It is my
pleasure at the outset to convey the best wishes of the
Government and people of the Sudan for successful
deliberations in the sixty-fourth session of the General
Assembly on its entire agenda. The agenda contains
topics reflecting the challenges faced by the
international community and the priorities we have to
set, such as the development and welfare of our
peoples, the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), the mitigation of
economic and financial crises, containing the effects of
climate change and maintaining international peace and
security.
 I am also pleased to extend warm congratulations
to Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki on his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at this important
session. We are confident, Sir, that your political skills
and diplomatic expertise will help realize our
ambitions to have an able, effective and transparent
United Nations. We also wish to commend the
dexterity and high competence with which your
predecessor, Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, conducted
the proceedings of the previous session. We also wish
to commend the Secretary-General for the efforts
undertaken by the Secretariat to fulfil the role and
responsibilities of the United Nations.
 Millions throughout the world look forward to
our deliberations in the wake of the suffocating crises
through which the international community is passing.
Traces of the crises are still lingering in the family of
nations, especially in the developing countries, while
the fruits of scientific and technological progress
nourish the hope of better opportunities for a just and
equitable world order.
 While non-compliance with the purposes and
principles of the United Nations Charter and
international law and its established rules, along with
double standards, has made the world less safe, the
economic and financial crises have exacerbated the
challenges. The world is experiencing the worst and
gravest economic and financial crisis since the
Depression of the 1930s. The crisis is compounded by
such numerous and intertwined problems as the food
crisis and climate change along with their destructive
effects on the developing countries and threats to their
national priorities and to the gains they have made
towards the achievement of the MDGs.
 In its chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China,
the Sudan has accorded special attention to the
repercussions of this crisis on the developing countries.
In those countries the crisis has given rise to poverty,
hunger, unemployment and slackening of growth, if not
economic downturn, and has adversely affected
balances of trade and of payment. At the same time, the
crisis has led to falls in commodity prices, sharp
fluctuations in exchange rates, sudden diversions of

09-52598 30

capital flows and of foreign direct investment, falls in
remittances and drops in tourism revenues.
Concomitantly, the social sector has suffered greatly
because of the erosion of social security networks that
provide health, education and other services. That in
turn has augmented infant and maternal mortality rates.
 The Group of 77 and China is deeply concerned
over this crisis and its impact on countries facing
special challenges, foremost among which are African
States, the least developed countries, small island
States and countries emerging from conflict. The
realities impose a moral duty on us — especially the
industrial countries — to channel our collective
response into a strong commitment to providing the
required solutions. Those include direct funding,
capacity-building, promoting sustainable development,
addressing debt problems, eliminating obstacles to
trade and investment and States meeting their
international development pledges.
 Comprehensive reform of the international
financial and economic system and ensuring an
enhanced role for the developing countries in decision-
making processes in international financial institutions
are of central significance. Major industrial countries
cannot ignore the universal legitimacy of the collective
voice of the world’s States here at the United Nations.
In this connection, the open-ended working group of
the General Assembly to follow up on the issues
contained in the Outcome of the Conference on the
World Economic and Financial Crisis and Its Impact on
Development (resolution 63/303, annex), held in New
York in June 2009, must discharge its work and
mandate expeditiously.
 By the same token, we hope that endeavours to
deal with climate change in the course of the
conference to be held in Copenhagen in December of
this year will be crowned with success. The developing
countries — which were by no means responsible for
climate change and global warming — urge
industrialized countries, on the basis of their historic
responsibility, to address the root causes of climate
change by providing new and additional predictable
financial resources, to help build capacities, to transfer,
entrench and develop technology and to fulfil relevant
obligations and pledges with a view to attaining
sustainable economic growth that satisfies the
legitimate priorities and needs of the developing
countries. As Chair of the Group of 77 and China, my
country will spare no effort in furthering those
demands.
 The absence of democracy in international
relations, as exemplified by the present form and
composition of the Security Council, has become a
major factor in diminishing the ability of the United
Nations to respond to the structural and substantive
challenges and changes in the international community.
That has been exacerbated by unilateral sanctions that
hinder international trade and investment and violate
the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of
international law.
 The United Nations rostrum is being used by
some to serve narrow interests such that the concept of
human rights has become a tool for ceaseless
politicization and score settling. In the same vein, the
often misused concept of terrorism has led to the
victim being equated with the aggressor, as is currently
evident in the plight of the Palestinian people, who are
still chafing under the yoke of occupation. As a result,
the Palestinian question has remained unsolved, which
has gravely compromised the reputation and credibility
of the United Nations.
 It is thus clear that for the United Nations to
effectively serve a changing world, it has to effect an
all-out change in its working methods and approaches
so that it will truly express the voice of all nations.
Consequently, my country, like all other developing
nations, supports the call to reactivate the role of the
General Assembly and to reform the Security Council,
based on the well-known African position on this
matter.
 This session is of special importance to my
country for it comes at a time when we are putting an
end to what has been called the longest civil war in
Africa by concluding the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement. The Agreement adopts a system making
citizenship a basis for rights and duties, and espousing
diversity as a source of unity and brotherhood built on
the rule of law, good governance, respect for freedoms
and human rights, as well as fair and democratic
power-sharing.
 Additionally, the Agreement establishes the
principles of wealth sharing, in line with the norms of
equity and equality. The implementation of the
Agreement has proceeded with the completion of the
formation of relevant mechanisms and institutions,
along with the full commitment by the two parties to

31 09-52598

the Agreement to the sound treatment of the question
of entitlements as reflected in the handling of the
question of Abyei.
 We note here the fact that donors have not
fulfilled the development resources and pledges they
took upon themselves in support of the Agreement has
adversely affected its implementation, particularly in
the spheres of development, rehabilitation and
reintegration of former combatants in society. We
therefore urge the fulfilment of all pledges so as to
foster peace and stability, as well as the reconstruction
of the country after the ravages of years of war, so that
peace can be meaningful.
 After conducting a population census — the
accuracy and credibility of which were testified to by
numerous international and regional institutions,
including the United Nations — and in conformity with
the Agreement, we are about to hold general legislative
and executive elections. We assert our resolve and
determination to hold them in April 2010, while we
continue to strengthen efforts aimed at political reform,
which is indispensable for founding a durable peace.
We invite the international community, including the
United Nations, to support the holding of elections in
word and deed.
 Despite all the positive developments in the peace
process, we note with profound concern the recent
armed tribal conflicts in southern Sudan. Those
conflicts threaten not only the stability of the Sudan
and the South but also the stability of the whole region.
We would like to recall here that, in accordance with
the Agreement, the responsibility for the maintenance
of peace in the South lies with the Government of
Southern Sudan. Therefore, it is everybody’s duty to
urge and encourage the Government of Southern Sudan
to discharge its duty for the sake of its citizens’
security and prosperity.
 Our people have recognized that peace will not be
complete unless it extends to our people in Darfur. The
signing of the Darfur Peace Agreement in Abuja under
the gracious aegis of the African Union affirmed the
Government’s serious commitment to resolving the
problem of Darfur peacefully.
 While we were earnestly attempting to implement
that Agreement, certain international parties did not
fulfil their pledges and obligations in strict application
of the Agreement, such as by applying unwarranted
pressure on the wrong side. Instead of pressuring the
parties that shied away from the peace option, pressure
was put on the Abuja signatories themselves. That
hampered peace endeavours and led to the protraction
of the conflict.
 Yet, thanks to the steadfast maintenance of the
Agreement by our Government and people and our
relentless efforts to achieve peace, we are now seeing
positive and far-reaching developments leading
towards lasting peace in Darfur, thanks also to the
complete commitment shown by the National Unity
Government and its close cooperation with the African
Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur
through the Tripartite Mechanism.
 That policy has led to far-reaching improvements
in the humanitarian situation in Darfur, as recognized
and attested to by United Nations reports. That is
further supported by our scrupulous commitment to the
humanitarian agreement signed last April with the
United States Special Envoy to the Sudan. We reiterate
our commitment to close cooperation with the United
Nations and with national and international
organizations with a view to enhancing and developing
that policy in a manner that prevents any humanitarian
disaster or even food gaps in the future.
 In this connection, it is imperative to note the
massive return of internally displaced persons (IDPs)
to their villages, which makes it incumbent on the
Government, the Sudanese people and the international
community to seize this opportunity to foster this
trend, as it is the real test of peace.
 We renew our commitment and preparedness to
work expeditiously and at all times to ensure the
success of the forthcoming negotiations in Doha within
the framework of the Afro-Arab initiative and the
efforts of the Joint Mediator, in accordance with the
decision taken by the initiatives committee in its
meeting held at the margins of this session.
 We welcome the declaration made by the
American President, Barack Obama, before the General
Assembly, on his country’s readiness to help find
solutions to the problems of Darfur. Noting the positive
tone in the statements voiced by the American
President towards developing countries in general, we
hope that his words will be translated into action and
sincere effort in order to correct the misguided policies
and positions of the previous American Administration,
which have compromised bilateral relations and
aggravated the region’s problems. This, undoubtedly,

