At the outset, Sir, may I join
others in extending our heartfelt congratulations to
Mr. Sam Kutesa on his unanimous election as President
General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. Mr. Kutesa
can count on my delegation’s full support in the
discharge of his enormous responsibilities in steering
our work in the months ahead.

The world is faced with multiple crises — violent
conflicts in various parts of the world, terrorist activities
by extremist groups, unprecedented epidemics and
natural calamities. At this time of turmoil, we, as
a family of nations, must rally around this world
Organization as a centre of multilateralism, upholding
the Charter of the United Nations and the universal
principles of international law.

We need peace and development. We need to do
our utmost to implement the right of peoples to peace
as emphasized by the Declaration on the Right of
Peoples to Peace, adopted 30 years ago at the initiative
of Mongolia. We have consistently supported the
joint efforts of the international community against
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Mongolia
is a party to the majority of international counter-
terrorism instruments. The seemingly unthinkable
atrocities committed by the terrorist group called the
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant pose alarming
threats to regional peace and security. The international
community must take resolute action to defeat these
threats comprehensively and in compliance with the
Charter of the United Nations.

Mongolia commends the Secretary-General’s
leadership in rallying international support and
establishing the United Nations Mission for Ebola
Emergency Response to ensure a rapid, effective and
coherent response to the Ebola crisis. We support the
Security Council and General Assembly resolutions to
that effect.

The situation in Ukraine should be resolved only
through political dialogue, without the use of force. The
current ceasefire needs to be made more sustainable; all
efforts towards finding a solution, including the Putin
plan outlined in Ulaanbaatar earlier this month, as well
as the Minsk protocol of 5 September and its follow-up
memorandum, should be taken into account.

Just 25 years ago, Mongolia chose its development
path, deciding to embrace the rule of law, democratic
governance, a market economy and an open society.
Although we are among the countries known as
the third wave of democratization, the transition to
democracy was in many respects unique in Mongolia.

We made a simultaneous transition to democracy and a
market economy. We made that transition peacefully. In
1990, democratic parliamentary elections were not only
the first of their kind in the region, but they were fully
free and fair. To ensure inclusive growth and citizens’
participation, a national policy on decentralization
through direct democracy was introduced. As a
result, citizens are now able to directly participate in
identifying development priorities and allocations and
monitoring local budgets.

To identify a long-term development pathway
and regain the confidence of investors, a number
of multi-stakeholder events have been held in
Mongolia — the Economic Forum, the Business
Summit and Discover Mongolia. In addition, new
laws, particularly on investment, investment funding
and petroleum, and budget transparency, have been
adopted.

At the international level, Mongolia served as
the Chair of the Fifth International Conference of
New or Restored Democracies and the Community of
Democracies. We currently chair the Freedom Online
Coalition. It is the first time that an Asian country
leads the Coalition. We support the Human Rights
Council’s decision that Internet freedom is a basic
human right. As a staunch advocate of democracy
and freedom, Mongolia will use its opportunity as
chair of the Coalition to promote, both nationally and
internationally, an Internet that is free and secure for
all.

To support emerging democracies, Mongolia has set
up an international cooperation fund. We have nothing
to preach, but we have experience and lessons learned.
We therefore shared with Kyrgyzstan our experience in
parliamentary democracy and legal reform, and we held
training sessions for Afghan diplomats and Myanmar
journalists.

Mongolia highly commends the Secretary-General’s
leadership in galvanizing and catalysing global action
on climate change. Climate change is not a challenge
for the future; it is a matter of urgent Permanent
Representativeiority today. Yesterday’s United Nations
Climate Change Summit 2014 offered world leaders a
unique opportunity to voice their commitments to cut
the emission gap and to pledge their commitment to the
two-degree scenario in the lead-up to the twenty-first
session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate, to be held
in Paris next year.

But that pledge will remain a mere ambition if it
is not backed up by bold action and strong political
will. We are running out of time, but we cannot run
out of planet Earth. The time to act is now. Moreover,
the Green Climate Fund needs to be made fully
operational. If resources are actually transferred as
an incentive to countries that reduce their emission of
greenhouse gases, that will have a multiplier effect. No
one country is immune to climate change. Even my own
country, Mongolia, which has a centuries-old tradition
of living in harmony with nature, is experiencing its
disproportionate effect. Conscious of that reality,
Mongolia has recently adopted a green development
policy. We expressed our support for the statement on
carbon pricing, and for the New York Declaration on
Forests to combat deforestation.

This session of the General Assembly has the
important task of articulating the post-2015 development
agenda based on the legacy of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). In that regard, we look
forward to a synthesis report by the Secretary-General
Permanent Representativeior to the intergovernmental
negotiations for the sustainable development goals
(SDGs) during this General Assembly session. We
also welcome the outcome of the Open Working
Group on SDGs and commend its hard work over the
past 18 months. The United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development underscored the special
challenges facing the most vulnerable countries,
including landlocked developing countries (LLDCs).
However, we believe that the outcome document of the
Open Working Group could have better reflected the
special needs of landlocked developing countries. We
hope that the upcoming intergovernmental negotiations
will redress that situation.

In the run-up to the 10-year review of the Almaty
Programme of Action, in June 2014 we hosted a
high- level international workshop, “The World
Trade Organization Agreement on Trade Facilitation:
Implications for LLDCs.” We also joined the
Intergovernmental Agreement on Dry Ports in order to
become involved in regional connectivity. Facilitation
of transit transportation, infrastructure development
and reduction of trade barriers were among the issues
discussed during the recent visits to Mongolia by
President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin. We
agreed to expand our cooperation in those areas. Those
agreements were reiterated at the first ever trilateral
summit that brought together Mongolia, China and
Russia on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation

Summit in Dushanbe earlier this month. The expansion
of our cooperation with those two neighbours augurs
well for regional trade and investment and paves the
way for enhanced economic collaboration with our
other neighbours.

Mongolia is redoubling its efforts to join the Asia-
Pacific Economic Cooperation, to become a dialogue
partner of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
and to constructively engage in the East Asia Summit.
Last July we also signed an economic partnership
agreement with Japan. Strengthening peace and
stability in North-East Asia is one of our national
security Permanent Representativeiorities. We firmly
believe that dialogue and open discussions enhance
confidence among nations. Following up on the
Ulaanbaatar Dialogue on Northeast Asian Security, we
have successfully hosted a series of fruitful platforms,
including a meeting of women parliamentarians, an
international research conference and a meeting of
mayors from cities in North-East Asian countries.

Stability on the Korean peninsula is crucial for
maintaining regional peace and security. We support
an early resumption of the Six-Party talks. As a country
with a declared nuclear-weapon-free status, Mongolia
firmly believes that the Korean Peninsula must be
nuclear-weapon-free.

In a time of major geopolitical change, the United
Nations system must reflect new economic and political
realities. We need to accelerate the reform process,
including the long-overdue expansion of Security
Council membership in both the permanent and the
non-permanent categories. The issue of the Council’s
working method is also important for all small States,
which make up a majority in the United Nations.

Out of 193 States Members, 105 belong to the
Forum of Small States. Of the 70 States that have never
been elected as members of the Security Council,
50 are small States, including my own country,
Mongolia. As a responsible member of the international
community, Mongolia has put forward its candidacy for
a non-permanent seat on the Security Council in the
elections to be held in 2022, and is seeking the valuable
support of its fellow members.

In conclusion, I would like to express my
confidence that this session of the General Assembly
will be able to deliver a common development strategy
beyond 2015, a strategy that will inspire and guide us
to work collectively towards a safer, more equitable and
prosperous future in the years to come.


It is our
pleasure, Mr. President, to congratulate you and your
friendly country, the Republic of Uganda, on your
election to the presidency of the General Assembly
at its sixty-ninth session. We are confident that your
vast experience in diplomacy will steer the work of
this session to a successful outcome. I would also like
to assure you of the cooperation of the delegation of
the Sultanate of Oman in working with you towards
achieving the cherished goals and objectives of the
current session, at the forefront of which is enhancing
international peace and security.

We would also like to take this opportunity to
express our thanks and appreciation to your predecessor,
Mr. John William Ashe of Antigua and Barbuda, for the
excellent manner in which he conducted the work of the
previous session. We would also like to reiterate our
confidence in Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
tireless efforts to enhance the role of the United Nations
and improve its working methods so that it can respond
in the best possible way to the hopes and aspirations of
Member States.

