I would like, first of all,
to thank the outgoing President, Mr. John Ashe, for
his sterling efforts in presiding over the sixty-eighth
session of the General Assembly in a year that was
dedicated to island States around the world. Let me
also congratulate Mr. Sam Kutesa and welcome him
as the incoming President of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. He can count on Grenada’s
support to contribute to the deliberations in a positive
and meaningful way.

As we gather here in New York yet again, we can
celebrate the remarkable history of our institution in this
beautifully refurbished United Nations Headquarters.
I wish to put on record Grenada’s appreciation to the
donors who contributed and to the Secretary-General
for his leadership on this project. With its large open
spaces and glass façade, the building’s design speaks
to our ideals of transparency, openness and dialogue.
The building’s mid-twentieth-century features recall
the spirit of an age when space was the new frontier.

The space age has given way to a new and
exciting information age. Today, a young girl armed
with a smartphone in Gujarat, India, can Google the
same satellite images of our planet as a child in Great
Britain. Exposed to the right ideas on the Internet,
children — whether in Greensboro in the United
States, or Grenoble in France, or Grenada in the
Caribbean — can have the same seeds of hope, the
same aspirations for happiness and personal growth,
and the same sense of duty towards neighbourhood and
planet. For aspiring young people everywhere, coming
of age is symbolized by ownership, not of a car, but of

a mobile phone or a computer tablet. Those are today’s
vehicles on the information highway for the world’s
youth seeking ideas, identity and connectedness.

We come to the United Nations today to feel that
sense of connectedness amid the chaos of today’s
challenges. We come to these refurbished Headquarters
to renew our commitment to peace and security and
to revitalize our mission, not to the stars, but to work
for a safer planet with shared prosperity for all. Today,
in this iconic Hall, it is too soon to say “mission
accomplished”, but for the most part, our original
mission for dialogue and the rule of law among abiding
nations has been accomplished.

Sitting here among ourselves, we are, for the most
part, preaching to the converted. The long-standing
conflict between Israel and Palestine has given way to a
realization that the only viable solution is the two-State
solution. Moreover, sworn enemies in this Hall now
confer on how to tackle much more sinister enemies
of peace.

Those new enemies have no flags fluttering
proudly outside, nor electronic nameplates inside.
They are not here in our space-age Hall; they are out
there in cyberspace, a place where violence and hate
in isolated corners can spread like wildfire across the
globe. Captured on mobile phones and uploaded to the
Internet, gruesome images from a remote backstreet
can inflict fear in the hearts of ordinary citizens on
Main Street everywhere.

The shocking beheadings we see in the media are
the weeping ooze from the cancerous underbelly of our
world today. They are the symptoms of an insidious and
pervasive unease eating away at the very foundations
on which this great institution was built. And with each
new escalation of violence, we feel a sense of horror
not only at the acts themselves but perhaps more at our
inability to act.

War and insecurity in the information age have
mutated so much that neither our resolutions, our
agencies nor our armies are enough to break the fever
of this viral menace of transnational actors. And so,
looking beyond our Capital Master Plan that reimagines
our twentieth-century beginnings, let us build a new
Information Master Plan fit for the twenty-first century
with electronic highways that will one day connect this
Hall to every child in every village.

The information age is a new season in the arc of our
institution’s history — a new season in which everyone
has a voice, be they the youths of the Arab Spring or the
Occupiers of Wall Street’s winter of discontent. Today’s
information age brings a new transparency between
the haves and the have-nots — between the 1 per cent
and the 99 per cent. Whether segmented by class, race,
religion or political affiliation, inequality is the disease
of our times, contributing to the political eruptions all
over the world.

We now have — for the first time — documented
evidence of the root causes of the growing inequalities
in society. A new economic treatise, entitled Capital in
the Twenty-First Century, by Thomas Piketty, analyses
over a century of economic data and concludes that
the rich are getting richer, faster than everyone else.
But there are two things that reduce income inequality.
The first is the distribution of knowledge that promotes
growth. The second is war, which destroys capital. The
first option is a rising tide that lifts all ships; the second
is a sinking stone that drowns all hope — the very
antithesis of this Organization.

We must focus more of our global policy on proactive
interventions that promote sustainable growth. We must
encourage economic growth by distributing knowledge
through education, information and communication
technology, as well as through skills and technology
transfers. We do indeed need an Information Master
Plan if we are to proactively confront threats in the
twenty-first century.

The World Development Report 2011: Conflict,
Security and Development, published by the World Bank,
acknowledges that development agencies have not yet
fully adapted to the needs of the twenty-first century
and that they do not yet have the capacity to adequately
help fragile States. It finds that unemployment is the
number-one reason for youths to join criminal gangs
and contending armies. It reminds us that investing in
citizen security, justice and jobs is essential to reducing
violence. We know that once mass violence takes root
in a society, it can take a generation or more to recover.

As we look around at the violence in the world
today, I ask the question: can our twentieth-century
institutions cope with twenty-first-century shocks?
Do we have the courage to be proactive in fostering
jobs and growth, or will we wait until violence erupts?
This year’s World Development Report 2014 is all about
managing opportunity and managing risk, from the
level of the household to the level of the international
community. The essence of the report is that the

benefits of proactive preparation can outweigh the
costs of responding retroactively.

The risks from climate shocks are among the
most terrifying for Grenada and for islands around
the world. Grenada places on record its appreciation
for the Secretary-General’s leadership in calling for a
Climate Summit. In the last four years alone, we have
seen floods raging across the world. With the hottest
temperatures on record in recent years, forest fires have
raged across almost all continents, devouring millions
of acres of forest land, causing damages in the tens of
billions of dollars. Glacial retreats from the Andes to
the Himalayas and from Greenland to Antarctica are
moving at record speeds. We are seeing hurricanes and
cyclones as never before.

Two years ago, right here in New York, Hurricane
Sandy struck and disabled the economic engine of the
United States. It caused $68 billion worth of damage.
But this represents less than 1 per cent of the gross
domestic product (GDP) of the United States in contrast
with the island States, where damages of between
10 per cent and 50 per cent of GDP are common, and, in
the case of Grenada, where damages occurred totalling
200 per cent of GDP from Hurricane Ivan alone. Even
as we speak, this week Grenada was plagued with
unseasonably high rains that have caused numerous
landslides. The value of the damage is yet to be
determined. Like our neighbours Saint Lucia and Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines in 2013, we are forced to
dedicate already scarce financial resources to repair
and mitigate this.

There is a link between these events and the high
indebtedness of small Caribbean islands. To paraphrase
the World Bank’s country assistance strategy for the
Eastern Caribbean, the years when fiscal policy failed
to explain increases in debt-to-GDP ratios were the
same years when natural disasters occurred. Given
these risks, island States need concessionary financing.
This is critical to ensuring growth, jobs and economic
development. For small island developing States (SIDS),
a robust economy, combined with risk-management
policies and instruments, is the best combination for
resilience.

When our current Administration was elected
16 months ago, the indebtedness of our country was
unsustainable. But the Grenadian people came together
under the leadership of Prime Minister Mitchell.
Unions, churches, non-governmental organizations,
political parties and businesses all rallied to form a
social compact to put Grenada on a firm fiscal footing.
We tightened our belts and asked the Grenadian people
to contribute more as we undertook our home-grown
fiscal reform. The indebtedness of the SIDS must
be counted among the many challenges of our time.
The annual cry of the small island States to make
concessionary funding available is the early-warning
system for the international community. Let us settle
the least developed countries graduation issue in
favour of the SIDS, rather than use it as a parallel
climate-negotiation tool against the SIDS.

One country that is singled out for its stellar
management of disasters is Cuba. We all have much
to learn from Cuba on areas as diverse as disaster risk
management and public-health management. Cuba
sends its engineers, teachers and doctors around the
world to improve the lives of others. Is it not time to fully
recognize the contributions of Cuba to the international
community — and if not now, then when? Is it not time
to end the Cold War attitudes to Cuba — and if not now,
then when? Is it not time to end the embargo against
Cuba — and if not now, then when?

The explosion of violence that we see in today’s
trouble spots is driven by the flawed principle of
disrespect for international law and the territorial
integrity of Member States. There comes a time when
old enemies must turn swords into ploughshares and
look to a future with dignity and with hope.

Just as climate change is the challenge of our time,
it can also be said that climate change is possibly one
of the greatest opportunities for wealth creation and
shared prosperity that this generation has seen. Today,
the renewable energy market is estimated to be in
the order of $16 trillion, including $12 billion in the
Caribbean alone. In 2012, there were some 6 million jobs
in renewable energy and the International Renewable
Energy Agency (IRENA) expects 17 million jobs
by 2030. Today, pension funds with collective assets
exceeding $12 trillion are focusing on climate risk,
renewable energy and energy efficiency.

