At the outset, Sir,
allow me to offer the warm and sincere congratulations
of Solomon Islands on your election as President of the
Assembly at its sixty-third session. I am confident that
with your vast experience and able leadership you will
guide this session to a fruitful outcome. You can rest
assured of Solomon Islands unwavering support and
cooperation during your tenure of office.
 Through you, I acknowledge the good work of
your predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, who has shown
great leadership on issues of global concern, in
particular on climate change, financing for
development, United Nations reform and the
Millennium Development Goals.
 My delegation is pleased to see you,
Mr. President, take such issues head on, presiding over
the high-level event on the Millennium Development
Goals as we arrive at the midpoint of our time-bound
commitments. Unfortunately, many countries, including
my own, are off track in terms of achieving the Goals.
 My delegation also wishes to join others in
conveying its gratitude and appreciation to our
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, who has worked
tirelessly and diligently to protect and preserve the
principles and purposes of the Charter during his first
year in office. We wish him well as he carries on the
good work he has begun — in particular, his regular
briefings of the membership, making his office
accountable and transparent in carrying out its
activities.
 This year our multilateral institution is being
revisited by history and challenged by the changing
international system. Unilateralism and changing
postures by big Powers are creating a new global order.
The creation of new fronts in Asia, the Pacific and
Eastern Europe is coupled with the ongoing conflicts in
the Middle East and parts of Africa. Above all, the
arms race is no longer a threat, but a reality.
 The structural imbalances of the international
financial architecture have exposed the inability of the
major developed markets to respond to the volatility of
the international financial system, resulting in State
interventions. The world economy is looking more
precarious and unequal. For small open economies the
results are catastrophic. Hence, we must be cautious in
using the free market approach and recognize its
limitations.
 The increasing cost of food and energy is causing
macroeconomic instability throughout the world today.
This speaks of the complexity and weakness of the
international system. It reflects the uneven distribution
of wealth that continues to fail the developing
countries, generating instability across the world. This
can only be corrected by having an open rule-based,
non-discriminatory and equitable trading system.
 Furthermore, market speculation and agricultural
subsidies continue to pose major risks to the global
economy. The failure of the recent Doha Round is of
concern to my delegation, as it further marginalizes the
small economies from globalization. The issue of the
food crisis now deserves our immediate and most
serious consideration at this session.
 My delegation deeply regrets that the recently
discussed United Nations food crisis Comprehensive
Action Plan is not matched by the required resources.

5 08-52265

Countries will therefore need to look at their own
resources for solutions. To this end, Solomon Islands is
working on short-, medium- and long-term solutions.
The population is encouraged to eat locally produced
food and to undertake community-based rice growing
programmes. Solomon Islands hopes to further
strengthen its relations with rice-growing countries.
My Government commends the Republic of China on
Taiwan for supporting Solomon Islands rice-growing
programmes.
 Dependency on imported fossil fuel and food is
reversing Millennium Development Goals gains,
painstakingly achieved over the last decades. Solomon
Islands is no exception. Thus, cleaner energy to power
the world economy is the way forward. In this
connection, we look to both the North and the South
for solutions. I wish to thank the Republic of China on
Taiwan, Turkey, Italy and Austria for coming forward
with community-based renewable energy programmes.
Such cooperation preserves the indispensable character
of our noble institution and translates into action the
Solomon Islands rural electrification policy of bringing
affordable electricity to 80 per cent of its population in
the rural areas.
 We are also exploring bulk purchasing
arrangements with Venezuela, using the models of the
Petro Carribe arrangement. We hope, having spent a
third of our national budget on fuel alone, that this will
provide Solomon Islands with some breathing space.
 Climate change and natural disasters continue to
create anxiety and cast a dark cloud over the future and
survival of humanity, in particular of the 50 million
people of small island developing States. The
magnitude of climate change has outgrown the existing
capacity of the United Nations system. Our multilateral
institution is heavy on providing technical support and
analytical data and less weighty with regard to on-the-
ground activities. Regional and subregional
intergovernmental organizations are also going in the
same direction, leaving countries to fend for
themselves. Solomon Islands hopes that the Small
Island Developing States Unit within the United
Nations will be strengthened to effectively coordinate
implementation of meeting the special needs of small
island developing States.
 Today there is already within Solomon Islands a
steady migratory pattern of movements of indigenous
populations from their ancestral low islands to larger
islands as sea levels rise. This has placed much stress
on the diverse fragile land tenure system, causing
friction between ethnic groups. Climate change is for
Solomon Islands a sustainable development, security
and poverty issue — all are interlinked. It is about
preserving our forests, about our reforestation
programme and about providing environment-friendly
opportunities for the resources owners in our rural
areas.
 On this note, Solomon Islands is embarking on an
ambitious programme of scaling down logging, which
is the country’s major export income-earner. My
Government has earmarked funds for community-based
reafforestation and reforestation programmes. It is
hoped that over time the agriculture, tourism and
fisheries industries will fill the forestry vacuum within
the country’s economy, and that sustainable harvest of
forests will become the norm.
 The increased frequency and magnitude of
natural disasters remind us that no country will be
spared. Solomon Islands is still recovering from last
year’s tsunami. We feel the pain and suffering of the
Governments and peoples of Myanmar and the
People’s Republic of China, hit by Cyclone Nargis and
earthquake respectively.
 More recently the three hurricanes that battered
our fellow islanders in the Caribbean speak of our
common vulnerability to natural disasters.
 My delegation hopes that a more committed
outcome will emerge from the Bali Action Plan.
 Solomon Islands further notes with concern the
proliferation of climate change financial mechanisms
outside the multilateral process. This will once again
disadvantage the most vulnerable countries — small
island developing States and least developed countries.
Climate change for us requires new and additional
resources. Accessibility to the Adaptation Fund and
funds for mitigation and technology transfer are at the
heart of the solutions to climate change challenges.
 In this light, Solomon Islands fully associates
itself with the Alliance of Small Island States
Declaration on the issue, as well as the recently
adopted Pacific Islands Forum Leaders’ Niue
Declaration on Climate Change. We further call on the
United Nations membership to support the draft
resolution on climate change and security.

08-52265 6

 On the issue of terrorism, Solomon Islands is
concerned about the lack of progress on the draft
comprehensive terrorism convention. The absence of a
legal definition of terrorism is creating gaps in our
global fight against terror. We continue to condemn
terrorism in whatever form and manifestation. We urge
the international community to weed out the evils that
breed terrorism. Our fight against terrorism must be
responsible and humane.
 I take this opportunity to sincerely congratulate
the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands,
commonly referred to as RAMSI. The Government and
people of Solomon Islands value its partnership with
the Regional Mission, and I thank all participating
Pacific Islands Forum Countries for their ongoing
contribution and commitment. RAMSI continues to
enjoy popular support, as it provides a unique
opportunity and an enabling environment to rebuild
Solomon Islands. Since assuming office nine months
ago, my Government, the Coalition for National Unity
and Rural Advancement, has defined its relationship
with RAMSI and the Pacific Islands Forum through
consultation and dialogue. This is done through
regional and national processes.
 Solomon Islands and RAMSI will soon
commence negotiations on a proposed Government-
RAMSI partnership framework, which will form the
basis of future cooperation. The guiding principles of
the framework are that it should be people-centred,
nationally owned and driven and aligned to
Government priorities and policies. This should
guarantee its sustainability and long-term success.
 Meanwhile, our Parliamentary Foreign Relations
Committee has been mandated by our National
Parliament to review RAMSI. The Committee is
expected to report its findings to Parliament next year.
 Solomon Islands is establishing a Truth and
Reconciliation Commission, modelled on South
Africa’s experience, to address people’s traumatic
experience during the three years of ethnic conflict. It
is our hope that the process will rebuild confidence,
trust and unity among the diverse cultural communities
in Solomon Islands.
 More than 80 per cent of the country’s resources
and land are traditionally owned. Last month the
Solomon Islands National Parliament passed a Secured
Transactions Bill, which will make traditional assets
bankable to allow more investment in the informal
sector. Solomon Islands is also considering putting in
place a Political Parties Integrity Bill to instil national
stability and nurture its growing democracy.
 On the issue of achieving the Millennium
Development Goals, as a small island developing State
with least developed country status, we find that much
of our achievement rests on partnership with all
stakeholders at all levels. Solomon Islands is one of the
highest foreign aid recipient countries. This
unfortunately has overstretched and crowded our
national policy space in strengthening and maintaining
good relations with all donors. Meanwhile, the
Government welcomes new approaches by
non-traditional donors of providing direct assistance
using existing national institutional frameworks. This
strengthens governance and democracy, as provided for
under the Paris Declaration, allowing the State to
increase its legitimacy and reach out to its population
more meaningfully.
 My delegation remains concerned that much of
the debate on the Millennium Development Goals is
centred on social commitments, from health to gender
and from HIV/AIDS to education. Economic issues are
given no attention, placing countries with huge youth
and unemployed populations in an awkward and fragile
situation. We consider such a gap as a time bomb that
will explode and trigger more instability in the future if
it remains unaddressed.
 Educating our youth is the way forward. We are
therefore grateful to those countries that continue to
train our young people. This year a new partner, Cuba,
is offering medical training opportunities for more than
60 students. Solomon Islands will make every effort to
utilize these training opportunities.
 Within my subregion of the Pacific, the
Melanesian Spearhead Group, after some 20 years of
informal existence, has established a secretariat,
located in Vanuatu. This should further strengthen
relations among the subregion’s countries and its wider
neighbours, as we continue to address our collective
development aspirations.
 We have only eight months left to register our
continental shelf, as required by the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea. We are working
diligently on the matter, having just accessed the
Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea
Trust Fund four months ago. Solomon Islands
welcomes the recent decision by the eighteenth

