It is
my great pleasure to endorse the warm congratulations
extended to Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election to the
responsible post of President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. I take this opportunity to
express gratitude to Mr. John Ashe for his important
contribution to the work of the General Assembly at its
prior session.

My delegation shares the determination to
eradicate hunger and poverty and to promote progress
in elaborating the post-2015 development agenda.
In our view, the post-2015 development agenda must
be based on the foundation of the development goals
formulated in the Millennium Declaration (resolution
55/2) and envisage ways and means of responding to the
challenges of a new generation.

The main goal of the post-2015 development agenda
should be the eradication of poverty and inequality,
as well as promoting sustainable development based
on balanced consideration of social, economic and
environmental factors. The sustainable development
goals, based on the three pillars of sustainable
development, the Rio de Janeiro principles and national
specificities and priorities, should serve as the key
components of the post-2015 development agenda. In
that respect, we support the recommendations of the
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development
Goals. Experience has shown that a goal can be
achieved only if specific plans are complemented by
the development of effective mechanisms for its review
and implementation. Our hope is that this forum will
become an important venue for ongoing dialogue
and review of the implementation of the sustainable
development goals.

Addressing issues concerning the financing
of sustainable development efforts is equally
important in achieving sustainable development.
Global partnerships for development based on the
Millennium Declaration have contributed to a certain
extent towards the achievement of a number of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). However,
gaps and flaws in global partnerships continue to cause
additional difficulties on the path towards full and
timely implementation of the MDGs.

We consider it necessary to strengthen and expand
global partnerships in accordance with previous
commitments. On that basis, new global partnerships
should be established for the benefit of sustainable
development, which will become the key element of the
global system of promoting and advancing sustainable
development. In that regard, we note the key importance
of the recommendations of the Intergovernmental
Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development
Financing, the intergovernmental process tasked with
discussing proposals to establish a United Nations
mechanism to promote development and technology
transfer.

Tajikistan has consistently strengthened its efforts
to achieve the MDGs. Extra measures have been
undertaken to create a favourable investment climate,
including a balanced budget policy, diversifying the
economy and increasing employment opportunities.
The National Development Strategy of the Republic of
Tajikistan up to 2015 is a road map for the Government
to achieve sustainable economic growth, to provide the
population with better access to basic social services
and to reduce poverty.

As a result of such measures to ensure economic
growth, in recent years we have managed to significantly
reduce the level of poverty in the country. As a United
Nations pilot country for the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals, we plan to carry out
a comprehensive review of the implementation of those
Goals in Tajikistan in 2015. The lessons learned from
the implementation of the MDGs will be taken into
account during the development of a new programme of
sustainable development for the period up to 2030. We
are willing to closely cooperate in a transparent way
with United Nations agencies and programmes, partner
countries and other relevant organizations.

As members may be aware, on 22 March 2005,
in New York, we saw the launch of the International
Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, which
promoted the coordinated implementation of the MDGs.
The International Decade provided a strong impetus
for various initiatives and efforts at different levels to
promote access to safe drinking water and sanitation, to
advance the integrated management of water resources,
to strengthen and expand water cooperation and to raise
awareness of water-related challenges.

At the same time, global climate change, increasing
economic growth, higher population levels, the
degradation of water sources and the deteriorating
quality of water resources present the international
community with additional extensive challenges. The
reduction in water resources as a result of climate
change may impede the achievement of sustainable
development and aggravate the situation, in particular
in arid and semi-arid regions, which continue to
experience the greatest water shortages.

The International Year of Water Cooperation,
which took place last year in the context of promoting
the International Decade of Action, “Water for Life”,
2005-2015, underscored the need for water resources
management to be regulated on the basis of the
principle of joint development, which provides for a
broad framework for the harmonization of interests
and the strengthening of mutual trust in addressing
water issues. On the basis of the principle of joint
development, water resources management could ensure
the sustainable management of water resources, which
is a key component of sustainable development. In that
regard, we propose conducting a comprehensive review
of the implementation of the International Decade
of Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, and jointly
developing specific recommendations to strengthen
and revitalize the United Nations water agenda.

We believe access to modern and affordable energy
services to be a key priority for achieving sustainable
development. Tajikistan continues to consistently and
comprehensively develop its energy potential, focusing
on the integrated development of renewable sources.
In addition to the construction of small- and medium-
scale hydropower plants, larger regional projects are
being developed. We are also exploring opportunities
for the use of wind and solar energy. Through such
projects, Tajikistan is significantly and specifically
contributing to the reduction of harmful emissions
and to the establishment of a solid foundation for
sustainable development. I would like to take this
opportunity to underscore that all those projects are
being implemented in a transparent way, with due
consideration for the social, economic and ecological
aspects of the sustainable development of the country
and the entire region.

Tajikistan supports the holding of the Ten-Year
Review Conference on the Implementation of the
Almaty Programme of Action on 3 to 5 November
in Vienna. We believe that the new programme of
action for the landlocked least developed countries
will provide additional opportunities for the further

integration of such countries into the world economy.
We should support and encourage as much as possible
way the efforts of that group of countries to expand
and to improve transport and energy infrastructure, the
diversification of the economy and the streamlining of
regional and interregional connectivity.

While the Organization’s transformative agenda
provides unique opportunities, unfortunately, it also
tends to strengthen the interlinkage between today’s
threats and challenges. It is in the common interests of
Member States to consistently implement the United
Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and to
effectively counter terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations, including the use of the Internet for the
purpose of terror.

Illicit drug production and drug trafficking are
also serious global issues. In recent decades, Tajikistan
has gained extensive experience in combating drug
trafficking. Under the country’s President, the Drug
Control Agency has been functioning successfully for
15 years. We have been actively strengthening counter-
narcotics cooperation with neighbouring States,
including within regional organizations. At the initiative
of the President of the Republic of Tajikistan, Emomali
Rahmon, Dushanbe will host a regional anti-narcotics
conference in 2015, a year before the special session of
the General Assembly on the world drug problem. The
proposals of the conference participants will jointly
help to develop a new international counter-narcotics
policy. We look forward to the support of the United
Nations, relevant States and international organizations
for that conference.

In that regard, we attach great significance to
coordinated and joint efforts with Afghanistan in
combating drugs, as well as on other issues. The
friendly Islamic State of Afghanistan is facing new
challenges and expects the appropriate support from
the international community. We are convinced that
the fraternal Afghan people, with the support of the
community of nations, will be able to successfully
address the difficulties facing them. We believe that,
in the current circumstances, the United Nations must
take the lead in coordinating international efforts for
the resolution of the question of Afghanistan.

Tajikistan believes that Afghanistan must be fully
involved in the multifaceted regional cooperation
process. It is critical to fully include Afghanistan
in the multifaceted regional cooperation processes.
The involvement of neighbouring countries in the
development of Afghanistan, while taking into account
the regional context in the post-conflict rehabilitation
of the country, is key to the success of the ongoing
efforts of the international community.

In our view, strengthening lasting peace and
stability in conflict and post-conflict situations
requires genuine assistance in addressing economic
and social issues and support for efforts to restore
effective Government institutions and a sustainable
basis for long-term development. The regional
multilateral structures must actively participate in
strengthening security and stability, in implementing
large-scale infrastructure projects and programmes and
in expanding constructive and concrete cooperation
and interaction.