Island States like Grenada are seized not only of
climate challenge, but also with climate solutions. For
us, a robust economy, combined with sound disaster
risk-management policies and instruments, is the most
sustainable form of adaptation to climate change.
But in Grenada, we cannot educate our people if our
schoolchildren have no access to electricity. Due
to the high import costs of fossil fuels, electricity in
Grenada costs four to five times higher than it does in

developed countries. But countries with low electricity
prices have to subsidize renewables; not so in the
islands. Islands like Grenada come to the climate table,
not like hapless victims cap-in-hand, but offering the
international community 100 per cent renewables that
can be introduced with zero subsidies.

If we are to limit global carbon dioxide concentrations
to 450 parts per million, then, according to the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s fifth
assessment report, our electricity sector needs a total
transformation. While island States are the least of the
emitters, they are the most cost-effective places for
renewables. I congratulate the Small Island Developing
States Sustainable Energy Initiative (SIDS DOCK),
IRENA and Sustainable Energy For All for acting on
this.

Grenada is working to transform its electricity
sector. Solving the energy challenge for islands like
Grenada will remove a drag on our economies and
better position us to withstand environmental shocks.
This is adaptation with prospects for jobs, growth and
shared prosperity for all. I am delighted to announce
that, in addition to working with Germany, the World
Bank, SIDS DOCK and IRENA, Grenada has signed
a groundbreaking memorandum of understanding
with the United States to assist us in transforming our
energy mix, as we announced in Samoa. We have also
signed an memorandum of understanding with New
Zealand to help us better understand our geothermal
resources. Grenada will serve as the pilot country for
the regional energy initiative of the United States and
will work with New Zealand on geothermal energy.
We welcome others to join this partnership and this
unfolding success story that is Green Grenada.

As we have said before, we wish to recommend
the following actions. Let us operationalize the
Green Climate Fund with a window for islands.
Let us implement 100 per cent renewable energy in
island States. Let us put a price on carbon and stop
subsidizing fossil fuels. Let us decarbonize food
security. Agriculture, forestry and other land use
contribute 25 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions. Let
us have greater support for climate-smart agriculture
that can deliver a triple win of increasing productivity
and incomes, increasing resilience to climate change,
and reducing or removing carbon emissions. Grenada
is pleased to be working with the Government of the
Netherlands on a climate-smart agricultural alliance
and on Global Blue Growth and Food Security Initiative.

Blue growth is vital for the economies of island
States around the world, and our tri-island State
of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique sees
itself as an Ocean State, given that our exclusive
economic zone in the sea is over 70 times larger than
our land mass. Our tri-island State is pleased to host
the secretariat of the Caribbean Challenge Initiative
(CCI), which is supported by Germany and others.
The CCI promotes an enhanced marine environment,
and Grenada is committed to conserving its near-shore
marine environment. Through reports like the Sunken
Billions, the World Bank and the Food and Agriculture
Organization have shown that conservation efforts
are critical to ensuring maximum economic yield in
fisheries.

In the past 30 years, we have lost 30 per cent of our
corals and mangroves. This is why Grenada welcomes
efforts such as the Global Blue Growth Initiative and
the Global Partnership for Oceans, and the efforts of
The Economist and United States Secretary of State
John Kerry to bring renewed attention to the oceans. We
look forward to welcoming our partners to Grenada in
January 2015 for the launch of the Global Blue Growth
and Food Security initiatives.

In closing, Grenada acknowledges the successes
of the 2014 Third International Conference on Small
Island Development States, held in Samoa, and, building
on the momentum of Samoa, we look forward to the
successful conclusion to the sustainable development
goals process leading into the twenty-first session of
the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris
next year.

As we move forward, let us remember that a number
of the Millennium Development Goals have not been
achieved. We have a duty, therefore, to re-examine our
approach to peace, security and shared prosperity. We
need collective action on a global consensus. We need
to act now before it is too late. We must shed the old
ways and adopt twenty-first-century approaches for
this millennium generation if we are to bequeath to
them and future generations the bounty we inherited
and the bounty that they deserve.


It is a great honour for
me to address the General Assembly today on behalf
of the Romanian delegation. At the outset, allow me
to congratulate the Honourable Sam Kutesa on his
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-ninth session and to assure him of the full support
of the Romanian delegation in fulfilling his high
responsibility and functions.

(spoke in French)
As this is the first time I have had the honour to
participate in this high-level debate, let me reaffirm
my country’s peaceful mission as a promoter of peace
and international security, the values of democracy,
the rule of law and respect for human rights. The
report of the Secretary-General on the work of the
Organization (A/69/1) over the past year again confirms
that cooperation among Member States, based on
the principles of the United Nations and in a spirit
of solidarity, can meet the current challenges of our
peoples.

I would like to address some issues of interest to
my country in regard to developments in international
relations. Since the General Assembly’s general debate
a year ago, the area of international security has
witnessed the most complex and serious developments
since the end of the cold war. In that context, we have
a duty to reaffirm our commitment to the principles of
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries,
the non-use of force and the peaceful resolution of
all problems between States, in accordance with
international law.

(spoke in English)
One of the crises of utmost concern to my country
is the current situation in Ukraine, given its impact
on the security of the countries in Eastern Europe.
The crisis started, as the Assembly knows, with the

unilateral annexation of Crimea, an integral part of
the sovereign State of Ukraine. That action on the
European continent, unprecedented in recent decades,
was followed by an internal conflict in the eastern
regions of Ukraine, generated by forces pursuing
separatist goals. I wish to reconfirm our clear and firm
national position on the crisis in Ukraine. Romania
rejects any form of external pressure on States in
Eastern Europe with aspirations to achieve integration
with Europe. Romania firmly supports the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and all countries.
A strong, united and sovereign Ukraine, committed to
its European path and to reforms in the economic and
political fields, is in the best interests of Europe and the
whole world.

The international community has been involved in
finding a solution to the crisis from its beginning. We
commend the United Nations for its constant presence in
the field and the efforts of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe to monitor the day-by-day
developments on the ground and to support the whole
international effort through its specific mechanisms.

For many years, all countries of Eastern Europe
and the Black Sea region have shared and openly
declared the common goals of peace and cooperation.
But instability and grave security concerns, such as in
Ukraine, in Transdnistria, Ossetia and Abkhazia, and
now in Donetsk, continue to pose obstacles to those
goals. We must condemn aggression. We should not
lose trust in the rule of international law. We should
not lose faith in the benefits of cooperation, and we
should all strive to prevent a spillover of the current
crisis. The region has always been a bridge between
Central Asia and Europe. At this juncture, we have
a historical responsibility to assume, protect and
preserve the potential for collaboration, cooperation
and development in that part of Europe.

Situated at the crossroads of the Danube and Black
Sea regions, as well as serving as a bridge between
Northern Europe and the Balkans, Romania is fully
aware that regional cooperation is key for ensuring
regional stability, for building confidence and for
promoting the universal principles and values of the
Charter of the United Nations. Joint initiatives on the
economy, environment, infrastructure and cross-border
cooperation have a long-term impact on all countries in
our region. As a European Union member, Romania is
an active contributor to the European Union Strategy
for the Danube Region, to the Black Sea Synergy and to
the South-East European Cooperation Process.

We praise the solidarity expressed by the European
Union and transatlantic partners in supporting a
sustainable path for democracy and development in the
Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia, assisting
them to freely achieve their European aspirations.
It was 75 years ago, based on the infamous Molotov-
Ribbentrop Pact, that parts of Romania and some other
independent States were dismantled. We have learned
that history must not be an excuse for justifying actions
against other countries. On the contrary, our answer to
any temptation based on past history is strong support
for democratic development, respect for the right to
democratically choose one’s future, and respect for
international law.

I want to state that position clearly, on behalf of
my country, as an expression of our democratic identity
and responsible conduct in our relations with all our
neighbours, and when speaking about the democratic
future of all the countries in those regions, including
the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine and Georgia. The
desire to turn the extended Black Sea region into an
area of peace, stability and prosperity should continue
to guide our cooperation. We express our support, one
again, for a democratic, secure and stable region, and
we encourage our regional and international partners
to broaden our solidarity with Ukraine, Moldova and
Georgia.

A source of concern to all of us is the multiplication
of political, security and strategic challenges in the
southern neighbourhood of the European Union and in
the Middle East. The proliferation of radical Islamist
movements and the emergence of new groups, such as
the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS), have led
to an enhanced terrorist threat. They represent a new
breed of terrorism, which threatens to destabilize the
entire Middle East and the world. ISIS goes beyond Iraq
and Syria, and therefore represents a major challenge to
the international order and must be dealt with by all
States. We must all stand united and fight terrorism
wherever it arises. I want to express my country’s firm
support for building solidarity in confronting this new
challenge.