7 08-52265

Meeting of States Parties to the Convention
recognizing the technical and resources constraints on
many developing countries in meeting the required
time frame of May 2009. We are determined to keep
working on this very important issue, which will
redefine our territorial waters.
 I turn to sustainable development issues. Hailing
from the world’s largest ocean, countries of the Pacific
have relied on the ocean for their livelihood and
economic sustenance. This has prompted certain
countries of the Pacific, including Solomon Islands, to
initiate sustainable management arrangements to
protect our juvenile tuna stocks by closing pockets of
high seas adjacent to our respective exclusive
economic zones.
 The review of the implementation of the
Monterrey Consensus scheduled for late this year
should promote global growth and better international
development support, especially for the least developed
countries which remain on the periphery of the
international system. Solomon Islands hopes the
review will also reinvigorate the operations and
governance of the Bretton Woods institutions, to make
them more responsive to the changing character of the
international financial system and become an effective
part of the multilateral system.
 As one of the least developed countries, Solomon
Islands looks forward to the Fourth United Nations
Conference on the Least Developed Countries,
scheduled for 2010, which will provide an opportunity
to address the special challenges of the least developed
countries. My delegation joins other least developed
countries in looking to you, Mr. President, for
leadership to work on the modalities of the conference
during this session.
 On the issue of democratization of the United
Nations, Solomon Islands believes that our
Organization must play a prominent role in influencing
and shaping the dynamics of the international system.
This can be achieved only by increasing the legitimacy
of our premier Organization through wider
participation of its membership. This means that
strengthening the General Assembly is crucial.
Ensuring that the Secretariat is representative of the
membership is a must.
 We also call for a genuine attempt by the
Secretariat to undertake a universal recruitment drive,
in particular among those that remain underrepresented
in the Organization. This could be achieved through
annual country competitive recruitment exams.
Solomon Islands welcomes the recent recruitment
exams held in Honiara, and would like to see them held
annually.
 On the issue of system-wide coherence, Solomon
Islands notes the establishment five months ago of the
joint office arrangement between the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) and the United Nations
Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Having one of the largest
UNDP country programmes in the subregion of the
Pacific, we note with concern that more than 70 per
cent to 80 per cent of the programmes are spent on
consultancy, making country-United Nations relations
distant.
 In this regard, my delegation welcomes the
appointment of an in-country UNDP Deputy Resident
Representative. However, we renew our call for a fully
fledged in-country Resident Representative.
 Security Council reform continues to elude the
Organization. It is like a process that has never started
and takes the longest to finish. We have over the years
identified elements for negotiations, yet remain
reluctant to move into intergovernmental negotiations.
I am confident that you will give us leadership,
Mr. President, and plough deep in facilitating an
intergovernmental process on Security Council reform
by February 2009. In this connection, Solomon Islands
reiterates its support for Japan, Brazil and India as
permanent members in an enlarged Security Council.
 On the issue of Taiwan, Solomon Islands
congratulates the Government and people of Taiwan on
the successful free and fair election of President Ma
Ying-jeou in March this year. My delegation
acknowledges the goodwill shown by Taiwan in
developing an atmosphere of trust, flexibility,
pragmatism and a positive spirit to reduce tension
across the Taiwan Strait with greater economic
engagement through trade, tourism and cultural
exchange.
 We also note the intention to replace armed
confrontation with negotiation, and isolation with
engagement. Resumption of direct flights between the
two countries, increased dialogue, and people-to-
people interaction are all positive developments that
should be encouraged. Above all, much has happened
since the March election.

08-52265 8

 Solomon Islands calls on the international
community to recognize the Republic of China on
Taiwan’s good faith and build on the positive
momentum. The international community must provide
the Republic of China on Taiwan with the necessary
and appropriate international space if we are to be
responsible and contribute to the maintenance of
international peace, stability and security along the
Taiwan Strait.
 Solomon Islands welcomes the 47-day Annapolis
talks held from December 2007 into January this year.
My delegation shares the Quartet’s support for ongoing
Palestine and Israel negotiations to realize the shared
goal of establishing a Palestine State by December
2008 as a just, permanent and long-lasting solution to
the Middle East conflict.
 Solomon Islands further salutes Turkey for
mediating talks between Israel and Syria in April, and
salutes the courage of the two countries in discussing
issues that are difficult and sensitive.
 In conclusion, as we reflect on the range of the
global agenda before us, we must honour and act on
our collective commitments. We must also define a
path that offers our people human security
guaranteeing freedom from want, freedom from fear
and freedom to live in human dignity.


I wish at
the outset to extend heartiest congratulations and
assurances of my cooperation and highest esteem to
Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-third
session. Antigua and Barbuda looks forward to his
leadership and guidance throughout this session. Our
congratulations also go to his predecessor, Mr. Kerim,
on a job well done and for his service to the
international community.
 I venture to express the hope that the Group of 77
(G-77) and China will find in the President a vigorous
advocate for heightened focus and meaningful action in
pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and other agreed development goals.
 The sixty-third session of the General Assembly
is taking place against a backdrop of escalating
challenges to international peace and security:
unalleviated poverty and diminishing food supplies for
much of the world’s population; mega-disasters
induced by climate change; and impending meltdown
in the world’s largest economy. These times and
circumstances call for a heightened sense of urgency
and a stronger will among all nations to work with and
through the United Nations in embracing
multilateralism in the fullest sense.
 The climate crisis is a clear and present threat to
the security of small island States like ours and a major
obstacle to the achievement of our sustainable
development goals and objectives. The international
community is not short of rhetoric on the climate issue,
nor is it short of ideas, but we have come up woefully
short of political will on the part of those whose
actions matter most.
 The nexus of climate change and natural disasters
is indisputable. Natural disasters are increasing in
frequency and devastation around the globe. Such
disasters are especially catastrophic for the small
countries of the Caribbean, whose economies are

08-51845 32

largely dependent on the natural environment. I
commend the United Nations and its organs for the
work they are doing in Haiti and elsewhere in the
Caribbean, which was severely affected by hurricanes
over the past weeks. I must, however, call on the
international community to lend additional support to
the United Nations in its humanitarian efforts in the
developing world.
 The emerging focus on new energy sources in the
United States and elsewhere is also happening to small
nations. We are encouraged by the promise of a
rollback of the primary contributors to the causes of
climate change. The responsibility to provide the
necessary resources to do that must be born primarily
by those developed countries which contribute most to
the causes of climate change.
 In a similar context, vulnerable developing
societies are victims to the globalization of crime,
notably in the havoc wrought by handguns in the
possession of criminal elements, the trafficking of
narcotics destined essentially for markets in developed
countries, and the deportation of criminals to our
shores. We urge the international community, in
recognition of the link between globalization and
crime, to provide greater support for the efforts of
small island States to fight crime, strengthen the rule of
law and combat international drug trafficking. We also
call on developed countries to stop the practice of
deporting violent criminals to our shores.
 Antigua and Barbuda is also keenly concerned
about the issue of nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation. The Caribbean is a zone of peace,
but none of us is beyond the impact and effect of
weapons of mass destruction. The Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons should be fully
implemented and adhered to by all countries.
 The constant threat that terrorism poses in today’s
highly globalized world makes nuclear disarmament
even more imperative. We will continue to promote a
nuclear-free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean,
and encourage all countries, particularly the leading
industrialized nations, to vigorously pursue and support
disarmament.
 I have looked critically at some of the problems
facing the global family of nations. I conclude on a
note of optimism.
 We have recently seen a number of leaders
apologizing to the African diaspora, to indigenous
peoples and to former colonies for past wrongs and
injustices. We have even seen binding commitment to
reparation, as in the case of Italy and Libya. I salute
those leaders who have demonstrated such
enlightenment.
 More Governments are accepting the inevitability
of democratic political change and are showing a
growing commitment to good governance, fair and free
elections and the orderly transfer and sharing of power.
Kenya, Zimbabwe and South Africa come to mind
immediately and deserve commendation.
 Finally, it is fascinating how both candidates in
the United States presidential election are vying for the
change franchise in that country. As a representative of
the Government and people of Antigua and Barbuda, I
call on the United States administration and its future
leadership to effect change in its dealings with our
brother nation of the Republic of Cuba.
 I call on the United States to end the economic,
commercial and financial embargo imposed on our
brothers and sisters in Cuba. As a world leader and
defender of justice, the United States must embrace
change fully in the interests of the men, women and
children of Cuba.
 I firmly believe that the United Nations would be
a more potent entity and the world could be infinitely
better placed if the next president of the United States
in his inauguration address gave an irrevocable
commitment to multilateralism in all its dimensions.
 Permit me in my capacity as the Chair of the
G-77 and China to offer a few comments on behalf of
the group.
 The United Nations and the broader international
community have spent much time and other resources
over two decades identifying, defining and reaching a
common understanding on major challenges to global
society. We have passed resolutions and declarations in
which we have defined the challenges, identified the
resources needed and resolved and committed to
meeting and overcoming the challenges as a global
community through international cooperation. In some
cases, we have agreed and set binding time frames to
achieve results.
 Many of these commitments, timetables and
proposals for action have been repeated in annual

