I convey my greetings
to the President of the General Assembly, Mr. Vuk
Jeremić, whom I congratulate on his election. I wish him
success during his tenure as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would also like
to convey my greetings to the former President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser of the State of Qatar, for the
excellent work he accomplished during his tenure.
Also allow me to express my appreciation to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his competent
management of the Organization. We reaffirm our
trust in his leadership during a particularly difficult
time in our history — during one of the worst financial
crises that the world has ever known that has had
repercussions in the economic, social, political, food,
energy and environmental sectors, to say nothing of the
terrible threats to peace and security emanating from
every corner of the world.
As a small island State, with a shortage of
resources and with only 37 years of independence,
Cape Verde is proud to be a democratic country that
is based on the rule of law, built with the suffering
and the determination of Cape Verdeans inside and
outside our country. Notwithstanding the fact that my country faces enormous difficulties in ensuring its
own existence and that to overcome them will require
international solidarity, I believe that Cape Verde can,
although modestly, contribute towards finding solutions
to important problems that threaten the troubled world
of our time.
Apart from the political stability that has
characterized us as well as the build-up and consolidation
of a democratic system, the Cape Verdean nation that
preceded the creation of the State can be considered
an example of peaceful coexistence among peoples
who originated from different countries, with different
creeds integrated into what had already been a mixed
sculture. Our nation stands open to the world and to the
exchange of values.
Cape Verde has opted for a policy for peace, dialogue
and understanding in the resolution of conflicts. The
expression of those values is part of the Cape Verdean
people’s way of living and being. Ours is a culture of
tolerance that has shaped, in the almost four decades
of its history, the values and principles of the country’s
policies. Besides our modest political contribution to the
resolution of conflicts in Southern Africa, for example,
the end of apartheid in South Africa, the independence
of Namibia and peace in Angola, I would assert that our
biggest contribution has been our way of life as a people
and as a culture. Through our way of life, we have been
able to show that tolerance and the sharing of values
can be part of daily living, even in adverse conditions.
Our way of life has allowed successive Cape Verdean
Governments and heads of State to manage the foreign
policy of our country in a consistent manner, giving
priority to peace, justice and the peaceful coexistence
of people in the formulation of policy. Accordingly, our
foreign policy is the expression or translation of our
culture and our ideology. That is also what guides me
as I strive to broaden Cape Verde’s contribution to our
continent and, hopefully, to the world.
On 25 September, we celebrated the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of the
Republic of Cape Verde, which is proof of the stability
we enjoy in our country. It has allowed numerous
presidential, legislative and municipal elections to take
place, and changes in power have occurred with the
highest degree of normality. By happy coincidence, that
critical date for Cape Verde — 25 September — coincides
with the launch of the sixty-seventh session of the
General Assembly, that exponent of democracy
on a global level which is undergoing a process of revitalization. As such, I am very grateful to be able to
share our milestone with General Assembly.
The Magna Law stipulates that our domestic legal
order incorporates the precedents and standards of
international common law and the law of treaties as
lawfully approved and ratified. It is thus clear that
we attach great importance to institutions like the
United Nations and the principles that guide them.
Nevertheless, we are aware that if those principles,
which we have embedded in our Constitution, including
those referring to human rights, do not trickle down
into our day-to-day culture, the Constitution will not
be fulfilled in its entirety. We therefore urge all Cape
Verdeans, be they in the country or outside, to further
internalize the values of our Constitution, which we
consider a critical step in ensuring its vitality and full
realization.
Despite the serious issues arising in the world
and the vulnerabilities of the Cape Verdean economy
and its direct impact on the living conditions of the
majority of its people, I must say without false modesty
that I am proud of the trajectory that my country has
followed since its independence. At independence, our
annual gross domestic product (GDP) was $190 per
capita, whereas today it has grown to $3,295 per capita
per annum. Several social indices have mirrored that
growth, making it possible for us to achieve some of
the Millennium Development Goals. In fact, the human
development, economic and financial results registered
in the biennium 2011-2012 received positive reviews
from the major international financial institutions.
Ours is a service economy — with services
accounting for 80 per cent of GDP in 2010 — with a very
small market and an agricultural sector that is struggling
with desertification and drought. We therefore cannot
ignore our great vulnerabilities or rest on our laurels
for having graduated to a medium-income developed
country. On the contrary, we cannot lose sight of the
fact that our economy is still very dependent, that it
cannot employ a significant portion of its potential
workforce, with all the social consequences that stem
from that. We are therefore obliged to continue to rely
on international solidarity.
We of course will continue to use our meagre
resources in an efficient and rational manner and
develop even more effective efforts to combat poverty,
social exclusion and unemployment, which in 2010
reached an overall rate of 21 per cent, and 50 per cent among youth. Constraints with respect to energy, water
and sanitation continue to garner our full attention so
that, as we build key infrastructure, we can create the
conditions needed to achieve sustainable growth in our
economy.
We also must take into account the fact that the
impact on small island developing States of climate
change and natural disasters is a sword of Damocles
threatening our future. It is imperative that all countries,
acting consistently and with solidarity, implement
environmental defence programmes, develop the green
economy and help build true global resilience.
One of the most remarkable characteristics of
today’s world is the increasing interdependence of
all sectors. We may speak frequently of the economy,
but that is because it conditions all the rest — the
environmental, health, security, political and cultural
sectors, indeed, nearly all areas of human activity. It
is therefore fundamental for us to constantly monitor
all relevant aspects of those complex relationships so
that we can understand the leading trends that have
an impact on our process of development, but also so
that we can contribute even modestly to solving the
problems of people and countries across the globe.
Although social and political stability are essential
aspects of our society, we cannot ignore the fact that
on our continent, Africa, that has not been a basic
characteristic for internal and, to some extent, external
reasons.
I express my deep concern about the economic and
financial global crisis that continues to severely punish
the Governments and defenceless populations of the
African continent. Those people are already suffering
from hunger, the scourge of AIDS, the consequences
of other endemic diseases, the f light of hundreds of
thousands of displaced people and the overwhelming
environmental degradation to which the continent
is victim. Despite the fact that the continent least
contributed to that imbalance, it is Africa that most
suffers from its consequences.
Such crises also affect security not only because
of regional conflicts but also owing to the universal
dimension that terrorism has assumed. In that regard, it
has affected a good part of our continent with its links
to trafficking in drugs and persons, maritime piracy,
religious intolerance and the problems that arise from
the political, social or military instability prevailing
in many of our countries. That is fertile territory for terrorism and its growth. The recent cases of Mali,
Guinea-Bissau and others, such as the Sudan, Somalia,
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and some
countries of the Maghreb, well illustrate the situation.
The international community has every interest in
resolutely focusing on the fight to eradicate such ills.
Despite those constraints, it should be acknowledged
that the new wave of African leaders has been doing a
great deal for the continent’s progress. The international
community must therefore help such countries to find
appropriate solutions to the situations that they face,
without interfering or acting in the interests of others
rather than of our people.
In any case, an organization such as the United
Nations, which is a depository of values that respect
legality and international law, should never, through
its silence, promote, further or support solutions that
merely legitimize unconstitutional actions. It is clear
that much remains to be done.
In our view, as I have said before, in Africa
there has been no lack of mechanisms, declarations,
recommendations, programmes and projects with
assessments and perspectives that disregard the
political, institutional, social and cultural elements and
sometimes resemble a vicious cycle. There is no real
development because there is no peace. Democracy is
not deeply rooted because it conflicts with cultural and
moral traditions. There is no peace on account of the
intolerance and social exclusion that prevent its citizens
from building a free, fair, democratic and pluralistic
society. That, at times, exacerbates armed conflicts and
other social ills.
Africa needs a new train of thought that does not
reject the universal values of democracy but, on the
contrary, uses them to enrich its own development
process with a dialectic between modernity and
tradition, freedom and the tendency for its own
conditioning, the demands of its economic development
and the fight against exclusion and social inequality,
and reality and preconceptions.
Africa needs to regain its self-confidence. Africa
still needs to see stronger links between the United
Nations and the African Union for a true development
partnership.
It is time to take decisions on issues such as
global trade and climate change on the basis of global
negotiations that are grounded in fair, equal and ethical rules and that are in step with the countries of the
South, in general, and of my continent, in particular.
That would give legitimacy to other forums, that is, in
the context of the World Trade Organization, the Food
and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
In short, we call for decisions on specific measures
that will result in effective decision-taking within this
Organization on development areas, such as cancelling
the foreign debt of developing countries, in particular
small island developing States. We are certain that that
would be a stimulus for all such countries to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals in 2015.
In 2009, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon affirmed
at Princeton University that the United Nations needed
“a new vision, a new paradigm, a new multilateralism”.
That would help to ensure global economic and financial
stability, combat poverty, re-establish peace, respond to
the effects of climate change, improve global health,
fight against terrorism and ensure disarmament and
non-proliferation.