09-52598 32

requires, first and foremost, lifting the unilateral
sanctions and removing the name of the Sudan from
the United States’ list of terrorist States.
 We renew our appeal to the armed groups to
muster the will for a solution and for involvement in
the peace process, so that the interests of the Sudanese
people are put first and foremost. The people of the
Sudan are more than capable of solving their own
problems. My country has repeatedly declared its
commitment to a unilateral ceasefire as an initiative for
confidence-building and bringing about successful
negotiations, and we hope that armed factions will
respond positively so that a permanently monitored
ceasefire can be reached.
 The international community, which has, in the
past, promised to take stringent measures against those
who refused to take part in the peace talks or impede
them, has to do so in deed and not just in word. The
question of development, recovery, rehabilitation and
reconstruction should be given special attention, as
called for in Security Council resolution 1769 (2007).
There should be a transition from providing emergency
humanitarian assistance to supporting development, in
order to facilitate the return and settlement of IDPs and
refugees.
 From this rostrum, I wish to assert my country’s
keen interest in having constructive relations with all
its neighbours and its full readiness for complete
cooperation with them, with a view to extinguishing all
regional hot beds of tension. In this regard, I would
like to stress our preparedness and willingness to
normalize relations with Chad, in conformity with all
agreements and instruments signed with them and we
hope they will demonstrate the same determination and
readiness.
 At a time when the Government of National
Unity had made remarkable progress in the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement
and when the Sudan had started a new phase towards
the achievement of political reform and transformation,
peaceful devolution of authority, progress towards
ending disputes and infighting and towards the
achievement of inclusive development for our people,
the President of the Republic himself, who is the chief
guarantor of the Sudan’s sovereignty, was targeted by
so-called international justice in a futile attempt to
undermine stability and development. The Sudanese
rejected this, as did the international community,
including regional and international organizations.
 We emphasize that the realization of security and
stability in Darfur requires speedy correction of those
developments and a renewed commitment to the peace
process and the avoidance of all that may have a
negative impact on peace in the Sudan and the African
continent.
 Between the signing of the United Nations Charter
in the middle of the last century and the momentous
developments and profound challenges currently
experienced by the world, much water has flown under
the bridge of international relations, which makes
annual General Assembly sessions serious opportunities
for introspection and for gleaning lessons.
 Let us renew our resolve to foster multilateral
action, for which this Organization stands. Let our
sixty-fourth session be a defining point towards
achieving our collective aspirations for a world where
the values of fraternity and common destiny prevail.


It is my honour to address the
Assembly for the first time as the forty-fourth
President of the United States. I come before you
humbled by the responsibility that the American people
have placed upon me, mindful of the enormous
challenges of our moment in history and determined to
act boldly and collectively on behalf of justice and
prosperity at home and abroad.
 I have been in office for just nine months, though
some days it seems a lot longer. I am well aware of the
expectations that accompany my presidency around the
world. Those expectations are not about me. Rather
they are, I believe, rooted in a discontent with the
status quo that has allowed us to be increasingly
defined by our differences and outpaced by our
problems. But they are also rooted in hope — the hope
that real change is possible and the hope that America
will be a leader in bringing about such change.
 I took office at a time when many around the
world had come to view America with scepticism and
distrust. A part of that was due to misperceptions and
misinformation about my country. Part was due to
opposition to specific policies and a belief that on
certain critical issues America had acted unilaterally,
without regard for the interests of others. That has fed
an almost reflexive anti-Americanism, which too often
has served as an excuse for collective inaction.
 Like all of you, my responsibility is to act in the
interests of my nation and my people, and I will never
apologize for defending those interests. But it is my
deeply held belief that in the year 2009, more than at
any point in human history, the interests of nations and
peoples are shared. The religious convictions that we
hold in our hearts can forge new bonds among people,
or they can tear us apart. The technology we harness
can light the path to peace, or forever darken it. The
energy we use can sustain our planet, or destroy it.
What happens to the hope of a single child, anywhere,
can enrich our world, or impoverish it.
 In this Hall, we come from many places, but we
share a common future. No longer do we have the
luxury of indulging our differences to the exclusion of
the work that we must do together. I have carried this
message from London to Ankara, from Port-of-Spain to
Moscow, from Accra to Cairo, and it is what I will
speak about today.
 Because the time has come for the world to move
in a new direction, we must embrace a new era of
engagement based on mutual interests and mutual
respect, and our work must begin now. We know the
future will be forged by deeds, and not simply words.
Speeches alone will not solve our problems. It will take
persistent action.
 So for those who question the character and cause
of my nation, I ask you to look at the concrete actions
we have taken in just nine months.
 On my first day in office I prohibited, without
exception or equivocation, the use of torture by the
United States of America. I ordered the prison at
Guantanamo Bay closed, and we are doing the hard
work of forging a framework to combat extremism
within the rule of law.
 Every nation must know that America will live its
values, and we will lead by example. We have set a
clear and focused goal to work with all members of
this body to disrupt, dismantle and defeat Al-Qaida and
its extremist allies — a network that has killed
thousands of people of many faiths and nations and has
plotted to blow up this very building. In Afghanistan
and Pakistan, we and many nations here are helping
those Governments to develop the capacity to take the
lead in this effort, while working to advance
opportunity and security for their people.
 In Iraq we are responsibly ending a war. We have
removed American combat brigades from Iraqi cities
and set a deadline of next August to remove all our
combat brigades from Iraqi territory. I have made clear
that we will help Iraqis make the transition to full
responsibility for their future and keep our
commitment to remove all American troops by the end
of 2011.
 I have outlined a comprehensive agenda to seek
the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. In
Moscow, the United States and Russia announced that
we would pursue substantial reductions in our strategic
warheads and launchers. In the Conference on
Disarmament we agreed on a workplan to negotiate an
end to the production of fissile materials for nuclear
weapons. And this week, my Secretary of State will
become the first senior American representative to the

09-52179 10

annual members’ conference of the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty.
 Upon taking office, I appointed a special envoy
for Middle East peace, and America has worked
steadily and aggressively to advance the cause of two
States — Israel and Palestine — in which peace and
security take root and the rights of both Israelis and
Palestinians are respected.
 To confront climate change we have invested
$80 billion in clean energy. We have substantially
increased our fuel efficiency standards. We have
provided new incentives for conservation, launched an
energy partnership across the Americas and moved
from being a bystander to being a leader in
international climate negotiations.
 To overcome an economic crisis that touches
every corner of the world, we worked with the Group
of 20 nations to forge a coordinated international
response of over $2 trillion in stimulus to bring the
global economy back from the brink. We mobilized
resources that help prevent the crisis from spreading
further to developing countries, and we joined with
others to launch a $20 billion global food security
initiative that will lend a hand to those who need it
most and help them build their own capacity.
 We have also re-engaged the United Nations. We
have paid our bills. We have joined the Human Rights
Council. We have signed the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities. We have fully embraced the
Millennium Development Goals, and we address our
priorities here in this institution, for instance through the
Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation
and disarmament that I will chair tomorrow and
through the issues that I will discuss today.
 That is what we have already done, but it is just a
beginning. Some of our actions have yielded progress;
some have laid the groundwork for progress in the
future. But make no mistake: this cannot solely be
America’s endeavour. Those who used to chastise
America for acting alone in the world cannot now
stand by and wait for America to solve the world’s
problems alone. We have sought, in word and deed, a
new era of engagement with the world, and now is the
time for all of us to take our share of responsibility for
a global response to global challenges.
 If we are honest with ourselves, we need to admit
that we are not living up to that responsibility.
Consider the course that we are on if we fail to
confront the status quo: extremists sowing terror in
pockets of the world, protracted conflicts that grind on
and on, genocide, mass atrocities, more nations with
nuclear weapons, melting ice caps and ravaged
populations, persistent poverty and pandemic disease.
 I say this not to sow fear, but to state a fact. The
magnitude of our challenges has yet to be met by the
measure of our actions. This body was founded on the
belief that the nations of the world could solve their
problems together. Franklin Roosevelt, who died
before he could see his vision for this institution
become a reality, put it this way:
 “The structure of world peace cannot be the work
of one man, or one party, or one nation. It cannot
be a peace of large nations or of small nations. It
must be a peace which rests on the cooperative
effort of the whole world.”
 The cooperative effort of the whole world —
those words ring even more true today when it is not
simply peace, but our very health and prosperity that
we hold in common. Yet, we also know that this body
is made up of sovereign States and that, sadly but not
surprisingly, this body has often become a forum for
sowing discord instead of forging common ground, a
venue for playing politics and exploiting grievances
rather than solving problems. After all, it is easy to
walk up to this podium and point fingers and stoke
divisions. Nothing is easier than blaming others for our
troubles and absolving ourselves of responsibility for
our choices and our actions. Anybody can do that.
Responsibility and leadership in the twenty-first
century demand more.
 In an era when our destiny is shared, power is no
longer a zero-sum game. No one nation can or should
try to dominate another nation. No world order that
elevates one nation or group of people over another
will succeed. No balance of power among nations will
hold. The traditional divisions between nations of the
South and the North make no sense in an
interconnected world, nor do alignments of nations
rooted in the cleavages of a long-gone cold war.
 The time has come to realize that the old habits
and the old arguments are irrelevant to the challenges
faced by our peoples. They leave nations to act in
opposition to the very goals that they claim to pursue
and to vote, often in this body, against the interests of
their own people. They build up walls between us and