33 08-51845

resolutions of the General Assembly. Unfortunately,
many have become more technically complicated,
while there has been less and less political commitment
to action supporting their unified and mutually
reinforcing implementation.
 We have had some modest gains, as, for example,
in our fight against HIV/AIDS and malaria. However,
in general, our record of implementation and delivery
on commitments is a source of embarrassment to us as
leaders.
 We are confronted by an endemic crisis of
development, including the failure of development
policies and approaches that do not take into account
the specific situation of countries and regions.
 This has resulted in growing inequities within and
across countries, an environmental and climate change
crisis with unsustainable pressures on production and
ecosystems, a global economic and financial crisis
spreading from the major economies, a crisis of
confidence in global governance and institutional
capacity for managing international trade, finance and
development policies, a worsening energy crisis, an
unprecedented food crisis, and a looming water crisis.
 We recognize that each country has the primary
responsibility for its development. However, the
international community must create a conducive,
sustainable, fair and predictable environment and
provide the necessary policy space to stimulate and
facilitate the discharge of this responsibility.
 We must all move immediately into
implementation mode — a mode where our focus is on
how to do rather than how not to do. We have some
important strategic opportunities ahead to begin to do
so.
 The G-77 and China believe that we could begin
with today’s high-level meeting of the General
Assembly on the Millennium Development Goals.
 At the midpoint we, as an international
community, are in danger of missing most of the MDG
targets. We have not provided the resources, the
conducive international environment and the
cooperation to ensure that all developing countries can
meet their specific targets.
 Several sources were identified in Monterrey
through which the financing could be mobilized to
address the commitments to tackle many of the
challenges, including those summarized in the
Millennium Development Goals.
 Let us use the process leading up to the Follow-
up International Conference on Financing for
Development, and the Conference itself, to offer
specific proposals on how we will provide and use
resources, and on how we will set about shaping the
international economic environment in order to speed
achievement of those objectives and targets, as well as
increase the participation of developing countries.
 In December 2007, the Bali process reaffirmed
the international community’s resolve to ensure that,
by the end of 2009, it will have a clear idea about
commitments from Annex 1 Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) on greenhouse gas-reduction for the second
commitment period, as well as their commitments on
firm actions and resources to facilitate adaptation,
mitigation, technology transfer and financing for
Non-Annex 1 Parties.
 The outcomes of the United Nations Climate
Change Conference to be held in Copenhagen in 2009
must be robust and implementation-driven. The various
intergovernmental activities on the energy and food
crises scheduled for the coming months should be
focused not only on solutions to the immediate
problems of food insecurity and energy issues, but also
on long-term sustainable developmental imperatives.
 These are illustrations of the opportunities which
can and should be used by the international community
to foster implementation of both outstanding and new
commitments. They are by no means exhaustive. The
Group of 77 and China would urge the General
Assembly to resolve to promptly send a message
communicating the urgency of implementing those
various processes and activities.


First of all, allow me to
congratulate Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann on his election
to the office of President of the General Assembly and
to express the hope that, under his leadership, the
General Assembly at its sixty-third session will achieve
its goals, the most important of which are the further
strengthening of the United Nations system for the
sake of peace and international security and addressing
the global issues that are becoming the challenges of
the twenty-first century.
 This year, humankind has faced a number of
interrelated crises, including the energy, food, climate
and financial crises that have combined to cause a
general development crisis. The consequences of those
newly emerged challenges have had the most severe
impact on the social conditions of millions of people in
the developing countries and on States with transitional
economies, my country among them.
 However, people have not lost their hope for a
more just and fruitful world. They pin their hopes on a
powerful and efficient United Nations capable of
mobilizing and focusing its resources on solutions to
the most urgent issues of the day. We believe that there
is an urgent need to efficiently develop dialogue and
cooperation among all the entities of this multipolar
world and to avoid applying double standards in
international relations. It is equally important not to
allow people of different races, religions, continents
and regions to be set against one another.
 No single country in the world, not even the most
powerful, is capable of meeting single-handed the
challenges of our time, which range from climate
change to the necessary uncompromising fight against
international terrorism. Today more than ever before,
the new generation of global issues requires a
collective response and the United Nations, entrusted
with a broad mandate, is the only existing instrument
capable of addressing them.
 One example of the new generation of global
issues is the human right to an adequate food supply.
The dramatic rise in the cost of food and energy has

08-51845 2

called into question the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). The food crisis has
affected the poorest populations in the most negative
way. In Tajikistan, 93 per cent of whose entire territory
is mountainous and only 7 per cent suitable for
agriculture, the food crisis has affected two thirds of all
households. Additional coordinated efforts and
efficient measures are called for if we are to avert a
further degradation of the situation of global food
security. In the present circumstances, the use of food
for biofuel production is inhumane and immoral.
 Our hope is that donor States will undertake all
the necessary political, financial and economic
measures to prevent a worsening of the food crisis. If
they do not, millions more could suffer further
impoverishment. We also expect that official
international assistance will be increasingly allocated
to the development of agriculture and that artificially
created barriers in trade will eventually be removed.
 It is quite obvious that the United Nations should
play the key role in addressing the food crisis and
related world agricultural policy. Tajikistan supports
the activities of the United Nations High-level Task
Force on the Global Food Security Crisis mandated to
design urgent response measures to the food crisis. The
efforts of the Task Force should also be focused on
assistance and on developing joint agreed long-term
approaches to ensuring food security throughout the
world. The High-Level Conference on World Food
Security in Rome and the resulting adoption of a
declaration were important steps in that direction.
 Within the Food and Agriculture Organization, it
is necessary to revitalize activities in the transfer of
advanced technologies and seeds and in the provision
of financial and technical assistance to developing
countries. We call for enhanced support for the
assistance programmes being implemented through the
World Food Programme.
 The lives of millions of men, women and children
on Earth depend on their ability to exercise their
human right to an adequate food supply. That issue
requires not protracted discussions, but resolute
practical action, since the food crisis, which deprives
human beings of their dignity, is no less of a threat than
terrorism itself. We believe that the world’s leading
countries should act more responsibly to mitigate the
consequences of the global energy, food, climate and
financial crises, particularly with regard to the poor
and developing States, which are most affected by the
devastating consequences of those phenomena.
 Tajikistan, which has fertile soil and is rich in
water resources, can make its own contribution to the
resolution of that problem. More than 55 per cent of all
water resources in the Central Asia region originate in
Tajikistan. Not only is that amount of water sufficient
to meet the freshwater needs of agricultural irrigation
and related economic sectors in the region; it can also
serve as a major source for the generation of
ecologically sound electrical energy. Tajikistan’s
hydropower capacity, in particular, is estimated at
525 billion kilowatt-hours, and only 5 per cent of that
capacity is currently being utilized.
 It is only by taking a comprehensive and mutually
beneficial approach to the use of hydropower and other
natural resources that the States of Central Asia can
ensure sustainable development in the region and help
to resolve its food and environmental problems,
notably through the efficient use of those resources.
Only mutually beneficial cooperation aimed at such
use can bring well-being to the peoples inhabiting that
vast region. We hope that our plans will be supported
by the Bretton Woods institutions and by United
Nations partners in the private sector.
 I believe that we need to create an economic
mechanism for the transfer of water and energy
resources, which would serve the interests of both
upstream countries, which are rich in water resources,
and downstream countries, most of which are rich in
hydrocarbon raw materials.
 The problem of climate change is already
affecting our region, in particular its water resources.
As a result of global warming, Tajikistan’s glaciers
have diminished in size by more than 30 per cent. That
has produced low water levels in our rivers over the
past three years, which in turn has caused grave social
and economic problems by triggering drought, a locust
invasion and other difficulties. Without the
implementation of hydropower projects, our country
will be unable to achieve the MDGs or arrive at
sustainable growth, as shown clearly last winter, when
weather of unprecedented severity revealed all the
difficulties of the transitional period. Next winter and
summer are expected to be even more challenging.
 Obviously, water is an essential resource, because
it is needed not only to sustain human life, but also for
industrial purposes, environmental protection and the