In early September, Dushanbe, the capital of
Tajikistan, hosted the fourteenth summit of the Shanghai
Cooperation Organization (SCO). The heads of the SCO
member States called for the strengthening of regional
cooperation, joint development and mutual prosperity.
They adopted measures on the liberalization of trade
and investment and the improvement of transport and
communications systems and on ensuring food and
energy security. They also addressed other urgent
regional issues of fundamental interest to our people.

In conclusion, I would like to stress that it is
impossible to resolve the issues facing the General
Assembly without strengthening, reforming,
rationalizing and updating the entire United Nations
system. Comprehensive reform of the United Nations
should contribute to its strengthening and the
enhancement of its capacity to respond to the latest
developments in the world in a timely and adequate
manner and to meet modern challenges and counteract
modern threats. The current Assembly session provides
a unique opportunity for the search of joint coordinated
ways of addressing pressing issues, which we need take
full advantage of.


I congratulate you, Sir, on
being elected as the President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. We wish you success and
assure you of our fullest cooperation.

The theme for this session “Delivering on and
implementing a transformative post-2015 development
agenda”, is timely. The world has undergone many
changes since the United Nations was created, and
since the year 2000 much progress has been made
towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
However, there are multiple challenges that still remain
to be addressed. The moral and practical importance of
creating an equitable world and a sustainable planet for
this purpose cannot be ignored.

The Commonwealth, of which Sri Lanka is the current
Chair-in-Office, accounts for more than one-quarter
of the United Nations membership. In November 2013
the Commonwealth Heads of Government agreed
in Colombo to contribute to the process of evolving
the new post-2015 global development agenda. They
have endorsed the central focus on the eradication
of extreme poverty and reaffirmed commitments to
sustainable development. The perspective on the post-
2015 development agenda is based on shared values
and principles contained in the Commonwealth Charter
and individual experiences. The Commonwealth
leaders encourage others to approach the forthcoming
intergovernmental negotiations in a collaborative spirit
to achieve a balanced post-2015 development agenda.

Reducing inequality within and among countries
is one of the most transformative goals that have been
proposed by the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals. We hope that this goal will serve
to enhance the voice and representation of developing
countries in decision-making. The post-2015 agenda
must focus on implementation. Achieving the
sustainable development goals would be impossible
without the political will and dedication of all countries.
It must be ensured that the failure of the developed
countries to fulfil Millennium Goal 8 that called for a
global partnership for development is not repeated.

In determining goals, countries must not be
deprived of policy space to set their own domestic
priorities. Instead of asking countries to reprioritize
domestic spending, the focus should be on a
strengthened partnership between developed and
developing countries, backed by sincere commitment.
That is essential for countries in the South to access
financial resources and technology that are essential for
capacity building. It is vital that we also address
structural obstacles and political barriers that prevented
the realization of the Millennium Development Goals,
such as unfair trade and investment rules. Creating

a supportive international economic environment,
enhanced investment flows, including from multilateral
development banks, and an open multilateral trading
regime, are important.

The role of the United Nations in advancing
international peace, security and prosperity is crucial
in the contemporary world. However, in order to gain
the confidence and good will of the international
community as a whole, one of the essential requirements
is consistency of standards across the board without
any perception of selectivity or discrimination. It is in
this context that the current functioning of the system
needs examination in order to enhance its credibility.
Human rights are used as a tool to implement motivated
agendas with no understanding or appreciation of
the complexity of issues in the countries concerned.
Human rights should be recognized by all as a moral
and ethical concept rather than as a political tool.
External intervention without adequate consideration
of the structures in a society and cultural traditions
of countries where such intervention takes place,
inevitably results in destabilization, which is very much
in evidence today in most parts of the world.

Post-conflict Sri Lanka has also become an
unfortunate victim of ill-conceived agendas of some
in the Human Rights Council who pay scant regard
to the substantial progress achieved by Sri Lanka in
reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation within
a short span of five years. There is an obvious lack
of balance and proportion in the manner in which my
country is being targeted today, disregarding these
significant achievements. That is in sharp contrast to
the approach to deeply disturbing situations involving
humanitarian emergencies elsewhere.

If multilateralism is to remain relevant and
effective, reform of the institutions concerned is
essential. To be successful this process must involve
de-politicization of the United Nations systems and
mechanisms and they must stop being a hostage to
different forms of funding. United Nations bodies must
find ways to work with governments through dialogue,
greater understanding of situations, and cooperation,
including assistance to strengthen national institutions.
This approach, instead of strong-arm tactics, must form
the heart of multilateral diplomacy in the search for
sustainable solutions to global challenges.

The seventieth year of the United Nations in 2015
also marks the tenth anniversary of the 2005 World
Summit where global leaders agreed to support early
reform of the Security Council. Concrete results in this
regard should be achieved next year at least.

Climate change is one of the defining challenges of
our times. A robust global response needs to be arrived
at in 2015 on the basis of equity and the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities.

The increase in violence in the Middle East is
deeply distressing. I reiterate Sri Lanka’s support for
the early realization of a sovereign, independent, viable
and united State of Palestine, existing within secure
and recognized borders, side by side and at peace
with Israel. We look forward to welcoming Palestine
as a full Member of the United Nations at the earliest.
The international community must assist Palestine to
rebuild the country.

Sri Lanka firmly believes in the need for solidarity
between Asia and Africa. Admiring the efforts of the
people of Africa to achieve socioeconomic development,
Sri Lanka has begun a process of reaching out to
countries in Africa for an exchange of knowledge and
expertise in areas of importance. The international
community must strongly support the early eradication
of deadly diseases in Africa.

Sri Lanka remains committed to supporting all
multilateral efforts to counter terrorism deriving from
extreme ideologies impacting on people across national
frontiers. Terrorism continues to be a grave threat to the
security and stability of nations throughout the globe.
Having suffered at the hands of terrorism, Sri Lanka
knows well its drastic impact on societies, communities
and institutions founded on democratic traditions and
ideals. The international community must strengthen
multilateral action on terrorism, including the early
finalization and adoption of the United Nations
Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.

Sri Lanka is also committed to supporting all
multilateral efforts to counter terrorism financing,
piracy and all forms of international organized crime.
We wish to recall our appeal to the international
community not to support terrorist groups in any way,
either directly or indirectly. Sri Lanka expresses its
concern regarding bombings that kill innocent civilians
and even unborn children in many situations across the
world.

Sri Lanka expresses deep concern regarding
unilateral economic measures against developing
countries and is a consistent supporter of the call of the
General Assembly for an end to the unjust economic,
commercial and financial embargo against Cuba.
Unilateral sanctions of this nature, which impact on a
country’s innocent population, are unethical.

Despite being affected by terrorism, Sri Lanka has
achieved most Millennium Development Goals. Sri
Lanka has succeeded in being ranked ahead of all South
Asian countries in the 2013 Human Development Index.
Through the adoption of the National Development
Strategy — the Mahinda Chinthana, or Vision for the
Future — the Government of Sri Lanka embarked on
an inclusive and rural-centric development programme.
That involved bold policy decisions connected with
macroeconomic management, revitalization of
agriculture, infrastructure development, including
roads and expressways, ports and airports, irrigation and
water distribution, a strong telecommunication network
and well-distributed urban and township development
resulting in 7.8 per cent gross domestic product growth
this year and per capita income of $3,280 in 2013. It
is also a matter of deep satisfaction to recognize that
the economic and political empowerment of the people
of the North, supported by massive investment in
infrastructure and livelihoods, have also contributed to
this growth.