In the field of development, we believe that the
current session of the General Assembly is crucial
for the preparation of the post-2015 sustainable
development agenda, which will guide our actions in

coming decades. As a member of the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals, Romania
made its contribution to that very important process, in
accordance with the decisions taken at United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development. Our national
vision of the future goals was adopted by the Government
of Romania in December 2013, and we are pleased to
see that our areas of interest are reflected in the report
of the Open Working Group (see A/67/941). The future
development agenda should address poverty eradication
and sustainable development, good governance and the
rule of law. However, it should also provide a platform
for social inclusion and the reduction of unemployment,
giving our present and future generations of young
people confidence and hope.

Over the past year, the number of people in need
of humanitarian assistance, especially the number of
refugees and internally displaced persons, has grown
to unprecedented levels. We commend and support
the assistance provided to those persons by the United
Nations system in close cooperation with international
organizations, non-governmental organizations and
international donors. Despite our limited financial
resources, we have made efforts to contribute to the
process of assisting refugees.

In that respect, I would like to mention the activities
of the emergency transit centre in Timisoara, Romania,
established by the Romanian Government, the Office
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
and the International Organization for Migration. The
centre, the first of its kind in the world, has proved to be a
feasible mechanism offering safety to persons in urgent
need of international protection, thereby becoming a
practical expression of the human security concept.
That contribution reflects the responsible conduct that
Romania has always adopted in facing global challenges.
We will continue to contribute to international efforts
with the same dedication and responsibility as our
troops and civil experts have already shown in several
areas, such as Iraq, Afghanistan and Kosovo, or places
in Africa.

(spoke in French)
The year 2014 has particular resonance for Romania
and brings us closer to our national centennial,
which we will celebrate in 2018. In 1989, Romanians
chose democracy and respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms. We encountered difficulties,
but our resolve led us to a successful transition.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate our firm
and continuing commitment to the Organization and
the Charter of the United Nations and their governing
values and principles. Romania will continue to uphold
international law and the principle of the peaceful
resolution of conflicts, while promoting human rights
in order to achieve prosperity for all.


At
the outset, it pleases me to extend, on behalf of the
Government and people of the State of Kuwait, our
sincere congratulations to the President of the General
Assembly and to his friendly country, Uganda, on
his election as President of the Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. We are certain that his vast experience
in international affairs will enable him to conduct the
deliberations of the Assembly at this session wisely and
ably, and we wish him success in that endeavour. We
also note with praise the successful manner in which his
predecessor, His Excellency Mr. John Ashe, conducted
the deliberations during his presidency of the previous
session.

In that regard, I would also like to pay tribute to the
tremendous efforts exerted by His Excellency Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon in leading the Organization, in
accordance with the visions and ideas derived from
the principles and purposes of the Charter, to maintain
international peace and security and achieve its goals in
a sustainable manner by confronting the kinds of risks
and challenges engulfing the world, whether they be
chronic or recent.

In its nearly 70 years of existence and service, the
United Nations has witnessed increasing challenges,
as represented by numerous incidents and crises, and
has overcome exceptional political and economic
milestones. That has made it a haven and a destination
for all the peoples and nations of the world, bestowed
upon the Organization a wider scope of action to contain
crises and given it a more significant role in reaching
solutions and achieving further accomplishments.

However, the deep-rooted and wide-ranging
international transformations of the past few years have
made the continuation of the Organization, based on
its current executive mechanisms and administrative
structures, an obstacle to achieving its historic mission.
When we speak of change for the better, it is crucial
to seek comprehensive reform by proposing scenarios
and solutions aimed at reviving the Organization, its
organs and its specialized agencies in order to ensure
the enhancement and development of their capacity to
become more proactive, in line with modern times, and
to deepen their understanding of the basic requirements
of Member States.

Reform should start with the Security Council, as
the organ entrusted with the maintaining international
peace and security and the closest to reality; it is also
the most effective and is already predisposed to measure
its accomplishments according to its mandates. The
State of Kuwait, which currently presides over the Arab
Summit and coordinates the Arab Group, would like
to stress the importance of thoroughly and carefully
addressing the structural flaws in the composition
of the Council, in particular the issue of expanding
the category of permanent membership by ensuring
permanent Arab representation in the Council, based
on the demographic dimension of the Arab Members,
whose population exceeds 350 million and whose
number increased from five States in 1945 to 22 at
present. That represents nearly 12 per cent of the total
number of States Members of the United Nations, in
addition to the fact that the issues relating to the Arab
States and their region top the agenda of the Council.

Several countries of the Middle East are facing
tremendous security, political and humanitarian
challenges and an exceptional situation, due to the
inability of the Security Council to carry out its
functions, which has led to the aggravation and
deterioration of the situation in many States of the
region. The recent Israeli military aggression against
the Gaza Strip lasted for 50 consecutive days, during
which the non-stop killing and machine of destruction
continuously targeted everything human, mowing
down thousands of unarmed civilians, the majority
of them elderly, women and children. That action
appears to have been emblematic of the series of Israeli
violations of the most basic rules of international law
and international humanitarian law, and constitutes
yet another addition to its bloody history of rejecting
all regional and international initiatives to lay the
foundations of a just and lasting peace.

In that regard, the State of Kuwait welcomes the
ceasefire agreement signed on 26 August, as well as the
international and regional initiatives undertaken to end
to that crisis and aggression, primarily those promoted
by our sister Arab Republic of Egypt. In that context,
we renew our call on the Security Council to assume
its responsibility to provide international protection
to the Palestinian people and territory, pursuant to the
provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949,
and to compel Israel, the occupying Power, to halt its
unilateral practices aimed at imposing a policy of faits
accomplis, such as illegal settlements and the unlawful
siege of the Gaza Strip, in addition to attempts to
change the demographic nature of Jerusalem by means
of Judaization. Israel must be compelled to return to the
negotiating table with a view to ending its occupation
of all Palestinian and Arab lands, as well to achieve the
establishment of a Palestinian State with East Jerusalem
as its capital, in accordance with the relevant Security
Council resolutions, the principle of land for peace, the
road map and the Arab Peace Initiative.

As the crisis in Syria, now entering its fourth year,
escalates into a bloodier phase, our concern about the
potential regional and international repercussions of the
failure of that State has given way to anxiety about the
exacerbation of the cycle of violence, which has already
claimed the lives of more than 190,000 people, created
3 million refugees and displaced another 6 million
people. In that regard, the State of Kuwait welcomes
Security Council resolution 2165 (2014) on opening
new border crossings to deliver aid to the affected
Syrian people. We hope that all concerned will pool
their efforts to ensure the swiftest possible delivery
of humanitarian assistance to the Syrian people in the
besieged areas and throughout Syrian territory and
beyond.

In response to the ripple effects of that intensifying
humanitarian crisis, the State of Kuwait hosted two
international donor conferences, in January 2013 and
January 2014, to support the humanitarian situation in
Syria. Pledges made at those two conferences totaled
$3.8 billion, of which the State of Kuwait contributed
$800 million. That sum was delivered in its entirety to
specialized United Nations agencies, as well as to other
governmental and non-governmental organizations
concerned with humanitarian affairs. In that regard,
we reiterate the importance of continued regional and
international efforts to reach a political solution that
satisfies the aspirations of the Syrian people for a free
and decent life, according to the Geneva communiqué,
and that preserve Syria’s unity, security and stability.

With respect to the sisterly Republic of Yemen,
the State of Kuwait, as the current chair of the Gulf
Cooperation Council, has sought within its mandate
to establish peace and stability in Yemen, and to fulfil
the aspirations of its people for development and
prosperity, in accordance with the Gulf States initiative
and its executive mechanism. However, tensions due
to the continued rivalry between some factions, along
with the resulting deterioration in the security and
political situations, are a source of concern, because
of their potential negative impact on the future of the
political process in Yemen. They also pose a threat
to the country’s unity and territorial integrity. We
reiterate our full support for enforcing the outcome
of the national dialogue and for addressing the acts
of violence and terrorism that some separatist groups
continue to provoke.

With respect to the situation in Libya, the State of
Kuwait renews its support to the legitimately elected
Libyan Government, as an integral complement to the
process of democratic transformation that will ensure
the security, unity and territorial integrity of Libya.
The State of Kuwait also emphasizes the need for the
international community and the Security Council
to honour their commitments by fully adhering to
resolution 2174 (2014), in order to guarantee a better
future for Libya and its people.

Within the same region, concerning Iran’s nuclear
programme, the State of Kuwait supports the ongoing
efforts to resolve that issue by peaceful means and in a
manner that will guarantee the Islamic Republic of Iran
and all the countries of the region the right to use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes, under the supervision and
monitoring of the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA). We also emphasize the importance of reaching
international agreement on Iran’s nuclear programme,
based on full Iranian commitment to cooperating with
the IAEA, implementing all relevant Security Council
resolutions and enforcing the highest standards of
safety and security in its nuclear facilities.