3 08-51845

entire development process. Addressing urgent water-
related issues and promoting international cooperation
in meeting the water challenge are the goals of the
International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”,
2005-2015, which was initiated by the Republic of
Tajikistan. I invite Member States to designate
representatives to participate in the International
Freshwater Forum, to be held in Dushanbe in 2010, to
review the practical implementation of the
internationally agreed water agenda.
 Despite the many water-related events held
throughout the world at various levels in recent years,
the issue of water remains urgent. For that reason, in
order to ensure that water issues are comprehensively
addressed and that efforts taken at the national,
regional and global levels are strengthened, the
Republic of Tajikistan proposes that a special session
of the General Assembly be convened to review
progress made in achieving the goals set for the Water
Decade and identify areas for further action.
 Today, in addition to the general debate, a high-
level event on the Millennium Development Goals is
being held at United Nations Headquarters. My country
regards timely achievement of the MDGs as a priority
issue. The Government of Tajikistan has been
implementing its national development strategy up to
2015. The strategy, developed at the initiative of the
United Nations and with its direct involvement, reflects
a largely new approach to development. It takes into
account global experience in the area of development,
the implementation of similar strategic documents,
lessons drawn and conclusions reached during the
previous stages of the country’s development, current
realities and development prospects. However, I must
note that the federal financing of the country’s social
progress is limited by the growth rate of our economy.
 It is obvious that, in many respects, achievement
of the MDGs depends on the approach taken by the
international community to the provision of assistance
to developing countries and the timely mobilization of
internal and external resources. In that respect,
Tajikistan associates itself with the appeals made to the
donor community to double its development assistance,
which is vital for the support of sustainable growth and
for the achievement of internationally agreed goals.
 The proposal that debts accrued by developing
countries be relieved in exchange for the
implementation of national projects in the area of
sustainable development remains relevant. The soaring
costs and, in many cases, artificially inflated prices of
hydrocarbon raw materials and food have considerably
worsened and complicated the financial situation of
poor and developing countries. Even partial
cancellation of their debt would help, since it would
release funds that could be invested in education and
the entire social sector, environmental protection, the
fight against HIV/AIDS and other areas.
 The forthcoming Follow-up International
Conference on Financing for Development to Review
the Implementation of the Monterrey Consensus, to be
held in Doha, will provide a good opportunity for the
further development of effective measures to provide
the resources needed to achieve the MDGs. Our hope is
that the Doha Conference will provide new impetus for
the implementation of the Monterrey Consensus and
that it will enhance the spirit of global partnership and
solidarity.
 The situation in Afghanistan, which has been
devastated by a long period of conflict and violence, is
a source of grave concern. Afghanistan needs not only
a larger military presence on its territory, but also
targeted economic, technical and humanitarian
assistance. Experience has shown that military action
against terrorist groups is often far less effective than
carefully thought-out non-violent political and
economic measures. We must, as a matter of urgency,
realistically consider involving other influential
regional actors, including the Shanghai Cooperation
Organization, in resolving the Afghan issue.
 Strengthening international cooperation in the
fight against terrorism is inseparable from
counteracting the trade in illicit drugs. It is essential
that we assist the Government of Afghanistan in
destroying the technological and financing links of the
modern illicit-drug industry. Consolidated efforts to
that end will enhance the achievement of the goals set
out in the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy and the Paris Declaration.
 The global system of fighting terrorism,
transnational organized crime and illicit drug
trafficking which is currently being shaped cannot be
built without support from regional organizations. In
this regard, Tajikistan salutes the efforts of the United
Nations to expand its cooperation with relevant
regional organizations. These are powerful structures,
and involving them in addressing global issues will

08-51845 4

prevent modern challenges and threats from taking on
undesirable dimensions.
 The United Nations and peacebuilding are
inseparable. We appreciate the devotion of those who
selflessly worked at the United Nations Tajikistan
Office of Peacebuilding and pay tribute to those who
lost their lives while performing their professional
duty. The settlement model for the inter-Tajik conflict,
involving assistance from the United Nations and
guarantor States, has been acknowledged as a unique
example of both peacebuilding and preventive
diplomacy.
 We support the Secretary-General’s initiative to
reform the peacekeeping machinery, and we believe
that it is essential to continue providing the relevant
political, financial and logistical support to
peacekeepers in order to help them cope with their
difficult missions.
 Tajikistan endorses the priority attention given by
the United Nations to enhancing the effectiveness of
assistance to countries that have endured internal
conflicts and supports the activities of the
Peacebuilding Commission, which is mandated to
contribute to ensuring coordination and enhancing the
effectiveness of international assistance to such
countries. In order to strengthen peace and stability,
countries that have suffered internal conflicts need not
only humanitarian assistance but also concrete help in
dealing with their economic and social problems, along
with support for their efforts to establish the foundation
that is essential for a transition to sustainable
development.
 This year the international community celebrated
the 1,150th anniversary of the birth of Abuabdullohi
Rudaki, the founder of Tajik-Persian literature. The
essence of his moral philosophy can be described as
praise for such eternal spiritual values as kindness,
beauty, tolerance and mutual assistance. Centuries
later, the poetry of Rudaki continues to call for
strengthening friendship among nations and expanding
dialogue among civilizations; it sings a hymn to
humanism and harmony. As noted by the Secretary-
General,
 “Rudaki’s timeless and profound writings provide
an inspiration for the Alliance of Civilizations,
our initiative to counter extremism and heal the
divisions that threaten our world”. (Press release
SG/SM/11646)
 I am confident that the common human values
praised by Rudaki are in harmony with the objectives
pursued today by the United Nations worldwide. I am
very optimistic about our ability to make the world a
better place and to meet the aspirations and hopes of
our peoples.


Let me begin by
congratulating Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his
well-deserved election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session. I would like to
thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his very
effective leadership in promoting global peace, security
and development.
 I take this opportunity to deliver this statement
also on behalf of the least developed countries (LDCs).
This has been a difficult year for many LDCs, amid
rising food prices and a looming economic slowdown.
But we have remained resolute in confronting the crisis in
a spirit of mutual understanding, support and cooperation,
as enshrined in the United Nations Charter.
 My statement today will address three
interrelated issues: food security, democracy and
development. These issues are inextricably linked to
one another and are of fundamental importance to the
welfare of the citizens of Bangladesh as well as other
LDCs.
 We have witnessed during the course of this year
an extraordinary rise in food and energy prices, which

08-52272 12

has undermined the food security of many least
developed economies. This experience should
strengthen our resolve to look for long-term solutions
leading to a world free of hunger. In the twenty-first
century, food security for all citizens in the world must
be acknowledged not just as a development imperative,
but as a moral imperative. Each and every human life
is sacred, and it is our collective duty to provide
adequate food and nutrition to people throughout the
world.
 The recent global rise in food prices has been
acutely felt in Bangladesh, even though imports
account for a very small percentage of our total cereal
consumption. Domestic rice prices spiked by nearly
60 per cent during the year through February 2008,
against the backdrop of two devastating floods and a
tropical cyclone that destroyed one of our key harvests.
For a country like Bangladesh, where roughly 40
per cent of the population lives below the poverty line
and where poor households spend as much as
70 per cent of their income on food items, such a steep
increase in food prices has had significant adverse
effects on food security, poverty alleviation and human
development.
 Food insecurity can disrupt the core of a
democratic polity and derail its development priorities.
The cost of food insecurity is measured not only by
deprivation, but also by increased instability, which
can be very costly for a society. While the free market
remains an incomparably powerful tool for the efficient
allocation of resources, markets are often imperfect,
and no Government can stand idle and hope that the
private sector will resolve a food crisis. Making food
available to all, and at affordable prices, remains a
cardinal responsibility of all Governments. In
Bangladesh, we took this responsibility very seriously
and delivered rice to our citizens through a public
distribution system, in an effort to ensure that no one
went to bed hungry.
 Soon after assuming office in January 2007, our
Government announced a road map for holding a truly
democratic and meaningful election. That was no easy
task, as decades of corruption had seriously
undermined both our democracy and our economy.
Corruption’s ill effects corroded our vital public
institutions, and the cost was ultimately borne by the
ordinary citizens of Bangladesh, who could ill afford it.
My Government is determined to ensure that
corruption does not imperil the rights of the
underprivileged and that, in future, our democracy
ensures the good of all Bangladeshis. Our fight against
corruption has been the first step in a long and difficult
process, and we believe that the work will continue
under the auspices of the Independent Anti-Corruption
Commission, which was created as an institutional
bulwark against corruption. Legal action was initiated
against corrupt individuals, but we never compromised
due process and judicial independence.
 The foundation of a democracy rests on a
compact between the State and its citizens. That begins
by ensuring that each and every eligible citizen can
vote, freely and without fear, and that each and every
vote is counted. To that end, my Government has
completed the monumental task of electronically
registering over 80 million voters with photographs
and fingerprints. That was achieved in just 11 months
and is a feat that I believe is without precedent
anywhere in the world. Our Election Commission
trained over 500,000 election workers, deployed over
10,000 laptop computers, webcams and fingerprint
scanners and set up over 90,000 registration centres to
ensure that every eligible voter could have his or her
photograph and fingerprints digitally captured.
Multiple layers of safeguards were put in place to
ensure that the new voters list was flawless.
 In addition to creating a world-class photo voters
list, we issued national identity cards to all those who
registered. The Election Commission, with the
newfound independent authority granted to it by our
Government, completed that task in record speed with
the support of the Bangladesh army. Our armed
services personnel — many of whom have shown their
deep and abiding commitment to the ideals of the
United Nations through their service in United Nations
peacekeeping operations — provided critical logistical
support. Their experience, we believe, could be
invaluable to supporting and strengthening democracy
in post-conflict environments. Our success with the
voters list was the result not just of civil-military
cooperation, but also international cooperation. We are
deeply appreciative of the technical assistance of the
United Nations Development Programme for that
project and the financial support of our development
partners.
 An election is only the first pillar of democratic
governance. During the past 20 months, my
Government has relentlessly worked to shore up
democracy’s other pillars. We have made the judiciary