Sri Lanka’s information technology literacy grew
steadily from a mere 3 per cent in 2005 to almost
50 per cent in 2014. Sri Lanka’s Nenasala Programme
was awarded the prestigious Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation Award as the best rural information
technologyaccess programme in the world.

With the end of terrorism in May 2009, in keeping
with my responsibilities to my people, large-scale post-
conflict reconstruction, rehabilitation and resettlement
initiatives were implemented in the north in a relatively
short period of four years. Most importantly, democratic
structures in the North have been re-established.
Elections to the Northern Provincial Council were held
in September 2013 after a lapse of 28 years, upholding
the democratic tradition in Sri Lanka which has been
consistently protected since 1931, the year we attained
universal franchise.

I recall in this context the visit to Sri Lanka of the
Secretary-General just a week after the conclusion of
the conflict, when a new era of peace had dawned. That
was a manifestation of the close cooperation between
my country and the United Nations and our commitment
to working together in the future.

We continue on a deeply satisfying and transformative
journey in the interests of all the people of Sri Lanka. In
carrying out this task we work in accordance with our
traditional foreign policy of friendship towards all and
enmity towards none. We hope that the international
community will reciprocate and assist Sri Lanka in
its domestic process of reconciliation and economic
development without exerting undue pressure on us.

We have gained inspiration from the words of
Gautama the Buddha who said that the purpose of all
human endeavour must be to construct order out of
chaos and harmony out of strife. True to these words
of wisdom, the Government of Sri Lanka remains
committed to its objective of pursuing the processes of
reconciliation and nation building, undeterred by ill-
motivated criticism.


I would first like
to congratulate Mr. Kutesa on his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session.

In the opening sentences of our Charter, we read
that the United Nations was set up to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war and to reaffirm
faith in fundamental human rights and in the equal
rights of nations large and small. In the year marking
the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World
War and the seventy-fifth of the start of the Second
World War, those words hold a particular resonance for
us — for Poles, Europeans and every society affected
by those tragedies. Both wars were waged partly on
Polish territory; the second began with Nazi Germany’s
aggression in collaboration with the Soviet Union. Our
past compels us to reflect on the Charter’s words and
those events of twentieth-century history, which form
the backdrop to our decision-making at the national

level, and similarly bind together the entire international
community gathered here at the United Nations.

One result of the First World War was to foster the
dream of a world without war. That belief and general
desire bore fruit in the League of Nations, the first
collective security system in history. It included all
the factors needed to make a positive mark on history
and to maintain peace and security. It functioned on
a foundation of important rules that prohibited war
and encouraged the peaceful settlement of disputes. It
had shared bodies, disarmament conferences and an
international judiciary.

Despite all those institutions, however, we were
unable to make a world without wars. The League
eventually became an easy target, if not an object of
ridicule. Yet it was not the League itself that failed. It
was failed by its members, and chiefly by the Powers
that had been entrusted with special responsibility for
implementing its principal task. They failed their test in
the face of the expansion of totalitarian regimes on both
the left and the right. The emergence of communism,
national socialism and many militaristic dictatorships
was in part due to the First World War. Those systems
fed on conflict, because ideological war and war against
other peoples — against other men — were part of their
identity.

Those threats could have been resisted in time,
but the democratic world failed, choosing a short-
sighted policy of appeasement and the satisfaction of
dictatorships’ appetites at the expense of weaker States.
The price paid for that negligence was the Second World
War, and the whole of humankind had to pay a price
that would once have been unimaginable. It is from
the horrible experience of that war, of the Holocaust,
that the legal notion of genocide stems. Its originator
and the author of the Convention on the Prevention
and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide was a Polish
lawyer, Raphael Lemkin, who understood the criminal
nature of both kinds of totalitarianism even before the
war.

After the hecatombs of the war, the international
community decided once again to build a system of
collective security. I am glad that next year we will be
celebrating the seventieth anniversary of the foundation
of the United Nations. There are very few now who
remember the world without our Organization, and
it would be difficult to imagine the world without
its activity. During the nearly seven decades of its
existence, the United Nations has had a track record of
amazing achievements, but also many failures.

Today, however, the situation is especially
worrying, as symptoms of the problems that once
brought down the League of Nations are reappearing.
We are witnessing a rebirth of the super-Power, a return
to the thinking that divided the world into categories
of geopolitical zones of influence and that has already
led the international community into a morass of
hatred, confrontation and conflict. The United Nations
should remain vigilant in the face of a return to such
attitudes— it should tolerate no departure from the
principles of security and international relations laid
down in the Charter. Tolerance of such attitudes always
ends badly and not infrequently leads to catastrophe.

We cannot overemphasize that the occupation
of Crimea and the aggression in Ukraine violate
the standards of international law and trample on
the fundamental values of the United Nations. The
ideological background of the conflict is a return to
the rhetoric of the first half of the twentieth century,
a return to the logic of zones of influence, of might is
right, and of ruthless imperial domination of weaker
neighbours, which are apparently obliged to be obedient
satellites of a Power redesigning the foundations of the
civilized international order.

The Security Council, the organ responsible
for peace, proved to be ineffective when faced with
conflicts in Ukraine and other regions of the world,
partly due to its rules of operation. We are threatened
by a further descent into powerlessness if such rules are
not amended. It is salutary that the General Assembly
rose to the challenge when, in resolution 68/262, of
27 March 2014, it took the side of the weaker party that
was being targeted in an act of imperial aggression.

I feel all the more sad and concerned uttering
the foregoing words, since we are celebrating the
joyful twenty-fifth anniversary of the abolishment
of communism and the collapse of the Soviet bloc
in Poland, which is also being celebrated in other
countries of the region. That “spring of nations”, the
second in the history of Europe, brought freedom to
the nations of Central and Eastern Europe and respect
for human rights and good democratic governance. At
the time, changes for the better took place throughout
Europe, and even worldwide. The Iron Curtain fell and
so did the bipolar division of the world. The Cold War
confrontation and its accompanying threats of nuclear
conflict became things of the past.

That historical change began in Poland with the
establishment of the 10 million-strong Solidarity
movement, a peaceful opposition movement against
totalitarian oppression and the violation of nations’
rights. The victorious parliamentary elections of 4 June
brought about the formation, on 12 September 1989,
of the first non-Communist Government in our part of
Europe since the Second World War, the Government of
Tadeusz Mazowiecki.

Just two weeks later, on 25 September, precisely
25 years ago, the Minister for Foreign Affairs in that
new Government, Professor Krzysztof Skubiszewski,
addressed the Assembly from this very rostrum (see
A/44/PV.4) and proclaimed that the new Poland would
not respect the logic of zones of influence. He further
revealed that we would respect existing treaties and
obligations, as well as the security interests of other
States, and none of that would result in any limitations
with respect to choosing or changing the system of
polity.

That new logic of international relations has
been most beneficial for Europe, where a great wave
of unification has been set in motion thanks to the
strengthening of the mechanisms of integration of the
European Community and its expansion to include
many new States. In our region, the European Union
is a synonym for peace. It was established so that
there would be no more wars on a continent that had
previously been notorious for them. And indeed, the
European Union has become a significant force for
peace in Europe and far beyond its borders, to which
Poland has contributed in a highly active way.