The Middle East is going through a difficult
phase as it grapples with several crises due to a lack
of international consensus. We believe that the overall
situation in the Middle East requires a unified position
to solve the crises, the most immediate of which is the
Palestinian question, which no doubt lies at the core of
regional conflicts. We note that while the Palestinians
have consistently shown willingness to enter into
a genuine partnership in peace with Israel, based on
the concept of two States living side by side in peace,
Israel has not demonstrated responsible cooperation
as it continues to resort to military force as a tool to
maintain its security.

Security and stability cannot be achieved through
the use of excessive force and the insistence on inflicting
heavy loss of life, injuries and destruction on the largest
possible scale. The path to achieving the security and
stability that underpins economic and social recovery
can be realized only through the peaceful partnership
of the Palestinians and Israelis. We now believe that
there is a chance to achieve that objective, following
the ceasefire agreement reached between the two sides,
Palestinian and Israeli, in the Gaza Strip. We stress the
importance of the two sides sticking to the agreement
in words and in actions and avoiding violations under
any justification or pretext. In that respect, we call upon
Palestinians and Israelis alike to resume negotiations in
order to reach a just and comprehensive settlement that
would provide peace and security for Israel and that
responds to the hopes and aspirations of the Palestinian
people to regain their inalienable rights.

The continuation of violence in the brotherly
Syrian Arab Republic and its serious implications for
regional and international peace and security require
us to redouble our efforts to encourage the Syrian
Government and the National Coalition of Syrian
Revolutionary and Opposition Forces to return to the
negotiating table, based on the Geneva communiqué.
The two parties should approach negotiations in a
positive manner by focusing on areas of consensus and
avoiding negative aspects and positions with the aim
of saving the Syrian people and sparing them further
suffering and tragedies.

While we applaud the role of humanitarian relief
organizations and agencies in helping the Syrian
people overcome their prolonged ordeal, we also call
for intensified efforts to facilitate access by relief
agencies to all areas inside and outside Syria to provide
the necessary humanitarian assistance to the affected
people. In that respect, we look forward in confidence
to the efforts of the United Nations Special Envoy for
Syria, Mr. Staffan de Mistura, to encourage Syrian and
international stakeholders to reconvene the Geneva
conference. We believe that the current situation is
more conducive than ever to this effort.

My country appreciates the efforts of the President
of Yemen, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, to achieve
security and stability there. We welcome the agreement
of peace and partnership signed by President Hadi
and the political powers in Yemen, and we call upon
all political partners, particularly Ansar Allah, to
comply with its provisions. We call on all political
entities in Yemen to renounce violence and uphold
the outcome of the National Dialogue Conference as
the best available road map for resolving the current
crisis. We hope that the Yemeni presidency will take
the remaining important steps in the Comprehensive
National Dialogue, most notably the referendum on
a new constitution that would secure the rights and
interests of all Yemenis.

The Sultanate of Oman is firm in its principled
position regarding the condemnation of terrorism in all
its forms and manifestations, regardless of motives and
justifications. In that context, we condemn the terrorist
acts perpetrated by the so-called Islamic State in Iraq
and the Levant (ISIL). We support the recommendations

of the Jeddah and Paris conferences, and the steps
the international community is taking to extend Iraqi
authority over all ISIL-controlled areas. We emphasize
the importance for the international community to
stand united in freeing the Middle East from all forms
of violence, extremism and terrorism. We also welcome
Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) on the threats
to international peace and security posed by terrorist
acts.

There are a number of ways to prevent violence and
extremism. These include the consolidation of good
governance and sustainable development, which would
allow all sectors of society — especially young people,
who constitute two thirds of the populations of Arab
countries — to work, innovate and actively participate
in the decisions affecting their daily life. On this basis,
the Sultanate of Oman has established a complete and
interlinked system encompassing the principles of
good governance, including councils and institutions
to protect society and young people and ensure their
participation in the development process.

In that regard, my country has established the
Council of Oman, composed of two chambers, the
Shura Consultative Council and the State Council. It
has also created municipal councils, whose members
are popularly elected, to oversee local issues that
affect the lives of the people in the economic, social,
educational and other fields, based on the principles of
good governance and sustainable development.

The Sultanate of Oman has also come a long
way in its national development. It has established an
independent judiciary, which has become a key element
of the development and modernization process. It
has also established the Public Prosecution Office,
which stands at the apex of the independent judicial
system in the Sultanate, as well as the State Audit
Institution, whose role is to provide a secure and proper
administration to ensure better management of public
properties.

It has also redoubled its efforts to fight corruption
and organized crime. In that respect, and in the context
of its efforts to protect the country and its citizens, the
Sultanate has acceded to the United Nations Convention
against Corruption, the United Nations Convention
against Transnational Organized Crime and the
three protocols thereto. This system of institutions is
based on effective public participation in the policies
adopted and implemented by the Government in order
to enhance good governance in the framework of a
modern civic State, based on institutions, in order to
achieve security, stability and sustainable development.

Regarding regional peace and security, my country
supports the call for an international conference to
establish a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and
weapons of mass destruction, in line with the resolution
adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons. My country calls upon States parties
to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, especially the depository States, to take the
necessary measures to achieve this goal in order to
spare the region the dangers of tension, and to avoid
confrontation.

In closing, we would like emphasize that the
Sultanate of Oman has come a long way towards
achieving the Millennium Development Goals in
all fields and within the specific timelines set by the
United Nations.


The
Assembly will understand that I am speaking today
with particular emotion, because one of my compatriots
has just been the subject of a cowardly assassination in
Algeria by a terrorist group linked to Daesh. His name
was Hervé Gourdel. He was a man full of enthusiasm
who loved mountains and thought that he would be able
to pursue his passion by going to the Djurdjura area in
Algeria. He was captured, and he was decapitated. That
is what terrorism does. And it does not do that only to
France. Several days ago it was American and British
individuals subjected to the same barbarity.

That group — Daesh — does not strike only those
who think differently from themselves; they also strike
Muslims, they strike civilian populations, and they
strike minorities. They rape, they kill. That is why
the battle that the international community must wage
against terrorism knows no borders. The same flag must
be carried, that of the United Nations, that of the values
for which this Organization was founded — human
dignity, freedom, the vision we must have of a world of
tomorrow, a world of justice.

France is fully engaged in this battle. That was
the case in Africa when it was called to Mali, where,
fortunately, it was joined by many African and European
countries and now by the United Nations. France has
been engaged whenever there is a risk. But today it is
in Iraq and Syria where that threat exists. But it does
not concern that region alone, because the Daesh group
has decided not only to conquer territory, imagining
that it will found a State; it threatens the entire world
by provoking attacks, organizing kidnappings and
recruiting fighters from around the world to train them
and show them the barbarity of which the group is
capable, so they may reproduce that horrific terrorist
movement in our own countries.

It is because this threat exists not only for the
region but for the world that France responded to the
Iraqi authorities’ appeal to provide them first with
military aid through the delivery of weapons this past
August and also with aerial support to keep the Daesh
group from being able to continue its advance. We want
to weaken it. We want to quash it.

But we also know that as long as there is no
settlement of the Syrian crisis, all our efforts risk being
undermined. So the challenge is not only to act against
Daesh, but also to achieve a political solution. We in
France support the democratic Syrian opposition. We
consider it the sole legitimate representative of the
Syrian people. In that case, too, we will not back down;
we will not compromise because of threats. The Bashar
Al-Assad regime deserves to be condemned because
they are complicit in what has been going on for the
past three years in Syria — 200,000 deaths and so
many displaced persons.

This is a sad time for France, with the death — the
murder — of one of our citizens, but France will never
give in to blackmail, pressure or barbarous acts. On the
contrary, France knows what is expected of it. France
knows that it upholds values, France knows it has a role
to play and will never abandon that role, and that the
fight against terrorism will be continued and expanded
as much as necessary within respect for the rule of law
and the sovereignty of States, for we make no mistake
when we act. We will always act with respect for the
principles of the United Nations.

I also wanted to talk to about other things, but
it must be understood that a great question is being
asked of my country and also of the Assembly. When
faced with barbarism, with terrorism, will we remain
spectators, or will we be actors together in what should
be a just international order? The question, if we do
not respond to it, or if we respond too weakly, then
terrorists will continue their business of recruitment
and indoctrination. It is not weakness that will be the
response to terrorism; it is force — the force of law,
the force of the United Nations. At a certain point also,
it will be the force of military action when it becomes
necessary.