13 08-52272

fully independent. My Government has established the
National Human Rights Commission to protect and
promote the fundamental rights of all our citizens. We
have enacted a right to information law, which will
help provide the transparency that is necessary to a
well-functioning democracy. We have, in consultation
with the political parties, amended and strengthened
the Representation of People’s Order, under which
forthcoming elections will be held. That law and
regulations under it will require the registration of
political parties for elections, ensure intra-party
democracy and implement campaign finance reforms
that will limit the influence of corrupt money in our
political system.
 Just last month, the Bangladesh Election
Commission organized the successful holding of some
local and mayoral elections. That marked a new
beginning in our electoral process, and our citizens
were able to exercise their franchise without undue
influence of money or muscle power. The elections
were held without disruption and drew an
unprecedented number of voters. Let me reiterate here
that my Government is fully committed to holding free
and fair parliamentary elections on 18 December 2008,
as announced last week. We are confident that all
political parties will participate in the elections.
 Few nations face the challenges that we face in
Bangladesh for mere survival. Our development gains,
achieved through the work of years and decades, can
be wiped out in a matter of hours. One cyclone can
push hundreds of thousands of people back below the
poverty line. Bangladesh is particularly vulnerable to
climate change, given that we are a low-lying delta in
one of the highest rainfall regions of the world. There
is growing concern that an irreversible climatic shift
will displace tens of millions of our people. By some
estimates, a one-metre sea-level rise would submerge
about one third of the total area of Bangladesh. Given
our population and its vulnerabilities, that would result
in the greatest humanitarian crisis in history. Inaction is
simply no longer an option. It is nothing less than a
basic moral imperative that countries that have
contributed little to this crisis, such as Bangladesh, not
be left alone and unsupported to suffer the most from
its consequences.
 Adaptation is necessary, but it may not be
sufficient to cope with the unavoidable impacts of
climate change. Countries like Bangladesh will face
the worst consequences in the absence of a legally
binding commitment on mitigation. International
efforts to minimize emission levels should not,
however, disproportionately tax poorer nations. We
must have guaranteed access to appropriate mitigation
technologies and know-how on affordable terms. We
strongly feel that the post-Kyoto agreement should set
up a technology transfer board, in order to ensure that
the least developed nations have access to affordable,
eco-friendly technologies. Bangladesh will not be able
to attain sustainable development without appropriate
technological support in that regard.
 We would not have discussed the food crisis issue
here in the Assembly, if we had believed that it was a
one-off event. The crisis will revisit us, perhaps with
greater intensity and frequency, unless we put in place
both short- and long-term measures to prevent its
recurrence. Many of us in the developing world were
deeply encouraged when the Secretary-General
responded to our urgent request for a high-level task
force to address the current food crisis. It was also
timely and appropriate that the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations convened the High-
Level Conference on World Food Security in Rome in
June 2008. The Conference afforded us the opportunity
to deliberate on systemic and non-systemic issues that
exacerbated the current food crisis.
 Bangladesh, as representative of the least
developed countries, also urged the Secretary-General
to look into the possibility of creating a global food
bank. We suggested that the food bank could allow
countries facing a short-term shortfall in production to
borrow food grains on preferential terms. Once they
overcame the shortfall, those countries could return the
quantum to the food bank. We could also explore the
possibility of determining special drawing rights for
each country, using criteria such as population, level of
poverty and annual variation in their level of food
production. Such an arrangement would allow us to
prevent hoarding and price gouging by speculators in
anticipation of, and during, a food crisis, and we
believe that a mechanism can be put in place to guard
against any moral hazard issues that might arise.
 Since the adoption of the Brussels Programme of
Action in 2001, LDCs as a group, have made some
progress in their macroeconomic performance and on a
few social indicators. The progress is, however,
insufficient and uneven. More important, their
economic growth has made only a little dent in poverty.
LDCs continue to face serious structural hurdles in

08-52272 14

their development efforts. They remain acutely
susceptible to external economic shocks and natural
and man-made disasters.
 The full and effective implementation of the
Brussels Programme of Action has now become an
even greater necessity. However, it is unlikely that we
will achieve the overarching goals of the Programme of
Action and the MDGs, unless international
commitment to the LDCs in the areas of aid and trade
is fully delivered.
 The Brussels Programme of Action will conclude
in 2010. The General Assembly is in the process of
preparing for the fourth United Nations Conference on
the Least Developed Countries, to be held towards the
end of the current decade. The upcoming conference
will provide an important opportunity for LDCs and
their partners to review critically past performance,
especially in the areas of failures and weak
implementation. That will help us develop a new,
action-oriented strategic framework for the next decade
to assist the LDCs in their development efforts. I call
upon Member States to extend full and effective
support for the successful holding of the next United
Nations conference on the LDCs.
 Bangladesh is in the midst of a profound change
that we believe is also relevant to people all around the
world, especially to those fighting poverty, corruption
and underdevelopment. As with any process of change,
it is not without setbacks and will take time to
complete, but in the end we remain confident of our
success. Our goal is to strengthen democracy in
Bangladesh, and my Government has done everything
in its power over the course of the past 20 months to
work towards that end.
 I have spoken about the remarkable achievement
with our voters list, which will ensure that the elections
this December and every election thereafter can be free
and fair; and I have also discussed some of the
fundamental institutional reforms that we have
undertaken to bolster the foundations of democracy.
Many countries around the world are in their own ways
going through similar processes, and we hope to share
our experiences in order to help them, as we ourselves
have benefited from the support of the international
community and organizations like the United Nations
Development Programme.


Please accept my expression of sincere appreciation to
our outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Srgjan
Kerim, and my warmest congratulations to Mr. Miguel
d’Escoto Brockmann on his election as President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-third session. Brunei
Darussalam wishes him every success in the coming
year and we offer him our full support.
 My congratulations also go to the Government
and people of Nicaragua. I offer them my very best
wishes for peace, happiness and prosperity. That is a
wish, of course, that we also offer all our fellow
members. We very much enjoy working with them,
sharing experiences, voicing concerns and hearing each
other’s thoughts and ideas. I say that because the
coming year is a very special one for Brunei
Darussalam. In September of next year, we celebrate
the twenty-fifth anniversary of our membership in the
United Nations. We thank the Organization and fellow
members for giving us the opportunity to play a part in
a world we all share.
 The global challenges we now face demand that
every nation, big and small, work together. That is why
we will offer whatever we can to support this world
Organization. We will also support all its efforts to
address political, economic and social concerns. We
will help with recovery from natural disasters. We will
join fellow Members in protecting not only the
environment but also the cultures of small societies
like our own. We will respect the values of the various
faiths held by the people this Organization represents.
 In more specific terms, that is why Brunei
Darussalam strongly supports the role of the United

35 08-51851

Nations in the Quartet working to establish a just and
lasting peace in the Middle East. It is why we ask the
World Trade Organization to recognize the impact its
work has on the stability of small, fragile societies. We
ask its strong and influential members not to give up
the search for a fair formula for an equitable world
trading system acceptable to all nations.
 That is also why we acknowledge the work of the
Secretary-General with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) to help our neighbour
Myanmar recover from the terrible effects of Cyclone
Nargis this year. It is the reason behind our work with
our neighbours in Indonesia and Malaysia to conserve
the priceless heritage of the Borneo rainforests by
placing over half our territory under environmental
protection in the heart of Borneo projects. It is why we
affirm the right of all small nations and fragile
societies, with all the values they uphold, to continue
their way of life with security today and hope for the
future. It is why we have supported worldwide
dialogue between faiths to promote tolerance and
respect for each other’s deepest beliefs.
 I offer this appreciation and support for a
particular reason. A new generation of international
leaders is slowly beginning to shape the future. It is my
privilege here to speak not only on behalf of all our
people, but especially on behalf of that new generation
in our country. The twentieth century is, indeed,
history. The twenty-first century is plainly here,
creating its new set of internal and external dynamics.
We clearly recognize that in my region. That is why
ASEAN’s leaders have signed a new charter. We and
our fellow members of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC) have acknowledged that fact by
amending the OIC charter and accepting the far-
reaching objectives of the Makkah programme of
action.
 Underlying both those moves is the deep desire of
leaders who are passing the baton to their successors to
ensure that their people have hope and confidence in
the future by being given the chance to join the twenty-
first century. Our people must be able to participate to
the fullest. The new generation of leaders must have
the opportunity to help them do so. We have to provide
that confidence; by that I mean the confidence that
comes from education, modern training, health care
and the knowledge that their culture, values and faith
are safe.
 If there is one broad lesson to be learned from the
security crises that have marked the start of the
century, it is that security is not an abstract concept,
nor is it simply the traditional tasks of upholding the
law and fighting crime. At its heart, it is a deeply felt
feeling of unfairness. What we are asking for is the
chance to address those causes at a very basic level.
 In that task, we therefore turn to the United
Nations for help. We deeply acknowledge the work of
the United Nations agencies in the field and their
expert staff and selfless volunteers. In particular, we
thank the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World
Health Organization (WHO). We see the success of
both of these organizations as essential to providing
our people with the confidence I have mentioned.
 In Brunei Darussalam, we had the privilege of
hosting our first UNESCO science and technology
camp in 2006 and we have been deeply impressed by
the agencies’ relevance to the needs of ordinary people
trying to meet the challenges of the modern world. We
especially support the commitment of UNESCO to the
process of dialogue and negotiation as the only lasting
means of resolving confrontation, no matter how
painstaking the process may be at times. In similar
fashion, we have also long supported the invaluable
work of WHO. We and our neighbours have greatly
benefited from the exceptional international research,
advice and technical assistance that this organization
has constantly offered, and for which we are all most
grateful.
 I have briefly outlined Brunei Darussalam’s
support for the United Nations and its current
objectives. Above all, we are committed to the work of
its agencies as they attempt to help us all achieve the
Millennium Development Goals. I have spoken of how
a new generation of leaders can offer their people the
hope that comes from confidence in the future. The
United Nations is the organization that gives us a fair
chance to deliver on this hope. That is all we ask,
because for us the twenty-first century presents a
difficult journey, and the United Nations is the
compass that directs us towards a hopeful future.