The State of Kuwait reiterates its principled and
firm rejection of all forms of terrorism and extremism,
whatever their reasons, motives or sources. It also
believes that promoting the culture of tolerance and
coexistence among peoples and nations should be a
priority in its internal and external policies, which are
derived from the tolerant teachings of Islamic Sharia.
The State of Kuwait emphasizes its full support for
all international efforts to combat and put an end to
the terrorist threats facing the world, which aim to
undermine the elements of international peace and
security. Kuwait welcomes resolution 2178 (2014)
adopted yesterday by the Security Council, reinforcing
international efforts to combat terrorism and foreign
fighters.

In that regard, we denounce the actions of the so-
called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), as
well as its terroristic practices and acts of aggression in
parts of Iraqi and Syrian territory. We equally condemn
ISIL’s grave violations of human rights and international
humanitarian law. We reiterate our commitment
to support the efforts and endeavours of the Iraqi
Government to overcome the destructive scourge of
terrorism that currently threatens its security, stability
and territorial integrity and that is adversely and clearly
affecting the political process in that country.

The giant leap represented by new communications
technologies, thanks to which the United Nations has
been able to expand the reach of its lofty message,
has also increased the complexity of monitoring
and assessing the fast-paced global environment, as
well as handling its output and consequences. The
aggregate expertise and experience represented in our
Organization at the professional, technical and political
levels is embodied in the United Nations Millennium
Declaration (resolution 55/2). The Declaration’s clearly
identified priorities and simple terms have played a
major and significant role in improving the lives of
millions of people in many regions of the world. The
Declaration has also set an example by demonstrating
the importance of partnership in international
work, through cooperation and coordination among
Governments, and the promotion of the role of civil
society organizations and the private sector.

By drawing on modern technology and scientific
advances, the Millennium Development Goals
have provided the peoples and nations of the world
with renewed hope for creating a better world, and
have created an incentive to achieve them. The
Organization has encouraged Member States to
devise a comprehensive and ambitious post-2015
development plan with sustainable development
in all three dimensions — economic, social and
environmental — at its core. That plan will address
new dangers and challenges and anticipate future
conditions, which will be different from those we face
today.

In that regard, the State of Kuwait welcomes the
Climate Summit that the Secretary-General convened
two days ago, and reiterates that climate change has
negative repercussions on development throughout the
world and in the Arab region in particular. There is a
clear need for international action and solidarity within
the framework of the sustainable development goals,
according to the principle of shared but differentiated
responsibility, in order to guarantee that all States
benefit equally from the new agenda. In that regard,
special attention and treatment should be provided to
the developing countries, which are the States most
adversely affected by climate change.

Since winning its independence and joining the
global Organization, the State of Kuwait has never
been far removed from the crises and challenges
facing the world. Our founding fathers defined a
purely humanitarian approach to helping the needy
and restoring hope to those who have lost it, bypassing
the traditional bases for giving, which were largely
rooted in geographic location, ethnic origin or political
affiliation. Their sons have followed that approach,
giving greater priority to contemporary trends
through the pillars that define our foreign policy. That
commitment rests on devising and developing methods
for providing assistance and aid to the majority of the
world’s countries by promoting activities that would
support the message of the United Nations in creating

a world in which security and stability prevail, and
people live in peace and prosperity.

The establishment in 1961 of the Kuwait Fund
for Arab Economic Development was an expression
of the sincere desire of the State of Kuwait to support
the development efforts of Arab States and friendly
countries by providing soft loans and technical
assistance. In pursuing that approach, and in order to
show its keen interest in supporting the humanitarian
role of the United Nations, the State of Kuwait has
doubled the amount of its fixed annual voluntary
contributions to a number of international agencies
and organizations, including its recent donation to the
World Health Organization to combat the spread of the
Ebola virus in West Africa, giving wider horizons and
broader reach to the humanitarian work of the State of
Kuwait.

Our wide-ranging diplomatic efforts at the regional
and international levels, led by His Highness Sheikh
Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Amir of the
State of Kuwait, were recognized by the international
community with an exceptional and unprecedented
international honour when the Secretary-General
presented His Highness with a certificate of appreciation
in recognition of the outstanding role in humanitarian
leadership played by His Highness, the Government
and the people of the State of Kuwait in saving the lives
of millions of people.

To conclude, I would like to emphasize that the
State of Kuwait adheres to the multilateral international
system, as well as to the principles and purposes of
the Charter of the United Nations. Kuwait believes
in the critical importance of furthering all efforts to
ensure the continuity of our venerable Organization
by ensuring that all States fulfil their responsibilities
and commitments under international conventions
and conferences in order to help find just and lasting
solutions to global threats and challenges, and to reach
the loftier goal of maintaining international peace and
security.


I would first like to express
my great appreciation for the efforts of Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon to promote and achieve peace,
security and prosperity in the world. I would also like
to duly acknowledge the work of Mr. John William
Ashe, President of the General Assembly at its previous
session, to offer my best wishes to President Kutesa
for his stewardship of the Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session, and to confirm Montenegro’s willingness to
cooperate fully with him in his accomplishment of
his important duties. I emphasize the relevance of the
theme of the current session, since it is highly pertinent
to our efforts to meet the Millennium Development
Goals with the imminent arrival of 2015.

As ever, Montenegro remains committed to an
effective multilateral system, resting on a strong United
Nations. As a responsible Member of the United Nations,
Montenegro is therefore committed to continuing
to contribute to strengthening the Organization and
building a functional, integrated system that promotes
respect for human rights, democracy and the rule of
law, while devising and implementing global responses
to global challenges. In that regard, we will continue to
support the process of general reform and of system-
wide coherence, as well as the integrated Delivering
as One programme of action, based on successful
implementation at the national level. I am proud to
point out here that in March, in the most beautiful part
of Montenegro’s capital city, Podgorica, we opened the
United Nations Eco building, host to all the specialized
United Nations agencies, and offering the best possible
conditions for their work and their implementation of
the Delivering as One concept. I see this project as a
strong tool of reliable partnership for Montenegro in
achieving fundamental United Nations goals.

As a member of the Human Rights Council,
Montenegro will continue to fully support the integration
of human rights dimensions into all aspects of the work
of the United Nations and to further strengthen the role
of the Council in response to violations of human rights,
while preserving the universality of international
human rights law and the independence of the United
Nations human rights system. In our approach, the
key priority is to promote the rights of vulnerable
groups — children, youth, the elderly, persons with
disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
persons — and to promote gender equality and the fight
against discrimination.

Peace and stability, as preconditions for prosperous
development, can be ensured through positive activism
in global international organizations, primarily in
the United Nations, and the constructive approach of
every country in the sphere of regional policy, as well
as a commitment to good-neighbourly cooperation.
Therefore, Montenegro strongly promotes this
approach in bilateral relations and regional initiatives
in South-East Europe. We are certain that the success
of Montenegro in the process of integration into
the European Union and NATO represents a major
contribution to the stability and opening up of prospects
for development of the wider Balkans region.

Montenegro strongly supports global efforts
towards disarmament and non-proliferation. This year,
we ratified the Arms Trade Treaty, becoming the forty-
fourth country to do so. Our ratification represents
our contribution towards the entry into force of that
historic Treaty, as well as an illustration of our firm
commitment to a responsible global arms trade.

Open and frozen conflicts, from Ukraine across the
Middle East to Africa, pose a threat to durable global
stability. Of particular concern is the fact that the
escalation of violence typically causes humanitarian
disasters and massive human rights violations. We
fully advocate an urgent end to violence and a political
dialogue that would lead to solutions in accordance with
international law, the Charter of the United Nations and
relevant United Nations resolutions. In that context,
we believe that the United Nations and international
community’s activities should place stronger emphasis
on better utilizing preventive measures under Chapter
VI of the Charter, with a special focus on mediation as
a highly cost-effective tool for conflict prevention and
the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

I would like to reaffirm Montenegro’s strong
commitment to the responsibility to protect as a matter
of national priority. Montenegro welcomes the French
initiative to seek a code of conduct on the use of the veto
in situations of genocide, war crimes, crimes against
humanity and ethnic cleansing, and remains keen on
putting that proposal into operation.

The rule of law and the protection of civilians in
peacekeeping missions are of particular importance,
and we stand for the consistent implementation of the
mandates of United Nations peacekeeping missions,
to which we are ready to contribute. Unfortunately,
terrorism still poses an enormous threat to international
peace and security, as evidenced by current events in the
Middle East. I consider it necessary to step up efforts
at all levels in preventing terrorism, in accordance
with international instruments and the United Nations
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

Montenegro strongly promotes a sustainable
development policy and, in line with our active
participation in the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals, we are committed to further
contribute towards the elaboration of a transformative
and ambitious post-2015 development framework. I
think that the post-2015 development agenda must be
based on an approach of respect for and the promotion
of human rights, where human development will truly
ensure that no one is neglected. Poverty eradication and
sustainable prosperity for the benefit of all people and
the planet must be the overarching objective and guide
the design of a transformative development agenda.