I also wanted to talk about other regions of the
world that are facing threats that also affect our own
security. I want to talk to the Assembly about the Ebola
epidemic, because I know just how much it is affecting
our African friends. But again, let us look beyond those
who are affected. Who can imagine that the epidemic
will remain confined to just a few countries if we do
not intervene? It is also a global threat. Again, the
response must be a global. Therefore, France, Europe

and the world must provide to the countries affected by
the epidemic the necessary medical care, indispensable
protection and economic assistance that is expected.
Because again, if there is the slightest weakness, the
slightest failure to show solidarity, all of our countries
will be affected.

I have also come here before the General Assembly
to speak about what is happening in Europe and next to
Europe, to speak about what occurred in Ukraine and
the failures there to uphold principles of international
law. But what is at stake today, even in Europe, is peace
and ensuring that the ceasefire that was agreed can be
transformed into a lasting solution to the conflict.

No continent has been spared from any threat.
Everything is fragile, everything is precarious,
everything is vulnerable. We have to have the same
awareness of the risks, the dangers and the perils that
we had right after the Second World War. We must not
think that all we have to do is remember; we have to
think of the future, of the world we want. The world
that we want is the final subject I wish to address here.

The world that we want has to be one of profound
change. The present disorder also threatens not only
our generation but naturally those that will follow
us. It threatens our very security, as there are more
displaced persons resulting from climate imbalance
than from wars, which are sadly so intense and deadly
on our planet. France has lived up to its responsibilities
in that area too. We decided to organize the climate
conference in December 2015. I am pleased that thanks
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, there was a summit
here that mobilized awareness, States, financial
institutions, businesses and civil society. Many events
took place. We have to succeed at the Paris conference,
not because it will take place in Paris, but because it is
the world’s appointment with itself.

There are periods in history when we have the
power to decide, and decide not just for ourselves but
for humankind. This is one of those moments. Therefore
in Paris, we have to do everything can be done to reach
a comprehensive, binding agreement that differentiates
according to levels of development, everything so that
there can be that Green Climate Fund, to which France
has contributed $1 billion for the coming years. I hope
that other countries follow our example, because we
need that Green Fund to allow less developed countries
to grow and to succeed in their energy transition at the
same time.

This is a sad moment that I am living today on
behalf of France, that the French are experiencing, but
it is also a moment of awakening and responsibility. For
the world, for the planet, we must fight terrorism, we
must act in favour of peace, we must reduce inequalities,
we must also do our duty for future generations. We
must ensure that the Paris conference is successful
for the sake of the climate. We must make certain that
the United Nations can remain faithful to the mandate
given to it after a war — a terrible war. We are still
facing challenges, but we are certain to meet them if we
are united and come together to claim victory.


I congratulate Mr. Sam
Kutesa on his election as the President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I assure him that
his priorities — the revitalization of the General
Assembly, sustainable development, climate change
and the peaceful settlement of disputes — are also our
priorities. Our delegation will extend its full support to
him in order to achieve those objectives.

I also pay tribute to Mr. John Ashe for his effective
leadership of the General Assembly during its past
session. We commend the Secretary-General’s efforts
to find diplomatic solutions to complex challenges to
international peace and security. We appreciate his
leadership in hosting the climate summit.

Extreme weather patterns are disrupting world
economies. In Pakistan we have directly experienced
such a calamity just recently. The monsoon floods
in Pakistan have had a devastating impact. We are
mobilizing all our resources and ingenuity to provide
relief and to ensure recovery. The international
community should intensify its efforts to move from
awareness to commitments to actions on climate
change, which is wreaking havoc with economies,
particularly in developing countries.

This is a defining moment for the United Nations
as it embarks upon the task of transforming the lives
of billions of people by investing in sustainable
development in the next 15 years. We are setting
ourselves the vital target of eradicating poverty by
2030. To do that, we need to go beyond the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). We need a new approach
to eliminate conflict and violence and reduce inequality
within and among nations. Only then will we be able
to ensure healthy lives, empower women and girls,
improve the quality of education, create jobs and
guarantee the supply of affordable energy.

The time is ripe for such ambition and action. The
sustainable development goals crafted so far must
be woven into an overarching framework. We must
prioritize them. First things should come first. Peace,
stability and inclusive economic growth — all come
first.

At the national level, we have launched our Vision
2025, which puts people first. It is inspired by our
Founding Father, Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali
Jinnah, whose vision of a welfare State is based on the
principles of justice, equity and responsibility.

In the coming decade, we will develop human and
social capital through investment in education, health
and gender parity; stimulate sustained economic growth;
prioritize energy, water and food security; modernize
the public sector and encourage private-sector-led
entrepreneurship. We have determined that regional
peace and security, political stability in the country,
the rule of law and social justice are absolutely crucial
for the realization of those goals. Above all, we will
continue to work for the promotion and protection of
human rights.

Energy is key to economic development. Pakistan
co-chairs the Group of Friends of the Secretary-
General’s Sustainable Energy for All initiative. The
objectives of the initiative are also our national goals.

It is my Government’s aspiration and endeavour to
build a peaceful neighbourhood by pursuing a policy
of constructive engagement. In South Asia, our people
have missed opportunities for prosperity because of
unresolved conflicts. We have a choice today: continue
with the status quo or seize the moment to resolve all
outstanding issues and free up our shared energies for

cooperation. To take this course of high statesmanship,
we need more, not less, dialogue and diplomacy. We
need to respect each other’s rights and sensibilities.
We must have relationships based on equality, mutual
respect and transparency.

We were disappointed at the cancellation of the
Foreign Secretary-level talks by India. The world
community, too, rightly saw it as another missed
opportunity. Pakistan is convinced that we must remain
engaged in the dialogue process for settling disputes
and building economic and trade relations. Let us not
ignore the dividends of peace.

More than six decades ago, the United Nations
adopted resolutions to hold a plebiscite in Jammu
and Kashmir. The people of Jammu and Kashmir are
still waiting for the fulfilment of that promise. Many
generations of Kashmiris have lived their lives under
occupation, accompanied by violence and abuse of their
fundamental rights. Kashmiri women in particular
have suffered immensely. For decades, attempts have
been made, both under United Nations auspices and
bilaterally in the spirit of the Lahore Declaration,
to resolve the dispute. The core issue of Jammu and
Kashmir has to be resolved. It is the responsibility of
the international community. We cannot draw a veil on
the issue of Kashmir, until it is addressed in accordance
with the wishes of the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan is ready to work for a resolution of the issue
through negotiations. Our support and advocacy for the
right to self-determination of the people of Jammu and
Kashmir is our historic commitment and a duty as a
party to the Kashmir dispute.

Afghanistan is going through momentous security,
political and economic transitions. As always, Pakistan
stands in solidarity with the fraternal Afghan people.
I congratulate the people of Afghanistan on the
successful completion of the electoral process. We
extend our warm felicitations and good wishes to the
new Afghan leadership. It is our earnest hope that those
landmark processes will culminate in the emergence
of a stronger, more stable and unified Afghanistan.
We also hope that the process of inclusive Afghan-led
and Afghan-owned reconciliation will move forward,
thereby contributing to greater harmony, stability and
prosperity in Afghanistan.

Pakistan remains committed to forging a deeper
bilateral relationship with Afghanistan on the basis of
equal security and shared prosperity. Our two nations
confront common challenges, which call for greater
cooperation and understanding. In the past year and a
half, we have consciously reached out to Afghanistan to
address difficult issues and build on convergences. We
have made headway in that effort.

Pakistan has launched a massive operation to
eliminate terrorism. Complementary counter-terrorism
measures on the Afghan side of the border are essential
to achieve optimal results.

This past summer, the people of Gaza were
subjected to mass atrocities by Israel. We condemned
the indiscriminate killings of civilians — which
amounted to genocide. From this rostrum, I once again
convey Pakistan’s condolences and sympathies to the
people of Palestine over their continuing plight.

We welcome the ceasefire between Gaza and Israel,
but the next steps must also be taken. The blockade
of Gaza must be lifted, Palestinian prisoners must be
freed and illegal settlements must be halted. The United
Nations should facilitate a just and lasting solution to
the Palestinian issue, based on the relevant United
Nations resolutions.

We call on all parties in Syria to renounce military
and militant means and to hold dialogue to restore peace
and stability in their historic land. The emergence of
new militant entities in the Middle East once again
illustrates that terrorism is a global threat. This
primitive force in Iraq and Syria is an aberration, which
has the sanction of no religion. It must be countered
with unified and resolute will.