11 09-52179

the future that our peoples seek, and the time has come
for those walls to come down. Together we must build
new coalitions that bridge old divides — coalitions of
different faiths and creeds, of North and South, East,
West, black, white and brown.
 The choice is ours. We can be remembered as the
generation that chose to drag the arguments of the
twentieth century into the twenty-first, and that put off
hard choices, refused to look ahead, and failed to keep
pace because we defined ourselves by what we were
against instead of what we were for; or we can be a
generation that chooses to see the shoreline beyond the
rough waters ahead, that comes together to serve the
common interests of human beings, and finally gives
meaning to the promise imbedded in the name given to
this institution — the United Nations. That is the future
America wants — a future of peace and prosperity that
we can reach only if we recognize that all nations have
rights. But all nations have responsibilities as well.
That is the bargain that makes this work. That must be
the guiding principle of international cooperation.
 Today, let me put forward four pillars that I
believe are fundamental to the future that we want for
our children: non-proliferation and disarmament, the
promotion of peace and security, the preservation of
our planet, and a global economy that advances
opportunity for all people.
 First, we must stop the spread of nuclear weapons
and seek the goal of a world without them. This
institution was founded at the dawn of the atomic age
in part because man’s capacity to kill had to be
contained. For decades, we averted disaster, even under
the shadow of a super-Power stand-off. But today the
threat of proliferation is growing in scope and
complexity. If we fail to act, we will invite nuclear
arms races in every region and the prospect of wars and
acts of terror on a scale that we can hardly imagine.
 A fragile consensus stands in the way of this
frightening outcome, and that is the basic bargain that
shapes the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT). It says that all nations have the right
to peaceful nuclear energy, and that nations with
nuclear weapons have a responsibility to move towards
disarmament and those without them have the
responsibility to forsake them. The next 12 months
could be pivotal in determining whether this compact
will be strengthened or will slowly dissolve.
 America intends to keep our end of the bargain.
We will pursue a new agreement with Russia to
substantially reduce our strategic warheads and
launches. We will move forward with ratification of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and work
with others to bring the Treaty into force, so that
nuclear testing is permanently prohibited. We will
complete a nuclear posture review that opens the door
to deeper cuts and reduces the role of nuclear weapons,
and we will call upon countries to begin negotiations in
January on a treaty to end the production of fissile
material for weapons.
 I will also host a summit next April that reaffirms
each nation’s responsibility to secure nuclear material
on its territory and to help those who cannot, because
we must never allow a single nuclear device to fall into
the hands of a violent extremist. And we will work to
strengthen the institutions and initiatives that combat
nuclear smuggling and theft.
 All of this must support efforts to strengthen the
NPT. Those nations that refuse to live up to their
obligations must face consequences. Let me be clear:
This is not about singling out individual nations. It is
about standing up for the rights of all nations that do
live up to their responsibilities, because a world in
which International Atomic Energy Agency inspections
are avoided and the United Nations demands are
ignored will leave all people less safe and all nations
less secure.
 In their actions to date, the Governments of North
Korea and Iran threaten to take us down this dangerous
slope. We respect their rights as members of the
community of nations. I have said before and I will
repeat: I am committed to diplomacy that opens a path
to greater prosperity and more secure peace for both
nations if they live up to their obligations. But if the
Governments of Iran and North Korea choose to ignore
international standards; if they put the pursuit of
nuclear weapons ahead of regional stability and the
security and opportunity of their own people; if they
are oblivious to the dangers of escalating nuclear arms
races in both East Asia and the Middle East, then they
must be held accountable. The world must stand
together to demonstrate that international law is not an
empty promise and that treaties will be enforced. We
must insist that the future does not belong to fear.
 That brings me to the second pillar for our future:
the pursuit of peace. The United Nations was born of

09-52179 12

the belief that the people of the world can live their
lives, raise their families and resolve their differences
peacefully. Yet we know that in too many parts of the
world this ideal remains an abstraction — a distant
dream. We can either accept that outcome as inevitable
and tolerate constant and crippling conflict, or we can
recognize that the yearning for peace is universal and
reassert our resolve to end conflicts around the world.
That effort must begin with an unshakeable
determination that the murder of innocent men, women
and children will never be tolerated. On this, there can
be no dispute.
 The violent extremists who promote conflict by
distorting faith have discredited and isolated
themselves. They offer nothing but hatred and
destruction. In confronting them, America will forge
lasting partnerships to target terrorists, share
intelligence, coordinate law enforcement and protect
our people. We will permit no safe haven for Al-Qaida
to launch attacks from Afghanistan or any other nation.
We will stand by our friends on the front lines, as we
and many nations will do in pledging support for the
Pakistani people tomorrow. And we will pursue
positive engagement that builds bridges among faiths
and new partnerships for opportunity.
 Our efforts to promote peace, however, cannot be
limited to defeating violent extremists, for the most
powerful weapon in our arsenal is the hope of human
beings — the belief that the future belongs to those
who would build and not destroy; the confidence that
conflicts can end and a new day can begin. And that is
why we will strengthen our support for effective
peacekeeping, while energizing our efforts to prevent
conflicts before they take hold.
 We will pursue a lasting peace in Sudan, through
support for the people of Darfur and the implementation
of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, so that we
secure the peace that the Sudanese people deserve.
 And in countries ravaged by violence, from Haiti to
Congo to East Timor, we will work with the United
Nations and other partners to support an enduring peace.
 I will also continue to seek a just and lasting
peace between Israel, Palestine and the Arab world. We
will continue to work on that issue. Yesterday I had a
constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu
and President Abbas. We have made some progress.
Palestinians have strengthened their efforts on security.
Israelis have facilitated greater freedom of movement
for the Palestinians. As a result of these efforts on both
sides, the economy in the West Bank has begun to
grow.
 But more progress is needed. We continue to call
on Palestinians to end incitement against Israel. And
we continue to emphasize that America does not accept
the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlements.
 The time has come to re-launch negotiations —
without preconditions — that address the permanent-
status issues: security for Israelis and Palestinians,
borders, refugees and Jerusalem. The goal is clear: two
States living side by side in peace and security: a
Jewish State of Israel, with true security for all Israelis,
and a viable, independent Palestinian State with
contiguous territory that ends the occupation that began
in 1967 and realizes the potential of the Palestinian
people. As we pursue this goal, we will also pursue
peace between Israel and Lebanon, Israel and Syria,
and a broader peace between Israel and its many
neighbours. In pursuit of that goal, we will develop
regional initiatives with multilateral participation,
alongside bilateral negotiations.
 Now, I am not naive. I know this will be difficult.
But all of us — not just the Israelis and the
Palestinians, but all of us — must decide whether we
are serious about peace, or whether we will only lend it
lip-service. To break the old patterns — to break the
cycle of insecurity and despair — all of us must say
publicly what we would acknowledge in private. The
United States does Israel no favours when we fail to
couple an unwavering commitment to its security with
an insistence that Israel respect the legitimate claims
and rights of the Palestinians. And nations within this
body do the Palestinians no favours when they choose
vitriolic attacks against Israel over a constructive
willingness to recognize Israel’s legitimacy and its
right to exist in peace and security.
 We must remember that the greatest price of this
conflict is not paid by us. It is not paid by politicians.
It is paid by the Israeli girl in Sderot who closes her
eyes in fear that a rocket will take her life in the middle
of the night. It is paid by the Palestinian boy in Gaza
who has no clean water and no country to call his own.
These are all God’s children. And after all the politics
and all the posturing, this is about the right of every
human being to live with dignity and security. That is a
lesson embedded in the three great faiths that call one
small slice of Earth the Holy Land. And that is why —