At the closing ceremony of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)
in June, it was stated that Rio+20 had shown that
multilateralism was an irreplaceable instrument for the
global expression of democracy. We reaffirm that that
is the legitimate path for finding solutions to problems
that affect all humankind. I support and welcome such
statements.
In conclusion, the world has developed immensely
since the end of the Cold War. The current multilateral
system must align itself with the new challenges. For
the United Nations to continue to be an efficient and
vital instrument for the international community in this
new era of multilateral relations, it will have to open
up, innovate, listen to other voices and accept the new
political, economic and social realities that have been
created and imposed by the globalization process.

The reform of the Security Council — an organ that
is responding less and less every day to the challenges
of the contemporary world — is a goal that has long
been pursued, without success. Cape Verde supports
the position of the African Union, which recommends
that the Council be reformed so as to correct the
unjust situation with respect to the African continent.

At present Africa does not have the right to even one
permanent seat on the Council, even though it meets all
the requirements.
I conclude, Mr. President, with the conviction that
Africa can also provide a valuable contribution to the
development of a better world, one without war, where
peace is not just a theoretical concept; a world with
more freedom, justice and security — in other words,
a world with more fraternity and prosperity, in which
the well-being of its citizens is effectively provided for.


I bring greetings
from the South Pacific. For the past year, New Zealand
has had the privilege of chairing the Pacific Islands
Forum, a regional body that represents some of the
smallest and most vulnerable States on this planet. For
us that has been an important responsibility.
Because we are a small country with modest
resources, we choose to focus much of our attention
on our own region. Over 60 per cent of our official
development assistance is spent in our own
neighbourhood. Serving as Chair of the Pacific Islands
Forum has caused us to reflect on the role of regional
organizations, and also on the extent to which we all
depend on the United Nations for solutions to challenges
that are truly global in character. I say with some
confidence that we have been making good progress
in dealing with those challenges that are capable of
regional solutions.
But I must also say that we need and expect more
from this institution. The Pacific Islands Forum has
16 members, of which 16 are small island States. I was
pleased this week to attend the first meeting between
the Secretary-General and Pacific Islands Forum
leaders, which I hope will mark a new era of enhanced
high-level engagement between this Organization and
our region and a greater understanding of our needs.
The Pacific has had its share of stability and
security challenges in recent times. As a region, we
have done reasonably well in dealing with them. Most recently it has been in Solomon Islands that a regional
initiative has been required. The Regional Assistance
Mission to the Solomon Islands has involved a truly
regional approach, with the participation of police
and other personnel from every member of the Pacific
Islands Forum. I am pleased to report that the security
element of that initiative has been significantly scaled
down and will soon be fully withdrawn. But there is
also more that this Organization, particularly the
Security Council, can do to acknowledge and support
regional leadership on peace and security matters in the
Pacific and elsewhere.
Concerns about democracy, the rule of law and
human rights are not mere abstract considerations within
the Pacific. Those principles have been challenged in a
number of States, most notably, in recent years, in Fiji.
In that respect, I am pleased to report that progress is
being made towards the holding of elections in 2014,
and that support has been forthcoming to ensure that
such elections are free and fair.
Stability and security issues are not the only
priorities for our regional body. In our year as Forum
Chair, New Zealand chose to focus on a number of
development priorities, two of which I wish to mention
in my remarks today.
For many of the poorer States within our region,
their fisheries resource is the major economic asset they
hold. Yet due to illegal fishing practices, unreported
catch and inadequate management practices, those
countries have received far too small a return on that
resource. Because of the highly migratory character
of the tuna resource, this is truly a matter requiring
regional management. Solid progress is being made
in such areas as improved surveillance, the training
of monitors and improved management practices, both
to protect the last really healthy fishery on the planet
and to ensure that its owners receive a fair share of the
resource they own.
One of the highest priorities within our region
is the need for practical initiatives in the area of
renewable energy. Ours is a region heavily dependent
upon fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. The
cost of expensive imported diesel in most small Pacific
economies is absolutely crippling. The climate change
impact is obvious.
After a decade of climate change conferences and
hundreds of millions of dollars in so-called climate
change initiatives, one might be forgiven for imagining that the Pacific, overendowed as it is with good sunlight,
would by now be positively festooned with solar power
plants. Sadly, I must report that that is not in fact the
case. Indeed, one of the most striking features of our
region has been the complete lack of progress in putting
lofty climate change rhetoric into any form of renewable
energy practice.
In our year in the Chair of the regional body we
have set out to correct that serious shortcoming. A
small but important illustration lies in our work in
the tiny Tokelau Islands. Until now, Tokelau has been
100 per cent dependent on fossil fuels for the generation
of electricity. By the end 2012, Tokelau will be over
90 per cent resourced with renewable solar electricity.
Good progress has also been made in Tonga, where
I recently participated in the opening of a solar power
plant supplying around 20 per cent of the electricity
requirements of the main island, Tongatapu. And we
are working with the Cook Islands Government, too,
to assist in meeting their bold aspiration to 50 per cent
renewable electricity by 2015, mostly through solar
initiatives.
These New Zealand-funded programmes are
an important part of our overall commitment to our
region. Our parting legacy from our year as Chair
of the regional body is a renewable-energy pledging
conference to be held early next year, with the objective
of matching donors, suppliers of concessional and
commercial finance, and others with the renewable
energy plans of our Pacific neighbours. Here I should
acknowledge the European Union’s commitment in
co-leading this initiative, as well as the support of the
World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the
Governments of Australia, the United States and other
generous supporters.
While there is much that can be achieved by
regional action, we must acknowledge that sometimes
regional solutions are just not enough. That goes right
to the very heart of the reason for the existence of this
Organization. My point is most vividly illustrated
today in relation to Syria. It would be difficult for
me to overstate the level of frustration of the people
I represent with the complete inability of the Security
Council to act in relation to Syria. And it would be
even more difficult to overstate the extent to which the
Security Council is at risk of losing its credibility in the
eyes of reasonable and fair-minded people through its
inability to act. People in my country ask a very simple question:
If 25,000 deaths, countless thousands injured and
many more displaced and homeless are not enough to
get the Security Council to act, then what does it take?
Just what does it take? I welcome the leadership that
the Arab League and Arab States have shown on this
issue, and we have seen similar leadership from them
on other difficult issues in their region. And I welcome
the fact that the General Assembly has been looking
for opportunities to be more engaged. In the absence of
leadership from the Security Council, 1 suggest that the
Assembly must find ways to play a more activist role.
But from all of this, the case for Security Council
reform has become utterly compelling. Indeed,
increasingly, the future credibility of the United
Nations may depend on it. If we are to make progress
in this area we will need to see Members move past the
extravagant attempts to maximize individual positions
and try to find some meaningful, practical reforms that
actually hold the prospect of widespread support.
I represent a small nation of practical, constructive
people. And it is because we seek practical,
constructive reform that our Government supports the
so-called intermediate solution: the creation of a new
category of seat for the group of larger countries that
feel underrepresented in comparison with the five
permanent members of the Security Council (P-5), but
seats that they would have to win in open elections
so as to make them fully accountable to the broader
membership.
I do not intend in these remarks to discuss any other
specific proposals we would like to see considered, with
one exception. There are now compelling reasons for us
to ask the P-5 to voluntarily accept restrictions on the
use of the veto. To go further and to seek its abolition is
pointless; it simply will not happen. But to ask the P-5
to acknowledge and respect the genuine concerns of the
wider membership by voluntarily accepting a curb on
the exercise of the veto is an entirely reasonable and
achievable objective.
My country was one of those that led the opposition
to the veto when the Organization was being established;
indeed, it was the only Charter issue that was forced to a
vote. The permanent members argued at that stage that
the veto was necessary in order to protect their vital
national interests. Yet today we routinely see the veto
exercised in circumstances that have little to do with
national interests. My request to the five permanent members is simply that they stick with what they said
to us back in 1945. And my challenge to them today
is to consider a process by which they collectively and
voluntarily agree to confine their use of the veto to
those issues that clearly and directly affect their vital
national interests; and also that they voluntarily agree
not to use their veto in situations that involve mass
atrocities.
While on the topic of the Security Council, I
would like to take the opportunity to urge the Council
and the relevant organs of the General Assembly to
respond positively to the requests from the Economic
Community of West African States for support in
dealing with the conflict in Mali and the Sahel. Too
often we have seen the Council fail to respond in
a timely way to requests for help — in Rwanda, in
Guinea, in Darfur and in Somalia. Too often it has been
a case of too little, too late. In all of these cases we have
seen good leadership from within the African Union,
and that leadership deserves a timely and constructive
response from New York.
Many of those here will be aware that New Zealand
is an energetic candidate for election to the Security
Council for the term from 2015-2016. I can assure the
Assembly that it will hear more from us on these topics
over the next two years. We are a small country with
a big voice and an approach that is fair-minded and
constructive.
In the past few days. the Assembly has heard from
both Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Abbas.