We condemn terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations. We are fighting the terrorism that has
been planted on Pakistan’s soil. Our valiant soldiers are
laying down their lives to take out terrorists and tear
down their evil networks. The entire nation is behind
them.

In the past 13 years, as a front-line State, we have
made enormous sacrifices in blood and resources. Tens
of thousands of civilians have been killed or injured. Our
economy has also lost hundreds of billions of dollars in
direct costs and denied investment opportunities. Yet
in that fight, each time a soldier falls, another takes his
place — proudly. It is the resolve of our nation to fight
this scourge to the finish.

At the same time, we have made a plan of action
for the relief and rehabilitation of nearly 1 million
internally dislocated persons. That includes a strategy

to prevent the return and resurgence of militancy and to
create a safe environment for local people.

Pakistan’s strong commitment to peacekeeping
is rooted in our foreign policy and in our belief that
every nation should contribute to the maintenance of
international peace and security. Inspired by that ideal,
Pakistan has maintained high levels of participation
in United Nations peacekeeping and has become the
largest troop-contributing country. We are contributing
more than 1,100 troops to the Central African Republic
operation, despite the dire situation there.

As a responsible nuclear-weapon State, we
will continue to support the objectives of nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation and pursue a policy
of nuclear restraint and credible minimum deterrence.
Pakistan is not participating in any arms race in the
region. Yet we cannot be oblivious to the emerging
security scenarios and buildup of armaments. We, too,
have the obligation to maintain a robust and reliable
deterrence.

I would like to reiterate the need for an interlinked
mechanism for pursuing nuclear restraint, conventional
equilibrium and conflict resolution. To promote stability,
we are prepared to explore new confidence-building
measures.

Pakistan has maintained the highest standards
of nuclear safety and security. At the last summit at
The Hague that I attended, Pakistan’s recent nuclear
measures, especially the establishment of a centre of
excellence, were appreciated.

Pakistan is a State with advanced nuclear
technology and more than 40 years of experience.
Pakistan is a mainstream partner in the international
non-proliferation regime. Pakistan also has a stringent
national export-control system that is fully harmonized
with international export-control regimes. Though a
non-member, we are abiding by their guidelines.

Pakistan ought to be a part of those export-control
regimes, especially the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
Pakistan also qualifies for full access to civil nuclear
technology to overcome its energy shortages and spur
economic growth.

The ongoing reform of the United Nations must be
comprehensive. We support a reform of the Security
Council that reflects the interests of all Member
States — small, medium-sized and large — and not the
ambitions of a few. There should be no new permanent
seats in the Council. That would be contrary to the
democratic character of this world body. We want the
Council to become more representative, equitable,
accountable and transparent.

We meet here today on the cusp of a new era for the
international community. Never before has the United
Nations embraced such lofty goals to banish poverty,
stimulate development, protect the environment and
foster peace, as it will during this session. The future
of our planet hinges on our decisions. Let us deliver
them with full responsibility and wisdom. Pakistan will
assist the Assembly and the United Nations as a whole
to make the world a better place for all humankind.


It is my great
pleasure, Mr. President, to convey to you warm
congratulations from the delegation of Mali on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. The unanimous vote that you received on
11 June is an honour for your country, Uganda, and is
a source of legitimate pride for all of Africa. I assure
you of our fullest support for success in your new
position. At the same time, I wish to congratulate your
predecessor, Ambassador John William Ashe, who so
ably led the Assembly during his tenure as President at
the sixty-eighth session. I should also like to pay tribute
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless
commitment to resolving the crisis in Mali and for the
laudable efforts he continues to make to promote peace,
security and development throughout the world.

Mr. President, you have established a useful
agenda and opted for continuity in selecting the central
theme of the sixty-ninth session, “Delivering on and
implementing a transformative post-2015 development
agenda”. I commend your choice. Indeed, since the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
in 2012, our Organization has been engaged in various
intergovernmental processes to implement the slogan
“The future we want.”

In Rio de Janeiro, States Members of the United
Nations took up the challenge to provide a better
world for current and future generations. To deliver
on that undertaking, we will require noble, ambitious,
legitimate and strong leadership, strong political will,
constant determination and insight so as to ensure a
balanced integration of the three essential pillars of
sustainable development, namely, social, economic and
environmental. What we have heard over the past few
days leads us to believe that it is feasible.

However, as we prepare to embark on the design
phase of the transformative post-2015 programme, we
must first complete a vital task. My delegation wishes
to emphasize the need to ensure the full implementation
of the substantial prior commitments we undertook.
Accordingly, we want to make a heartfelt plea in favour
of expediting the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). In sum, I would reiterate
that Mali subscribes to the core theme of this session,
which is relevant, thanks to its inclusive, universal,
ambitious and transformative aspects. The theme
not only includes all the essential components of the
outstanding MDGs, but it also focuses on the sustainable
development goals (SDGs), which will be based on a
transparent intergovernmental process.

Like other delegations, African and non-African
alike, that have spoken before me, I remain convinced
that the eradication of poverty by 2030 should be a
priority target of commitments relating to the post-2015
development agenda that we are to adopt. Fortunately,
the contribution of Africa to the current process is
already formalized in the Common African Position on
Post-2015 Development, adopted at the African Union
Summit in Malabo in June. That joint position makes
social, economic and environmental sustainability the
keystone of our continent’s development policy.

But the policy is also built on essential pillars, such
as the transformation of economic structures, inclusive
growth, science, technology, innovation, human-centred
development, environmental sustainability, and natural
resource and natural disaster risk management, as well
as peace and security. Naturally, we strongly support
the African position, the relevance and rightness of
which goes without saying. I also urge the international
community to diligently review the Common African
Position. The concerns of the continent listed in that
position statement were identified through a process
conducted with care and precision.

As we approach the 2015 deadline, Africa is again
faced with a terrible epidemic of the Ebola virus,
which has run rampant, this time in Guinea, Sierra
Leone, Liberia and other countries of West Africa. The
rapid onset and the scale of that new challenge have
sorely tested all the public-health systems already in
place. The individual capacities of our States, which
are fragile and in the process of being strengthened,
will not be sufficient to cope with the crisis. We must
pool our resources and redouble our efforts. We must
attack the new epicentres. Today more than ever, it is
important to adopt a common strategy to deal with this
epidemic, which brings grief to numerous homes every
day.

I want to express our appreciation to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts, and, in these
times of hardship, to assure our brother countries
of our support and active solidarity. I also wish to
commend and thank various nations, including France,
the United States of America, China and Cuba, which
immediately responded with short-, medium- and long-
term assistance, provided swiftly and in a balanced
manner. The pledges made have laid a foundation that
will be instrumental, if not in completely overcoming
the challenge immediately, at least in mitigating the
panic that has begun to spread in the affected countries.

A year ago from this rostrum (see A/68/PV.15),
I announced that my country, Mali, had rejoined the
community of free and democratic nations, with the
firm determination to write a new page in its history.
I also announced the commencement of the dialogue
process for peace and national reconciliation, which
we initiated in accordance with relevant Security
Council resolutions and the Ouagadougou Preliminary
Agreement, signed on 18 June 2013, between the
Government and armed groups in northern Mali.

Since that date, there have been significant
developments of a political and security nature
relating to the restoration of the authority of the State,
the protection of human rights, the development of
humanitarian action, the execution of the mandate
of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA), and the
coordination of development activities and partnership
with the international community. In that context, the
Government of Mali has undertaken a wide range of
actions, covering decentralization — that is to say, an
even more radical devolution of powers previously held
by the central Government — the promotion of national
reconciliation and peaceful coexistence, development
effectiveness in northern Mali, good governance and
combating corruption and impunity.

The momentum was strengthened by the
Government’s organization of a series of meetings and
opportunities for dialogue, including the Open Forum
on Decentralization and the National Conference
on Northern Mali. Those meetings enabled all the
national stakeholders to come together, in an inclusive
and participatory manner, and to identify structural
weaknesses in our political and institutional systems,
as well as to lay the foundations for new democratic
governance. That will take into account the profound
realities of our society, such as its ethnic and cultural
diversity and the strengths that have enabled the
people of Mali to ensure and maintain, throughout
the centuries and despite all the vagaries of nature
and recurring political uncertainties, their social
cohesion, customary resilience and basic aspiration to
a continuous improvement of their economic and social
conditions.