13 09-52179

even though there will be setbacks, and false starts, and
tough days — I will not waiver in my pursuit of peace.
 Thirdly, we must recognize that in the twenty-
first century there will be no peace unless we take
responsibility for the preservation of our planet. And I
thank the Secretary-General for hosting the summit on
climate change yesterday.
 The danger posed by climate change cannot be
denied. Our responsibility to meet it must not be
deferred. If we continue down our current course,
every member of this Assembly will see irreversible
changes within its borders. Our efforts to end conflicts
will be eclipsed by wars over refugees and resources.
Development will be devastated by drought and
famine. Land that human beings have lived on for
millennia will disappear. Future generations will look
back and wonder why we refused to act — why we
failed to pass on an environment that was worthy of
our inheritance.
 And that is why the days when America dragged
its feet on this issue are over. We will move forward
with investments to transform our energy economy,
while providing incentives to make clean energy the
profitable kind of energy. We will press ahead with
deep cuts in emissions to reach the goals that we set for
2020, and eventually 2050. We will continue to
promote renewable energy and efficiency — and share
new technologies — with countries around the world.
And we will seize every opportunity for progress to
address this threat in a cooperative effort with the
entire world.
 Those wealthy nations that did so much damage
to the environment in the twentieth century must
accept our obligation to lead. But responsibility does
not end there. While we must acknowledge the need for
differentiated responses, any effort to curb carbon
emissions must include the fast-growing carbon
emitters who can do more to reduce their air pollution
without inhibiting growth. And any effort that fails
both to help the poorest nations to adapt to the
problems that climate change has already wrought and
to help them travel a path of clean development simply
will not work.
 It is hard to change something as fundamental as
how we use energy. I know that. It is even harder to do
so in the midst of a global recession. Certainly, it will
be tempting to sit back and wait for others to move
first. But we cannot make this journey unless we all
move forward together. As we head into Copenhagen,
let us resolve to focus on what each of us can do for
the sake of our common future.
 This leads me to the final pillar that must fortify
our future: a global economy that advances opportunity
for all people.
 The world is still recovering from the worst
economic crisis since the Great Depression. In
America, we see the engine of growth beginning to
churn, and yet many still struggle to find a job or pay
their bills. Across the globe, we find promising signs,
but little certainty about what lies ahead. And far too
many people in far too many places live through the
daily crises that challenge our humanity: the despair of
an empty stomach; the thirst brought on by dwindling
water supplies; the injustice of a child dying from a
treatable disease or a mother losing her life as she
gives birth.
 In Pittsburgh, we will work with the world’s
largest economies to chart a course for growth that is
balanced and sustained. That means vigilance to ensure
that we do not let up until our people are back to work.
That means taking steps to rekindle demand, so that
global recovery can be sustained. And that means
setting new rules of the road and strengthening
regulation for all financial centres, so that we put an
end to the greed and the excess and the abuse that led
us into this disaster, and prevent a crisis like this from
ever happening again.
 At a time of such interdependence, we have a
moral and pragmatic interest, however, in broader
questions of development: the questions of development
that existed even before this crisis happened. And so
America will continue our historic effort to help people
feed themselves. We have set aside $63 billion to carry
forward the fight against HIV/AIDS, to end deaths
from tuberculosis and malaria, to eradicate polio and to
strengthen public health systems. We are joining with
other countries to contribute H1N1 vaccines to the
World Health Organization. We will integrate more
economies into a system of global trade. We will
support the Millennium Development Goals and
approach next year’s summit with a global plan to
make them a reality. And we will set our sights on the
eradication of extreme poverty in our time.
 Now is the time for all of us to do our part.
Growth will not be sustained or shared unless all
nations embrace their responsibilities. That means that

09-52179 14

wealthy nations must open their markets to more goods
and extend a hand to those with less, while reforming
international institutions to give more nations a greater
voice. And developing nations must root out the
corruption that is an obstacle to progress, for
opportunity cannot thrive where individuals are
oppressed and businesses have to pay bribes. That is
why we will support honest police and independent
judges, civil society and a vibrant private sector. Our
goal is simple: a global economy in which growth is
sustained and opportunity is available to all.
 Now, the changes that I have spoken about today
will not be easy to make, and they will not be realized
simply by leaders like us coming together in forums
like this, as useful as that may be. For, as in any
assembly of members, real change can only come
through the people we represent. That is why we must
do the hard work to lay the groundwork for progress in
our own capitals. That is where we will build the
consensus to end conflicts and to harness technology
for peaceful purposes, to change the way we use
energy and to promote growth that can be sustained
and shared.
 I believe that the people of the world want this
future for their children. And that is why we must
champion those principles that ensure that
Governments reflect the will of the people. These
principles cannot be afterthoughts. Democracy and
human rights are essential to achieving each of the
goals that I have discussed today, because
Governments of the people and by the people are more
likely to act in the broader interests of their own
people, rather than the narrow interest of those in
power.
 The test of our leadership will not be the degree
to which we feed the fears and old hatreds of our
people. True leadership will not be measured by the
ability to muzzle dissent or to intimidate and harass
political opponents at home. The people of the world
want change. They will not long tolerate those who are
on the wrong side of history.
 This Organization’s Charter commits each of us
“to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal
rights of men and women”.
 Among those rights is the freedom to speak your
mind and worship as you please, the promise of
equality of the races and the opportunity for women
and girls to pursue their own potential, and the ability
of citizens to have a say in how you are governed and
to have confidence in the administration of justice. For,
just as no nation should be forced to accept the tyranny
of another nation, no individual should be forced to
accept the tyranny of their own people.
 As an African-American, I will never forget that I
would not be here today without the steady pursuit of a
more perfect union in my country. That guides my
belief that no matter how dark the day may seem,
transformative change can be forged by those who
choose to side with justice. And I pledge that America
will always stand with those who stand up for their
dignity and their rights — for the student who seeks to
learn, the voter who demands to be heard, the innocent
who longs to be free and the oppressed who yearns to
be equal.
 Democracy cannot be imposed on any nation
from the outside. Each society must search for its own
path, and no path is perfect. Each country will pursue a
path rooted in the culture of its people and in its past
traditions. And I admit that America has too often been
selective in its promotion of democracy. But that does
not weaken our commitment; it only reinforces it.
There are basic principles that are universal. There are
certain truths that are self-evident, and the United
States of America will never waiver in our efforts to
stand up for the right of people everywhere to
determine their own destiny.
 Sixty-five years ago, a weary Franklin Roosevelt
spoke to the American people in his fourth, and final,
inaugural address. After years of war, he sought to sum
up the lessons that could be drawn from the terrible
suffering and enormous sacrifice that had taken place.
We have learned, he said, to be citizens of the world,
members of the human community. The United Nations
was built by men and women like Roosevelt from
every corner of the world — from Africa and Asia,
from Europe to the Americas. These architects of
international cooperation had an idealism that was
anything but naive. It was rooted in the hard-earned
lessons of war, rooted in the wisdom that nations could
advance their interests by acting together instead of
splitting apart.
 Now it falls to us, for this institution will be what
we make of it. The United Nations does extraordinary
good around the world, in feeding the hungry, caring
for the sick and mending places that have been broken.

15 09-52179

But it also struggles to enforce its will and to live up to
the ideals of its founding. I believe that those
imperfections are not a reason to walk away from this
institution; they are a calling to redouble our efforts.
The United Nations can be a place where we either
bicker about outdated grievances or forge common
ground; a place where we focus on what drives us apart
or what brings us together; a place where we indulge
tyranny or a source of moral authority. In short, the
United Nations can be an institution that is
disconnected from what matters in the lives of our
citizens or it can be an indispensable factor in
advancing the interests of the people we serve.
 We have reached a pivotal moment. The United
States stands ready to begin a new chapter of
international cooperation, one that recognizes the
rights and responsibilities of all nations. And so, with
confidence in our cause and with a commitment to our
values, we call on all nations to join us in building the
future that our people so richly deserve.


In
circumstances like these, I would normally speak for
about an hour, but I would like to assure you, Sir, and
the Assembly that the quality of mercy is not strained
and that I will be considerably briefer than that. Today,
I propose to stay within the time allotted to me.
 Trinidad and Tobago extends its sincerest
congratulations to the President on his ascension to the
stewardship of this sixty-fourth session of the General
Assembly. We know that his vast experience and
leadership qualities will ensure very successful
deliberations. We also pay tribute to his predecessor,
Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua, for his
vision and fearless discharge of his responsibilities as
President of the Assembly at its sixty-third session.
 We convey our very best wishes to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon, whom we welcomed to Port of
Spain earlier this year when Trinidad and Tobago
hosted the fifth Summit of the Americas. We assure
him of our continuing support as he pursues his