We strongly support the important United
Nations mission implemented by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) relating to human
development, which essentially affirms fundamental
human values. We are proud that two weeks ago,
UNDP chose Montenegro to host the presentation of
this year’s Human Development Report for the South-
East Europe and Central Asia regions. We see this as
a recognition of Montenegro’s progress, affirmation of
human development, and proof of a reliable partnership
between Montenegro and the United Nations.

Finally, I wish to emphasize the fact that the United
Nations has a responsible partner in Montenegro, which
will continue to promote and pursue the goals and
values fostered by the Charter.


I stand here today, as
a representative of a nation with strong ancestral ties
to the African continent, to welcome the election
of Mr. Sam Kutesa to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. We are confident
that the experience and skills that he brings to that
high Office will be invaluable as we tackle the myriad
challenges that confront us today. To his predecessor
Ambassador John Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, I
also convey sincere appreciation for the leadership and
vision that he showed in guiding our work, not the least
of which was the success he achieved in setting the
stage for the post-2015 development agenda.

The quest for peace and development has assumed
an urgency we have seldom seen. We live in a time
of great instability and conflict. At the same time,
millions of citizens face unbearable levels of hardship
and endure unconscionable levels of suffering. Far
too many of our fellow men and women are being left
behind. It rests within our grasp to build a better future
for our peoples. This is the time to put people firmly at
the centre of our development aspirations, to tackle the
root causes of conflict, to create a culture of peace and
to entrench the principles of justice, equity, democracy
and respect for the rule of law. Recommitment to the
principles of multilateralism and fidelity to the ideals
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations are
central to our efforts to accomplish those goals.

In the coming months, our attention will be focused
on elaborating an international development agenda
for the post-2015 period. That provides an invaluable
opportunity for us to address the critical challenges of
poverty, inequality, global insecurity and environmental
degradation. The post-2015 development agenda must
have poverty eradication as its central focus. In so
doing, we must give due regard to the developmental
status of each country, in particular small island
developing States (SIDS) and countries classified as
middle-income. Implementing and delivering the post-

2015 development agenda requires a strong focus on the
means of implementation.

The third International Conference on SIDS drew
international attention to the unique vulnerabilities
that threaten the very existence and survival of that
group of countries. Our ability to withstand the ever-
increasing risk of economic and environmental shocks
requires that we forge effective partnerships with other
members of the international community. In short, we
cannot do the job alone. Jamaica therefore welcomes
the support of the international community in joining
forces with SIDS to negotiate the SIDS Accelerated
Modalities of Action Pathway, which builds on the
Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius
Strategy.

Let me say, though, that support for SIDS
must continue beyond support for the International
Conference. Our concerns need to be addressed in the
context of the post-2015 development agenda. Among
those concerns are the full and effective integration of
SIDS into the multilateral trading system, an increased
voice and participation in international financial
institutions, the application of more relevant methods
for measuring growth and representing our state of
development, and increased support for efforts to
enhance our resilience to natural hazards and economic
shocks.

We welcome the outcome of the Climate Summit
convened by the Secretary-General. The participation
of business interests, civil society and a range of
international institutions highlighted the importance
of promoting concerted action among various
stakeholders to address climate change. While the
threats posed by climate change may be theoretical
for some, they are very real for those of us who live
in the Caribbean. In recent years we have had to deal
with the increased frequency of hurricanes and their
widespread impact on our land, lives and livelihoods.
The financial impact of hurricanes adds to the burden
of the dire economic challenges that we continue to
bear. Our fellow Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
countries in the eastern Caribbean will no doubt share
their recent experiences with floods that lasted only
a few hours last Christmas but caused gross domestic
product losses from which they have yet to recover.

As we prepare for the Conference of the Parties
to the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change to be held in Lima later this year, all
countries must be engaged in a cooperative effort to
devise an appropriate response to climate change that
will result in a steep reduction in global greenhouse
gas emissions. We also need action to follow up on the
additional document to be adopted by the Conference
of the Parties, which may be a protocol, another legal
instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change that will be applicable to all parties. In that we
dare not fail. Our commitment to addressing climate
change must be given effect at the twenty-first session
of the Conference of the Parties in Paris next year.

This year marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of
the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the most
universally ratified human rights treaty. The year
2014 also marks the twentieth anniversary of the
historic International Conference on Population and
Development in Cairo. At the same time, we are on the
cusp of the twentieth anniversary of the fourth World
Conference on Women in Beijing, to be celebrated
in 2015. This is therefore an opportune moment to
evaluate the progress made in safeguarding the rights
of women and children. All children have the right
to live a life free from fear and violence. That is the
essential prerequisite for the development of their full
range of skills and talents. Earlier this year, Jamaica
was pleased to host, alongside the Secretary-General’s
Special Representative on Violence against Children,
an interregional meeting that examined the impact
of violence against children. I urge members, as we
craft the post-2015 development agenda, to be seized
of the importance of addressing the special needs of
children and youth. We also call for special attention
to be paid to achieving gender equality. Rooting out
violence against women, enhancing women’s economic
empowerment and promoting their equal participation
at all levels of decision-making should be essential
tasks in that regard.

I now turn to the problem posed by the heinous
activity of human trafficking, a crime of global
proportions that exploits the most vulnerable among us,
not the least of whom are women and children. Jamaica
calls upon the United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime to provide a framework for Member States to
develop a robust programme to help to bring an end to
that affront to human dignity and freedom.

We cannot ignore the link between our efforts
to spur development and the need to safeguard the
health of our people. The challenges to security and
sustainable development posed by threats to global

public health have been devastatingly illustrated by the
recent outbreak of the Ebola epidemic. As we heard just
two days ago from the Director-General of the World
Health Organization, every day, every minute, counts
in fighting the most severe public-health emergency
seen in modern times. This is the time for courageous
partnership, not inaction based on fear. An urgent and
robust international response is required to marshal all
the medical expertise and modern technologies that are
at our disposal. The pandemic nature of global health
threats such as Ebola and HIV/AIDS, including the
silent killers of non-communicable diseases, require
that we employ measures to combat them that are
similar in intensity and urgency to those used in the
fight against other global challenges.

Jamaica is concerned that the conflicts in Syria, the
Gaza Strip, Iraq, Ukraine, South Sudan and Mali pose
serious threats to regional and international security.
Those conflicts are neither limited in scope nor confined
to national borders. The instability in Libya, Yemen
and the Central African Republic is equally troubling.
Of even greater concern are the resulting humanitarian
crises and the widespread violations of human rights. It
is undeniable that those crises are fuelled by the growing
propensity to funnel and transfer conventional arms to
non-State actors, including rebel groups and separatist
militias. The militarization of such groups often serves
to further those conflicts rather than hasten their end.

Each passing day, the international community is
confronted with new crises, the emergence of greater
acts of barbarism, and the rise of more lethal terrorist
groups. In the past few months, we have witnessed the
atrocities of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
and the downing of a civilian aircraft in Ukraine and
a United Nations peacekeeping helicopter in South
Sudan. We also dare not forget that it is now 166 days
since the Boko Haram terrorist group brazenly abducted
200 schoolgirls, yet their desperate plight continues.

It is unfortunate that the number and scale of
those crises not only place extraordinary demands
on the international aid system, thereby hampering
its capacity to respond, but also serve to desensitize
the international community to the horrific levels
of suffering being borne by civilian populations.
Resolving those conflicts requires global and regional
cooperation. It is clear also that conflict prevention
must assume greater prominence. We cannot continue
to operate in crisis mode only. Our vision is that of
a United Nations transformed into a more effective
instrument for preventing conflict and securing just
and peaceful settlements.

Recent events in Gaza demonstrate that the need
for a lasting resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict remains as urgent as ever. Jamaica believes
that the cycle of violence will continue in the absence
of a negotiated political settlement based on a just,
lasting and comprehensive agreement that guarantees
the security of Israel and recognizes the Palestinian
State within internationally recognized borders.

We reiterate our commitment to disarmament,
non-proliferation and arms control. In the Caribbean
we are acutely aware of the pernicious impact of the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons, fuelled
by a dangerous nexus with the drug trade. That
combination is the single greatest cause of fear and
insecurity among our citizens. For the past two decades
we have remained resolute in our call for a global
partnership to fight that scourge. We are pleased that,
with the fiftieth ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty
earlier this week, that historic Treaty will enter into
force on 25 December.

All States, whether small or large, have a role to
play in the maintenance of international peace and
security. Jamaica is therefore honoured to assume the
chairmanship of the First Committee at this sixty-ninth
session, which reflects our commitment to advancing
the objectives of disarmament, non-proliferation and
arms control.

