invite all the leaders gathered here to contribute.
We should welcome, support and multiply any and
every constructive effort, however small it may seem
to us. Only joint efforts and concrete deeds will bring
positive change to international politics. Let us develop
initiatives, let us implement them, let us implement the
best practices and let us work together.