Today, in Algiers, with the support of the
international community, Algeria is facilitating
a process that weaves the threads of an inclusive
inter-Malian dialogue into a comprehensive and
permanent peace. We thank Algeria for all its efforts
to help Mali. We hope that peace will be sustainable
and lasting and thus respond to the deepest aspirations
of our people. A first round of talks, held in Algiers
from 16 to 24 July, has led to the joint signing of a road
map on the basis of consensus and a declaration of
cessation of hostilities in the northern regions of Mali.
The Government and the armed groups in northern
Mali have since then continued their discussions on
what is called the second phase. Those discussions
should lead to deeper negotiations on a common vision
for the future, to gradually provide lasting solutions to
all the points of disagreement and start the final phase,
before ending with a peace agreement that will finally
be reached by the Malians themselves.

I would like to once again thank the African Union,
the Economic Community of West African States, the
United Nations, the European Union, the Organization
of Islamic Cooperation, Algeria, Burkina Faso,
Mauritania, the Niger, Nigeria, France, Switzerland
and others, which I will not name but which deserve to
be thanked for their tireless efforts for peace in Mali.

There are also other challenges to which we, as the
international community, must collectively respond,

especially in the Sahel region, which includes Mali.
The terrorist attacks carried out in Libya, Nigeria,
Kenya, Uganda, Tunisia and the Middle East, although
geographically spread out, in fact represent the same
serious threat to international peace and security. Here
I would like to pay a special tribute to the memory of
the French hostage, Hervé Gourdel, who was recently
murdered in such a cowardly and brutal manner in
Algeria. The very same day, that same barbarity was
illustrated in Mali, with the discovery of a decapitated
head hung up in a village marketplace. It belonged to a
former Malian soldier whose only crime was loyalty to
Mali and its Government.

We condemn terrorism, particularly when it is
carried out under the banner of religion. Islam has
been present in Mali since the eleventh century, and
it has been a tolerant and moderate Islam that is based
on humanism, the acceptance of others and the right to
differences. That has nothing to do with the Islam we
are seeing today.

We reiterate our profound gratitude to all those
who have worked for a return to peace and stability
in our country. On behalf of the grateful nation of
Mali, we honour the memory of all the brave soldiers
and civilians, from Mali and other friendly countries,
who have sacrificed their lives fighting against
obscurantism, terrorism and violent extremism.

The 2012 political and security crises in Mali
highlighted the complex and multiple challenges
facing all countries of the Sahel in terms of security,
governance, the protection of human rights and
development. Those challenges require concerted and
diligent efforts by the international community. They
should be met with a comprehensive approach and
targeted mechanisms. In that regard, I welcome the
adoption of the United Nations integrated strategy for
the Sahel, which offers a comprehensive and coherent
approach to finding lasting solutions to the threats and
challenges that beset the Sahel.

The first ministerial meeting to establish a platform
for coordinating the United Nations integrated strategy
for the Sahel, held in Bamako on 5 November 2013, is
part of that approach. After the meeting, the Ministers
for Foreign Affairs charged with coordinating the Sahel
countries agreed to hold meetings every six months with
a rotating chairmanship, which has been entrusted, for
the first two years, to my country, Mali. The second
meeting, also held in Bamako, on 16 May 2014, resulted
in the adoption of the Malian chair’s road map, which
focused in particular on coordinating the efforts of
partners and the national and regional ownership of the
various initiatives and strategies for the Sahel.

As a final note on this subject, I thank the bilateral
and multilateral partners and the financial institutions
committed to supporting the implementation of the
targeted projects and programmes within the United
Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel. We also thank
the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for the
Sahel, Ms. Hiroute Guebre Selassie, and Mr. Romano
Prodi for his efforts to reconcile the various points of
view and to support Mali at the international level.

Mali remains firmly committed to the ideals of
peace and stability, both within and outside its borders.
I therefore welcome the progress achieved in terms
of reconstruction and national reconciliation in the
brotherly country of Guinea-Bissau. The successful
holding of presidential and parliamentary elections
bolsters the restoration of constitutional order in that
brotherly country.

Regarding the Central African Republic, Mali is
deeply concerned about the deteriorating humanitarian
situation there, and expresses its support for the United
Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization
Mission in the Central African Republic. We hope
its rapid deployment will put an end to the escalating
violence and thus protect civilian populations in that
brotherly country.

With respect to the Middle East, we are following
with great concern the developments in Syria, Lebanon
and Iraq, where the offensives of the terrorist group
called the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant threaten
the sovereignty of that country and the stability of the
entire region. To the Palestinian people, we express
our solidarity in action and continue to work for
the implementation of the relevant United Nations
resolutions.

Mali remains firmly committed to the fight against
the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and
the eradication of the illicit trade in such weapons. To
be effective, that fight must be make use of the relevant
synergies. The consultation and cooperation framework
at the regional and international levels offers such
an opportunity. Similarly, the Government of Mali
deplores the erosion of multilateralism in the area of
disarmament, in particular the prolonged paralysis
in the United Nations Disarmament Commission.
However, we welcome the adoption by the General

Assembly, on 2 April 2013, of the Arms Trade Treaty
(resolution 67/234), as it represents true progress in that
area.

We note that the intergovernmental negotiations on
the reform of the Security Council have been ongoing
for two decades already. The main issues seem to
be the categories of membership, the question of the
veto, regional representation, enlargement of the
membership, the Council’s working methods and its
relations with the General Assembly. It seems to us that
all Member States are now convinced of the need for
a reform of the institutional framework of the United
Nations in order to strengthen its legitimacy and ensure
its effectiveness.

However, no significant progress has been made
in the specific case of the Security Council, despite
repeated calls from this same rostrum and multiple
meetings on the issue. Africa, despite the fact that it
represents 53 of the 193 States Members of the United
Nations today, remains the only continent that does
not have a permanent seat on the Security Council.
This situation is at odds with the values of equality and
justice that are the ideals espoused by our Organization.

Africa came up with and submitted a Common
Position that was agreed on at Ezulwini, reaffirmed in
Sirte and subsequently confirmed during several other
summits. This proposal, a fair and realistic solution,
calls for granting the African continent two permanent
seats with the right of veto and five other non-permanent
seats. It seems to us that the Council, thus reformed,
would better reflect the geopolitical realities of today’s
world, and the historic injustice done to Africa would
be repaired.

In conclusion, I would like recall that we are all
gathered here at the United Nations for the sake of
an ideal and because of a universal desire for peace,
justice and freedom. Millions of people around the
globe expect the United Nations to deliver peace,
security, development and international solidarity. We
have no right to disappoint them. As a community of
nations, we have the duty and the means to succeed
through collective awareness and the preservation of
our common values. That is the price of guaranteeing
future generations a sustainable development that would
protect them from the scourge of war and deprivation.


The year 2015 will be
a crucial one for the United Nations and the international
community. In the coming year, we will reach the
deadline for achieving the Millennium Development
Goals and adopt a post-2015 development agenda,
which will include our sustainable development goals.
In 2015, we should adopt a new, legally binding global
climate agreement. And the international community
will also commemorate the seventieth anniversary of
the founding of the United Nations.

At this juncture, we have to ask ourselves to
what extent we have achieved the ideals set out in the
Charter of the United Nations, and what is still to be
done. We must also ask to what extent the institutional
framework laid down almost 70 years ago is still valid
today. Inequality, both among and within nations, is
still a matter for great concern. In spite of the constant
references to the rule of law at national and international
levels, we still do not always have the possibility of
recourse to machinery adequate to resolving legal
disputes between States.

Within the United Nations itself, the principle
of equality is not always honoured, whether in its
constitutional framework or in practice. The twin pillars
of peace and security, on the one hand, and development,
on the other, as established by the Charter, have been
undermined by the ascendancy of political issues at the
expense of those of development, which are still often
seen largely in terms of safeguarding dominant interests
rather than from a perspective of global cooperation.
Inequality and vulnerability are increasing in rich
and poor countries alike. Unemployment, precarious
employment, lack of social protection, access to human
development services and financial services are still
matters of universal concern.

The post-2015 development agenda cannot be only
about human rights — civil, political, economic — at
the national level; it must also ensure that the right to
development is upheld at the international level. As we

work on a new, comprehensive development agenda,
we must ensure that no right is ignored and no one is
left behind. The United Nations System Task Team on
the Post-2015 United Nations Development Agenda
has proposed that the transformative efforts to achieve
inclusive, people-centred sustainable development
be guided by three fundamental principles — human
rights, equality and sustainability — and have four
core dimensions: inclusive social development,
environmental sustainability, inclusive economic
development and peace and security. Mauritius
is in broad agreement with those core principles
and dimensions, as outlined in the Team’s report
Realizing the Future We Want for All, for guiding this
transformation at both the national and international
levels.