We had the right to hope that the benefits of the end
of divisions in Europe and of the logic of imperial zones
of influence would be shared by a growing number of
States and nations — and not only in Europe — and that
they would be able to decide their fate democratically
and build their lives in peace and prosperity, free from
external domination. We have hoped and continue to
hope for a democratic modernization of Russia. But
what happened six months ago in Eastern Europe
dealt a blow to that hope and threatened security
on our European continent. In our part of Europe,
people are again asking themselves whether war as a
method of obtaining a political goal will also be the
long-term European reality. We cannot acquiesce to
the brutalization of international life anywhere in the
world — far less so in Europe, where the wounds of two
World Wars are still healing.

Yet wars and conflicts are also continuing in other
parts of our globe and are creating countless victims,
suffering and destruction. We have all been surprised
by the rapid development of the so-called Islamic
State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). The brutality of
the actions of its fighters, who are murdering and
persecuting people of every faith, including those who
profess Islam, must inspire terror and trigger a response
from the international community. ISIL’s barbarism is a
challenge for all of humankind, irrespective of religion,
ethnic origin or political viewpoint. We, the States
faithful to the United Nations Charter, cannot shirk our
responsibility for providing security. We are responsible
for protecting those threatened by cruel violence. Yet
everything must be done to ensure that the actions we
take do not contravene the United Nations Charter.

We express our concern and sympathy for the
civilian victims of the conflicts and tragedies in Syria,
Libya, Israel, the Gaza Strip and many African States.
All those conflicts, and to an even greater degree the
civil wars in some African countries, are accompanied
by humanitarian catastrophes. The United Nations,
and especially the super-Powers that can influence
the participating parties, should do everything to stop
them.

Nobody could ever take the place of the United
Nations and its agencies in providing aid to refugees
and other victims of humanitarian tragedies. On
behalf of Poland, I hereby express appreciation for
them. and recognition for the thousands of courageous
members of humanitarian organizations, United
Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations
who, amid all the dangers and frequently at the cost of
their own lives, hurry to the aid of those who suffer
persecution. They help those whose security and health
is threatened — those left alone, without a roof over
their heads, who are far away from homes to which,
due to destruction, many will never be able to return.
An ever-increasing number of people are experiencing
suffering and cruelty linked to military conflicts.
That horrifying trend must be stopped by our common
efforts.

The fact that, in so many places, we are witnessing
conflicts that entail human tragedy and the deaths
of thousands of people is due, as a general rule, to a
failure to observe fundamental human rights. Entire
communities and nations are denied influence over
political decisions. Power without control is, in most
cases, corrupt and self-loving, incapable of lifting

countries out of underdevelopment and poverty. That
is the background to the conflicts and rebellions in
Ukraine, Iraq, Libya and many other places in the world.
That is why we must increase our efforts to help by
offering development assistance to bring about social,
economic and political transformation. Otherwise, the
only alternative to dictatorship will be chaos.

Poland is especially attached to the role of
democracy in the life of nations, their development
and international activity. We know how much we lost
because of the absence of democracy under communism,
and we know how much we gained when we returned to
democracy as a means of achieving our civic aspirations
and an expression of our national sovereignty. It was
for that purpose that a broad international initiative by
the Community of Democracies was born in Warsaw in
2000. That is precisely why my country established the
international Lech Wa..sa Solidarity Award for activity
in support of democracy and fundamental freedoms.

Poland steadfastly believes that sustainable
development cannot be achieved without the rule of law
and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms for
all. We will strive to attain the appropriate inclusion of
those questions in the new United Nations development
agenda. Through our experiences over the past few
decades in our history, we have learned the importance
of solidarity, responsibility and involvement — the
triad of principles in the United Nations system we are
faithful to.

We fully acknowledge the involvement of the
United Nations in the improvement of the social and
economic situation in those regions of the world where
conditions are the most difficult. Poland actively
participates in the definition of the priorities and means
of implementation of the new development agenda that
will replace the Millennium Development Goals of
2000, and we will purposefully participate in making
it a reality. The new development agenda should fully
and coherently integrate the economic, social and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development,
while at the same time focusing on the reduction of
poverty and protection of the natural environment.

Reaching an international understanding on that
matter is a task that is as ambitious as it is difficult — yet
it is necessary and feasible. The output of the previous
Assembly session, worked on by the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals under
the highly efficient co-chairmanship of Kenya and
Hungary, defines the course of further discussion on
the matter. Poland will continue its active involvement
in a dialogue that should bring about the development of
a new, ambitious and universal post-2015 development
agenda.

It is vitally important to halt any further global
climate change caused by the development of human
civilization and to adjust to the changes that are already
irreversible. Here lurk existential issues pertaining
to security, the problems of economic development,
the maintenance of biological diversity in the Earth’s
ecosystem and quality of life. In its capacity as host
of the United Nations Climate Change Conference held
in Warsaw in November 2013, and as we still hold the
presidency of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
Poland remains committed to achieving a successful
conclusion to the negotiations. We believe that it is
possible to achieve an understanding in a manner
that is fair to countries at various levels of economic
development. Agreement is possible, and I hope such
an understanding will be arrived at in the near future.
I would like to reiterate that, despite the hardships and
costs of economic transformation, Poland has decreased
its greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 30 per
cent since 1988 — that is, it has greatly exceeded the
reduction obligations stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol.

Poland is deeply involved in various fields of
activity covered by this Organization, ranging from
human rights to disarmament. That is why we know
perfectly well that nothing can replace the United
Nations system, which is continuously improvable.
Poland is currently assuming an increasing measure
of responsibility for cooperation in development,
humanitarian aid and climate protection. We are
ready to share our experience and our ideas as a
non-permanent member of the Security Council for the
period 2018-2019. We intend to support a reform of that
body that will increase its representative character and,
in parallel, reinforce its efficiency. The reform should
primarily concern the Council’s mandate in situations
involving the principle of the responsibility to protect,
which was approved by our community in 2005. The
idea must be to develop a mechanism that will provide
the Council with the capacity to act in such situations,
while at the same time making it impossible to use the
mandate of the Council for purposes other than the
discharge of that responsibility.

I have raised that idea from this rostrum twice
already. It should perhaps be combined with a broader
reform of the Council, the outlines of which were given
shape before the historic summit held in 2005. The
situation is unchanged from nearly 70 years ago — we
want to save succeeding generations from the scourge
of war and reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights
and the rights of nations, large and small.


On behalf of the delegation of the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, I should first
like to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Sam Kahamba
Kutesa on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea fully
endorses the main theme of this session, “Delivering
on and implementing a transformative post-2015
development agenda”. Development is one of the
core missions of the United Nations. With peace, it
constitutes one of the two pillars for the sustainable
development of humankind. During the first 15 years
of the new millennium, the world has seen the poverty
rate reduced by half. It is proof of success, illustrating
the correctness of the Millennium Development Goals,
adopted at the Millennium Summit, with the elimination
of poverty as the main target.

It has been a particularly difficult time for the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. However,
we too have overcome severe hardships. Despite
an unprecedentedly persistent economic blockade,
military threat and political obstruction, we have firmly
safeguarded national dignity, effectively deterred war
and put the stagnant economy on an upward track
under the leadership of the great General Kim Jong Il.
Today we have at last secured a reliable springboard to
leap into a powerful nation, following the guidance of
respected Marshal Kim Jong Un.