We are now on notice that the issue of Palestinian status
in the United Nations will come before the Assembly
during this session. We look forward to seeing the text
of a draft resolution and to engaging in the consultations
that have been signaled to us. I said earlier that New
Zealanders are practical and constructive. They are also
fair-minded people; they expect to see their Government
bring all of those attributes to the consideration of such
a resolution, and that we will surely do. Having said
that, let me also be clear that we see such a resolution
as a very poor substitute for the direct discussions that
should occur between two leaders who live half an hour
down the road from each other.
In his address to the Assembly earlier in the week
(see A/67/PV.12), Prime Minister Netanyahu set out
clearly the grave implications for the Middle East, and
for the global community more generally, of a nuclear
breakout in the region. Like other Member States, New Zealand believes Iran must be told to step back from
a course that risks further dangerous escalation of the
situation. We hope the international community will
stand firm in sending that sort of message. In return,
however, I suggest that it is fair for the international
community to make a request of Prime Minister
Netanyahu. And that is to put the settlements on hold, at
the very least while negotiations proceed, and to engage
in the direct talks with his Palestinian counterpart that
represent the only basis for a durable solution to this
issue, and an essential step in removing the seeds of
wider conflict within the region.
I would like to remind the Assembly that these are
very difficult times for Governments around the world.
Budget economies have affected foreign ministries,
my own included. It is only fair that we should in
turn ask this large institution to find economies and
improve working methods in order to deliver better
value for our taxpayers. Smaller countries, like New
Zealand, depend more than most on good multilateral
institutions. We need a United Nations that is modern,
efficient and able to meet changing needs. We all need
a Security Council that is more responsive to the needs
of the wider membership and more effective in dealing
with the significant challenges that we all confront
today.


It gives me
great pleasure to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić and his
friendly country on his assumption of the presidency of
the General Assembly at its current session. I wish him
every success in his task.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation
to the former President of the General Assembly,
Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, and the brotherly
State of Qatar for their outstanding stewardship of the
previous session. I would also like to pay tribute to the
Secretary-General for striving tirelessly to preserve the
role of the Organization and enhance its effectiveness.
I assure him of Egypt’s support in all efforts extended
for that purpose.
My presence here today to address the General
Assembly has multiple significance. I am the first
Egyptian civilian President elected democratically
and freely, following a great peaceful revolution
hailed by the entire world. The revolution enjoyed
genuine legitimacy thanks to the efforts and will of
all Egyptians, inside and outside of Egypt, and by the
grace of God. Today, every Egyptian shares a sense
of self-confidence that allows each of them to claim a
higher moral and cultural ground.
We have taken several effective steps on the road
towards establishing the modern State aspired to by
all Egyptians — one that is in tune with the present,
based on the rule of law, democracy and respect for
human rights, a constitutional State that will not
compromise the values firmly embedded in the souls of
all Egyptians, a State that seeks justice, truth, freedom,
dignity and social justice.

The Egyptian revolution that was founded on the
legitimacy that I represent before the Assembly today
was not the product of a f leeting moment, or a brief
uprising. Nor was it the product of the winds of change
of a certain spring or autumn. Rather, that revolution,
and all the ones preceding it and following it in the
region, were triggered by the long-term struggle of
indigenous national movements seeking a life of
pride and dignity for all citizens. It therefore reflects
the wisdom of history and is a clear warning to those
attempting to put their interests before those of their
peoples.
We are therefore striving to realize a new vision
of Egypt that will serve as a programme of action
for the world and that will guide our cooperation
with the international community in a spirit of
equality and mutual respect through the promotion
of non-intervention in the affairs of States and the
implementation of international principles, agreements
and instruments. Today we reiterate our commitment,
particularly to the Charter of the United Nations, which
Egypt took part in drafting.
From that perspective, we continue efforts to
resolve problems and address their root causes, without
relinquishing the principles of law or well-established
values that, if compromised, could lead to grave
international consequences if the rational and sincere
among us choose not to pay heed.
The first issue that the global community must
exert all efforts to resolve, on the basis of justice
and dignity, is the Palestinian cause. Many decades
have passed since the Palestinian people expressed
their desire to regain their full rights and build their
independent State, with Jerusalem as its capital. Despite
the continued struggle of the people via all legitimate
means to attain their rights, and despite the acceptance
by their representatives of the resolutions adopted by
the international community as a basis for resolving
problems, this issue of international legitimacy has to
date, unfortunately, remained without a resolution to
achieve the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian
people. And the resolutions agreed on the issue remain
far from implementation.
The fruits of dignity and freedom must not remain
out of reach of the brotherly Palestinian people. It is
shameful that the free world has accepted, without
regard to the justifications provided, the continued
denial, by a member of the international community, of the rights of a nation that, for decades, has longed
for independence. It is also disgraceful that settlement
activities have continued in the Palestinian territories,
along with the delay in implementing decisions of
international legitimacy.
Proceeding from the perspective of defending
truth, freedom and dignity, and from my duty to
support our Palestinian brothers and sisters, I place
the international community face to face with its
obligatory responsibilities requiring the achievement
of a just and comprehensive peace, an end to all forms
of occupation of Arab land and the implementation of
relevant international resolutions. I call for immediate
and significant measures to put an end to occupation,
settlement activities and any alteration to the identity
of occupied Jerusalem.
I call for peace that will establish a sovereign
Palestinian State and achieve the security and stability
long sought by the peoples of the region. On the same
basis, I assure the Assembly of Egypt’s full support of
any course of action that Palestine decides to follow in
the United Nations.
I call upon all Member States, just as they have
supported the revolutions of the Arab peoples, to
extend their support to the Palestinians and their
endeavour to recover the full and legitimate rights of a
people struggling to regain its freedom and establish an
independent State of Palestine, based on the inalienable
rights of the Palestinians.
We are determined to work to pursue all efforts of
the Palestinian people, in support of them and side by
side until they freely regain all rights for all segments
and communities of the population.
From this rostrum and at this eminent gathering,
I must address the issue that weighs heavily upon all
of us, namely, the bloodshed and the human tragedy in
Syria. The bloodshed must be halted immediately. That
is our first concern. The blood being shed in the land of
beloved Syria is far too valuable to continue to lose day
and night. The brotherly Syrian people, who are dear
to the hearts of every Egyptian, deserve to hope for a
future of freedom and dignity. That is the essence of
the initiative that I proposed in the Holy City of Mecca
during the recent month of Ramadan, and which I have
reiterated on subsequent occasions. It aims to avoid the
worst; to check the continued suffering of the Syrian
people and the devolvement of the conflict into a full
scale civil war — God forbid — with concomitant negative effects extending beyond Syria and its
immediate neighbours.
Egypt, along with the three other countries involved
in our initiative, has held meetings that manifested
many areas of commonalities. We will continue to work
to put an end to the suffering of the Syrian people and
provide them with an opportunity to choose freely the
regime that best represents them.
After the current regime comes to an end — the
regime that is killing its own people day and night — the
Syrian people will choose, by their own free will,
a regime that represents them and that places Syria
in its proper position among democratic countries
contributing to the common march of the Arab people
based on its solid, legitimate, regional and international
role.
I would like to emphasize here that the initiative is
open to all. It is not just the purview of its four starting
parties, but is open to all who wish to positively
contribute to resolving the Syrian crisis and suffering,
that we are all responsible for.
All of us, the world over, must actively endeavour
to put an end to the tragedy. It is the tragedy of the age,
and our duty is to end it.
Egypt is committed to continuing its sincere efforts
to put an end to the catastrophe in Syria under an Arab,
regional and international framework that preserves
the unity of that brotherly State. It would involve all
factions of the Syrian people without ethnic, religious or
gender discrimination and would spare Syria the danger
of foreign military intervention, which we oppose.
Egypt is also committed to supporting the mission of
Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, Joint Special Representative of
the United Nations and the League of Arab States for
Syria, and to continuing the current efforts aimed at
unifying the Syrian opposition and encouraging it to
propose a comprehensive unified vision of an organized
democratic transfer of power by measures that preserve
the rights of all constituencies in Syria, and maintain
their essential positions in the new Syria — like the
new Egypt.
I cannot fail to reiterate Egypt’s commitment to
working with the other Arab countries to ensure that the
Arab nation reclaims its rightful position in the world.
That is an integral component of Egypt’s vision of
national security and of the larger homeland extending
from the Arab Gulf to the Atlantic Ocean — an area that thrives with opportunities for cooperation and
constructive engagement with the entire world.
Egypt also believes that the extremely valuable
contribution of the Arab nation within the wider Islamic
sphere is of vital necessity in promoting joint action
within the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Egypt will make every effort to ensure that the next
OIC conference, to be held early next year in Egypt,
will strengthen mutual understanding between Islamic
countries and the rest of the world and set in motion
the principles of the dialogue among civilizations, by
eliminating the causes of misunderstandings used by
fanatics on both sides to prove, wrongly, that differences
among people are great and to achieve political goals
completely unrelated to the noble ideals of religions,
human values or ethics.