The war against Ebola demands robust action
from all of us and requires exceptional international
cooperation. We welcome the initiatives announced
last week, and we commit ourselves to giving our full
support to addressing this global challenge.

The water we drink, the food we eat and the energy
we require are vital to meaningful development. It is
estimated that by 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living
in countries or regions with absolute water scarcity,
and two thirds of the world’s population could be living
under water-stress conditions. One in eight people in
the world today — 842 million — are undernourished.
Approximately 2 billion suffer from micronutrient
deficiencies. In 2030, it is estimated that food demand
will have increased by more than 50 per cent. In that
regard, Mauritius supports the Secretary-General’s call
for a Zero Hunger Challenge. Promoting sustainable
agriculture must therefore be an essential component of
the new development framework.

It is also estimated that by 2035, global energy
demand will have increased by at least 33 per cent.
Currently, 1.2 billion people have no access to electricity.
Those growing demands will make water, food and
energy crucial issues not only on the development
agenda but also in the wider context of international
peace and security. The international community should
support developing countries, particularly vulnerable
countries such as small island developing States
(SIDS), in their efforts to promote water governance
and integrated water resources management, increase
the share of renewables in the energy mix and improve
energy conservation and efficiency.

In order to support global development, it is
crucial that we have an international regime based
on structured global cooperation designed to promote
technology facilitation, and a technology facilitation
mechanism established under the auspices of the
United Nations could play a central role in that regard.
It is also important that the international community
recognize the vital role of women and young people and
their enhanced participation and leadership in all areas
of sustainable development. Promoting gender equality
and women’s empowerment should be a core issue on
the post-2015 development agenda. All sections of the
population should be at the heart of a people-centred
vision of sustainable development.

The contributions of all the initiatives launched
at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development (Rio+20), including the Open Working
Group for Sustainable Development Goals, the
Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on
Sustainable Development Financing, and options for
a technology facilitation mechanism, should feed into
the preparations for a 2015 development summit. They
should also be included in the Secretary-General’s
synthesis report. The deliberations of the Third
International Conference on Small Island Developing
States, mandated by the Rio+20 outcome document
(resolution 66/288, annex), should be reflected in the
synthesis report and the post-2015 development agenda.

Since accountability is essential to assessing
progress, the post-2015 development agenda should
also include an accountability framework that would
be universal but flexible enough to take into account
different capacities and responsibilities. And we need
more accountable and equitable global economic
governance that ensures wider, more inclusive
participation in decision-making. The United Nations,
given its universal membership, should assume
leadership and a proactive role in promoting sound
and equitable governance in a more resilient global
economic architecture.

Beyond those immediate concerns, there are a
number of longer-term threats that may dramatically
affect all of us, particularly SIDS. One of them is climate
change. Climate risks are real and must be addressed.
From melting glaciers to more frequent wildfires and
intense cyclones, flash floods, extreme heatwaves and
ocean acidification, the challenges are not a future
threat; they already exist. The latest report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate

Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,
made it clear that an increase in the world’s temperature
of 2°C would be dangerous, while one of 4°C would be
catastrophic.

Climate risks are global challenges that require
global solutions. Climate change poses risks to global
economic prosperity, development and security as well
as to the environment. We must build on the momentum
of the Climate Summit and use the opportunity of the
20th session of the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, to be held in Lima, to raise the level of ambition
in the lead-up to a new universal climate agreement in
Paris next year.

The strong connections between climate change
adaptation and disaster risk reduction should be
recognized. No country is immune to natural disasters,
but it is the most vulnerable countries and people who
are hit the hardest. Mauritius looks forward to a renewed
and ambitious international framework for disaster risk
management that establishes disaster risk reduction as
a key element of the post-2015 development agenda.
We also believe that the exogenous risks of climate
change and natural disasters should be integrated into
mainstream economic thinking and assessment of
macroeconomic risks.

We welcome the decision of the most recent
Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting to
establish a Commonwealth climate finance skills hub,
to be hosted by Mauritius. It will address critical gaps
in building the capacity of SIDS and least-developed
countries to identify, access and manage climate
finance. The special circumstances, vulnerabilities and
low resilience of SIDS should be taken into account with
regard to financing and trade issues. SIDS need special
and differential treatment to access concessionary
sources of financing for sustainable development
and to effectively participate in multilateral trade.
Mauritius strongly supports SIDS-SIDS partnerships.
SIDS can build on their commonality of interests to
share experiences, pool resources and act collectively
in commissioning technology or formulating legal and
regulatory frameworks, for instance.

The oceans are the new frontier for economic
development. For SIDS in particular, they are the
best scope for expanding economic space. Following
a national dialogue on the ocean economy, the
Government of Mauritius has published the Road Map
for the Mauritian Ocean Economy. The Road Map sets
out the vision, goals and strategies for the development
and expansion of a new pillar of our economy. In order
to provide the best possible conditions for investors to
operate and create wealth, Mauritius is putting in place
an enabling environment that will support our ocean
economy through an integrated and holistic approach to
ensure coherence and balance among economic growth,
social development and environmental protection.

Promoting the ocean economy will unleash the
potential for SIDS with respect to all ocean-related
economic activities, both onshore and offshore. It will
also enable them to enhance their nations’ food security,
harness the winds and waves for their energy needs,
develop new ocean-related industries and services that
will create opportunities for entrepreneurs and youth
employment.

It is essential that we strike a balance between
the various uses of the oceans and the need to protect
our oceans. At the third International Conference on
Small Island Developing States, held in Samoa, the
international community agreed to build upon existing
partnerships and promote new ones in order to expand
the economic space of large ocean States. We wish to
reiterate our call for the United Nations to adopt a global
oceans strategy that will be the operational counterpart
to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS). While it will be for individual States
to decide on their own ocean economy policies, the
global ocean strategy will provide an overall vision and
framework for the sustainable development of ocean-
related economic activities for policymakers, investors
and all stakeholders.

The situation in the Middle East and in certain parts
of Africa could not only have dramatic consequences
for the people of these regions, but also impact on global
development and peace. We urge the international
community to spare no effort in resolving the plight
of the people of Palestine. Mauritius supports the two-
State solution to the conflict. The people of the State
of Palestine have suffered for too long from the grave
injustice done to them, and must be allowed to live in
dignity and peace within recognized borders.

If it is to remain credible and play the constructive
role it can and must play in the new world order,
the United Nations must respond to the call of its
membership for reform. We have a duty to engage in
meaningful discussions on the reform of the Security
Council, the revitalization of the General Assembly and
the working methods of our Organization. Mauritius

reaffirms its commitment to the African Common
Position that reform of the Security Council should
include expansion in the permanent and non-permanent
categories alike. The historical injustice done to Africa
should be redressed, and Africa should be accorded
permanent representation on the Council. Latin
America also deserves permanent representation, and
the SIDS should be entitled to a seat on the Council.
Mauritius further reiterates its support for India’s
rightful aspiration to a permanent seat in a reformed
Security Council.

In the mid-1960s, when a wave of decolonization
was sweeping across the world, the United Kingdom
purported to create a new colony, the so-called
British Indian Ocean Territory, by carving out part
of the territory of Mauritius. Thus, part of Mauritian
territory remains under colonial rule. As long as part
of Mauritian territory remains under colonial rule, the
decolonization of Africa will still remain incomplete.
The dismemberment by the United Kingdom of part of
the territory of Mauritius prior to independence was
and continues to be a blatant breach of international law
and total disregard of United Nations resolutions.

Speaking before the Assembly last week, President
Obama said that there was

“one vision of the world in which might makes
right” [but that] “America stands for something
different. We believe that right makes might, that
bigger nations should not be able to bully smaller
ones” (A/69/PV.6, p. 10).
This is why, last year in this very forum (see
A/68/PV.18), Mauritius urged the United States to be
on the right side of history, and not condone illegal acts
by maintaining its presence on Diego Garcia under an
unlawful arrangement with the United Kingdom that
has no valid title to the island, but and instead to ensure
that, in the future, the United States presence is on the
right side of the law.
Both the United States and the United Kingdom
should recognize the sovereignty of Mauritius over
the Chagos archipelago, and engage in meaningful
discussions with Mauritius in good faith over
arrangements to be made in that regard. Following
the statements we have heard over the past year with
regard to sovereignty and territorial integrity, there
should not be one set of standards for one part of the
world and a different one for another part of the world.
Those who show no respect for fundamental principles
across the board lose all moral authority to preach to
the rest of the world. Following bilateral discussions
on Tromelin, which forms an integral part of the
territory of Mauritius, Mauritius and France agreed on
interim measures without prejudice to the sovereignty
of Mauritius. An agreement reached in a spirit of
cooperation and dialogue is a step in the right direction.