09-52586 16

mission to ensure that the United Nations meets the
new challenges of the twenty-first century.
 We meet at a time of very serious challenges for
the world economy. We are now beginning to emerge
from a global recession caused by a near collapse of
the international financial system, but there is no room
for complacency. Unemployment continues to grow in
almost every country, credit remains contracted and
consumer confidence, that most critical factor, persists
at very low levels. Additionally, there is no certainty of
a steady upward trajectory for the global economy.
Valued opinion on this matter points to the possibility
of further recessionary trends before the present green
shoots produce flourishing green fields.
 We clearly cannot take our eye off the ball. We
must not return to business as usual. We should not
countenance the resurfacing of discredited patterns on
financial streets and capitals. We must be wary of the
level of adventurousness in leading financial
institutions that contributed very significantly to
driving the world to the edge of an economic precipice
from which we are just starting to pull back. There is
justification for concern about this situation in every
country on this planet. In the globalized economy, we
are all affected by policies or actions that direct the
international financial system.
 We of the smaller countries and the developing
world have always been the most vulnerable and the
worst affected. It is happening again. Especially in the
southern hemisphere, the prospects have grown for
increased poverty, unemployment and general slippage
in the development process. How much longer will this
acute vulnerability of so many nations persist? How
many more dreams must now, once again, be deferred?
 The trust of the world in the totally unregulated
market has been entirely misplaced. We must now
capitalize on the opportunity of this crisis and, without
delay, reform our international economic system. The
global architecture must be transformed to take the
new realities into account. Among these are new and
emerging centres of economic power and the now
indispensable need to deliberately generate growth in
the developing world if the global economy is to
achieve resurgence and sustainability. In this extremely
interconnected world, it is our collective resources,
ingenuity, productivity, markets and technology that
will keep all of us afloat.
 Let this General Assembly therefore play its part
in ensuring that we leave behind the old approaches
that suffocated development of the many for the benefit
of the few. Let it call for greater recognition of the
absolute need to bring into the global mainstream the
entire productive and purchasing capacity of this
planet, our collective home.
 We are heartened by developments and decisions
among the countries of the Group of 20, but we must
ensure that there is absolutely no reversal of the new
approach; no dimming of the new light that the present
crisis has generated; and no diminution of the
acceptance that we are all in this together and that
development everywhere translates into prosperity for
all. Let us therefore ensure that the reform of
international financial institutions does indeed take
place; that we entrench greater sensitivity to the
varying needs of countries at differing levels of
development; that new voices, respecting and
representing more of humanity, are in the decision-
making process; and that resource flows for trade and
investment are in fact realized and activated.
 The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) has not
been spared the debilitating effects of the current
global economic situation. Most CARICOM States are
now experiencing economic contraction and rising
levels of debt and unemployment, with their
challenging social consequences. It is therefore
regrettable that some middle-income countries, such as
many in CARICOM, may not be eligible for funding
under some of the World Bank’s facilities for
international development assistance.
 Given their vulnerabilities, middle-income
countries’ need for access to concessionary financing
must not be underestimated. This was highlighted in
2008 at the Third Ministerial Conference of Middle-
Income Countries in Namibia, which called for
enhanced levels of international development
assistance and noted that the current categorization
does not accurately reflect the particularities and needs
of these nations. This General Assembly must take
steps to advance the cause of middle-income countries
in this matter.
 The situation in Haiti is one of grave concern. We
are encouraged by the diverse United Nations-related
initiatives aimed at promoting peace and security in
that country, but greater attention is required by the
international community. Arising out of the Fifth

17 09-52586

Summit of the Americas, Trinidad and Tobago has
advanced a proposal for the establishment of a
hemispheric development fund for Haiti, to which all
western hemisphere countries would be expected to
contribute. Haiti is first and foremost a western
hemisphere challenge, and we see this fund as essential
to the re-establishment of proper standards of living in
that country. We bring this matter before the General
Assembly for its support.
 One of the very significant problems facing the
global community is transnational organized crime of
increasing strength, which includes terrorist activity as
well as the illegal traffic in drugs, arms and persons.
The Caribbean is particularly plagued by the illegal
drug trade, which uses our region as a trans-shipment
route for its pernicious cargo headed northwards. This
activity has a corrosive effect on our small societies,
fuelling, for example, trafficking in small arms and
light weapons, with troubling consequences.
 In CARICOM, we have been pooling our
resources for this fight. There is now unprecedented
cooperation among the legal and security systems of
our countries, but we need more resources in our
struggle with this menace. We will continue to engage
in the various processes of the United Nations aimed at
addressing this problem. We encourage those Member
States that have not been supportive of the initiative
aimed at negotiating a legally binding arms trade treaty
to join those States working to ensure that it becomes a
reality.
 But the security situation has been aggravated by
the deteriorating economic situation in many of our
countries, weakened by the loss of preferential markets
for bananas and sugar. The situation is exacerbated by
the new paradigm of reciprocity in trade, and by the
fact that both the tourism industry and the financial
services sector, to which many have turned to
supplement their economic development, have not
produced the anticipated returns. The economic
situation of these countries has therefore become even
more critical, with severe consequences for the security
and prosperity of our region, given the inextricable link
between security and socio-economic development.
 Climate change is one of the major challenges
facing our civilization today. The Secretary-General
must be highly commended for his commitment to
dealing with this issue, which he declared as a priority
at the start of his tenure. In this regard, we add our
voices to those that have praised highly the United
Nations Summit on Climate Change, which has just
concluded. This General Assembly must promote more
meaningful action directed towards an internationally
acceptable formula for the reduction of carbon
emissions.
 Trinidad and Tobago wishes to make it absolutely
clear that we do not accept the per capita basis for the
determination of levels of carbon emissions. It is
manifestly unfair to a small, energy-producing
developing country like ours with a small population.
We consider the method of absolute emissions to be a
more just method of determining a country’s
contribution to global warming, since it is affected not
by per capita emissions, but by absolute levels. The
question of population size, in this context, has nothing
to do with the matter whatsoever.
 We also assure the Assembly that our country has
already voluntarily embarked on reducing emissions
through a programme that includes the pursuit of
renewable sources of supply. We will also be hosting
the 53 Commonwealth heads of Government at a
meeting in Port of Spain in November of this year. This
will be the last major summit before the Copenhagen
Climate Change Summit in December. We propose to
use the opportunity to attempt to forge a consensus that
would reflect the common views of the
Commonwealth, comprising as it does both high
greenhouse-gas emitters and some of the countries
most threatened by climate change. We are determined
to do all in our power to ensure agreement in
Copenhagen.
 We are firmly of the view that non-communicable
diseases demand the heightened attention of the
international community at this time. It has been
forecast that by 2020 non-communicable diseases will
account for approximately 73 per cent of global deaths
and 60 per cent of the global burden of disease. We
join the call for indicators on non-communicable
diseases and injuries to be integrated into the core
monitoring and evaluation system of the Millennium
Development Goals. We have taken this matter on
board at the level of the Caribbean Community. Indeed,
we held a special regional summit in Port of Spain on
chronic non-communicable diseases in 2007. I now
propose that this Assembly convene a special summit
meeting of the United Nations on non-communicable
diseases at the earliest opportunity.

09-52586 18

 The year 2015 is fast approaching, but there has
been, sadly, no encouraging progress towards our
Millennium Development Goal of food security for all
by that date. Indeed, we have fallen behind in our
schedule, with an increase in deaths from hunger and
malnutrition in the developing world. A much greater
sense of urgency is needed in our approach to this
situation. All countries must honour their commitments
made at the 2008 High-Level Conference on World
Food Security. Trinidad and Tobago therefore looks
forward to the next World Summit on Food Security,
scheduled for November in Rome, with the expectation
that the results will aid the international community in
achieving the revised target set by the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations to
eradicate hunger by 2025.
 My country is committed to an international order
based on peace, security and the right to development
of all countries. We believe that democracy and
representation are key to achieving meaningful and
effective multilateralism. We therefore wish again to
support efforts to reform the Security Council. Reform
of that important organ of the United Nations,
responsible for the maintenance of international peace
and security, must include efforts aimed at making its
composition reflect more closely the global
geopolitical realities since the end of the Second World
War.
 In this new century, the United Nations must
become an even more effective voice for all of
mankind. We have very important work ahead of us at
a very challenging time in our history. Let us never
lose sight of our main purpose, which is the security
and development of the people of the world. Let us
renew our focus on this main objective.
 Let us therefore support the reign of fundamental
freedoms and human rights in every country. Let us
strive for the individual empowerment of citizens in
every nation; let there be opportunity and upward
mobility for all; let none be marginalized on the
periphery; and let the abundant talent and potential of
humanity flower everywhere, serving as inspiration,
guidance and example to present and future
generations.
 Let us therefore join our strengths for the benefit
of all. Let us indeed build a global community where
there is increasing and intensified cooperation and
communication among our nations, where no country
lags behind, and where all nations and their peoples are
on the international road to development.