Today more than ever, our brothers and sisters in
the Sudan need the Assembly’s support. The Sudan
is seeking to achieve stability and development
and is working to build sound and ideal relations
with South Sudan. I believe that the nascent State,
together with the Sudan, is ready to become a centre
of cooperation between the Arab world and African
countries. The Sudan has made great sacrifices in its
quest for peace and stability. It has committed itself
to the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement. It was also the first country to recognize
the nascent State of South Sudan. But let me be frank:
it has not received the support it deserves. It is now high
time for international efforts to rally in support of the
Sudan and to work on settling differences between the
Sudan and its neighbour to the south in order to resolve
all outstanding issues.
An early success of the brotherly Somali people
during the difficult transitional phase was to elect His
Excellency Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud as President,
which is a positive step towards unity and stability after
a very difficult period. I call upon the United Nations
to continue to support the Somali Government’s efforts
to fend off those seeking to hinder its efforts to achieve
stability, reconstruct State institutions and realize the
aspirations of the Somali people for a better future.
The principles of justice and right are linked
to achieving security and stability in the world,
particularly in the Middle East. Over many long years,
some have wrongfully sought to maintain stability
through oppression and tyranny. Some of us have, alas,
applauded their bad deeds. But now that the peoples of the region have regained their freedom, they will
neither tolerate, nor permit, being deprived of their
rights, by either their own leaders or outside forces.
The will of the people, especially in our region,
no longer accepts the continued non-accession of
any country to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the non-application of the
safeguards regime to that country’s nuclear facilities,
especially if such action is coupled with irresponsible
policies or arbitrary threats. In that regard, the
international community’s acceptance of the principle
of pre-emption or attempts to legitimize it represents a
serious matter that must be firmly confronted to avoid
any tendency to promote the law of the jungle.
Cognizant of the danger that the status quo
represents to the security of our important region, with
its natural resources and trade corridors, Egypt stresses
the necessity of mobilizing international efforts to
convene the special conference on declaring the Middle
East a nuclear-weapon-free zone that is also free of
other weapons of mass destruction, before the end of
the current year, with the participation of all concerned
parties, without exception.
I should like to say very clearly that the only
solution is to eliminate all nuclear weapons and all other
weapons of mass destruction. There is no alternative.
At the same time, we also emphasize the right of all
countries of the region and of the world, including
Egypt, of course, to the peaceful use of nuclear energy
within the framework of the NPT, with a commitment
to honour their obligations in that respect and provide
the necessary guarantees to the countries of the region,
so as to avoid any doubt surrounding their peaceful
nuclear programmes.
In our view, the concepts of justice, truth and
dignity form the basis of the framework for governing
international relations.
A review of international relations would
undoubtedly reveal the extent of the injustice that
has been inf licted upon the African continent. I do
not think it necessary to enumerate all the previous
pledges that have been made in the Hall to boost
development and economic growth in Africa through
aid and investment. The world has a responsibility to
support Africa’s efforts beyond mere promises and
good intentions; it must provide the assistance needed
for African countries to recover the treasures that were
stolen from them over successive eras, the last of which being the period when some thought that supporting
unjust regimes would help to achieve a false stability
that protected their interests, while those regimes
merely spread corruption and allowed for wealth to be
smuggled outside their countries.
I am aware that the desired goals can only be
achieved through the active participation of the peoples
of the continent and their assumption of their own
responsibilities. That is something that we as Africans
are ready and willing to undertake in our quest for a
better future for our countries. Today, we as Africans
have to create for our continent a new set of ambitious
goals that would ensure that we are on the right track
towards sustainable development, the fulfilment of our
aspirations for a better future and the real participation
of Africa in the international order. I assure the
Assembly that Egypt will continue to support its
brothers and sisters in Africa, and that it is ready to
cooperate with any stakeholder or party in or outside
the continent to raise living standards in Africa through
the exchange of expertise and successful practices.
As we contemplate the current international order,
we feel that there is a need to work diligently to repair
it, based on principles that would renew its legitimacy
and preserve its credibility. That is a legitimate demand
of peoples and nations as they seek to participate
in shaping a new world and a better future for their
children.
Revitalizing the role of the General Assembly
as a democratic forum that expresses the will of the
international community and reforming the structure
of a Security Council, which still reflects a bygone
era, must remain our highest priorities and must be
undertaken with due seriousness.
I would like to emphasize the need for the United
Nations to give special attention to women’s issues
and youth issues. During the Non-Aligned Movement
summit in Tehran, I proposed a new initiative to establish
a United Nations body dedicated solely to youth issues,
giving particular attention to education, training,
employment and improving youth participation in
political life. The aim is to build the capacity of future
generations to achieve their aspirations.
Egypt would like to stress that the international
system will not be fixed as long as we have double
standards. We expect from others, as others expect from
us, respect for our cultural specificities and religious
points of reference. The world beyond our region should not seek to impose on us concepts or cultures
that are unacceptable to us, nor should they politicize
certain issues and use them as a pretext to intervene in
our affairs.
What Muslims — and migrant Muslims — are
experiencing in a number of regions worldwide in
terms of discrimination, basic human rights violations
and vicious campaigns against what they hold sacred, is
unacceptable. The behaviour of some individuals in that
regard is absolutely unacceptable. We reject the insults
heaped upon the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad — peace
be upon him — as unacceptable. We oppose those who
hurl such insults. We will not allow anyone to insult the
Prophet in word or in deed. It runs counter to the most
basic principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
Unfortunately, such practices have acquired a name
today — Islamophobia.
We all have to work together. We must join hands
in confronting regressive ideas that hinder cooperation
among us. We must move together to confront
extremism, discrimination and incitement to hatred
of others on the basis of religion or race. The General
Assembly and the Security Council have the primary
responsibility for addressing a phenomenon that is
starting to have clear implications for international
peace and security.
The obscenities that I have referred to, which are
part of a recent organized campaign against Islamic
sanctities, are unacceptable and require that we take a
firm stand. We have a responsibility at this international
forum to look into how we can protect the world from
instability and insecurity.
Egypt respects freedom of expression — a freedom
of expression that is not used to incite hatred against
anyone and that is not directed towards a specific
religion or culture. We support a freedom of expression
that addresses extremism and violence and does not
deepen ignorance or disregard others. As we have said
before, we firmly oppose the use of violence as a means
of expressing objection to obscenity and indecency.
Before I conclude, I must say that the severity
and recurrence of financial and economic crises must
lead us to a review of the international economic
decision-making processes that affect the fate of
peoples who have not participated directly in those
processes but yet are unfortunately the first to bear their
negative impacts on growth, trade, the environment
and the social fabric of society, as a result of unfair trade rules and practices and conditionalities imposed
on the transfer of technology and access to necessary
financing for development. We urgently need a new
people-centred form of global economic governance that
aims at consolidating cooperation between development
partners on the basis of mutual benefit and interests.
I have laid out our vision, which is shared by the
Egyptian people. I have also attempted to brief ly outline
Egypt’s views on the main issues, which is to say the
vision of Egyptian youth, children, women and men,
Muslim and non-Muslim, on all important questions in
the Middle East, Africa and the rest of the world. From
that perspective, I am sure that the United Nations is
capable of assuming its intended role of effectively
addressing all global and regional issues and challenges
through dialogue, understanding and joint cooperation,
in accordance with the principles of international law.
Post-revolutionary Egypt will spare no effort to
deal sincerely with all Members of the Organization.
We will always remain in the forefront of international
endeavours aimed at achieving freedom, justice, social
justice and dignity for all peoples, as well as security
and stability for all our countries.
I look forward with great optimism, and I see
the peace that we call for prevailing all over the
world — a peace based on justice and conferring on
all their undiminished rights, a peace that does not
discriminate between people for any reason. That peace
will not come about until we all cooperate, until we
realize that we are all equal and share many aspirations
and ambitions. That is the peace whose message I bring
to to the Assembly — a peace of right and justice,
stability and development, interdependence of interests
and benefits, love and mutual respect. I do not believe
that achieving this will raise difficulties for any of us
if we extend the hand of cooperation, sincere intention
and righteous work. God is our witness. We are all
hopeful that we will see a better future for the world.


It is a distinct honour
for me to convey the sincere regrets of my President,
Mr. Ernest Bai Koroma, who, on account of unavoidable
circumstances, was unable to address the Assembly at
its sixty-seventh session.
I wish to join previous speakers in congratulating
the President on his election to direct the affairs of this
session and to assure him of my delegation’s fullest
support and cooperation throughout his tenure. Allow
me to commend his predecessor, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser, and to thank him for the skilful manner in
which he efficiently conducted the affairs of the last
session. My profound appreciation also goes to the
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his tireless
efforts in advancing the United Nations agenda to make
the world a peaceful and safer place for humankind.
The President’s choice of the theme “Bringing about
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations by peaceful means” is a timely wake-up call
for the United Nations to fully embrace the fundamental
principle upon which our Organization was established.
Indeed, only with such adjustments and the practical manifestation of our collective commitment to peaceful
coexistence can we, as a global family, successfully
tackle the myriad of prevailing global challenges.