As we embark on a new session that could herald
a new chapter in the history of the United Nations,
we should renew our commitment to multilateral
cooperation for peace, development and prosperity for
all nations in the new agenda to be adopted next year.


At the outset,
I should like to extend my warmest congratulations
to Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election as President of
the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I am
confident that under his able leadership this session
will enjoy great success. My appreciation also goes to
Mr. John William Ashe, President at the sixty-eighth
session, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for their
important contributions to the work of our Organization
over the past year.

This session of the General Assembly takes place as
we approach the seventieth anniversary of the founding
of the United Nations. It gives us the opportunity to
look back on the past almost 70 years of the United
Nations implementing its mandate to assist nations
to build a world of peace, security and sustainable
development, a world where fundamental rights and
freedoms are respected and promoted. It is also an
opportunity for in-depth discussions on the formulation
and implementation of the post-2015 development
agenda.

This year’s Assembly session is also convened
against the backdrop of a world landscape that features
numerous turning points and contrasts. On the bright
side, increasingly the United Nations is playing better
its central role in the promotion of the system of
rules and norms of international law, thus facilitating
solutions to global challenges, and of the interests of
peace and development for all nations. Globalization
and multilayered economic cooperation and linkages
continue to evolve strongly. Our efforts to realize the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have brought
encouraging results in most regions.

We see also a more sombre part, one that paints the
many daunting challenges the world is facing. The trend
of cooperation contains risks, while global economic
recovery is yet to be sustainable. International peace
and security are being challenged by the negative
factor of competition and intervention and especially
by the potential escalation of territorial and sovereignty
disputes. Ongoing crises and conflicts in the Middle
East and a number of African countries have inflicted
major human and material losses and threaten regional
and international peace and security.

Global challenges remain high on the agenda of the
international community. Terrorism, the proliferation

of weapons of mass destruction, nuclear security and
safety, environmental pollution, depletion of natural
resources, climate change, natural calamities, epidemics
and the lack of food and water security are issues of
primary concern to the international community. They
require enhanced joint efforts.

Peace and security are prerequisites for sustainable
development. The United Nations and its Member
States must live up to their responsibility to strengthen
international peace and security, prevent potential
conflicts and find solutions to ongoing hostilities.
That is an urgent task, but it also requires long-term
engagement. History has taught us that the paths that lead
to wars and conflicts lie in obsolete doctrines of power
politics, of ambitions of domination and imposition, and
of the threat of force in settling international disputes,
including territorial and sovereignty disputes.

Viet Nam believes that respect for international
law is the foundation of peace, security and stability
for sustainable development. More than ever, Member
States, big or small, rich or poor, must all respect and
seriously observe the principles, rules and norms of
the Charter of the United Nations and international
law. All nations must renounce the use of force as an
option in their international relations and instead settle
all disputes by peaceful means. That is a crucial area
in which the United Nations represents a powerful
advance from the League of Nations, and it commands
greater commitment and effort from Member States.

In that spirit, Viet Nam looks forward to substantive
progress in the negotiations for a comprehensive, fair
and long-term solution for peace in the Middle East that
will ensure the fundamental rights of the Palestinian
people and the legitimate interests of all parties. We are
deeply concerned about the escalating violence in Iraq.
and we support the efforts of the Iraqi Government and
the international community to stabilize the situation.
We call for an end to unilateral economic sanctions
against developing countries and support General
Assembly resolutions on ending the economic embargo
against Cuba.

Viet Nam strongly condemns all acts of terror in
any form, especially the targeting of civilians. We
support all international efforts and initiatives to
combat that menace in accordance with international
law and the United Nations Charter. In addition, we all
have a stake in economic restructuring, job creation,
achieving a balanced, inclusive and sustained growth,
and in maintaining a peaceful and stable environment
conducive to development.

It is therefore our primary task to complete the
MDGs and formulate the post-2015 development agenda
to create added momentum for sustainable development
in each country and for international economic linkages.
In that process, the United Nations should focus more
actions and resources on addressing social injustices
and inequalities. It should provide stronger support to
regional and subregional programmes for connectivity,
poverty reduction, narrowing the development gap
and building the green economy. That will lay a firm
and long-term foundation for peace, security and
development. In so doing, and to adapt itself to a
constantly changing world, the United Nations must
accelerate its reform process in a comprehensive,
balanced, transparent and equal manner in the interests
of all Member States. The Security Council must be
reformed in both membership and working methods
to better respond to global challenges to peace and
security.

In its national socioeconomic development and in its
international integration, Viet Nam has always attached
importance to the roles of multilateral institutions
and forums, especially that of the United Nations, in
the areas of international and regional security and
development. Viet Nam is proud to be an active and
responsible member of important regional and global
organizations, such as the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN), the Non-Aligned Movement,
the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation and the Asia-
Europe Meeting. Viet Nam is doubling its efforts to
achieve all MDGs and is actively participating in the
formulation of the post-2015 development agenda.

It is our consistent, principled position to respect
the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all States and
to settle international disputes and conflicts, including
the issue of the East Sea, or South China Sea, by
peaceful means in accordance with international law,
including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea. Viet Nam abides by the Declaration
on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and
works to ensure an early adoption of the code of conduct
for parties in the South China Sea.

We support efforts to strengthen the multilateral
trade system to create fresh momentum for the world
economy in order to regain sustained growth. Viet Nam
is willing to join global efforts to enhance economic

linkages and reform the global economic and trade
governance towards greater equality, democracy,
transparency and efficiency.

Viet Nam and other ASEAN member States are
working hard to establish the ASEAN Community in
2015 with three pillars: political-security cooperation,
economic cooperation and social-cultural cooperation.
That, we believe, will help to build a South-East Asian
region of peace, stability, cooperation and prosperity
and to form a regional architecture with ASEAN at the
centre, founded upon international law and aimed at
developing common rules and norms for the region.

To contribute to international efforts to enhance
principles and norms for peace, sustainable
development and human rights, Viet Nam is playing an
active and constructive role as a member of the Human
Rights Council. For the very first time, Viet Nam has
dispatched its military officers to the United Nations
peacekeeping mission in South Sudan. Looking
forward, Viet Nam has presented its candidature for the
Economic and Social Council for the 2016-2018 term
and for the Security Council for the 2020-2021 term.
We count on the valuable support of members.

Peace and development are inseparable companions.
They complement each other on the path towards a
prosperous world. We are confident that with political
will, mutual trust and equality based on international
law and responsible joint actions, we can build stronger
partnerships for peace, cooperation and sustainable
development for all.


I greet
the Assembly respectfully, and I hope that its sixty-
ninth session will provide favourable results for all
countries, peoples and humankind. I would like to
congratulate you, Sir, on your election as the President
of the Assembly at its sixty-ninth session and to thank
Mr. John William Ashe for his work as President at the
sixty-eighth session.

The sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly
is being held on the hundredth anniversary of the
First World War, which broke out in 1914. We sadly
see that lands affected by the First World War are still
deprived of stability, peace and prosperity even after
a century. A wide area — ranging from Iraq to Syria,
from Palestine to Yemen, from Libya to Afghanistan
and to Ukraine — is witnessing scenes that leave deep
scars on the conscience of humankind. People still
die from hunger and communicable diseases in the
twenty-first century. Children and women are brutally
murdered in wars. The poor countries struggle with
hunger, malnutrition, communicable diseases and lack
of education, while the rich countries of the world
enjoy prosperity. Climate change poses a major threat
to the future of our world and that of our children. That
situation, which is a stain on human dignity, directly
concerns all of humankind and therefore, of course, the
United Nations.

Let me again, at this sixty-ninth session, stress
that no one is innocent in a world in which children are
killed, no one is safe, and no one can enjoy peace and
prosperity. In the past year alone, 6.3 million children
under five years of age lost their lives worldwide. As
a result of the war in Syria, 17,000 children have died,
375,000 have been injured, and 19,000 have lost at least
one body part.