Among the major milestones to be celebrated
next year will be the seventieth anniversary of the
International Court of Justice. Jamaica is firm in
its commitment to the highest standards of respect
for international justice and supports the role of the
Court. Jamaica’s group of States has nominated the
Jamaican jurist Patrick Lipton Robinson as a candidate
for election to the International Court of Justice for
the term 2015-2024. His nomination demonstrates
Jamaica’s preparedness to contribute to the work of
the Court and underscores that all States, regardless of
size, can make a contribution to the development of the
rules and norms of international law.

In 2015 we expect to erect a permanent memorial
to honour the victims of slavery and the transatlantic
slave trade. Its location outside this very Hall will serve
as a place of meditation and solemn reflection on the
horrors of slavery and the need to prevent its recurrence
and to address its ongoing legacy. I encourage Member

States to contribute to the Trust Fund established to
underwrite the cost of the memorial. Only a small
shortfall remains. Let us press on to the end and meet
the final goal.

Jamaica looks forward to the commencement in
January 2015 of the International Decade for People
of African Descent, through which the international
community will undertake a range of activities to address
racism, xenophobia, discrimination and prejudice, as
well as systemic inequalities and underdevelopment.
People of African descent must be engaged directly
in the range of measures that can be taken to redress
the legacy of the historic wrongs they have suffered.
CARICOM countries believe that reparatory justice is
an important element in that process.

Jamaica remains opposed to the unilateral
application of economic sanctions and trade restrictions
applied by one State against another. We reiterate our
support for an end to the economic, financial and
commercial embargo against Cuba, and urge all States
that continue to apply such measures to repeal or
invalidate such laws. We have it within our power to
shape a world that is just and equitable and that embraces
both peace and development with equal fervour. As we
prepare to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of
the United Nations next year, we recommit to the lofty
goals enshrined in the Charter — peace and security
and the economic and social advancement of all people.
Let us get on with the task.


I salute the
General Assembly on behalf of Iraq and congratulate
Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa on his election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. We
wish him and the Secretary-General every success
during the session. I would also like to thank the
Secretary-General for the vital role he has played in the
past years in supporting and enhancing the progress of
my country, something for which we in Iraq are grateful
and proud.

Fourteen years ago, heads of State and Government
committed themselves to the fulfilment of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015,
focusing on issues that are now still vital, foremost
among which are social and economic development, the
protection of international peace and security, the end of
the arms race, disarmament, elimination of weapons of
mass destruction (WMDs) — whose very name incites
fear in everyone — fighting terrorism and widespread
organized crime, guaranteeing human rights and the
effective coordination of humanitarian assistance
efforts, and promoting justice and international law.
In that context, we would like to remind the General
Assembly of our very bitter memory and experience as
victims of WMDs in Halabja, the peaceful Kurdish city
that was attacked by chemical weapons in 1988 at the
hands of the dictatorial regime then in power.

Next year, we will celebrate the seventieth
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations as an
Organization that represents international legitimacy.
That occasion will allow us to express the value of the
Organization and its achievements. It will also be an
occasion to take up more initiatives to settle disputes
by peaceful means and promote human rights and
larger freedoms and equality for all. We will also be
celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Fourth
World Conference on Women, held in Beijing, which
was a turning point in seeking to promote the rights
of women and curb all forms of violence to which they
are exposed. We need to promote efforts to protect
our planet from pollution and create a sound, clean
environment to fight the problems of poverty, illness
and illiteracy.

The success of political parties in Iraq in establishing,
a few weeks ago, a Government of national unity that
represents Iraqis every stripe was extremely important.
It is a Government that everyone feels represents them.
Its programme responds to their aspirations and hopes
to move forward with their provinces into another era
of stability, internal progress and rebuilding. It is a
Government that seeks to build friendly relationships
in the region based on understandings that guarantee
peaceful coexistence among States of the region on the
basis of mutual interests and good-neighbourliness.

The establishment of the Government was a firm
response to a real danger that was stalking us all,
namely, the danger posed by Islamic State of Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL). That infamous and evil group
has launched international terrorist actions to attack
defenceless civilians. It has ushered in a new era and
brought terror to a new level. ISIL has been able to
occupy areas in more than one city in Iraq and Syria
and established a State based on hatred and rejection
of the Other. In the past few months, we have seen
how that heinous terrorist organization committed
crimes against humanity, such as killing and displacing
people, committing genocide and ethnic cleansing and
inflicting great suffering on all components of the Iraqi
people with its horrific crimes and massacres.

It has kidnapped women and sold them as enslaved
captives. It has destroyed religious shrines and houses
of worship, as well as cultural and historic monuments.
It has oppressed components of the Iraqi people on
the basis of their ethnic identities, like Turkmens
and Kurds, and targeted religious and confessional
minorities, including Yazidis, Christians and the
Shabak. We would like to thank the free people of the
world who have expressed their dismay, rejected those
crimes and stood in solidarity with the victims by
providing assistance.

That terrorist organization disposes of huge
financial and military assets. By declaring the so-

called Islamic Caliphate, ISIL has become a magnet
for militants and extremists in the Middle East and the
world, who have declared allegiance to that obscurantist
regime and started working under its command. Among
the most dangerous phenomena of that transformation
is the emergence of a new generation of terrorists who
have American, European or other citizenship.

The Iraqi Armed Forces, the Peshmerga and the
Popular Defence volunteers have been able to stop
the advance of ISIL and prevent its occupation of new
areas. We also succeeded in breaking the siege and
liberating cities that had been occupied by the terrorists
of that dangerous organization. The huge humanitarian
and military support that we received from United
Nations organizations, the United States, the States
of the European Union and other friendly States has
played a vital role in assisting us in confronting that
obscurantist terrorist group. We shall neever forget
the support we received against that group, which
confirmed to our people that we are not alone in our
fight against terrorism.

I would like here to express the gratitude of all
the people of Iraq and our Government’s appreciation
to all those who stood by us in our war against those
enemies of humankind. We would like to thank those
whose efforts made the Paris and Jeddah conferences a
success. And we would like to thank those who made
every effort to adopt a Security Council resolution
that guarantees solidarity and partnership in facing
terrorism and the challenges it poses to everyone.

As we meet in the Assembly today, hundreds of
thousands of displaced persons and refugees, who were
forced to leave their homes without taking with them
even the most basic possessions, look to us. Millions
of defenceless civilians who have been forced to live
under the oppression and tyranny of the terrorists of
the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) also look
to us. Their protection and needs are our common
responsibility. We call on the international community
to stand by our side in this war against terrorism
and to support our efforts and those of international
organizations and friendly countries in alleviating the
suffering of refugees, who hope someday to return to
their homes and to get rid of ISIS.

ISIS is a transnational and intercontinental
organization. We reiterate here that eliminating it can
be achieved only by forming a unified global front to
take measures to fight the takfiri approach and dry
up its connected financial, ideological, organizational
and military resources. We in Iraq are determined to
cleanse our land of ISIS. We would like to emphasize
that eliminating terrorism in Iraq will be an important
step in protecting our region and in ridding the world
of that danger.

Here we welcome Security Council resolution 2170
(2014), adopted in August, which calls on Member
States to prevent the support, financing and arming
of ISIS terrorists, the Nusra Front and other entities
related to Al-Qaida to prevent such flows into Iraq. We
should also like to commend the Human Rights Council
for its resolution condemning ISIS and establishing a
fact-finding commission to investigate crimes against
humanity committed by that group against all Iraqis.

In the context of the international response to
terrorism, and while we stress the importance of
consolidating the value and culture of peace and
coexistence in countries with multi-ethnic and
multi-confessional societies, we in Iraq call for
institutionalizing such a responsible position at the
United Nations. Such institutions must be tasked
with developing and operationalizing international
solidarity, using all the means available to fight
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to rid
the world of its evils. We also believe that the time has
come to work collectively within individual countries
and with all countries in the region so that we can
defuse tension about our security and achieve national
understanding that contributes to limiting the space
available to terrorism, which typically lives off conflict
and strife. The meetings held in Jeddah, Paris and New
York and the statements, declarations and resolutions
adopted have sent important messages to the Iraqi
people. We hope that all of them will be translated into
practical measures.

In the Middle East, it hurts us to see the recent
suffering of the fraternal Palestinian people in Gaza
and other Palestinian territories. We therefore renew
our call on the international community to honour
its commitment to the Palestinian people and exert
concerted efforts to restore peace and return to the
negotiations table in order to end the conflict and
achieve lasting peace and security. For our brothers in
Yemen and Libya, we hope for stability and the end of
the threats of terrorism and extremism. We also wish
success and progress on the democratic path chosen
by the Libyan and Yemeni peoples. We hope that the
fraternal Syrian people will be able to overcome the

country’s dilemma. We hope that Syrians will unite in
their efforts to arrive at a political solution that ends
the bloodshed and preserves life. We also hope that
such a solution will help neighbourly Syria to achieve
democracy, peace and security in our region. Continued
tension in those hotbeds in our region will only fuel
extremism and extremist obscurantist ideology. That
makes us all want to work together to expedite a search
for solutions to the problems that contributes to creating
a humanitarian environment based on civilization,
culture and freedom.