They include poverty, hunger, the gross and systematic
violation of human rights, extremist fundamentalism,
terrorism and transnational organized crime, as well as
the reconstruction and strengthening of fragile States
and economies emerging from conflict. In that context,
we should remind ourselves that, a little over a year ago,
the Assembly adopted the landmark resolution 66/291
on mediation that recognizes its growing usefulness
as a means of preventing disputes from escalating into
conflicts and as a cost-effective tool in the peaceful
settlement of disputes and the prevention of conflicts.
Amid such security challenges and global economic
uncertainties, the African continent continues to
strive hard to contain and to address the resurgence
of conflicts in the region by peaceful means. At
the regional and subregional levels, the year under
review has been marred by sporadic terrorist strikes
by extremists, leading to the extensive loss of life and
massive destruction of property, including coveted
world heritage sites, and the recent killing of the United
States Ambassador and three other Americans in
Libya. Sierra Leone strongly condemns such brutal and
cowardly acts and will continue to work closely with
all partners, particularly within the framework of the
Mano River Union, the Economic Community of West
African States, the African Union (AU) and the United
Nations, in seeking a lasting solution to that scourge.
Until recently, the use of preventive diplomacy in
the maintenance of international peace and security
was not used to its fullest potential by the United
Nations system. Rather, it was used more as a tool in
crisis management. I am, however, heartened by the
present impetus and would like to take this opportunity
to commend the role of the Secretary-General, his
Special Representatives and the crisis-management
operations and missions around the world, as well as
the increasing role of the AU, subregional organizations
and international contact groups, in tackling crisis
situations that have emerged globally in recent times.
Sierra Leone will continue to wholeheartedly
embrace mediation and other conflict-prevention
initiatives as a key and indispensable tool in settling
disputes and in preventing and resolving conflicts. The
lessons learned from our experience have enhanced our
conviction in the core principles of democracy, human
rights and good governance as prerequisites for political stability, sustainable peace, security and development.
We therefore remain strongly committed to the rule of
law, respect for and the protection of human rights, gender
equality, the empowerment of women, equal access to
justice, fighting corruption with zero tolerance and
pursuing the internationally agreed development goals,
including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
To that end, we are committed to ensuring participatory
governance, conducting free, fair, transparent and
credible elections, and combating transnational
organized crime in all its forms.
Sierra Leone therefore views with disappointment
the fact that the United Nations Conference on the Arms
Trade Treaty ended without a negotiated consensus
on the treaty’s adoption. The Sierra Leone delegation
believes that we must all earnestly endeavour to
adopt a well-considered and balanced treaty with
adequate provisions to effectively regulate the transfer
of conventional weapons. If we continue to delay
in that respect, we face the risk of their continuous
use in committing grave violations of national and
international law, which has the potential to destabilize
peace and security. We therefore urge Member States
to consider our moral obligation to humankind as
our key guiding principle and to sincerely commit to
contributing to the establishment of mechanisms to
prevent the diversion of such weapons into the illicit
market.
In three years, we will reach the target date of 2015
for the implementation of the Millennium Development
Goals. For many Member States, particularly those
of the global South, the voyage has been rough and,
at times, turbulent. Worse still, the effects of the
food, fuel and financial crises that struck the global
community in 2008, as well as the impact of climate
change, conflicts and deadly pandemics, have further
exacerbated the situation and compromised the
determination and efforts of developing countries,
especially least developed countries (LDCs), to attain
the internationally agreed development goals, including
the MDGs.
We commend Brazil on successfully hosting
the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20). We also applaud our solidarity
and flexibility during the negotiation process,
enabling the incorporation of LDCs and conflict-
affected countries in the Rio+20 outcome document
(resolution 66/288, annex). We look forward to a similar
spirit of solidarity in defining sustainable development goals that take on board the concerns of the most
vulnerable members of the community of nations.
Despite the onerous challenges facing the global
community, Sierra Leone has recorded significant
progress in strengthening its political and economic
governance, including the improvement of its social
indicators. We have made substantial progress in
implementing the President’s Agenda for Change
(2008-2012), which covers the priorities of our national
development aspirations, as well as key peacebuilding
priorities, in tandem with the United Nations Joint
Vision for Sierra Leone.
The ongoing foreign direct investment in various
sectors of the economy, notably the mining sector, is
brightening the prospects for the economy. Hopefully,
it will place Sierra Leone among the fastest growing
economies in the world in the next few years.
The Agenda for Change continues to provide a
strong partnership link between Sierra Leone and
the United Nations, as well as other international
development partners. To date, its implementation has
had a great impact on peacebuilding and on laying
the foundations for sustainable development and the
consolidation of peace.
Sierra Leone today is considered a showpiece of
best practices in donor coordination and a success story
in peacebuilding. In that regard, we reiterate our call to
the international community to continue to invest in our
success in the spirit of the New Deal for Engagement
in Fragile States, which was agreed in Busan, and
the need for special attention to be paid to countries
emerging from conflict. The successor development
framework to our Agenda for Change, entitled Agenda
for Prosperity, is anchored on the New Deal and is well
under way.
In its short existence to date, the peacebuilding
architecture has proven its worth as envisaged by the
leaders at the 2005 World Summit, whose goal was
to help countries emerging from conflict make an
irreversible transition from war to sustainable peace.
As one of the first countries on the Peacebuilding
Commission’s agenda, Sierra Leone has charted a
path that can serve as a learning model for others. In
that regard, we strongly believe that strengthening
peacebuilding will help to better safeguard countries
from relapsing into conflict and sustain peace beyond
the life of peacekeeping missions. It will also help
ensure that the enormous investments that Member States make in peacekeeping operations will achieve
their intended result.
Sierra Leone continues to uphold the principles
of interreligious tolerance, peaceful coexistence and
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. At
the national level, we have enhanced political stability
by strengthening good governance institutions, giving
them sufficient leverage and latitude to deliver on their
respective statutory mandates. That arrangement has
earned the Human Rights Commission of Sierra Leone
an “A status” accreditation from the International
Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights
Institutions. In that regard, we remain focused on our
obligations to report to international treaty bodies and
have therefore submitted our initial report with regard
to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, while work is well under way on our reports
in compliance with the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment and the African Charter on Human and
Peoples’ Rights.
Along those lines, we recently established a national
commission for disabled persons, consistent with the
relevant provisions of the 2011 Disability Act, enacted
the 2012 Sexual Offences Act to address the specific
issue of sexual violence against women and girls, and
passed into law the 2012 bill on arms and ammunition
to regulate gun ownership so as to ensure compliance
with the Economic Community of West African States
Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons. A
gender-equality bill is also in process for enactment.
I commend the support of the United Nations and
the international partners for the work of the Special
Court for Sierra Leone, which has made a number
of critical contributions to the advancement of the
rule of law at both the national and the international
levels. In particular, we compliment the Special Court
for bringing to trial perpetrators of crimes against
humanity and violations of international humanitarian
law committed in Sierra Leone during the course of
our 11-year conflict. Sierra Leone, the United Nations
and the international community can be proud of the
Special Court’s immense achievements. With our
continued support, the Special Court can complete its
remaining work.
President Ernest Bai Koroma, in his address to
the General Assembly at the opening of its sixty-sixth
session, underscored the imperative of peacefully settling disputes in Africa and the world at large
by emphasizing that the world is so interconnected
in trade, politics and the social spheres that a single
nation’s upheaval could affect many other countries
(see A/66/PV.20). It is against that background that
we, as a country, have continued to nurture closer
ties with our sister States in the Mano River basin in
order to deepen cooperation and collaboration and
address issues of common concern, ranging from
transnational organized crime to border disputes.
The recent decision by the Presidents of Sierra Leone
and her sister Republic of Guinea to demilitarize the
Yenga border area and establish a joint committee of
the two countries in order to ensure a final peaceful
resolution of the Yenga problem is consistent with our
commitment to the peaceful resolution of international
disputes. Indeed, our steadfast commitment to global
peace and security is evident in our participation in
United Nations peacekeeping missions in Lebanon,
Somalia, the Sudan, South Sudan and Timor-Leste.
The 2012 presidential, parliamentary and
local council elections scheduled to take place on
17 November are barely 46 days away. With the support
of our bilateral and multilateral partners, preparations
are in full swing for the conduct of the third round of
such elections within the decade following the end
of our civil conflict. The Government is fully aware
that the conduct and outcome of the elections will be a
critical benchmark for assessing the level of our gains
in the area of peace consolidation and democracy. The
Government, relevant stakeholders and our development
partners are therefore expressly determined to exert a
collective effort and use every available opportunity to
ensure that we put solid mechanisms in place for the
peaceful conduct and achievement of transparent and
credible democratic elections. It is in that regard that,
in May this year, all key stakeholders in the country
committed themselves to a credible and violence-free
process by signing the declaration on the 2012
Elections. We have thus consolidated the electoral laws
and established electoral offences courts to ensure the
legitimacy and credibility of the electoral process.