This year 490 children were killed and 3,000
were injured as direct targets of the most modern
and murderous weapons used against the Gaza Strip
in Palestine. As they played on a beach, ran around
in a park, took refuge in a mosque or school, or were
comforted in their mothers’ laps, they were mercilessly
killed in front of cameras and before the eyes of the
world. We also see that those attempting to draw the
world’s attention to the deaths of women, children and
the disabled in Palestine are being variously labelled by
others. Those objecting to the murders in Iraq and Syria
and the murder of democracy in Egypt are again being
subjected to certain unfair and groundless accusations
and almost immediately accused of supporting
terrorism.

The global conscience is aware that those who
are ruthlessly criticizing some countries for lack of
freedom of the press are ignoring the 16 journalists
killed in Palestine and the pressure put on members of
the media. I will speak very clearly. Those who stand
by and remain unresponsive to the killing of children,

the vicious murder of women and the overthrow with
weapons and tanks of Governments that have come
to power through the will of the people are openly
participating in those crimes against humanity.

Even more significant, the modern world’s double
standard leads to substantial and serious distrust
among many people. That feeling of distrust affects
the United Nations — where we are today — and other
international organizations and threatens the sense of
justice, while filling millions of people with despair.
That distrust plays a principal role in fuelling the growth
of international terrorism today. The double standard
with regard to the oppressed and the indifference to the
killing of children help to foment terrorism around the
world. Those who lose hope in the United Nations and
other international organizations are desperate and are
helpless to resist the clutches of terrorists.

The problems in Iraq have wrought havoc among
the Iraqi people. More recently, the difficulties have
spread beyond Iraq’s borders. Unfortunately, Iraq has
now become a haven for terrorist organizations. The
current crisis in Iraq directly affects the countries in the
region, particularly Turkey. Given the newly established
Government in Iraq, it is our hope that Iraq will make
a fresh start. Turkey will stand by the Iraqi people in
their search for peace and stability. Likewise, the Syrian
crisis is spilling over the borders of that country. The
unresolved issue of half a century — Palestine — is
already a root cause of many problems in the region.

Implementing a two-State solution, lifting the
blockade against Gaza and establishing an independent,
viable State of Palestine alongside Israel is a political,
human and moral necessity. Many have spoken about
a two-State solution from this rostrum. However,
speaking about it is not sufficient. It is high time to
act. It is no longer appropriate simply to talk about the
issue — we must advance beyond that. Thousands of
people are dying while we talk instead of acting. I think,
at this point, it is a sad indication of the limits of our
sense of responsibility here at the United Nations. We
must therefore move forward. We must address these
problems at the United Nations without any further
delay in order to prevent more deaths of innocent people
and arrive at a solution.

Let me also say that the world is larger than the five
permanent members of the Security Council. The fact
that they have rendered the United Nations ineffective,
despite the situation in the world, must not be accepted
by the global conscience. Otherwise, decisions taken
at the United Nations will depend on a single country.
That is, if one country disagrees, then a decision will not
be taken or implemented. The United Nations failed to
find a solution as more than 2,000 innocent people were
killed within only two months in Palestine. In Syria,
the United Nations failed to find effective solutions as
more than 200,000 people were killed and more than
9 million people were displaced in the past four years.

I find it strange that we focus on issues selectively.
If 2,000 people are killed by chemical weapons, then
we focus on chemical weapons, and we consider the
killing of 2,000 people by chemical weapons to be a
crime. But what about the killing of 200,000 people by
conventional weapons — is that not a crime? I cannot
understand such an approach or such a mentality. Let us
clarify our thinking. Let it be understood that the use
of any kind of weapon leading to the deaths of people
is a crime, whether by chemical or conventional means.

The elected President in Egypt was overthrown
by a coup. Thousands of people wanted to defend
their electoral choice and were killed. Yet, the United
Nations and democratic countries have done nothing
but stand by while those events unfolded and the person
who conducted the coup was legitimized. If we wish
to speak meaningfully of democracy, then we should
respect the choice of the people at the ballot box. If, on
the other hand, we intend to defend people who come
to power via a coup, then I must call into question the
whole existence of the United Nations.

The United Nations is also unable to take an
effective stance in the face of uncontrolled events,
such as terrorism and migration in Iraq. This
silence, desperation and unresponsiveness can no
longer continue. We need more efficient and speedy
decision-making mechanisms if we are to be able to
address global and regional problems. Furthermore,
the United Nations should act more courageously in
standing up for the right side of the issues.

Let me point out another problem. We do not
approve of any kind of terrorism that is supposedly
carried out in the name of religion, and we believe that
such acts are hugely disrespectful to all religions. We
strongly condemn tying Islam, which means peace, to
terrorism. It is highly offensive that Islam and terror
are spoken of together. Similarly, those who call their
inhuman acts Islamic are offending the religion of
Islam, every other religion, and humankind generally.

Turkey has been trying very hard to build peace
and prosperity in the region. We do not interfere in the
internal affairs of any country; we respect and support
the territorial integrity of every country in the region.
Regarding the question of Palestine and Israel, we have
been working to try to achieve a two-State solution
based on peace and mutual respect. Our sensitivity to
this issue is based on the principle that the right to live
of every human being is sacred.

We have approached the problems in our region
on humanitarian and moral grounds alone, heedless
of race, religion, sect or interests. Our country is
sheltering 1.5 million people who have had to leave
Syria, and mostly from our own resources. Let me
repeat, 1.5 million refugees are in my country. As the
host country, we are providing them with food, medicine
and education. As for support from the rest of the world,
there has not been much, unfortunately. So far we have
spent more than $3.5 billion on the Syrian refugees in
our country. Of the roughly 4 million Syrian refugees
in the world, 1.5 million are in Turkey, with the rest
in Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq, Egypt and other countries.
By contrast, I would like to ask what the strong and
rich countries of Europe are doing. So far they have
sheltered only 130,000 Syrian refugees — 130,00 in all
of Europe, while in Turkey alone we have 1.5 million,
plus the 2.5 million in the other countries I just
mentioned.

The crisis in Syria has become a regional and
global issue, so much so that it is impossible to remain
indifferent to it, whether for political or humanitarian
reasons. On top of this, we have treated 102 injured
civilians from Gaza in our hospitals. Turkey has also
taken in 30,000 Yazidis fleeing Iraq, and, just before
I came to New York, we opened our borders to Kurds
fleeing Syria. It was Turkey who gave them humanitarian
aid. In the past five days alone, the number of Syrian
refugees entering our country exceeded 150,000.

Five hundred years ago, we opened our doors to
Jews who had been expelled from Europe. We have
always protected the rights of Christians in Europe, and
today we are still opening our arms to those in need,
regardless of their religion, race or sect. I am proud
to say that Turkey allocates 2.1 per cent of its national
income to humanitarian aid, and as such has become
one of the most generous countries in the world. In
addition, thanks to the experience we have gained
throughout history, we have always maintained our
objectivity regarding terrorism, sectarian conflicts and
other crises, and we have always based our approach on
the defence and protection of people’s rights.

I would like to point out here that Turkey is not
a country that supports or condones terrorism. We
have fought terrorism, because we suffered from it
for 30 years, and are still suffering from it. Turkey
is also strongly against every kind of anti-Semitism,
Islamophobia and racism. I have said myself that
anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity, and I may
be one of the few political leaders who has so clearly
expressed this to the world. Similarly, the whole world
should accept that Islamophobia is also a crime against
humanity.

Turkey would like to see a solution to the problem in
Cyprus. We would like to see an end to the occupation
of territories in Azerbaijan. We have always voiced our
strong support for the territorial integrity of Ukraine.
We stand ready to support regional and global peace
at all costs, and we will continue to be a unique friend
to our friends. We will always stand firm against
terrorists, oppressors and killers, especially the killers
of children. We will fight for democracy and prosperity
with all our heart and soul. We are always ready to
join forces with other countries within the framework
of those ideals and on this common path, and that, of
course, is the kind of cooperation that humankind is
seeking today.

In that context, I should also say that we look to the
General Assembly to support Turkey in its candidacy
for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, and
we thank the countries that are backing us. To that end,
I hope that the sixty-ninth session of the Assembly will
begin the work of wiping away the tears, blood, poverty
and injustice staining the face of the Earth. I wish the
Assembly and its President, Mr. Kutesa, every success,
and I would like to convey my country’s sincerest
greetings to all the nations represented here.