With regard to Ukraine, we express our concern
about the dangerous escalation of the situation. We
believe that the international community cannot allow
any exacerbation of the conflict, with the ensuing dire
consequences for civilians, whether they have been
displaced or are forced to live in conflict zones.

Iraq notes the results achieved by the Open
Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals.
The Group’s recommendations in its report (A/67/941,
annex) constitute an important step and deserve our
appreciation. We truly value the efforts they have
made to arrive at its conclusions. However, the issue
of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations does
not occupy the space it deserves in the report. It should
have been incumbent upon the Group to address that
challenge as an objective on its own and to look into
its core, manifestations, causes, repercussions and the
ways to address them.

Throughout this era, humankind has been able
to work to promote human partnership and enhance
prospects for peace, freedom, human rights, prosperity
and security. I stand before the Assembly today as a
representative of a country that was enervated by terror
for over a decade. On behalf of the millions of families
of martyrs, orphans and the bereaved, I address the
Assembly to stress that we have no other option but to
defeat ISIS everywhere. With will, determination and
vision, we look forward to a future in which we can
liberate our societies from the risks that continue to
threaten us.


I would like first to
congratulate Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa on his election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. I also wish to express my appreciation for the
able manner in which the outgoing President presided
over the Assembly.

Allow me also to pay tribute to Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for his tireless commitment in the service
of peace. I also thank the men and women serving the
United Nations in the field. They do so often at great
personal risk, and their courage and determination is a
source of inspiration for the Organization.

It was 50 years ago that Malta became an
independent State. That was the year when Nelson

Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment in South
Africa, and when Martin Luther King received the
Nobel Peace Prize. For a small, nascent State such as
Malta, it was a year of promise and new beginnings
as it took its place among the Members of the United
Nations. It is with a deep sense of pride that I stand
before members here today to note the role our country
has played over the past 50 years to uphold the purposes
and principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

Time and again, this family of nations has found
a trusted and reliable partner in my country, willing
to contribute, in ways large and small, to the cause of
international peace and security. I shall mention just
two. The first is Malta’s association with the Law of
the Sea — a widely acknowledged role, as we were
instrumental in the launching of the international
process that would eventually lead to the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The second
example, which came shortly after that, in 1988, is
our being among the first Member States to highlight
the risks of climate change to the global community
within the forum of the United Nations. An almost alien
concept at the time, today climate change is one of the
main items on the global agenda. I pay tribute to Arvid
Pardo and former President .ensu Tabone, who piloted
those events. Evidently, our size did not determine our
ambitions then. Neither will it determine them now.

We live in an increasingly uncertain world — a
world where the power balances that we have known in
recent decades have started to shift. What made sense
in the past may not make sense in the future — not
too distant a future, but the future that we can already
see forming before our own eyes. If the Assembly will
allow me, I wish to share some thoughts by presenting
five challenges — five of the many that I feel we, the
United Nations, need to face up to now.

Undoubtedly, the first challenge is the conflict
in the Middle East. We need a return to meaningful
negotiations, and I stress the word meaningful.
The ongoing tit-for-tat, the culture of hatred and
intolerance, the self-righteous proclamations and
the recriminations are leaving nothing but death and
destruction. If we build walls around people, it is no
wonder that they will dig tunnels to escape. The current
frame of mind will lead nowhere. Too many innocent
civilians have died, too many children have been
buried. We need statesmanship from the politicians
on both sides to resolve the conflict. Risk-takers and
courageous negotiators must be willing to make the
right choices — not the most convenient choices, and
not the most popular, perhaps, but the most enduring
ones — that will bring about change leading to peace.

Our second challenge must be putting an end to
the ghastly war in Syria, which is fast becoming a
forgotten conflict of major proportions. Like many
other countries here, last year my country called for a
stop to the atrocities (see A/68/PV.12). Are we simply
going to repeat that call this year as well? Let us stop
this humanitarian disaster, which, as we know, is now
morphing into the new threats we have heard so much
about. The adoption of Security Council resolution
2165 (2014) demonstrated that we can act together, so
let us act. We call on the Security Council to assume its
responsibilities under the Charter of the United Nations
and to act urgently and decisively to bring about an end
to the bloodshed.

That brings me to the third challenge. As if we
have not yet learned the lessons from Syria, or realized
what sectarian divisions can lead to, we are allowing
the problems in Libya to continue almost unabated.
We are fast witnessing a descent into another forgotten
conflict. We need to help the Libyan people take their
country forward. There is a bright future for Liby, but
Libyans themselves need to find the hope necessary to
realize it. They can begin to do so only with the help
of the international community. The United Nations
can and must provide capacity-building and security to
bring about stability and prosperity.

Of course, we are heartened to see the constructive
role already being played by the United Nations Support
Mission in Libya. Yet immense challenges remain, in
particular in restoring the country’s security and law
and order. The divisions are rooted in many causes, but
they can be overcome. This situation cannot be allowed
to continue further. Its repercussions are severe not
just for the Libyans themselves or for the country’s
immediate neighbours, such as ourselves, but further
afield. The international community cannot risk a
takeover by extremists of that crucial country.

Together with our international partners, especially
our colleagues in the European Union, Malta continues
to actively support the efforts of the Libyan people
to move forward. We are providing all the assistance
within our means to aid the wounded. We will stand
for dialogue and reconciliation in Libya. We will stand
for peace and resolution. We will continue to draw
attention to this festering wound. Our Libyan friends
deserve that. Disarmament and national reconciliation

are the prerequisites for Libya to move forward. The
United Nations must be ready to answer the calls for
action from the Libyan people themselves.

If the Assembly will allow, I will directly address
our friends in Libya in their own language, which is so
similar to my own.

(spoke in Arabic)
The families and the children of Libya deserve a
true future. Freedom and justice for all Libyans can
be achieved only if differences are resolved through
dialogue and compromise.

(spoke in English)
Please allow me now to move to the fourth challenge
facing the world today, namely, the spread of extremism
and intolerance.

We are living through a period of transnational
allegiances in which we are seeing the globalization of
hatred — one during which extremists are increasingly
interconnected through networks and inventions whose
main purpose should be progress and education. This is
a time when disenchanted youths are radicalized into
movements that know no limits. We need to look beyond
the borders of our nation States and work together, if we
are to face up to the threats posed by extremists.

Nobody is immune from what is undoubtedly the
biggest threat to world stability and peace. Just as the
horrendous carnage of two world wars led to a shift in
our thinking, the reality we are living in now needs
to force another shift. We have to spread a culture of
mutual understanding and humanity — not because it
serves us, but because it serves our peoples and will
serve our future as a global community.

Clearly, the area of the world from the Mediterranean
to the Middle East, and beyond, demands our utmost
attention. People are being pushed to the brink. They
are resorting to increasingly desperate measures.
Men, women and children are risking their lives to
cross conflict-ridden zones and hostile deserts. They
are taking to the seas without realizing the dangers
that await them. As I also did last year, I reiterate that
more attention must be focused on the plight of illegal
immigrants in the Mediterranean, which I believe is the
fifth challenge we face.

With all our limitations, Malta is doing its utmost
to daily save lives — as our neighbour and friend
Italy is also doing. Again I call on the Assembly and
the international community to help to stop the great
human tragedies that come with risky crossings across
the Mediterranean. The States receiving the waves of
migrants cannot stand up to the challenge alone: no
country in the world can solve the problem of illegal
immigration alone. Just last week we witnessed in
our own seas yet another tragedy, which the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
described as mass murder.

Closer cooperation among the countries of origin,
transit and destination is needed. The United Nations
and its agencies are already helping, but they must
continue to help in addressing the causes. Better
governance, better resources and better development
policies are needed. We need better enforcement
mechanisms and stronger penalties to stop and punish
the criminals — the human traffickers. We need better
implementation of internationally agreed commitments.
We need all of that and more, and we need to remember
to keep in mind the well-being of the human beings,
the families and children who are the victims of all that
tragedy.

As a Mediterranean country, Malta cannot but call
for the world’s attention to those challenges, which
are threatening not only the security of the region
but also its development and growth. Such threats are
preventing the Mediterranean Sea Basin from reaching
its full potential, which is just waiting to be unleashed
if only weapons were traded for books and hatred for
education. I reiterate my strong conviction that the
Mediterranean Basin needs to be given our immediate
attention in order to once again become the home of
great civilizations that it is and a cross-cultural haven
where women and men of different beliefs and traditions
work, trade and mingle in tolerance and tranquillity.

It has always been our belief that there cannot be
peace in Europe without peace in the Mediterranean.
Today’s unprecedented levels of interconnectivity
lead us to believe that peace in the Mediterranean is
a prerequisite for global stability. Malta will continue
to serve as a voice of reason, while striving to unite
the Mediterranean. Our only weapon is our historical
and natural vocation for peace. Our resolve grows only
stronger in such testing times.