In the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
today, a grand construction boom is in full swing, and
modern factories and enterprises befitting the era of
the knowledge economy are being built and founded at
record-breaking speed in many parts of the country. We
have observed a great leap in our fishing industry and
livestock farming, as well as a blooming new twenty-
first century civilization in the living environment and
cultural and welfare spheres for future generations and
the working masses.

The climate change Summit held just a few days
ago was a successful gathering that constituted part
of the active measures being taken across the United
Nations system to ensure the survival of humankind
and sustainable development by protecting the global
ecosystem and addressing climate change.

The United Nations and international relations
should be democratized further. The principle of
sovereign equality enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations is exactly same as the principle of respect for
sovereignty and non-interference in the internal affairs
of other nations. However, acts of high-handedness and
arbitrariness — veiled under various disguises such
as democracy, humanitarian crises, counter-terrorism,
human rights protection and non-proliferation — are
committed brazenly in the form of sanctions, blockade,
military threat and armed intervention. That is the stern
reality we witness today.

Proceeding from its consistent position of opposing
interference and sanctions in all their manifestations
against sovereign States, our delegation holds that
the unilateral economic, trade and financial blockade
imposed by the United States against Cuba should be
immediately dismantled.

With respect to the issue of enhancing the central
role of the United Nations, we see its functions and
role regarding peace and security lagging far behind
others. As stipulated in the Charter, Member States
entrusted the Security Council with the maintenance of
international peace and security as its first and foremost
responsibility. Present reality shows that in lieu of the
Security Council — which is still mired in the paralysis
of the Cold War — a permanent member seeks to act as
the military police of the world through military blocs
or bilateral military alliances that have nothing to do
with the United Nations.

The anachronistic stereotypes and prejudices of the
Security Council find their most extreme expression
in the prevailing situation on the Korean peninsula.
The world remembers that the situation on the Korean
peninsula reached the touch-and-go brink of war last
year. It started with the United States-South Korea joint
military exercises aimed at occupying the capital city
of Pyongyang of the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea.

In January, the Government of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea made a proposal to
stop hostile military acts on the Korean peninsula,
but provocative joint military exercises against the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea were forcibly
conducted in March, April and August. The Government
of the Democratic People’s Republic officially referred
to the Security Council the issue of suspending such
war exercises, which seriously endanger the peace and
security of the Korean peninsula and the region as a
whole. However, the Council turned its back. As the
joint military exercises were led by one of its permanent
members, the Council was bound to close its eyes, block
its ears and shut its mouth, no matter how enormous in
scale, aggressive in purpose and dangerous in nature
they were.

Even in the Cold War period, measures were in
place between the East and the West to restrict the
number of military exercises in which more than 40,000
troops took part. We are obliged to ask why such war
exercises, with the participation of more than 500,000
troops at a time, are needed annually only on the Korean
peninsula, nearly a quarter of a century after the Cold
War ended.

At present, the Government of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea has set economic
construction and improvement of the people’s living
standards as its major task. Accordingly, a peaceful
environment is vital in allowing us to lead the recently
improving trend of the national economy to sustainable
development. A peaceful environment and the reduction
of tensions are more precious to us now than at any time.
The tense situation on the Korean peninsula does not
help us. On the contrary, it presents a serious obstacle
to our efforts to achieve economic development and an
improved living standard.

War exercises focused on landing, long-range
nuclear bombing and commando operations aimed at
occupying the capital city of another country can never
be viewed as defensive. The claim that they are annual
in nature is just a veiled attempt to succeed in a surprise
attack after creating chronic immunity to them.

The reform of the Security Council should no
longer be delayed. The Council’s current structure
and method of work have long been out of date, as
confirmed by the expressed general will of Member
States reflected in resolution 47/62, adopted in 1992.
The Security Council should no longer be an exhibition
showcase for the extreme manifestation of the double
standard. We must put an end to the unjust practice
whereby the military exercises waged by a permanent
member of the Council are covered up with no regard
to their serious threat to peace and security, whereas
those conducted by a Member State in response are
called into question, although they are inevitable and
self-defensive in nature.

Likewise, the Security Council simply ignores
the killing of Palestinian civilians by Israel under the
patronage of a permanent member, yet selectively takes
issue with the actions of the Syrian Government in
defence of the sovereignty and stability of its country.
This unjust practice cannot be tolerated. In particular,
no act should be allowed to encroach on the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Syria under the guise of
counter-terrorism.

The Security Council should no longer serve as
a forum for the spreading of lies. Eleven years ago,
we heard with our own ears the accusation made at a
Security Council meeting by a permanent member
that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
(see S/PV.4701). A military invasion followed, and
tragic bloodshed resulted. Only then did the world
come to realize that it had heard the big lie of the
century. However, because the big lie had come from
a permanent member, the Security Council kept silent
again. As a result, the bloodshed continues even today,
after 11 years.

The Security Council should not be abused as a
tool to justify high-handedness and arbitrariness. The
United Nations Charter stipulates that the Security
Council should act in conformity with the principles
of justice and international law. The Security Council
has no authority to adopt a resolution that prohibits the
peaceful launch of a satellite by a Member State, as that
is in contravention of international law, in particular the
Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States
in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including
the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies.

The reform of the Security Council would,
in essence, democratize the United Nations and
international relations. The United Nations is not a
monarchy and the Security Council is not a senate.
The reform of the Security Council will not be possible
unless its members decide in good faith to give up their
prerogatives in the interests of democracy. Given the
changing times and the demands of the majority of
Member States, the permanent member that is most
vociferous about the export of democracy should reflect
on whether or not its preaching is just hypocrisy. Should
the Security Council fail to reform itself and remain
out of step with the times, Member States may well opt
for a United Nations without such an anachronistic and
undemocratic Council.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
maintains that all problems pertaining to international
relations should be resolved not by high-handedness and
arbitrariness, but in strict accordance with the principles
of sovereign equality enshrined in the United Nations
Charter. The nuclear issue is a matter of the sovereignty
and the right to exist of a Member State and must take
precedence over peace and security. The hostile policy,
nuclear threat and stifling strategy pursued by the
United States for more than half a century inevitably
prompted the decision of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea to become a nuclear-weapon State.

The nuclear deterrent of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea is neither intended to threaten or
attack others, nor a bargaining chip to be exchanged
for something else. The nuclear issue will be resolved if
and when the substance of the threat to our sovereignty
and right to life is removed through the termination
of the hostile policy of the United States towards the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Politicization, selectivity and double standards are
out of place when dealing with human rights issues. The
abuse of human rights for political purposes is in itself
the biggest human rights violation. The Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea is firmly opposed to all
attempts and actions to force regime change on specific
countries by alleging abuse of human rights. The United
States does not recognize the national sovereignty that
safeguards the human rights of our people. That being
the case, it is hypocritical of it to find fault with our
human rights issues. It is all the more preposterous
that the United States should talk about a human rights
dialogue when it adamantly prevents the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea — the party directly
involved — from participating in the meeting on the
latter’s own human rights situation.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is
always open to dialogue and cooperation in the case of
genuine human rights issues that are devoid of any form
of political motivation or hypocrisy. The Government of
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea is willing to
promote human rights dialogue and cooperation on an
equal footing with other countries that are not hostile to
it. It is also willing to facilitate technical cooperation,
contact and communication with the United Nations
and other international organizations in the human
rights field.