On behalf of the
Government and people of the Commonwealth of the
Bahamas, I congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption
of the presidency of the Assembly at its sixty-third
session, and I assure you of the full support and
cooperation of my delegation. I should also like to take
this opportunity to commend Mr. Kerim on his
stewardship of the Assembly at its sixty-second
session, which has just concluded.
 The Bahamas commends the Secretary-General
for this opportunity to assess our global commitment.
We first committed ourselves to the creation of a
society for all in 1995. Five years later, we
recommitted ourselves to that objective and signed on
to the development agenda, a noble objective. We are
now at the halfway point, and we must judge for
ourselves whether the progress made has been good
enough. We believe that efforts to achieve the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and
ultimately create a society for all must be carried out in
tandem with steps to achieve full employment and
decent work for all.
 The implementation of the MDGs is simply the
implementation of my Government’s philosophy and
programmes. It is with considerable satisfaction,
therefore, that I am able to report that the Bahamas has
achieved many of the MDG targets and indicators.
Over a two-year period, assistance to the poor in the
Bahamas and to low-income families is being increased
by 45 per cent.
 The issue of international migration and
development is of particular concern to the Bahamas.
We have been burdened for some 60 years now with
irregular and unauthorized migration, which places
increased demands upon the education, health and
social services of the Bahamas. It also represents
potential national security threats, particularly as
organized crime networks have become increasingly
involved in the cross-border smuggling of illicit drugs,
firearms and human cargoes. Therefore, the Bahamas
looks forward to the discussion scheduled to take place
during this session on the follow-up to the 2006 High-
level Dialogue on International Migration and
Development.
 New and emerging problems continue to slow
global development, and the current food, energy and
financial crises threaten to erode the gains made over
the past 10 years towards ending poverty, hunger and
malnutrition and reducing deaths. Apart from the
consequential increase in production costs for all
consumer goods, the growing cost of energy is
affecting the travel plans of many, with direct negative
consequences for tourism, the primary industry of the
Bahamas.
 Of equal concern is the persistent challenge of
climate change, especially for small island developing
States such as the Bahamas, where 80 per cent of our
landmass is within 1.5 metres of sea level. It is no
surprise to find the Bahamas listed among the 100
countries most vulnerable to the consequences of
climate change and sea-level rise. Potential impacts of
further rises in temperature include not only the
environmental degradation of marine and terrestrial
ecosystems — loss of biodiversity and compromised

08-52272 32

groundwater tables, agricultural lands and fishery
resources — but also the social and economic losses
that might be expected from labour displacement.
 My Government has recorded its commitment to
preserve our marine and terrestrial environments and to
meet the targets established by the United Nations
Convention on Biological Diversity for 2010 and 2012.
Indeed, we fully expect to exceed our commitment to
conserve at least 20 per cent of the near-shore marine
resources across the Bahamas by 2020. That reality
informs the Bahamas’ desire for urgent action on
climate change.
 The increasing number and fury of tropical
storms and hurricanes passing through the Caribbean
are, I believe, yet another indication of the negative
effects of global climate change. This year alone, those
tropical storms and hurricanes have had a devastating
effect on a number of countries in our subregion,
including the island of Inagua in the southern
Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, the
Turks and Caicos Islands and Haiti. They pose a
singularly peculiar threat to our countries, as they are
capable, literally in one fell swoop, of wiping out all
the development gains we have achieved over many
years of hard work.
 That is especially true for Haiti, where conditions
are especially grim. The Bahamas is pleased that the
United Nations has remained actively engaged in Haiti.
The Bahamas commends the work of the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. As the current
Chair of the Caribbean Disaster Emergency Response
Agency, I am pleased that the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) has been able to contribute to the relief
efforts in Haiti, but Haiti’s needs remain at proportions
that can be addressed only by the international
community. We are heartened by the flash appeal for
Haiti under the auspices of the United Nations Office
for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
 The current global economic climate presents a
formidable challenge to both developed and developing
countries. The Bahamas has established a comparative
and competitive advantage in a number of international
service industries by laying a solid foundation based
upon the rule of law, with its attendant protection of
private property rights, combined with sound
macroeconomic policies and a commitment to
democratic ideals that foster an enduring political
stability.
 Our participation in the international economic,
financial and trading systems has permitted us to
embrace opportunities presented by globalization and
to achieve reasonable levels of growth and
development. Nevertheless, we remain vulnerable to
the challenges posed by our size and the limits on our
representation in global governance.
 The Bahamas supports the strengthening of the
United Nations Committee of Experts on International
Cooperation in Tax Matters and its upgrade to an
intergovernmental body. It is the view of the Bahamas
that international tax matters, including issues of
importance to developing countries that are not
adequately addressed in other organizations, should be
discussed in an open, transparent and inclusive forum.
For that and other important reasons the Bahamas calls
for the convening of a major international conference
to review the international financial and monetary
architecture and global economic governance
structures. The case of small developing countries must
be addressed in the context of international systems
that are fair, equitable, objective, open and inclusive.
Therefore, effective permanent representation of
developing countries, particularly small developing
countries, is needed in the international economic,
trade and financial institutions, including the Bretton
Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization,
as well as other bodies, such as the Financial Stability
Forum.
 The Bahamas reaffirms its support for the
intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council
reform with a view to expanding the membership of
that body in both the permanent and non-permanent
categories, as well as improving its working methods.
International peace and security is important to us all.
The Bahamas fully supported the General Assembly’s
adoption of the United Nations Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy in September 2006 as a framework
for collective action to prevent and combat terrorism.
 The Bahamas condemns terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations, and we call for, and commit to, the
full implementation of a culture of peace, justice and
human development and respect for all religions and
cultures. I am pleased to report my Government’s
ratification, since taking office last year, of the United
Nations Convention against Corruption, the
International Convention on the Suppression of
Terrorist Bombings and the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime — the Palermo

33 08-52272

Convention — and its Protocols. The Bahamas
commends the Secretary-General’s initiative in
organizing the first-ever United Nations Symposium on
Supporting Victims of Terrorism.
 Escalating acts of crime and violence, civil
unrest, wars and internal conflicts around the world
continue to threaten our efforts to create a just and
peaceful international environment. The 2008 World
Drug Report indicates that the supply of illicit drugs is
increasing. That has serious consequences for our
subregion. The Bahamas and members of CARICOM
are neither significant producers nor suppliers of
narcotics. We are neither manufacturers nor suppliers
of small arms and light weapons. Yet the meteoric rise
in the illicit trafficking in drugs, small arms and light
weapons, illegal migration and human trafficking
through our subregion creates a formidable challenge
to the national security and socio-economic growth and
development of our countries. Therefore, the Bahamas
reiterates the call made by CARICOM last July for the
illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons to be
addressed in a holistic, transparent and legally binding
manner, with renewed commitments for effective and
enhanced safeguards.
 We are poised to mark, on 10 December, one of
the greatest achievements of this great Organization:
the sixtieth anniversary of the adoption of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The Bahamas
reaffirms its commitment to the fundamental principles
of human rights, dignity and freedom for all. The
Bahamas commends the entering into force of the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
and the adoption of the International Convention for
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearances and the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
 For more than six decades, human rights, poverty
and development and peace and security have attracted
the attention of this Assembly. The complexity of those
issues, coupled with a lack of good governance and
political sensitivity, has too often impeded meaningful
advances. As we celebrate the Declaration’s sixtieth
anniversary, I recall the vision of a former First Lady
of the United States of America, Eleanor Roosevelt, as
expressed in her address on 8 March 1960:
 “We are going to have to work for a peaceful
world continuously, without stopping because
differences exist among people. They exist in
families, they exist within nations and they will
exist in the world. And therefore, without any
question you are going to have to work to achieve
peace in the world much more continuously than
you have ever worked.”
That is as true today as it was 48 years ago.