I congratulate you,
Sir, on your election as President of the General
Assembly and on the very effective manner in which
you are presiding over its proceedings. I also pay
tribute to your predecessor, Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann,
for his leadership and commitment and for the very
able manner in which he guided us throughout the past
session. Under his leadership, a lot was achieved and
we also weathered a number of turbulent storms.
 The global economic environment has
experienced many challenges since our last session.
Never before has our common goal of advancing the
purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter
for the betterment of all mankind been so tested. The
challenges confronting humanity have since grown
tenfold, both in scope and magnitude. The sheer
enormity of these fast-evolving challenges threatens
the very existence of the human race and the security
of our planet.
 I am convinced that these challenges are neither
beyond our collective capability to address, nor are
they insurmountable. Our moral imperative is to ensure

09-53165 40

that the United Nations has the requisite resources, the
tools and the capability to respond to the ever-changing
environment in a timely, effective and decisive manner
in order to help Member States address the many
complex and multidimensional challenges.
 It is important to remind ourselves of the decision
we adopted at the World Summit in 2005 to
 “strengthen the United Nations with a view to
enhancing its authority and efficiency, as well as
its capacity to address effectively … the full
range of challenges of our time”. (resolution 60/1,
para. 146)
 In that respect, my delegation welcomes the
progress made in implementing ongoing reforms of the
United Nations with a view to streamlining rules,
mandates and policies in order to promote
transparency, coherence and efficiency in the system.
 The global economic crisis that has besieged us
has accentuated existing challenges and made them
more complex. The crisis has been felt more seriously
in developing countries. Human, financial and other
resources are severely overstretched as countries seek
creative and innovative ways to mitigate what has
become the greatest economic threat of our time. The
crisis therefore warrants a concerted effort involving
both developed and developing countries. We should
emerge from the crisis stronger and wiser, with new
thinking about a new global financial architecture.
 In the present circumstances, poverty levels in
many economies appear to be spiraling out of control.
Our poverty reduction strategies therefore need to be
revised to face the new challenges. That goes for the
commitments we signed on to at the 1995 Copenhagen
World Summit on Sustainable Development and at the
2000 Millennium Summit. The new strategy should
focus on raising the living standards of all people the
world over. In dealing with those challenges, we
should deploy all the resources of nature and
technology to better life on the planet. But in doing so
we should avoid any actions that could endanger the
very lives that we want to uplift.
 The devastating HIV/AIDS pandemic is among
the myriad challenges to which we committed
ourselves to tackle through international cooperation
and assistance. HIV/AIDS undoubtedly continues to be
one of the most daunting challenges of our time.
 In June of last year, our leaders gathered in New
York for the midterm review of the implementation of
the goals and targets of the Declaration of Commitment
on HIV/AIDS, which was adopted in 2001. The review
revealed that, despite heightened political momentum
and national and global responses to HIV/AIDS, not
much progress had been made towards mitigating its
effects. Only a handful of countries were reported to be
on track to achieving some of their commitments,
while the majority of countries were found to be
lagging far behind in implementing them. That
situation underscores the urgent need to accelerate the
momentum for universal access to HIV/AIDS
prevention, treatment, care and support.
 The ongoing global economic crisis has already
placed people living with HIV/AIDS at great risk, as
many countries have had to cut down on some
HIV/AIDS programmes due to budgetary constraints.
Budget reductions in HIV/AIDS programmes, in
particular, in developing countries, will obviously
result in increased loss of life, as well as an increase in
the cost of health care in the future.
 We need to redouble our implementation efforts
as we draw closer to the 2010 deadline for achieving
the goal of ensuring universal access to HIV/AIDS
prevention, treatment, care and support. To that end, it
is essential that as Governments we renew our
commitment to put our people first when it comes to
the kind of policies and programmes we formulate and
implement.
 The adverse impact of climate change and global
warming is another problem that requires our urgent
and sustained attention. Our collective response to the
challenge of climate change and global warming
necessitates pragmatism and decisive action. History
will judge us harshly if we cannot muster the political
will and commitment to put in place measures required
to save planet Earth. The Copenhagen meeting
scheduled for December of this year provides an
opportunity to galvanize the efforts of the international
community to address the challenges of climate
change.
 More important, the Copenhagen meeting will be
a defining moment in the negotiations on the global
commitments to be made with regard to the Kyoto
Protocol after 2012. Botswana is strongly committed to
those negotiations. We will do everything in our power
to ensure their successful and timely conclusion. We

41 09-53165

therefore call upon Member States to ensure that no
effort is spared in giving the issues under negotiation
the priority attention that they deserve.
 Turning to international peace and security, my
delegation is deeply concerned about the deterioration
of the global security situation. We are convinced that
the security of our world is dependent upon the entire
membership of the United Nations working in unison.
 The number and intensity of conflicts still raging
in some parts of the world, in particular in Africa, is a
cause for grave concern. It is sad that Africa appears —
at least in my estimation — to have experienced more
incidents of civil strife and violent confrontation than
any other part of the world. In that regard, it is worth
noting that the Security Council remains seized of
conflict situations and developments in a number of
African countries and regions, including Chad, the
Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, the Great Lakes region, Eritrea and
Ethiopia, Somalia and the Sudan, to name but a few.
 Somalia remains the most dangerous place in the
world, and a blemish on the conscience of the
international community. Incidents of violence,
kidnapping, banditry and piracy abound. Peacekeepers
have also not been spared that barbarity. We commend
Burundi and Uganda for the courage and heroism of
their troops in support of the peace effort. International
support and assistance is urgently required to deploy a
stabilization force to strengthen the African Union
Mission in Somalia and to support long-term peace and
stability in that country.
 With regard to the situations in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and the Great Lakes region, it is
thanks to the collective efforts of the United Nations
Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo and former President Obasanjo of Nigeria,
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for the
Great Lakes Region, as well as other international
initiatives, that there are now prospects for positive
developments. However, we should not underestimate
the gravity of the challenges that continue to hamper
the achievement of lasting peace, stability and
sustainable development in that region and many more
in Africa.
 Apart from finding lasting solutions to conflicts,
we should put in place measures to deal with post-
conflict situations, as there is a danger that countries
emerging from conflict could easily relapse into it.
Regional bodies such as the African Union, as well as
the United Nations, must stay focused on assisting
countries to deal with both conflict and post-conflict
situations.
 We all know the causes of conflict and instability.
They are the result of bad governance, mismanagement
of national resources and the absence of democracy. In
that respect, we cannot simply demand the full and
active support of the international community in efforts
to achieve lasting peace and stability. We must do more
to consolidate the democratic process, respect for
human rights and the rule of law. In that way, we
would be more deserving and worthy of assistance.
 Botswana is disturbed by the emerging trend of
coups and of the unconstitutional transfer of power in
Africa and in other parts of the world. We had thought
that the era of military coups was now history. We
unreservedly condemn the coups that took place in
Mauritania, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar and
Honduras. We would have been very disappointed if
one such as Rajoelina, who masterminded the
overthrow of a democratically elected Government in
Madagascar, had been allowed to address this
Assembly. We therefore applaud the decision taken by
the General Assembly in that regard.
 The Southern Africa Development Community
correctly decided to suspend the regime in Madagascar
from participating in the councils and structures of the
subregional organization. Our continental organization,
the African Union, has also maintained a principled
position of automatically suspending any regime that
comes into power by overthrowing the constitutional
order. The international community must be united in
its determination to isolate the regime in Antananarivo.
We must not give it any comfort by embracing it in
international forums.
 We are also witnessing a disturbing development
that undermines democracy and subverts the will of the
people. There is a growing resort to changing
constitutions in order to prolong the grip on power of
leaders and political parties that have lost elections. In
that regard, Africa, and indeed the world at large, must
collectively and in one voice reject the extra-
parliamentary transfer of power and isolate illegal
regimes until constitutional order is restored.
Embracing them in any small measure would be
immoral and would perpetuate those hideous acts
throughout the globe.

09-53165 42

 The world can be a better place for us and for
future generations if we persistently nurture democratic
practices, good governance and respect for the rule of
law. As leaders, we should commit to building
fraternity and greater mutual understanding among
peoples across cultures and faiths. We have the
responsibility to lead by example. We must desist from
using inflammatory language that promotes tension and
conflicts.
 We cannot and must not condone leaders who, for
their own selfish interests, change the constitutions of
their countries in order to ensure their continued stay in
power. At the same time, we should ensure that our
elections are credible and that they reflect the
sovereign will of the people. Governments should not
be allowed to conduct elections and then tamper with
the outcomes in order to suit their interests. People
must be allowed to freely choose their leaders.
 Botswana reiterates its position that it is fully
committed to respecting the integrity and impartiality
of the International Criminal Court so that it can freely
carry out its judicial mandate. We equally support the
principle of universal jurisdiction under international
law and practice. However, we object to situations
wherein its abuse becomes blatant.
 In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the daunting
challenges facing our world today, as stated previously,
cannot and should not be tackled by any one country or
by a group of countries alone. They require a strong
multilateral approach that needs the commitment and
unyielding support of the international community as a
whole. Let us join hands together in an effort to
address those complex challenges. Our timely,
coordinated and effective action will go a long way in
securing a better future for generations to come.