The reunification of the fatherland is the supreme
desire of the entire Korean nation. The Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea maintains that national
reunification should be achieved not through a
confrontation of systems but by a confederation formula
whereby two systems coexist in a single country. It
is the only way to prevent war and safeguard peace.
The Government of the Democratic People’s Republic
of Korea is sincerely striving by both word and deed
to develop inter-Korean relations and to orient them
towards reunification through confederation.

As South Korea has relinquished its military
prerogatives to the United States in their entirety, it
has no idea how many weapons of mass destruction of
various kinds — capable of destroying the Korean nation
more than hundreds of times over — are now deployed
and hidden on its own soil. It should therefore refrain
from prattling and dreaming about the unrealistic and
fictitious proposal for reunification copied from the
formula of other countries.

I should like to assure members that the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea will constructively

participate in delivering on the post-2015 development
agenda at the current session and thus make an active
contribution to the work for the successful adoption
of the development agenda next year on the occasion
of the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the
United Nations. Independence, peace and friendship
are the foreign policy ideals of the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea. As in the past, the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea will fulfil its responsibilities
and discharge its role as an independent Member
State by steadfastly adhering to these ideals in United
Nations activities.


On behalf of
the Philippine Government, we offer our warmest
congratulations to Mr. Kutesa on his election as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. I assure him of the Philippines’ steadfast
support as he provides the leadership and inspiration
in the daunting task of continuing the pursuit of a
transformative and inclusive post-2015 development
agenda. In choosing the theme for his presidency, he
has positioned people at the centre of this development
agenda. This people-centred agenda is also at the core
of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Social Contract
with the Filipino People, which is underpinned by a
regime of good governance.

I would like to address the following issues, which
are consistent with both the President’s Social Contract
and the United Nations post-2015 development agenda:
progress on the Millennium Development Goals; climate
change and disaster-risk reduction and management;
the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham; the
Ebola virus disease outbreak; peace, security and the
rule of law; disarmament, peacekeeping, migration,
the protection of women and children; and the call for
United Nations reforms.

Fourteen years ago, a shared vision of a decent and
secure life for all our peoples motivated us to adopt
the Millennium Development Goals. We all vowed to
undertake a mission to fight poverty and disease; grant
children of school age access to primary education;
improve gender equality, care for mothers and children;
provide our communities with safe drinking water;
protect our environment from further degradation;
and mobilize international partnerships and resources
to help those in great need. Today, based on the latest
report on the Millennium Development Goals, our
collective efforts have reduced by half the number of
people living in extreme poverty, provided over 2 billion
people with access to safe drinking water, and achieved
success in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis.
But, with one year to go, much remains to be done.

The Philippines’ scorecard shows that we have made
considerable progress in the areas of extreme poverty
eradication, under age 5 mortality, the fight against
both malaria and tuberculosis, access to safe drinking
water, and gender equality. Like many other developing
nations, however, we continue to face challenges in
other areas. We have recently taken pause to consider
new strategies. We have also realized the importance of
strengthening good-quality data collection and analysis
as a tool for measuring our Millennium Development
Goals and to aid our decision-making.

A year ago, before this very same Assembly, the
Philippines called for a post-2015 development agenda
anchored in respect and promotion of human rights,
accountable governance and inclusive development
(see A/68/PV.22). All our current national efforts are
founded on these pillars.

The greatest challenge to the Philippines in
meeting the Millennium Development Goals has been
the series of disasters that have visited our country.
Super-typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon to have
hit landfall in recorded history, had a significant impact
on the modest progress we had achieved towards the
Millennium Development Goals. This and the disasters
in other parts of the world remind us of the urgent need
to address climate change.

Two months ago, we completed a comprehensive
rehabilitation and recovery plan for the Haiyan-affected
areas. The comprehensive plan requires a considerable
amount of resources and effort, but the Philippines
and its international partners are determined to see
this massive rebuilding and rehabilitation plan to full
completion. We are resolute in not only building back,
but building back better. Once again, let me reiterate
the Filipino people’s gratitude for the outpouring
of assistance from the international community for
the victims and survivors of Haiyan. Its response
and solidarity were indeed timely, overwhelming
and inspiring. At this time, we look forward to the
forthcoming Third World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction in Sendai, Japan, and to the first-ever World
Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, during
which we hope to share the lessons we have learned
from Haiyan.

Just as the international community mobilized
as one in extending help to the Philippines in the
aftermath of Haiyan, it should also do so in the case of
two present-day scourges: the so-called Islamic State
in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and the Ebola virus disease
outbreak. The Philippines condemns the war crimes
and crimes against humanity being perpetrated by ISIS.
We support Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) on
foreign terrorist fighters, adopted on 24 September,

because we believe that resolute and immediate action
is necessary to suppress that group. As a responsible
member of the international community, the Philippines
will do its part in the global efforts to thwart ISIS and
its false ideologies.

On the Ebola virus disease outbreak, the Philippines
recognizes its threat to global health and its impact on
development. Based on our capacity, we will support
the international community’s efforts in arresting the
spread of this scourge through the auspices of the World
Health Organization.

Development efforts are jeopardized by setbacks
brought about by threats to peace, security and the rule
of law. We must ensure that conflicts do not undermine
any development agenda that we pursue. We must
rededicate ourselves to the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations and relevant international
conventions and agreements to resolve all conflicts
peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.

In this spirit, I am pleased to share the Philippine
experience in building peace in the southern
Philippines. With the signing of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro, we are optimistic
that peace dividends in the form of investments, jobs,
economic opportunities, access to basic services and
infrastructure will finally redound to the benefit of
our Muslim brothers and sisters. We are grateful to
the United Nations and the international community
for their role in supporting us through the long and
challenging journey of this peace process.

As we herald these achievements of peace at home,
however, we face the reality of exacerbating tensions in
our regional seas. Again, the Philippines has resorted
to the rule of law in trying to resolve these tensions.
The Philippines believes that the core instrument for
resolving maritime disputes is the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We have
invited a State party to settle our maritime disputes
peacefully through UNCLOS, including its provisions
on dispute settlement, specifically arbitration under
annex VII to the Convention.

However, it has refused to join us and has continued
to unilaterally embark on an expansionist claim that
violates the legitimate rights of the Philippines and
other littoral neighbours under UNCLOS, such as their
exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
Instead of peacefully resolving the maritime disputes
within the framework of UNCLOS, the said State
has embarked on a series of dangerous, reckless and
forceful activities in an attempt to impose unilateral
change in the maritime status quo of the South China
Sea. Those unilateral activities escalated the tensions
and threatened peace and stability in the South China
Sea.

In 2012, after forcibly occupying the tiny rocks of
Scarborough Shoal, within 126 nautical miles of the
Philippine island of Luzon, the aforementioned State
refused to abide by a mutual agreement to de-escalate
tensions by not withdrawing its vessels from the said
rocks. Earlier this year, said State imposed a unilateral
moratorium on fishing in some areas of the South
China Sea that infringes on the legitimate sovereign
rights of the Philippines and other coastal States to
their exclusive economic zones. In the past two years,
it has undertaken massive land reclamation activities in
Johnson Reef, Mckennan Reef, Hughes Reef, Cuarteron
Reef and Gaven Reef in the Spratly Islands.