As Coordinator of the Committee of Ten Heads of
State of the African Union for the reform of the United
Nations Security Council, I am pleased to report to the
General Assembly that, at the last AU Summit held in
Addis Ababa, African heads of State reaffirmed their
strong commitment to the Ezulwini Consensus and
the Sirte Declaration containing the African common
position on the reform of the Security Council. To
that end, we are committed to building alliances
in support of the African common position with
various interest groups and Member States engaged
in the intergovernmental negotiations, with a view to
achieving reform of the Security Council as soon as
possible. In that pursuit, member States of the African
Union have been called upon to include the issue of
Security Council reform among the priorities in their
foreign policies.
In that respect, Africa continues to engage in the
intergovernmental negotiations with an open-door
policy aimed at correcting the historical injustice
suffered by Africa as the only continent not represented
in the permanent-member category of the Council and at
the same time underrepresented in the non-permanent
category. Since the Security Council remains at the
centre of global governance in the maintenance of
international peace and security, it is both imperative
and compelling that the international community
recognize the need described in the 2005 World
Summit Outcome to make the Council more broadly
representative, efficient and transparent in order
to enhance its effectiveness and the legitimacy and
implementation of its decisions, as well as the need to
democratize the Council’s decision-making process and
correct the lingering historical injustice inf licted upon
the continent. In that regard, we urge the wider United
Nations membership to work with Africa to urgently
address that injustice. Africa is not being unreasonable
in its demand, and we all know that procrastination on
the matter has led to a travesty of justice and fair play,
which undermines the dignity of our peoples.
We are determined at the national level to surmount
all impediments on our way to development and to
delivering fully on all the projects in our “Agenda for
Change”. We are confident that with sustained support
from our bilateral and multilateral partners, we shall
promote socioeconomic progress and provide a better
standard of living for our people in an atmosphere of
peace and security. What we cannot afford at this time
in our history is to fail in our duty and obligation to
provide peace, security and sustainable development
for our people.
At the global level, as we look at the work that
lies before the sixty-seventh session, let us not lose
sight of our shared obligation to ensure a peaceful
and secure world by resolving our differences through
constructive dialogue and thus strengthen the existing mediation mechanisms provided in the Charter and
institutionalized within the United Nations system.


At the
outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Jeremić on his
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-seventh session. I am confident that the Assembly’s
work will be crowned with success, thanks to his rich
diplomatic experience and expertise. I assure him of
Lebanon’s full support in his efforts. I would also like to
thank His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser,
President of the Assembly at its sixty-sixth session,
for his tireless efforts and remarkable achievements. I
also extend my gratitude to the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his keen concern
over critical global issues, especially those related to
the Middle East, in particular my country, Lebanon,
which was mentioned in his annual report (A/67/1).
Lebanon, a founding State Member of the United
Nations, reiterates its commitment to the noble
principles and human values that make up the founding
pillars of the Organization. Those standards enable it
to act globally for justice, freedom, prosperity and
peace and to shoulder its responsibility to address the
world’s ongoing challenges. Those challenges test the
international Organization’s credibility, efficiency,
status, and role in ensuring social freedom, political
stability and economic independence for all peoples of
the world, free from hegemony, polarization, fear and
double standards.
In the light of the major developments and changes
that have occurred since the Second World War, it
has become necessary to strengthen the role of the
General Assembly as a universal organ. That should
preclude the Security Council privileges, which are
currently restricted to a limited number of countries
that control crucial decisions, in particular those
related to war and peace. In that regard, in order to
ensure greater justice and democracy, the structure,
privileges and expansion of the Security Council
should be reconsidered. The new global political,
economic and social realities should be taken into
account by extending the membership so as to enable
smaller countries to have greater representation. That
would fulfil the United Nations principles of equality
and justice among peoples.

Our meeting today takes place at a time of major
global developments and changes, in particular for
Arab nations. Political reform had therefore become
inevitable in order to achieve democracy and to lay the
foundations for freedom and respect for human rights.
However, those legitimate demands can be attained
solely through a peaceful transition and dialogue, not
violence and foreign intervention, which will lead
only to more chaos, injustice and division, increasing
the number of refugees and exacerbating related
humanitarian consequences. Therefore, with regard
to the Syrian crisis, Lebanon reaffirms its policy of
disassociation at the political and the security levels in
order to maintain its stability and balance of powers and
in order to avoid unnecessary repercussions and risks.
Lebanon has not refrained from providing
humanitarian support to the displaced Syrians in
Lebanon, in an effort to alleviate their suffering.
However, Lebanon alone cannot deal with the
increasing number of displaced Syrians and their
humanitarian needs. We have provided assistance, but
the number of displaced persons has risen and exceeded
our capacities. We can no longer absorb them on our
own. More assistance by relevant international bodies
is needed to help us in that regard.
The security repercussions of the Syrian crisis
threaten civic peace and stability at the local level
and in the Middle East. The international community
must make greater efforts to reach a political solution
between the parties in Syria, in order to put an end to
the violence that is claiming hundreds of innocent lives
every day.
As we support the freedom and legitimate rights
of all people, we need to raise a crucial issue, namely,
the right of the fraternal Palestinian people to return
to their homeland and to establish an independent
Palestinian State, with Jerusalem as its capital. The
recognition of the Palestinian State and its acceptance
as a full Member of this international Organization and
its affiliated agencies should pave the way for a just
political solution to the Palestinian question and correct
the ongoing historical injustice that has been inf licted
on the Palestinian people since 1948.
Lebanon is committed to maintaining stability
and security in southern Lebanon, and we reaffirm
our commitment to Security Council resolution 1701
(2006). However, the continuous Israeli violations of
Lebanese sovereignty by air, land and sea — in excess
of 9,000 violations since 2006 — are limiting the
freedom of action of the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and threatening the security
of its members, once again violating international
resolutions, specifically resolution 1701 (2006).
We appeal to the international community to
pressure Israel to respect international resolutions
and international law, to immediately withdraw from
occupied North Ghajar, the Shaba’a farmlands and the
Kfar Shouba hills, and to bring to an end the continuous
threats to Lebanon’s security. Lebanon values
UNIFIL’s role and its sacrifices, as well as its ongoing
cooperation and coordination with the Lebanese army,
and we express our gratitude to all participating and
supporting countries.
Lebanon calls for the full implementation of
resolution 66/192, of 22 December 2011, regarding the
oil slick on its shores during the Israeli 2006 war on
Lebanon, and demands compensation, in application of
paragraph 4 of that resolution.
We reiterate our commitment to defend our
exclusive economic area and our maritime borders as
set by international law and in accordance with the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
which affirms our right to exploit our wealth and
natural resources.
Lebanon, a vital crossroads of religions, beliefs,
cultures and civilizations, is a country committed
to divine and human values. We are fully aware that
diversity and difference are an integral part of life in
our region and throughout the world. We reiterate our
commitment to freedom of expression, tolerance and
dialogue. In the words of Pope John Paul II, Lebanon
is not merely a country, it is a message. We consider
prejudice towards all religions and prophets a clear
aggression against the dignity, values and feelings of
all believers, for it can only instigate conflict, violence
and reactions that we condemn and could never accept.
No one could accept them.
We therefore emphasize the importance and
necessity of dialogue between civilizations and
cultures. Building trust and fostering rules of conduct
binding on all are essential to end once and for all the
desecration of religious symbols, as well as to ensure
respect for people’s feelings and their freedom of belief.
Such efforts can put an end to the extreme reactions
and condemnable practices that we have unfortunately
witnessed recently in certain countries. Respect for religion does not restrict freedom of expression; rather,
it is a rational practice of such freedom.
In that spirit, Lebanon has launched a national
dialogue among the different Lebanese constituencies
based on established national principles that were
agreed on and developed under the Baabda Declaration
(A/66/849, annex), which was welcomed by the Security
Council. Dialogue is considered the best means for
ensuring stability in Lebanon.
Lebanon is committed to peace and strives for its
achievement, especially in the Middle East, a region we
would like to be an oasis of peace, free of weapons of
mass destruction. In that regard, we should remember
that Israel is the only country in the region to possess
nuclear weapons and that it continues to refuse to
ratify the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, a position that constitutes an ongoing threat
to peace and security in the region and the world at
large.
We would like to emphasize once more the need
for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of the Iranian
nuclear issue, while stressing countries’ right to use
nuclear power for peaceful purposes and avoiding
double standards and selectivity, a problem that is
faced by many regions in the world and by our region
in particular. We also welcome ongoing international
efforts to combat terrorism, the scourge of our time.
The peace we strive for is founded on what is
right, not a fait accompli peace. The justice we strive
for, especially in our region, is far removed from the
selectivity and double standards that are, unfortunately,
the case globally, especially in the Middle East. Our
region is still suffering from the consequences of the
establishment of the State of Israel, in 1948, and from
its ongoing occupation of Arab territories in complete
disregard for international law and United Nations
resolutions.