I would
like to discharge my first duty by conveying to the

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Assembly, on behalf of His Excellency the President of
the Republic of Guinea, General Lansana Conté, whom
I am honoured to represent here, brotherly greetings
along with a strong message of solidarity from the
people of Guinea. On this solemn occasion, I am also
pleased to convey to Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann
the warmest congratulations of the Guinean
Government following the election of a charismatic
and enlightened individual of his stature to the
presidency of the Assembly. I assure him of Guinea’s
full and entire cooperation throughout his mandate.
 I would also like to take this opportunity to
express my country’s gratitude to his illustrious
predecessor for the skill with which he handled the
presidency of the sixty-second session. To the
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, we once again
convey our deepest appreciation for the effectiveness
and vision with which he leads the work of our
Organization, which is ever more in demand, because
of the many challenges we face in shaping a world of
peace, security, justice and prosperity for all.
 With regard to international solidarity, 34 years
ago the dominant groups of the world promised to
implement the noble commitment made by the
international community to eliminate the poverty that
undermines living conditions in poor countries, in
particular through the regular allocation of 0.7 per cent
of the gross domestic product of industrialized
countries to official development assistance.
 In the euphoric wake of the fall of the Berlin Wall
in 1989, that promise had received only a symbolic
fulfilment when the leading powers predicted, in a
premature burst of triumphalism, that budgets that had
been devoted until then to the arms race would, as of
then, be devoted to expediting poverty eradication.
However, the current configuration of our world,
deeply divided as it is between rich and poor, shows
multiple signs of how those promises —which, when
they were made, awakened great hopes for the rapid
achievement of an international world of peace,
effective solidarity and shared well-being — have not
been fulfilled.
 With regard to international peace, in spite of the
significant reduction in the current number of armed
conflicts, fears remain. Indeed, military expenditures
have increased significantly in recent years to
proportions that hearken back to the darkest hours of
the cold war, times that we had hoped were left far
behind us.
 The legitimate war against blind and
unacceptable terrorism, waged on several fronts since
2001, is unfortunately far from reassuring. The
anachronistic Israeli-Palestinian conflict persists in
spite of the welcome decision to seek a negotiated
settlement of that dispute. Tensions related to nuclear
weapons control darken the horizon of a lasting
international peace. Hegemonistic urges to control the
strategic resources of the planet are obvious in various
instances, raising legitimate fears for the security of
those countries that are vulnerable in military terms.
 When it comes to combating global hunger, the
current food crisis poses an urgent and pressing
challenge that demands a rapid response at the
national, regional and international levels. Beyond the
emergency, solidarity-based movement that has taken
shape, that serious phenomenon requires a global,
long-term approach from us all. To that end, the
international community as a whole must promote
policies and strategies geared towards returning
agriculture to the heart of our national and
international concerns. Our ability to satisfy the food
needs of the most vulnerable peoples and to preserve
socio-political stability in those countries depends on
it.
 With regard to poverty reduction, the results
remain mixed, unfortunately. Indeed, poor countries
are foundering even further, due not only to their
population growth and insufficient social investments,
but also to the inadequate quality and inconsistency of
official development assistance. In addition, all of that
must be viewed against the backdrop of the all-too-
timid engagement of their development partners and of
global trade conditions that place them at a
disadvantage.
 Currently, halfway to the 2015 deadline, official
development assistance is still not being allocated at
the necessary pace. In spite of demonstrating their full
resolve to take control of their destiny by enacting
robust measures in terms of political, economic and
financial governance, poor countries must make do
with the drafting of new versions of poverty reduction
strategy papers that are unlikely to be implemented
because of the lack of sufficient and appropriate
financing.

39 08-52265

 Meanwhile, the populations of poor countries
continue to increase and to grow younger. They grow
impatient with the delay and slowness of their
integration into globalization. Their social needs are
growing and their institutional stability, prospects for
democracy and likelihood of sustainable social peace
are faltering. The picture is one of a vicious circle
within which the leaders and peoples of poor countries
are caught. They look to their partners for an extension
of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative
and the removal of the obstacles that impede the export
of their products in order to enable their economies to
escape marginalization in the global trade system.
 In that context, the Guinean Government urges
the implementation of the outcomes of high-level
meetings with respect to the priority agenda of
international development agencies. Those outcomes
outline approaches and steps that could improve the
living conditions of hundreds of millions of
individuals, particularly in Africa, who feel the full
impact of extreme poverty, illiteracy, endemic diseases,
insecurity, economic marginalization and socio-
political exclusion.
 Elected in April 2008 in Dakar to chair the
Leading Group on Solidarity Development Levies,
Guinea devotes all its energies to consolidating
initiatives in that field and to overseeing the design and
implementation of programmes that will serve to
supplement traditional financing sources. I appeal to
Member States and to development partners to join us
in that solidarity initiative in order to pool our
collective efforts to fight poverty and achieve our
common goals.
 From this rostrum of international solidarity, I
have the pleasure of calling on global leaders, in
particular those of the wealthy and emerging countries,
to increase their support for poor countries, as the
community of humankind must preserve its meaning,
human solidarity must show its effectiveness, and
humankind must share the certain knowledge that
lasting peace cannot be forged within the current
asymmetrical divisions of our world.
 More resolute than ever before to make proper
use of the official development assistance that they will
receive, the populations of poor countries are
determined to emerge from the poverty afflicting them.
Their young people want to make their parents and
their countries proud by finding decent work at home.
They do not want to get involved in clandestine
immigration networks, nor do they want to deal with
drug traffickers.
 Encouraging results have been achieved in
conflict prevention and in restoring, maintaining and
building peace in the world, and in Africa in particular,
in spite of the human tragedies taking place in Darfur.
Our Organization deserves to be congratulated and
encouraged for that. Indeed, significant progress has
been achieved by Côte d’Ivoire on the path towards
restoring peace and national reconciliation.
 With regard to the Mano River Union, Guinea
calls on the international community to continue to
support the efforts of the member States of that
organization in order to prevent them from relapsing
into the cycle of doubt, insecurity and instability. We
must also welcome the successful measures initiated
and led by the Peacebuilding Commission to
consolidate stability in Sierra Leone, Liberia and
Guinea-Bissau.
 In the Horn of Africa and in the Western Sahara,
through the perseverance of the United Nations and the
stakeholders in those crises, positive signs of
settlement are emerging. We urge all the stakeholders
in those crises to engage in dialogue and coordination,
which, if they are to be effective, require, of course,
respect for the commitments that have been made.
 In the Middle East, it is obvious that resolving
the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will require a regional
solution based on the creation of an independent,
sovereign and viable Palestinian State living side by
side and in peace with Israel in accordance with the
relevant resolutions of the United Nations and the
Quartet road map.
 Moreover, Guinea reaffirms its unwavering
commitment to the principle of a single and undivided
China.
 I would now like to address the situation in my
country, which for the past two years has faced a
serious economic and social crisis, triggered by a
combination of internal and external factors, which I
have just described. I am pleased to be able to say
today that through a national patriotic upsurge,
supported by the efforts of the international
community, including the Economic Community of
West African States, that situation is on the path
towards normalization and improvement. A

08-52265 40

Government open to all stakeholders, comprising the
opposition, civil society and the two sides of industry,
has been established. That Government has drawn up
and is currently implementing a minimum emergency
programme that should pave the way for a relaunch of
the country’s economic and social development process
in the near future.
 In spite of the pitfalls and unstable resources, the
results obtained to date are encouraging. The
institutional framework for governance is improving.
The pace of the democratic process, in particular the
preparation for legislative elections, is quickening. The
independent national electoral commission is up and
running. The political parties have received subsidies
for election preparations. A comprehensive coordination
movement involving all components of the nation is
under way. The mining agreements are being revised
with a view to protecting the interests of the country
and, naturally, those of the investors themselves.
Economic and financial governance is being
strengthened, sanctioned by the adoption on 28 July
2008, by the Executive Board of the International
Monetary Fund, of the conclusions of the first review
of the formal programme, which should lead our
country to the completion point under the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative.
 Working together with all actors in the nation, the
Guinean Government remains firmly committed to
shouldering its full share of responsibility in tackling
the huge challenges posed by HIV/AIDS, drugs, lack
of security, terrorism, the illicit circulation of light
weapons and the structural causes underlying
clandestine immigration. The eradication of poverty,
maintenance of peace, institutional stability and
promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms
lie at the heart of our national priorities.
 Sixty-three years after the establishment of the
United Nations, eight years after the adoption of the
United Nations Millennium Declaration and at the
midpoint towards the implementation of the
Millennium Development Goals, my country, Guinea,
believes in the future of a world of greater solidarity,
justice and fairness, thus safer in the context of a true
and fair partnership. A reformed, revitalized United
Nations, adapted to new developments, remains the
appropriate forum to meet the challenges that we all
face.
 Before I conclude, I am pleased to report that
2008 marks the fiftieth anniversary of both our
country’s independence and its accession the United
Nations. That gives me the opportunity to reaffirm to
my country’s firm commitment, alongside the rest of
the international community, to achieving the noble
ideals of our Organization, and to supporting and
respecting all its principles and purposes, which are the
foundation of a true community of destiny.