The challenges that we face cannot stop us in our
tracks. We can address them if we truly believe in
acting as the United Nations. A year from now, we will
analyse the Millennium Development Goals and will,
hopefully, agree on sustainable development goals for

the twenty-first century. With an effective development
agenda, we can address the causes of conflict in a
sustainable manner and can overcome the poverty that
contributes to illegal migration. But we need to be
ambitious.

Over the past 50 years, my country has shown that
it has been and can be ambitious in favour of peace,
progress and prosperity. It has promoted and will
continue to promote the broadest possible dialogue
among the countries of our region. I take pride in
noting that only a few months ago, Malta, together
with Algeria, France, Italy, Jordan, Morocco, the
Netherlands, Nigeria, Tunisia, Turkey, the United
Kingdom and the United States, jointly launched the
International Institute for Justice and Rule of Law,
hosted by my country. The Institute will collaborate
with the United Nations and other international and
non-governmental organizations to provide training
to lawmakers, police, prosecutors, judges and prison
officials to deal with terrorism and transnational crime,
with a general emphasis on the rule of law. We hope
that such work will eventually serve as a best practice
for the benefit of the wider global community.

We are also fully engaged within the
Commonwealth, which brings together a third of the
world population, in order to help achieve convergence
on some of the challenges that lie ahead, including the
sustainable development goals and climate change. The
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting that
will take place in Malta next year will serve as an ideal
platform for the discussion of such issues, especially
ahead of the Paris summit on climate change. Those are
some of the ways in which a small country in Europe
at the centre of the Mediterranean, such as Malta, will
continue to contribute to the fostering of peace and
security in our region and in the world.

Fifty years may seem like a long time, but I can
affirm that 50 years from now my country will remain
steadfast in its ambitions and in our determination in
favour of peace and prosperity. Malta will remain a
proud Member of the United Nations and a beacon of
stability in the Mediterranean.


I particularly
welcome the opportunity today to represent His
Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic
of Senegal, before the General Assembly and to deliver
this intervention on his behalf.

In line with my predecessors, I would like to extend
a warm welcome to Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa and
express my delegation’s particular pleasure in seeing
him assume the presidency of the General Assembly at
its sixty-ninth session. In reiterating our warm wishes
for success in fulfilling his important duty, I assure him
of the unwavering support of my delegation, which, as
always, will contribute in a constructive manner to the
full realization of the goals of the United Nations. I also
pay warm tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. John William Ashe, whose dynamism and open
mind greatly contributed to the success of the sixty-
eighth session of the General Assembly. I also want
to express, on behalf of the President of Senegal, our
full gratitude to Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-moon
for his tireless efforts in promoting peace, security,
development and human rights.

I am therefore particularly pleased by the
opportunity to represent President Macky Sall and
to take the opportunity offered to my delegation to
welcome the conclusions of the Open Working Group
on Sustainable Development Goals and those on the
financing of sustainable development for the purpose of
defining the main pillars of the post-2015 development
agenda. The scope of those challenges, linked to this
important moment for humankind, requires that our
States adopt appropriate strategies and measures with
a view to assuring a good transition and calmly facing
the expected global transformation.

The theme of this session — “Delivering on and
implementing a transformative post-2015 development
agenda” — provides an opportunity to deepen the
discussion already begun during the previous session
with a view to establishing a common vision on the
ways and means to strengthen our commitment and
our actions for sustainable and inclusive growth. It
is therefore our mission to work towards inclusive
development for present and future generations, given
the many challenges faced by our people, particularly
in the areas of education, health, the fight against
poverty and extreme poverty, energy, climate change
and endemic poverty.

With that in mind, the Government of Senegal has
resolutely moved towards a model whose goal is the
creation of wealth and structural transformation of its
economy. That is why we have adopted the Emerging
Senegal Plan, which is, and for the next few years will
be, the reference point for Senegal’s economic and social
policies. Emerging Senegal is backed by a progressive
dynamic that is firmly oriented towards sustainable and
inclusive development.

In the light of all of the above, we need to understand
the importance of the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development, whose Steering Committee, led by the
President of the Republic of Senegal, deserves to be
further supported and promoted, given its goals relating
to poverty eradication and infrastructure development

in Africa and the structural transformation of African
economies.

At this very moment, as we consider the issue
of sustainable development, the world continues to
be confronted with terrorism and various crises and
conflicts that are just as dangerous for international
peace and security. The Sahel and West Africa are
faced with recurring threats from terrorist groups
whose criminal actions undermine the foundations of
our society and hinder our development efforts. We are
pleased by the Security Council’s adoption yesterday
of resolution 2178 (2014), a strong resolution against
terrorism.

With regard to our subregion, our immediate
neighbours in general and Guinea-Bissau in particular,
Senegal would like to welcome the democratic process
that led to the election of President José Mário Vaz. I urge
the international community to support that fraternal
country, with its enormous potential, including through
a donors round table.

Similarly, the efforts of the international community
to help stabilize the Central Africa region are
hampered by the arduous process of the disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of the main militias
and armed groups, while the Horn of Africa, on top
of terrorism, is still severely affected by the scope of
conflicts with disastrous humanitarian consequences.

Another part of Africa is suffering the effects of
a scourge — rather, I should say a catastrophe — and
that is the haemorrhagic fever caused by the Ebola
virus. It certainly affects West Africa but is also a
genuine threat to the entire world. We are pleased
by the Security Council’s adoption by consensus of
resolution 2177 (2014), which was sponsored by 134
countries, including Senegal, and by the high-level
meeting organized by the Secretary-General this very
morning, which was a resounding success. The decision
to establish the United Nations Mission for Ebola
Emergency Response has reassured our country that
the international community is aware of the scourge
and that Ebola is not only an African matter but one
that affects the entire world.

That is why Senegal calls on the international
community to take swift action to provide the necessary
support not only to the countries affected by the virus,
but to those of the entire West African region exposed
to the ravages of this epidemic. The sooner we take
action, the better we can control the epidemic. As for
Senegal, we have set up a secure humanitarian corridor
as a sign of solidarity with the brotherly countries that
have been struck by the disease.

Furthermore, concerning another important issue,
that of Western Sahara, my country reaffirms its
commitment to strengthening the historic fraternal ties
among all of the countries of the Maghreb and Africa
in general. With that in mind, all forms of separatism
must be discouraged. In that regard, Senegal would
like to reiterate its support to Morocco’s initiative to
grant broad autonomy to Western Sahara in the context
of respect for its sovereignty and for the relevant
resolutions of the Security Council, for the sake of
durable peace in the region.

Faced with all of those pressing challenges, my
delegation is convinced of the urgent need to establish
a holistic approach that can enhance the resilience of
countries facing recurrent crises and emerging new
conflicts. From that perspective, a body such as the
International Criminal Court (ICC) has, as part of its
mandate, a significant role to play in re-establishing
peace. Therefore, I would like to acknowledge here the
distinctive honour recently bestowed on Senegal, via
the person of Mr. Sidiki Kaba, Minister of Justice, who
is the single African candidate standing in the election
for the position of President of the Assembly of States
Parties to the ICC, scheduled to take place in December.

In any event, Senegal remains committed to its
irreversible path in favour of peace and international
security. It will continue to provide, with commitment
and determination, its contribution to peacekeeping
operations, while stressing the deployment of high-
quality personnel, whenever it is requested and within
its capacities.

For a global solution to crises, we believe that in
addition to policies addressing the issues, conditions
must be conducive to restoring the economic capacities
of countries affected by conflict. It is also urgent to
strengthen cooperation and refine our prevention
strategies to better cope with the escalating violence
and new forms of conflict related to the spread of
international terrorism.

The thorny issue of the Palestinian conflict comes
to mind. In that connection, Senegal welcomes the
ceasefire of recent months. In its capacity as Chairman
of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable
Rights of the Palestinian People, Senegal reiterates its
call to revive the peace process and put an end to the

blockade that has been suffocating Gaza since 2007. In
this International Year of Solidarity with the Palestinian
People, Senegal renews its support for a just, peaceful
and negotiated solution as the only option capable
of ending the conflict and achieving the creation of
a viable, independent Palestinian State with East
Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel
within secure, internationally recognized borders.

Paradoxically, the acuteness of the current crises
is symptomatic of the status quo that continues to bog
down the process of Security Council reform. I hope that
the upcoming celebration of the seventieth anniversary
of our common Organization in 2015 will mark the start
of a reformed and renovated Security Council. Senegal
commends the French initiative to suspend the right of
the veto in cases of mass crimes.

Also during the Assembly’s seventieth session,
non-permanent members of the Security Council will
be elected for the 2016-2017 term. As a candidate,
Senegal wishes to request from this rostrum the support
of all Member States for its election next year to a
non-permanent seat on the Council, 25 years after its
last term on the Council.