Those unilateral activities, among others, form part
of a pattern of forcing a change in the maritime status
quo in order to advance a so-called nine-dash line
position, an expansive claim of indisputable sovereignty
over nearly the entire South China Sea, which is in
contravention of both the 2002 China and Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the
UNCLOS. The Philippines supports the Secretary-
General’s call for States parties to clearly define and
publicize the limits of their respective maritime zones
so that parties will have greater certainty concerning
their maritime spaces.

UNCLOS provides a viable mechanism for
resolving conflicts, inter alia through arbitration.
Arbitration is an open, friendly and durable mechanism
for the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes.
Arbitration, in defining maritime entitlements, is
intended to benefit all. Therefore, the Philippines is
more determined than ever in its pursuit of all possible
means under international law to keep the conflict from
escalating and undermining regional peace, security,
and stability.

At the 47th meeting of the Ministers for Foreign
Affairs of ASEAN, in Nay Pyi Taw, the Philippines
proposed the triple action plan to reduce tensions.
Our triple action plan proposal contains immediate,
intermediate and final approaches to address the
provocative and destabilizing activities in the South
China Sea. It is a positive, comprehensive and

constructive framework that brings together various
initiatives that the Philippines and other countries have
been advocating on the issue of the South China Sea for
several years.

As an immediate approach, the triple action plan
calls for the cessation of specific activities that escalate
tensions in the region, pursuant to paragraph 5 of
the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct
of Parties in the South China Sea. Paragraph 5 calls
for, first, self-restraint; secondly, no inhabitation of
uninhabited features, including massive reclamation;
and thirdly, the handling of differences in a constructive
manner. For the intermediate approach to managing
tensions until a final resolution is achieved, the triple
action plan highlights the need for the full and effective
implementation of the Declaration and the expeditious
conclusion of a code of conduct. As a final approach, the
triple action plan underscores the need for a settlement
mechanism to bring the disputes to a final and enduring
resolution anchored in international law.

The Philippines is pursuing such a resolution
through arbitration and believes that the arbitration
decision will clarify maritime entitlements and will pave
the way for the full resolution of the maritime disputes
in the South China Sea. Those approaches under the
triple action plan can be pursued simultaneously, and
they do not prejudice territorial claims. We enjoin all to
be united in addressing the challenge of resolving this
issue in accordance with the rule of law.

On disarmament, the Philippines is deeply
concerned about the threat of weapons of mass
destruction, from the Middle East to the Korean
peninsula. The Philippines has remained firm in
its position on the total and complete elimination
of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The
Philippines strongly believes that the conference on
the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear
weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction
should be convened as soon as possible. The Six-Party
Talks on the Korean peninsula should restart. We need
a successful outcome to the 2015 Review Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons to ensure the credibility of the Treaty.

The Philippines strongly supports the ongoing
discourse on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear
weapons that has been gaining ground within and
outside the United Nations. We will continue to lend
our voice to calls for nuclear disarmament until we have
reached the goal of global zero. The Philippines also
deplores the use of landmines and improvised explosive
devices and the illicit trade in small arms and light
weapons, which, unfortunately, still continue around
the world.

United Nations peacekeeping missions are crucial
to international peace and security. The Philippines,
through its continuous participation in peacekeeping
missions, has shown its steadfast commitment to
contributing to that worthy cause. Let me take this
opportunity to thank our partners in the international
community for their invaluable assistance in recent
incidents involving our Philippine peacekeepers,
specifically in the United Nations Disengagement
Observer Force in the Golan Heights. Our collective
action has highlighted the importance that the
international community continues to accord to United
Nations peacekeeping.

In the face of grave danger, Filipino peacekeepers
have bravely helped to safeguard world peace. They have
served with honour, distinction and professionalism in
implementing peacekeeping mandates. We are deeply
concerned about the continuing and emerging dangers
faced by all United Nations peacekeepers, and urge the
United Nations and all fellow Member States to ensure
that those dangers are addressed comprehensively.
We believe that outstanding operational and tactical
issues relating to United Nations peacekeeping must be
resolved at the highest levels as soon as possible. The
Philippines reiterates its solid commitment to upholding
multilateral peacekeeping, collective security and the
rule of law.

When we speak of inclusive development, we must
take into full account the invaluable contributions
that migrant workers make to global development and
progress. Their well-being is a shared responsibility
and part of the international community’s commitment
to promoting inclusive societies. Those migrants are
especially vulnerable in times of conflict and should
not be forgotten. They deserve the complete support
and cooperation of the international community in
ensuring their safety, security and well-being. For such
an important task, all countries — whether receiving,
transit or sending — must be fully involved.

We are also alarmed that migrants, particularly
women and children, continue to be victims of
trafficking. National and international efforts to
prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and assist
in the recovery and rehabilitation of victims must be
strengthened. From a broader perspective, we should

fully respect the rights of migrants by according them
equal treatment in all countries. The Philippines will
continue to support efforts to protect the basic rights of
migrants, recognize their contributions to development
and secure for them a place in the inclusive societies
that we envision in the post-2015 development agenda.

As we discuss and negotiate the best ways to deliver
and implement the post-2015 development agenda, we
should take concrete action on the proposed United
Nations reforms that have been the subject of years of
discussions and dialogues. The Philippines supports
change and reform in the United Nations to strengthen
its ability to meet new demands and deliver its mandate
in the most effective, transparent, accountable and
efficient manner. Reforms should include a better
selection process for the Secretary-General, the
President of the General Assembly and executive heads
of the United Nations; an increase in the membership
of the Security Council; a review of the use of the veto
power in the Security Council; an increased budget
for peacekeeping missions; and ways to make full and
effective use of partnerships across the range of United
Nations activities. For example, if we were to elect a
woman to be the next Secretary-General of the United
Nations, that would be a powerful signal on gender
equality and empowerment.

As we set the stage to roll out a new set of goals
for the post-2015 development agenda, let us not lose
track of the equal importance of an enabling political
and social environment to support the goals. When
conflicts and insecurity endure, when disasters strike,
when pandemics break out, when terrorism spreads
and when the Earth’s bounties are confronted with
depletion, we face the real danger that our development
agenda will fail. It is our responsibility, therefore, as
States Members of the United Nations, to exert every
effort and expend every resource at our command to
make the United Nations the instrument for promoting
peace, progress and development.


I should like at the outset to express my satisfaction at
seeing Mr. Sam Kutesa, Minister for Foreign Affairs
of Uganda, an African neighbour, brother and friend,
presiding over this important session of the General
Assembly and to assure him of our full cooperation.
I should also like to hail his predecessor the outgoing
President of the General Assembly, Mr. John Ashe, and
to pay homage to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for
his work in driving forward the role and missions of the
United Nations.

The theme of the general debate focuses on the
future and the prospects for future generations. This
reminds us, on the eve of the global summit on the
post-2015 development agenda and of the seventieth
anniversary of the United Nations, of the urgency of
making a renewed commitment to multilateralism
founded on international law.

Given the persistence and varied manifestations of
the current crisis, we must have a comprehensive vision
in order to make the United Nations a builder of lasting
solutions to modern global problems. We are banking
on the hope that the new sustainable development goals
(SDGs) will contribute to bringing about a world that
makes it possible for us effectively to protect human
rights, guarantee the inclusive participation of all, and
ensure that everyone — particularly those living in
the forlorn regions in which 40 per cent of the poorest
people live — shares in prosperity.