Peace, freedom and justice are the pillars for
attaining both security and stability. They will pave
the way to the eradication of oppression, extremism,
hegemony and terrorism in our world. Stability cannot
exist without a Palestinian spring, and a Palestinian
spring can occur only through the full implementation
of the Palestinians’ right to self-determination on their
land.
The Arab world is witnessing one of the most
critical periods of its modern history. We have reached a crossroads where societies must make choices that
will translate their ambitions into reality. We therefore
request the international community to draw up a
serious economic, cultural and development road
map to assist those countries in that newly reached
breakthrough. Our young Arab societies are in need of
enlightenment and development that can be achieved
only by providing education and employment to put an
end to ignorance and improve our living standards. That
will also certainly contribute to fighting extremism.
We therefore suggest that countries step forward
with their technical expertise while others offer
financial assistance to draft a plan that could be
implemented through the framework of a new institution
to assist young men and women working in public
administration to promote good governance, efficiency
and productivity in governmental agencies. From
that perspective, I propose to establish an institution
in Beirut that will soon be able to offer an integrated
programme on good governance.
As the Middle East is witnessing the most tumultous
period of its history, we call on the international
community to perceive Lebanon as the beacon of
hope and message of freedom and pluralism that it is.
Lebanon is not merely a small nation in need of shelter
in a stormy region, and we are not asking for protection
to ensure our own survival. We are, rather, calling on
the Assembly to see us in the light of the role that we
have repeatedly played. Despite all the difficulties we
are facing, our country, which is small geographically
but large in its global presence, has proved itself to be
the epitome of a democratic, tolerant and pluralistic
country among its neighbours.
It is therefore the duty of the international
community to protect Lebanon, now and in the future,
from the turbulence of the region and to help us so that
we may thrive, flourish and shine our rays all over
the Middle East. Only then will the United Nations
provide our unstable region with a genuine source of
inspiration, a viable, vibrant nation, an example and
model of civil and religious liberties, social diversity
and political freedom.
I call on all those here not to perceive Lebanon as a
responsibility but as an opportunity, an opportunity to
provide the safest and fastest path to all that the Middle
East can be — democratic, peaceful and prosperous.
Let us work to protect Lebanon from harm so we can maintain peace in the Middle East and the world as a
whole.


First of all, let me congratulate His Excellency Mr. Vuk
Jeremić on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, I wish him
every success in carrying out his important functions.
It is also a great pleasure to express my gratitude to
His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for
his successful, fruitful leadership of the work of the
Assembly’s previous session.
It would be difficult to say that the overall situation
in the world has improved. We have not yet fully
recovered from one of the most serious global economic
crises in the past 65 years. Yes, the overall economic
situation is gradually normalizing. Proof of that is the
improving forecasts for world economic growth by key
international organizations for this year. However, we
should point out that risks remain and that the recovery
process is still very uncertain.
It is unfortunate that the world has not become
any safer. We are seeing a rise in confrontations and
tension in various parts of the world. Global climate
change, population growth against the background of
a deteriorating environment, the scarcity of natural
resources and of access to drinking water, and many
other problems are in the aggregate stoking tensions
and the potential for conflict in areas of cooperation on
the international arena.
Traditional ways of life are changing fast under the
impact of globalization processes. States are finding
it increasingly hard to tackle modern challenges by
themselves because of the transborder nature of those
challenges. Terrorism, separatism, extremism, drugs,
information wars — these are a kind of tumour for
humankind and cannot be eradicated at the local level
alone.

Sadly, there are forces at work in the world that
wish to drag humankind to the brink of the precipice,
to kindle the flames of hostility wherever they go.
One glaring example is the video Innocence of
Muslims, which symbolically appeared on the eve of
the General Assembly session. Kyrgyzstan condemns
the provocative nature of its content. It is unacceptable
to insult anyone’s religious sensibilities, regardless of
their faith. Humanism, tolerance and mutual respect
make the world better and safer. Therefore, we also
reject the use of force against diplomats — envoys of
peace and a symbol of cooperation — of any country.
Humankind is developing and changing fast.
Regional, and even local, events can impact on global
processes. In 2011, we observed with sympathy and
solidarity the events in the Middle East and North Africa.
The situation in Syria that we have seen this year can
only be a cause of serious concern for the international
community. All attempts to resolve the military conflict
and restore stability to that county have, sadly, failed.
With regard to the thousands of civilian victims, the
Kyrgyz Republic strongly advocates a speedy end to the
violence in that country, the opening of a broad national
dialogue between the political forces and a continuation
of political and socioeconomic reform and participation
of all Syrian citizens.
The Afghan factor continues to be a source of
threat to international security. There are concerns that
a full, swift drawdown of coalition forces could open
the way for destructive forces and the emergence of
various extremist and terrorist groups in neighbouring
countries. Every stakeholder in the world can make
a contribution to the issue of security by reviving
Afghanistan’s economy and developing trade, economic,
cultural and humanitarian ties with the country, as well
as its communication infrastructure.
Since 2001 Kyrgyzstan has played its part in that
process, rendering assistance to the counter-terrorist
coalition in Afghanistan through the cargo Transit
Center at Manas International Airport. It is clear that
the counter-terrorist coalition, with the withdrawal
of the military contingent from Afghanistan, must
bring its mission to a logical conclusion to create the
foundation of a national administrative system for
that country so that all branches of power can be fully
functional throughout the territory of Afghanistan.
We must do our utmost for the economic
rehabilitation of Afghanistan by engaging it in the development of regional cooperation and implementing
joint socioeconomic projects between international
organizations and financial institutions. In that regard,
Kyrgyzstan is ready to expand trade and economic
ties to export electricity to Afghanistan as part of the
CASA-1000 project, with the support of donor countries
and the international financial institutions.
The peaceful development of Afghanistan is
impossible without eradicating the systemic, ubiquitous
cultivation of opium in that country. For many years
Afghanistan has been the biggest producer and exporter
of drugs. The growing penetration of that deadly crop is
harming the countries of Central Asia. Not only are they
on the northern transit route towards the countries of
Europe and Asia, they are also progressively becoming
consumers.
Drugs are the enemy of civilized humankind. Where
there are drugs, there are international organized crime
groups and transborder challenges. Easy money earned
at the cost of people’s lives has no productive basis. It
brings destruction and the degradation of human value.
Drugs also spawn corruption and erode State systems
from the inside. Criminal proceeds are used to bribe
law enforcement bodies and the judiciary. They fund
corrupt politicians who seek power. The international
community must provide technical, economic and
other support to Afghanistan’s neighbours, including
the Central Asian countries, to build an effective
shield to neutralize and localize drug trafficking from
Afghanistan.
We believe that the mission of the United Nations,
as the single universal multilateral Organization, is to
be on the front line in tackling all modern challenges
and issues.
We should recognize that the global prevention
architecture, the international and regional security
system of today, does not reflect the requirements of
our time. It is unfortunate that despite the search for
universal methods for mediation and peaceful conflict
resolution, the international community still has not
resolved those issues.
The need to reform the United Nations architecture
and adapt it to the realities of the modern international
situation has not abated. A top priority is the reform
of principal organs of the United Nations, namely, the
Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
We should point out that the tasks of those structures,
in the light of the current international situation, require serious transformation and integration of
fundamentally new approaches.
In terms of the reform of the United Nations, we
propose the expansion of the membership of the Security
Council to make it more representative, transparent and
democratic. The reform should be based on principles
of universality, efficiency and broad geographic
representation, particularly for those countries that
have not yet had the chance to take part in its work as
non-permanent members.
At the same time, we need to strengthen the
coordinating role of the Economic and Social Council
as a global governance mechanism on issues of
sustainable development, food security, humanitarian
assistance, environmental cooperation and achievement
of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by the
2015 deadline.
The current global situation dictates the need
to consolidate the efforts of all countries to develop
tangible action based on objective, fair ref lection of
their interests and needs. On that basis, the Kyrgyz
Republic has submitted its candidature for the Economic
and Social Council for the period 2013-2015. If elected
by Member States to that organ with such enormous
potential, the Kyrgyz Republic intends to play its part
in tackling problems on the global agenda.
The problems of sustainable development
and global climate change have presented serious
challenges in recent years, and the attention of
the international community must not slacken. In
supporting the global discussions on a green economy
model that took place at the Rio+20 Conference on
Sustainable Development, Kyrgyzstan chose its future
path towards long-term sustainable green development
and an environment-minded economy. We would like
to confirm our commitment to developing our economy
through complying with requirements to protect our
environment and with a safe approach to national
resources, which are a national asset.
At Rio+20, the importance of development issues
concerning mountainous areas was acknowledged with
regard to managing global natural resources, as was
the need for support for the sustainable development
of mountain regions in developing countries. It should
be noted that despite the assistance of the international
financial institutions, developing mountain States
continue to suffer difficulties. High levels of poverty
and isolation, increasing transport costs and large foreign debts comprise the main problems facing
mountain countries. In that situation, it will be difficult
to achieve the MDGs and attain the status set out in the
United Nations documents on sustainable development.