My Government agrees
entirely with the Secretary-General’s remarks at the
opening of this debate. The world is on the eve of a
great transition. The problems we face have grown
much more complex, and our challenges are
increasingly those of collaboration rather than
confrontation. The quality of life in most parts of the
world has improved tremendously over recent decades,

39 08-53135

but challenges remain, not least in sub-Saharan Africa.
New challenges, such as climate change, migration,
increasing energy and food prices and financial
instability, could all potentially give rise to embedded
conflicts and further polarization.
 As President Sarkozy said last week in his
capacity as President of the European Union (EU),
continued reform of the United Nations is crucial to
improving the ability of the United Nations to carry out
its core business, which is and remains problem
solving. We must continue the progress made on
system-wide coherence and on the Delivering as One
agenda. As regards Security Council reform, Denmark
welcomes the agreement to initiate intergovernmental
negotiations in the near future. At the election of
Security Council members next month, Iceland is the
candidate for membership representing all the Nordic
countries. We are strongly backing Iceland’s
candidature.
 On climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change reports have served to crystallize
an international consensus on the need for action. That
consensus has been nurtured by the determined
leadership of the Secretary-General, promoting global
action to curb global warming, with the United Nations
at its centre.
 Economic growth and environmental protection
are fully compatible. The challenge is to establish a
framework for low-carbon growth, in which increased
energy efficiency, increased use of renewable sources
of energy, carbon capture and storage, and the
development of a global carbon market are vital
elements.
 Denmark will host the United Nations Climate
Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009. The goal
is to reach an agreement on a successor to the Kyoto
Protocol, making it an ambitious and truly global
instrument. Momentum for a new comprehensive and
ambitious international climate agreement is growing
day by day.
 During the past weeks, we have witnessed new
cruel and meaningless acts of terrorism. The evil
terrorist attack in Islamabad on the Marriott Hotel on
20 September resulted in the loss of many innocent
lives. Most of those who died were Pakistanis, but
other nationalities were also included, one Danish
person among them. That attack and others came only a
few weeks after United Nations Member States had
reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We must respond
to such despicable acts of fanaticism with great
determination to strengthen international cooperation
in that area. All United Nations bodies must join in the
fight against terrorism. We hope that, at its present
session, the General Assembly will finally agree to a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
In addition, we must focus on due process and
sanctions, as it is becoming increasingly clear that a
lack of adequate due process is hampering the
efficiency of the sanctions system.
 Sixty years after the adoption of the Universal
Declaration on Human Rights, severe violations of
human rights continue to take place. Extremists are
trying to instigate a clash of civilizations by creating
mistrust and polarization among various civilizations,
cultures and religions. It is a major challenge for the
United Nations to counter those trends and to promote
the universality of human rights.
 The number of armed conflicts is steadily
decreasing. The United Nations has played a major role
in ensuring that positive trend. However, several
bloody and difficult conflicts remain high on the
international agenda.
 In Afghanistan, measurable progress has been
made, but the security situation remains challenging.
Corruption and drugs are undermining the
achievements made and the long-term development of
the country. Denmark has significantly increased its
engagement in the United Nations-mandated, NATO-
led mission, and we have doubled our development
assistance to Afghanistan. Much has been achieved, but
the United Nations needs to play a much stronger role
in coordinating the international engagement. A lack of
success in Afghanistan would have serious regional
ramifications.
 In Africa, the deployment of the African Union-
United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur has been
delayed owing to various factors, including actions by
the Government of the Sudan allowing attacks and
killings to go on. Those responsible for the grave
crimes committed in Darfur must be held accountable.
Fighting impunity is a prerequisite for sustainable
peace. We thus stress the need to comply with Security
Council resolution 1593 (2005) and express our strong
support for the International Criminal Court.

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 In Zimbabwe, we hope that the power-sharing
agreement will pave the way for durable peace and a
return to democracy and rule of law, ending the
suffering of the people of that country.
 In Somalia, the international community is trying
hard to improve the deplorable situation on the ground
and the prospects for a long-term political solution.
The scourge of piracy is one of the factors undermining
stability in Somalia. The Danish navy is taking an
active role, together with the navies of other nations, in
addressing that problem off the coast of Somalia and in
the region. We need to increase our common efforts to
address all aspects of fighting piracy, including
strengthening the international legal framework for
handling detained persons. Through the Copenhagen
Process Denmark has taken the lead on the broader
issue of handling detainees in armed conflict. We
believe that there are already valuable lessons here that
can also be applied in relation to piracy.
 In the Middle East, in spite of continuing
violence, effective regional and international
diplomacy has contributed to breaking the political
deadlock in Lebanon. The Palestinians and the Israeli
Government are also making progress. We urge the
parties to the Middle East conflict to honour road map
commitments and to settle their differences in
accordance with the international agreements and the
Arab peace initiative. I should also like to take this
opportunity to strongly condemn the unacceptable
remarks made by the President of Iran calling for Israel
to be wiped off the map.
 In Burma, Cyclone Nargis killed more than
100,000 people earlier this year. The slow and
inadequate reaction of the regime demonstrated its
disregard for the welfare of its own people. The United
Nations is working hard to ensure the initiation of a
genuine political dialogue between the Government
and the political opposition as well as the release of all
political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. We
strongly support those efforts.
 In August, war erupted in the South Caucasus.
The conflict in Georgia has not only dramatically
affected the region but clearly also entails
repercussions that go beyond it. However, not least
because of the European Union and its French
presidency, the international community has been able
to contribute constructively to the process. Now it is up
to all parties to the conflict to fulfil the conditions set
out in the six-point agreement and the Moscow
agreement and to act in a positive spirit to find long-
term solutions to the conflict in a peaceful manner that
also respects Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
 This year saw a new country appear in the
Balkans. The United Nations has played a substantial
role in promoting Kosovo’s development and is still
present in Kosovo with the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), together
with a new substantial contribution from the EU
regarding the rule of law: the European Union Rule of
Law Mission Kosovo. By reconfiguring UNMIK, the
United Nations has demonstrated substantial
pragmatism and a willingness to cooperate actively
with the EU. Later this year, the United Nations is
expected to hand over to the EU Mission tasks related
to the rule-of-law area, and we welcome that
development.
 The good offices of the Secretary-General, the
mediation and conflict prevention efforts of the United
Nations and its peacekeeping operations, which now
entail 19 missions and more than 130,000 staff
members, remain the backbone of United Nations
peace and security efforts. However, we need to
improve the capacity of the United Nations system to
assist countries in early phases of recovery after
conflict as well as countries with very weak institutions
that might easily fall into conflict. That means building
a stronger bridge from humanitarian assistance,
political good offices and peacekeeping efforts to early
recovery, peacebuilding, reconstruction and transitional
assistance aimed at sustaining State-building and
preventing weak States from lapsing back into conflict
or chaos. The creation of the Peacebuilding
Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund was
important in strengthening the Organization’s capacity
and capability to build and cross that bridge, but so far
it is only a footbridge. Much more engineering and
craftsmanship are needed, including on the part of
funds and programmes.
 At the 2005 World Summit, the concept of the
responsibility to protect was endorsed. We must
develop that concept further and ensure that States do
their utmost to protect their own citizens from
genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes
against humanity. We must discuss what the
international community and the United Nations can do
to assist States in meeting those obligations, and we

41 08-53135

must consider the means that are available to the
international community when States manifestly fail to
protect their populations.
 Last week, an impressive number of heads of
State and Government took part in the first high-level
follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and the
establishment of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). We are not on track, but we are not
sidetracked either. We all have to make extra effort if
we are to succeed, and we need to get our priorities
right. A special focus on the empowerment of women
is essential socially, politically and economically.
Increased investments in women are crucial across all
the MDGs, across all sectors. Gender equality is a
basic human right, and it is smart economics, too. On
that basis, the Danish Government has initiated a
specific call to action on gender equality and the
empowerment of women.
 Another cross-cutting factor that might determine
success or failure for all countries is governance.
Political leadership, democratic institutions, the rule of
law and respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms are called for not only nationally, but also
internationally. The international rule of law, with a
strong emphasis on respect for the fundamental
principles of international law, respect for human rights
and fighting impunity, is a key to international peace
and stability. The evidence is loud and clear, and we
need to focus our efforts.
 The evidence is equally loud and clear in another
area. Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind in its
trajectory towards achievement of the MDGs. The
Danish Government has therefore established an
international high-level commission on effective
development cooperation with Africa. The aim of the
commission, in which a number of African leaders and
United Nations officials are taking part, is to present
creative and concrete recommendations regarding a
cross section of young people, employment and
economic growth. By May 2009, the commission will
present its ideas and concrete proposals on how
African countries and the international community can
address those challenges prior to the 2010 review of
the status of the implementation of the MDGs.
 In conclusion, let me reaffirm the
interrelationship and interdependence of the issues that
I have addressed. There can be no development without
security and human rights, and vice versa. Progress is
needed in all areas if we are to advance as a global
community. And we must advance — in the area of
development, in the area of peace and security, in the
area of human rights and in the many areas that
transcend borders. That can be achieved, however, only
through multilateral cooperation in areas such as
counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, pandemics and
climate change. Multilateralism is our only response to
the challenges, risks and opportunities of an
interdependent and globalized world. It is our
responsibility to ensure that the United Nations is
properly equipped to address global challenges and
global opportunities.