A little more than a year ago, we witnessed
with great concern the collapse of some of the largest
financial institutions of the world’s wealthiest
countries. That financial fissure precipitated a global
economic crisis which, despite the emerging signs of
recovery, all of us continue to experience. We faced the
stark reality that we lacked the necessary guidelines
and rules to prevent what was occurring in the global
financial system, even though it already was a global
system. Now, following the G-20 summits in
Washington and London, where we laid the
foundations to resolve the problems, it is up to the
Pittsburgh conference to finish the work.
 Despite what has been said, this is not the first
globalization crisis. Instead, it is the first crisis of
global governance, that is to say, a crisis of an
insufficiently governed globalization. We have an
obligation to learn from this experience — certainly to
learn a lesson with regard to the financial and
economic crisis, but also about the other global
challenges that require both collective determination
and coordinated multilateral political efforts. For those
challenges are interrelated. We cannot aspire to
economic and social development unless countries and
peoples enjoy adequate peace and security. Conversely,
it will not be possible to build lasting peace and
security unless there is sustainable development.
 That same willingness to take responsibility for
both problems and solutions, which has re-emerged
strongly in recent months, should ensure that we do not
fail in responding to the conflicts and threats
confronting world peace and security. That willingness
should also ensure that we do not fail in dealing with
extreme hunger and poverty; in effectively committing
ourselves to combating the effects of climate change;
or in tackling organized crime, terrorism and piracy.
We therefore have a great opportunity before us.
 Here at the general debate, one year after the
beginning of the financial crisis that nearly engulfed
the well-being of developed countries and dashed the
hopes of many others, I would like to reiterate that
Spain is a country committed to multilateralism and the
need to continue to develop a system of global
governance — and that applies to every one of the
challenges to which I have just referred. But before
turning to those challenges, I should like to begin by
saying that multilateralism is not just a process for
taking decisions and resolving conflicts at the
international level. It is indeed that; but in order for
multilateralism to be effective and lasting, it must
above all include two fundamental elements.
 First of all, multilateralism is intrinsically linked
with the faithful observance of democratic values,
human rights and effective equality between women
and men throughout the world. In that regard, I very
much welcome the last resolution adopted by the
General Assembly at the previous session, which will
make a single body responsible for all gender issues.
 Today, however, standing firmly for democracy
elicits a single name: Honduras. Our Latin American
brothers in that country have in recent years seen the
strengthening of both democracy and the prospects for
the future. With the support of Spain and the
international community, they have now decided that
they are going to overcome the challenge before
Honduras. We will not accept an anti-democratic coup.
We will not accept it, and democracy must return to
Honduras.

09-52320 26

 Secondly, but no less important, multilateralism
requires, if not a culture, an atmosphere of dialogue,
respect and acceptance between countries, regions and,
more broadly, civilizations. Five years ago, I addressed
the General Assembly for the first time to propose the
establishment of an alliance of civilizations focused on
promoting understanding and cooperation between
countries and peoples of different cultures and
religions, as well as on countering the forces that breed
extremism and endanger peace.
 We cannot be satisfied solely at the fact that the
group of friends for that initiative has since grown to
over 100 members, or that there are now associated
networks of individuals and representatives of civil
society organizations who are ensuring the continued
existence of the project, or that the third forum of the
Alliance will be held next year in Rio de Janeiro. Nor
can we be satisfied at the fact that those developments
clearly illustrate the universality of the principles
underpinning the initiative. Respect for the diversity of
civilizations, cultures and traditions are crucial to the
effectiveness and sustainability of the multilateralism
that we wish to see strengthened on the basis of human
rights and the universal values that we share as
responsible members of the international community.
 When I launched the Alliance of Civilizations
initiative from this very rostrum five years ago, it was
at a less favourable time than the present. Yesterday,
having heard statements by the President of the United
States of America and other international leaders, I
thought to myself that this effort has been worthwhile.
Today the Alliance is able to deploy its full potential in
order to promote the effective multilateralism we
desire. We are now able to build. The initiative was
worth it and — if I may put it this way — it was also
right that the United Nations made it its own through
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his predecessor,
Kofi Annan.
 Spain is therefore pleased that the President of
the General Assembly has proposed that the debate at
this new session focus on “Effective responses to
global crises: strengthening multilateralism and
dialogue among civilizations for international peace,
security and development”. We must now take a new
step.
 The Alliance of Civilizations, which sets out and
promotes those values throughout the entire United
Nations, should be a structural component of the main
bodies and all other entities of the Organization. The
time has come for the General Assembly to adopt a
resolution conferring that structural character on the
Alliance of Civilizations through a constitutive charter.
Spain will work with Turkey and the wider
membership of the Alliance’s group of friends in order
that such a resolution can be adopted by the end of this
fall. I am convinced that it will make a very positive
contribution to the work of such bodies as the Human
Rights Council, the Economic and Social Council and
even the Security Council. The dialogue among
civilizations should be the mother tongue of the United
Nations.
 The new multilateralism has been essential for
taking significant steps forward in the area of
disarmament and arms control, such as prohibiting
anti-personnel landmines and cluster bombs.
 Now, the world has the opportunity to take a
great step: abolishing nuclear weapons. President
Obama has had the courage to put that on the table, and
the United States and Russia — a country that is and
will remain key to Euro-Atlantic security — are
negotiating the largest cuts ever made to these arsenals.
We encourage them. We are hopeful about the initiative
to convene a special summit of the Security Council
devoted to the fight against nuclear proliferation.
 Spain, a nation that renounced the development
and possession of nuclear weapons, fully shares that
objective and will support it with every means at our
disposal. We should immediately undertake to
strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT), whose Review Conference in
May 2010 will coincide with Spain’s presidency of the
European Union. I pledge to do everything possible, as
far as Spain and the European Union are concerned, to
ensure that this important conference has concrete
results that will enable us to advance the perspective of
a world free from nuclear weapons.
 Let us continue to act with determination and
without discouragement to build and consolidate peace
in all areas and regions. My country is proud to have
been contributing to United Nations peacekeeping
missions for 20 years. Over those 20 years, we have
taken part in 22 missions comprising a total of more
than 100,000 troops.
 Currently, we share the concern over the situation
in Afghanistan. I am sure, however, that the
international community will be able to find a

27 09-52320

solution — a solution that is not and cannot be purely
military. The shared conviction as to the strategic value
of the region and the internal solidarity among the
countries present there is stronger than ever and will be
decisive in the face of the difficulties before us.
 I also wish to reiterate the need to persevere in
seeking formulas for peace in the Middle East because
of that conflict’s potential to spread and affect other
regional conflicts such as those just mentioned. The
world has an unresolved task: peace in the Middle
East, with two secure States — the State of Israel, but
also the State of Palestine, which the international
community must consider and recognize within a
reasonable period of time. Peace in the Middle East has
been and continues to be the first strategic priority for
the international community.
 According to the most recent estimates, more
than 1 billion people throughout the world — nearly
one sixth of its total population — suffer hunger. We
must say this as often as possible: figures such as that,
reflecting unfathomable human suffering, assault our
consciences time and again as leaders of the
international community and as citizens. It is unjust
and unacceptable to proceed further into the twenty-
first century, as we are doing, with such a radical
imbalance in the living conditions of humanity. It is
unjust, unacceptable and also unsafe — a permanent
source of instability. It is not possible to aspire to a
secure world if the current levels of inequality and
poverty persist.
 That is why our commitment to international
peace and security must go hand in hand with a
renewed effort to eradicate poverty, using our
leadership responsibly and with solidarity and avoiding
the temptation, in times of economic crisis, to lessen
our commitment to the world’s poorest and most
vulnerable.
 The achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals must be a central aspect of the international
agenda. Five years before 2015, the Goals can still be
achieved, with sustained collective effort. At the next
session of the General Assembly, we must reach
specific agreements that will guarantee their
achievement.
 I wish to strengthen the appeal for that urgent
joint effort by citing the commitment of my country
and its citizens. I refer in particular to Africa. The
twenty-first century should belong to a continent that
has been dispossessed for too long in the history of
humanity: the African continent. Spain has become the
seventh-largest international donor and the eighth-
largest United Nations contributor, and we have made a
clear commitment in the area of food security.
 Over the past few years, we have raised
humanity’s awareness about the seriousness of the
effects of climate change. There is now sufficient
awareness about the need to combat climate change
and also about the opportunities it provides us to create
a new model of economic development — sustainable
development.
 With climate change, the time for awareness-
raising is over and the time for commitments has
arrived. We do not need any more words; it is time for
action. We must take everyone’s circumstances into
account, but, if we are to make collective progress, we
must not delay. Although we have been able to see the
effects of the economic crisis, we still find it difficult
to react to the effects of a phenomenon much more
devastating for entire future generations. That is
paradoxical and incomprehensible — even more so
when we consider that to emerge from the economic
crisis means ensuring the only kind of growth possible:
sustainable growth.
 We have 75 days before the Copenhagen summit
begins. They can be 75 days for the future or for
failure, 75 days for responsibility or for impotence,
75 days for agreement or for the useless defence of
selfish interests. Copenhagen should give two answers
to the world, regarding what and when: an ambitious
reduction of emissions — the what — and a horizon
that is near and defined — the when.
 In order to attain those objectives, we also need
to think about how. We know that technological
research, innovation and development in the area of
energy assist in the fight against climate change. That
is why Spain has proposed that every State should
devote at least 0.7 per cent of its gross domestic
product to research, development and innovation in the
area of technology and energy. That is a reference
figure that, as in the area of development cooperation
policy, will help us determine a commitment before the
international community. My country also proposes to
promote, when we assume the European Union
presidency in the first half of 2010, the agreements that
we must all adopt at Copenhagen.