That was the formulation expressed by the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) at the seventeenth
Ministerial Conference hosted by Algeria in May, in
reaffirming the relevance and importance of the right to
development and the pressing need to eradicate poverty,
which has been identified as a global challenge and a
central objective of the post-2015 development agenda.
Algeria is pursuing its efforts to reach a comprehensive
and ambitious agreement on the SDGs and on climate,
to include, in the case of the latter, desertification and
access to genetic resources. Furthermore, we must see
the implementation of commitments, whether they are
commitments made as official development assistance
or within the Monterrey Consensus, in the Doha
Declaration or at the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development.

At the United Nations, Algeria coordinates the
NAM working group on the revitalization of the
General Assembly. In that role, Algeria will continue its
efforts to ensure that the NAM working group, which
is the most representative in the international system,
assumes its full role. At the same time, Algeria will
continue to work with its partners in the African Union
Committee of Ten towards Security Council reform,
aimed at putting an end to the historical injustices
vis-à-vis the African continent, which wants, more
than anything, representation and legitimacy in the
Security Council. In that context, the strengthening of
cooperation and the multiform partnerships between
the African Union and the United Nations should be
encouraged, in particular in the context of the many
conflicts and crises that continue to afflict Africa and to
slow down the conclusion of its decolonization process.

From that perspective, the global review that
Mr. Ban Ki-moon is called upon to present in April
2015 on the question of Western Sahara, which pits the
Kingdom of Morocco against the Frente Popular para
la Liberación de Saguía el-Hamra y de Río de Oro,
must honour the United Nations doctrine in the matter
of decolonization, as well as stress the importance of
the relevant Security Council and General Assembly
resolutions. Algeria supports the inalienable right of
the people of Western Sahara to self-determination, as
has been well established, and in that regard Algeria
encourages the Secretary-General and his Personal
Envoy, Ambassador Christopher Ross, to intensify
their efforts to ensure the success of that effort to move
towards peace.

Algeria is a stakeholder in the common destiny of
the peoples of the Maghreb. Algeria’s own development
has been conceived and guided by the desire to
achieve the integration of the vast geopolitical space

of which it is at the very centre. The policy platform
on which President Bouteflika was re-elected and
the five-year plan of action of his Administration
hinge on a deepening of participative democracy, the
modernization of the judiciary, equal opportunities for
men and women, and good governance. The economic
effort has allocated significant public investment
in the sectors of agriculture, industry, energy, the
environment and tourism, and into the diversification
and modernization of the economy, all based on
objectives tied to competitiveness and a substantial
relaunching of growth. At the same time, Algeria
is working to promote development with mutually
beneficial strategic partners, based on respect for
sovereignty and a balance of interests, in order to bring
about opportunities for cooperation and the means of
tackling the challenges and threats of a transnational
nature. That cooperation excludes unilateral measures
such as the embargo imposed on Cuba.

The worrisome spread of the Ebola virus has been
declared by the World Health Organization (WHO)
to be a global health emergency, and that reminds us
tragically of the structural precariousness of human
security systems, as well as of the responsibility of
the international community in the treatment of health
problems that affect the poor, who have no means or
role in decision-making. Algeria adds its voice to that
of the Secretary-General in urging the United Nations
agencies and other donors, as well as non-governmental
organizations, quickly to provide the international
assistance needed by the African countries that have
been hit by that scourge.

That existential threat is yet another that Africa
must collectively take on in order to ensure its rebirth,
and brings with it challenges in the area of peace and
security. At the behest of the stakeholders in Mali,
Algeria is undertaking large-scale mediation between
the Malian Government and the movements in the north
of that country, working with a team that is representative
of Africa and the international community as a whole.
The adoption of a road map for negotiations in the
Algiers process and the declaration of a cessation of
hostilities have marked the effort towards the launching
of substantial negotiations since 1 September, with the
aim of achieving a comprehensive and definitive peace
accord. The launching of those negotiations has been a
source of satisfaction and coincides with the freeing of
two Algerian diplomats who had been held hostage for
nearly three years by a terrorist organization. I should
like to avail myself of this opportunity to pay homage
to the memory of our Consul in Gao and his assistant,
Tahar Touati, who lost their lives during their period of
captivity.

The situation in Libya, a sister nation, has continued
to deteriorate over the past three years. The twofold
Algerian initiative to implement a common plan of
action for all of the countries neighbouring Libya and
for launching an inclusive dialogue towards national
reconciliation, which would also seek to strengthen
State institutions, has made a valuable contribution
towards a collective, healthy step towards peace for the
Libyan people, which we very much wish for them.

The difficult state of affairs in our region requires
a stepping up of efforts in the fight against terrorist
groups in the Sahel and their established links to drug
trafficking networks and transnational organized
crime. In the global forum of the fight against terrorism,
Algeria will continue to cooperate, including in its
work as co-Chair of the Working Group on the Sahel,
and will focus on securing borders and on preventing
ransom-seeking abductions by terrorist organizations,
bearing in mind the recommendations from the Algiers
workshop in September 2013 and the relevant resolutions
of the General Assembly and Security Council.

In that spirit, Algeria notes with interest the results
of the high-level Security Council meeting on terrorism
and foreign combatants, convened on the initiative of
President Obama (S/PV.7272). We also take note of
the international mobilization against transborder
terrorism on a large scale, which is relevant to Iraq and
Syria. The execution of French citizen Hervé Gourdel
in Algeria underscores the need to strengthen the fight
against terrorism in all its forms.

The earth-shattering developments that affect the
lives of people in the Middle East add new questions
with regard to the uninterrupted role played by the
international community vis-à-vis the tragedy inflicted
upon the brotherly Palestinian people. The history of
humankind shows that armed conflicts give rise to
other conflicts and that only by working towards justice
within law and morality can we find lasting solutions.
The Palestinian question and the Syrian crisis must
be approached along those lines. I should also like to
avail myself of this opportunity to pay homage to the
efforts of my compatriot, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, and to
reiterate our support to his successor, Mr. Staffan de
Mistura.

The ninth Review Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons should
focus on the close, complementary nature of the
objectives of disarmament, non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons and the promotion of the peaceful uses of the
atom. Let there be no doubt that much remains to be
done when it comes to freeing the world of weapons of
mass destruction.

Algeria, as a member of the Human Rights Council,
is motivated by a strong sense of responsibility to
participate actively in the promotion of the universal and
interdependent nature of human rights. The President
of the Republic, His Excellency Mr. Bouteflika, and
the Algerian authorities are working hard to improve
the living conditions of Algerian citizens in many
different areas. We have laws that criminalize violence
against women and children, and we are strengthening
the protection of the rights of divorced women and
other legislative efforts that add to our political and
institutional success in supporting Algerian women.
We have been addressing such matters in our elected
bodies and our central Government.

The celebration in 2015 of the seventieth anniversary
of the United Nations should be an opportunity to
renew the commitment of all Member States to bring
new and stronger vigour, efficacy and credibility to
multilateralism. We have the joint responsibility to
work to establish a world that is safer and fairer and
shows more solidarity. This powerful juncture, at
which we bring together all of our peoples within the
fold of our founding values, should also be confirmed
by action. There are apprehensions, uncertainties and
challenges tied to fear and need, but if we face up to
them the United Nations will certainly live up to its
role as the last haven for the hope of humankind in a
better future.