In that respect, I wish to call attention to the
importance of the launching of international discussions
on the question of exchanging Kyrgyzstan’s foreign
debt for sustainable development projects. We call on
the United Nations and its entities to render support on
that matter.
By the will of God, we gained independence 21
years ago. Previous leaders were unable to cope with
the task of building a truly independent Kyrgyzstan.
They could not build an effective, transparent State
system for governing that would work for the benefit of
the people. Most of the important issues were tackled
behind closed doors, without informing society. For
the sake of personal enrichment and gain, some State
decisions were even taken to the detriment of national
interests.
The former Kyrgyz leaders declared a course for
democracy that in fact did not take place. The former
regimes established a clan-like system of governance
that f louted the principles of a free society and usurped
power. They not only attempted to hand power down
to their children, but brought the people to their knees
merely for the sake of their personal enrichment. The
freedom-loving people of Kyrgyzstan therefore carried
out two revolutions, in 2005 and 2010, in response to
the unjust, tyrannical and authoritarian power.
The latest choice has proved a difficult one for our
people, despite our commitment to democratic values,
which is almost hard-wired in the Kyrgyz people, part
of their very heritage. Over 100 glorious sons of our
country laid down their lives for democracy during the
April revolution of 2010. Their memory lives on. Also,
1,500 people were injured.
Over the past two years, our country has begun to
implement new, democratic governance. The Kyrgyz
people have chosen a parliamentary, presidential form
of governance. We believe that was a just decision.
According to impartial observers, our country has
made significant progress during the past year in terms
of building a democratic State.
We began under difficult conditions. In the years
of independence in Kyrgyzstan, industry virtually
ground to a halt. No new jobs were created. Labour migration grew. One third of the working population
was forced to find employment abroad. We were left
with ineffective public administration institutions,
low per-capita income, a reduced budget, rampant
corruption and organized crime, as well as unhampered
drug-trafficking from Afghanistan to the north, east
and west.
Currently, we are waging an uncompromising
struggle against the corruption that is wearing away the
State system from within. Civil servants who are found
to be involved in corruption are being prosecuted under
the law. In modern Kyrgyzstan, there will be no caste
of those whom the law does not touch.
The battle against corruption is already seeing
tangible results. Senior State officials under
investigation have been arrested, including members
of Parliament, ministers, their deputies and others.
Leaders of organized crime groups are either in prison
or on the run outside of the country.
We are determined to extradite for prosecution
those people for whom international warrants have
been issued. In the name of fairness, the former leaders
of Kyrgyzstan, who have taken shelter in neighbouring
countries along with their inner circle, must be
sanctioned in strict compliance with Kyrgyz legislation.
Kyrgyzstan stresses that they are being prosecuted not
for politically motivated acts, but for specific crimes
punishable by law. They gave the orders to open fire on
peaceful civilians and to destroy innocent people. They
pillaged their own people and the country’s budget and
took enormous financial assets out of the country. They
have used criminal gains to buy villas, land and other
costly material goods. In such issues, punishment must
be just and inevitable so as to deter future leaders from
repeating such actions.
Therefore, we still hope that the Byelorussian
authorities, partners of ours in the Collective Security
Treaty Organization and the Eurasian Economic Union
and who have assumed responsibilities under the Minsk
and Kishinev Conventions, will show their commitment
to their international legal obligations and extradite
the relatives and the retinue of the former President of
Kyrgyzstan, Kurmanbek Bakiyev, who have been hiding
in their territory and even have Byelorussian passports.
The United Nations needs to establish clear standards
and procedures to ensure justice at the international
level, and especially for the return of illegally gained
assets.
Kyrgyzstan is steadfastly building a parliamentary
democracy, a direct authority that represents the
people, their wishes and their needs. At present, there
are processes in place that are gradually bringing our
society to a healthy state. Today, Parliament is engaged in
political processes. Gradually, polemics and arguments
are transitioning from street democracy to a civilized
form for resolving any significant controversial issues
within the walls of Parliament. Under the national
Constitution, the Kyrgyz Parliament is the highest
representative body, carrying out the functions of
legislative authority and control. The Government is
fully accountable to the Parliament.
A major test, and at the same time an indicator, is the
fact that since the adoption of the new Constitution in
2011, we have seen the peaceful launch of all institutions
of authority in accordance with the letter of the law. The
members of Parliament have been elected. At the end of
2011 we saw, for the first time in Kyrgyzstan’s history,
a peaceful transfer of power from the President to the
newly elected Head of State, Almazbek Atambayev. A
functioning coalition Government is in place.
We are reforming the judicial system, which must
be equitable and fully independent. Despite strong
opposition from certain quarters who are not interested
in seeing the successful conclusion of that issue,
we have, in the space of two years, launched a new,
transparent mechanism for the selection of judges. In
mid-September, the Parliament approved the 25 judges
of the Supreme Court. The selection of judges to the
Constitutional Court and local courts is also under way.
The establishment of an independent judiciary
is extremely important for us. It will allow us to
achieve a just public administration in which every
citizen will be equal before the law. We are working
effectively with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights and other agencies on
the legal system and on improving legislation to ensure
everyone’s equality before the law.
With the participation of the Parliament, the
country has undertaken planning and reforms in all
spheres of the State system — in the justice system,
law enforcement, taxation, oversight and others. All of
that requires stronger legislation. Kyrgyzstan is taking
its first steps in the new format of a parliamentary
republic. Sustainable development depends on the level
of governance, on the rule of law and on human rights.
We believe in the bright future of our country and that
very soon all our countrymen will be able to say with
pride that they are the citizens of a strong, prosperous
Kyrgyzstan.

One can more clearly see the sanctity of our
fatherland and our true values of independence from afar.
I would like to appeal to my countrymen from the
highest podium in the world. Twenty years ago, God
granted us the independence that our ancestors had
dreamed of for centuries, for which they had shed
their blood and sacrificed their lives. The freedom that
was sent down to our people as a blessing should be
strengthened without division, by tireless effort and
labour united in harmony. Regardless of provocation
by two-faced forces, we need to continue to strengthen
the path on which we set forth. Let us build a strong,
united beloved Kyrgyzstan. To reach a bright future we
need to continue to move forward. Life is a struggle
between light and dark, good and bad. We need unity.
We need work and welfare, not animosity and discord.
May the Creator bless our nation as it moves towards
bright goals.

Unfortunately, our country is still weak and
economically dependent. We are not free in the choice
of our foreign sources of energy, but that problem is
gradually being tackled with the assistance of our
strategic partners. Kyrgyzstan needs the help of the
international community to tackle the problem of
our foreign debt, which is hampering the process of
economic growth of the State and the implementation
of fundamental reforms.
We fully share what Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon said here in his opening statement at the
Assembly’s sixty-seventh session, namely, that
developing States need support (see A/67/PV.1). We
believe that developing democracies in particular need
support from countries of the democratic club and
from economically developed States. To consolidate
parliamentary democracy, Kyrgyzstan vitally needs
the support of our principal partners for the complex
reforms undertaken in restructuring or in writing off
of Kyrgyzstan’s State debt. I wish to stress that we
have a clear vision of how to conduct reforms and how
to achieve development of the State. However, in the
light of the high deficit, we need significant additional
resources, which we will certainly return once we have achieved development and prosperity in the country in
the coming years.
We are open to mutually beneficial, trusting
partnerships and cooperation with all States. Kyrgyzstan
has great economic potential. We are an open country,
willing to engage in mutual dialogue. We have great
industrial and metallurgical potential. In Kyrgyzstan
you can find most of the elements on Mendeleev’s table
of elements.
Critically important for many energy projects,
we have a highly qualified labour force and cheap
electricity. In the modern world, energy is the driver of
progress. Kyrgyzstan has huge hydroelectric potential,
which we have begun to exploit. Every year we develop
around 14 billion kilowatts per hour of electricity, which
is not enough to satisfy the hydro-energy demand of
Kyrgyzstan, which is around 142.5 billion kilowatts per
hour.
On 20 September, Kyrgyzstan and Russia concluded
an agreement that is vital for the entire Central Asian
region on building and operationalizing the Kambar-
Ata and the Naryn Cascade power plants. Participation
in building one of the biggest hydroelectric projects
in Central Asia will include our neighbours in the
region and allow Kyrgyzstan not only to increase
the development of cost-effective, environmentally
clean electricity but also to preserve the water in the
foothills that is currently supplying our neighbours
during the growing season. The benefit of the effective
implementation of such projects is clear. It will enhance
our hydroelectric export potential and protect drinking
water for our neighbours. We invite all investors to take
part in building those projects.
To conclude, I would like to note that the
international community is undergoing a difficult
period. Political and social upheavals are creating
numerous obstacles on the path to human development.
We are seeing a new era for the world order, combined
with new historical challenges and changes. At this
critical stage the Organization must continue its lofty
mission to build peace and to achieve sustainable
development throughout the world. Kyrgyzstan, in the
spirit of solidarity and cooperation with the United
Nations, is prepared to play its part in tackling the
major challenges of this day.