09-52320 28

 Finally, only one year ago we were struck by a
financial crisis that shook every corner of the world.
Since then, all of us have suffered the effects of that
crisis, but we have also become aware of the need to
move ahead in building global governance and have
taken resolute steps in that direction. Let us continue
on that path, not just to continue fighting against the
crisis and for employment, but to overcome it together
and successfully address the other global challenges.
 Let us use this time for clarity; let us take this
opportunity. Let us build a multilateralism that is
effective and responsible — above all, a
multilateralism of solidarity. Since 1945, there have
never been such favourable circumstances for
translating the desires of the founders of the United
Nations into the reality of the international order.
Those desires were intended for succeeding
generations. And we are the first generation that has
within its reach the ability to fulfil the old and
beautiful dream of a world governed by all. Let us do
so.


I should like at the outset, on behalf of the
Islamic Republic of Mauritania as well as on my own
account, to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to
preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth
session and to wish you every possible success in your
serious and noble mission. I have a great deal of
confidence that your efforts will bear fruit and enable
the Organization to continue to achieve the success
attained under the presidency of your predecessor,
Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann.
 I should also like to convey my gratitude and
appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the
efforts he has devoted to consolidating peace and
security throughout the world, to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and to promoting the
fight against climate change.
 This session is being held at a time when my
country is extricating itself from a political and
institutional crisis that lasted for a few months and was
resolved, with the help of the efforts of the
International Contact Group on Mauritania, through a
consensus reached by the political parties of
Mauritania and enshrined in the Dakar Accord. This
agreement provided for the elaboration of an electoral
agenda supervised by a Government of national unity
in which minority parties in Parliament enjoy half of
the number of seats, including among the sovereign
ministries, such as the Ministries of Home Affairs,
Information, Defence and others.
 The normalization of the constitutional process
led to the election of Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz as
President of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania. He
received 53 per cent of the votes during the first round
of the elections held on 18 July and all national and
international observers attested to the transparency and
fairness of this election.
 On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania,
I convey my special gratitude to the International
Contact Group, and especially to the President of the
African Union, the Leader Muammar Al-Qadhafi, who
was one of the first to call for a domestic solution, thus
enabling Mauritanian stakeholders to normalize the
political situation in their country. I also convey my
gratitude to His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade, President
of the brotherly country of Senegal, who accompanied
the signing of the Dakar Accord and ensured its
follow-up implementation.
 Mauritania, under the presidency of
Mr. Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz, is determined to
consolidate democracy and institutions and uphold the
rule of law in a spirit of calm and stability, thereby

09-52604 2

providing for the progress and well-being of the people
of Mauritania.
 Aware of the need to integrate peoples and States,
Mauritania reiterates its attachment to the Arab
Maghreb Union as a strategic choice for the people of
the region. It also affirms its attachment to joint work
within the framework of the League of Arab States, as
well as its commitment to the African Union and to
United Nations purposes and principles,
 We reiterate our support for efforts aimed at
reforming the United Nations, especially the expansion
of the Security Council, where a permanent seat should
be granted to the African continent and another to the
Arab Group, whose people make up more than 11 per
cent of the world population.
 The tremendous efforts undertaken during the
sixty-third session of the General Assembly are
praiseworthy, whether we are referring to the Doha
Review Conference or the conference on the world
financial and economic crisis and its impact on
development. Despite these commendable efforts, the
world continues to be wracked by a stifling financial
crisis that has undermined development efforts,
especially in the least developed countries (LDCs). The
impact of the financial crisis on the economies of the
LDCs is disastrous. While the rich countries of the
North have achieved economic and social progress
during these past few years, the least developed
countries will face many obstacles that will have an
impact on programmes aimed at achieving their
Millennium Development Goals.
 The international community must act rapidly to
confront this disaster that threatens the global
economic order. It must take concrete measures aimed
at restoring confidence, achieving economic progress
and creating jobs. Commerce, trade and investment
must be revitalized to provide the necessary financing
to poor countries and to maintain achievements made
thus far in the fight against poverty and in
strengthening the role of the United Nations
Development Programme in countering the economic
crisis and its adverse impact on development.
 In this respect, we urge rich countries to fulfil the
commitments made in London in early April towards
financing development in developing countries, and
their pledges to allocate $1 trillion to revitalize the
global economy, including $50 billion devoted to the
low income countries. I pay tribute to all of those steps
from this rostrum.
 The economic, social and environmental
dimensions of development are all closely interlinked.
For that reason we call upon all countries to fight
against climate change. My country is one of the ten
countries most affected by global warming, which
could lead to a rise in sea level. Here, we request that
industrialized States limit their greenhouse gas
emissions. We also welcome the meeting on climate
change that was convened by the Secretary-General
and await the outcome of the international conference
on climate change to be held in December in
Copenhagen, with great interest.
 My country follows the issue of the Western
Sahara with great interest and reaffirms its backing for
the efforts of the Secretary-General and his Special
Envoy aimed at finding a final solution to this issue,
which would strengthen security and stability in the
region.
 The Arab-Israeli conflict is a source of ongoing
tension and a threat to international peace and security
in a sensitive and vital region of the world. For that
reason, we support peace efforts aimed at finding a
solution to the conflict that will, on the one hand,
guarantee the brotherly Palestinian people all of their
rights, including the establishment of an independent
Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its capital,
and the right to live in peace and security side by side
with Israel; and on the other hand, will restore all
occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan
and the Lebanese Sheba'a farms.
 Turning to the situation in the Sudan, we wish
here to underscore our categorical rejection of the
International Criminal Court’s arrest warrant for the
Sudanese President, because it undermines peace
efforts under way in that country and runs counter to
international norms.
 The culture of peace, tolerance, justice and
respect for peoples and civilizations is the best possible
way to uphold international peace and security.
Outstanding issues are still without an available
solution; the chasm between the rich and the poor and
the turbulent international economic infrastructure
have led to tension, extremism and terrorism. Here I
reaffirm that the Islamic Republic of Mauritania rejects
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and
reiterates its commitment to Islamic values, which

3 09-52604

reject violence and extremism and call for tolerance
and fraternity. We believe that it is the duty of the
international community to consider seriously the
causes of this phenomenon and to devise ways to
confront it and eradicate it once and for all.
 Fulfilling the commitments that the international
community made in creating this Organization will
only be possible if all peoples and all countries share
the available resources and possibilities for successful
development, and if the policies of the countries of the
North are rooted in a vision of dignified, free and equal
existence for all. In my view this is the only way to
reach the objectives that this Organization was created
for.


My country, the Czech
Republic, has always appreciated the role that the
United Nations has played in strengthening security,
stability and prosperity in the world. I want to assure
Members that we will continue to participate in the
activities of the United Nations. We firmly believe in
the importance of this Organization and want it to be
efficient and effective. For that reason, we support the
reform of the Security Council so that it will more
adequately reflect the political and economic realities
of the world today, as some speakers have stressed here
today. Changes are necessary and we are ready to start
discussing them very seriously.
 This year, in our part of the world, we
commemorate 20 years since the fall of communism,
since the moment when my country — together with
other States of Central and Eastern Europe — regained
freedom and sovereignty, and was again able to resume
the place in the community of free and democratic
countries that it enjoyed when the United Nations was
founded in 1945.
 In the 20 years that have passed since those
historic events, we succeeded in building a stable
political democracy and in transforming our economic
system into a functioning free-market economy. I am
mentioning this because I believe that our experience is
relevant to the ongoing discussions about how to solve
the economic problems that the world faces today.
 We are meeting at a time when the world is in the
midst one of the deepest economic crises since the
Second World War. The financial crisis, which
originated in the United States two years ago, quickly
spilled over into most other countries and led to a
severe decline in economic activity all over the world,
a substantial decrease in international trade and capital
flows and an increase in social and economic
instability in a large number of countries on all
continents.
 The United Nations — as a unique worldwide
Organization — and its specialized institutions have
become an important global platform for discussing
alternative steps and policies that could, one hopes,
help to overcome the crisis and diminish its impact.
The measures that have been implemented to date have
contributed to the fact that the world has succeeded in
avoiding a repetition of the situation in the 1930s. We
also succeeded in avoiding a repetition of a massive
protectionist reaction to the crisis. Protectionism in all
its forms should be resolutely condemned here today.
 We see the first signs that the economic crisis has
reached bottom, or come close to it. Nevertheless, we
find ourselves at the beginning of a difficult and very
complicated post-crisis period. There are many reasons
for the fragility and vulnerability of this phase, but I
should like to refer to just a few.
 First, attempts to increase aggregate demand led
to unprecedented expansion in public expenditure and
public debt. As a result, a large number of United
Nations Member States are facing or approaching a
debt trap. Those huge fiscal deficits will harm future
economic growth. Secondly, international flows of
private capital, which contributed so substantially to
rapid economic growth in recent decades, are
decreasing and becoming less reliable. Thirdly, a
decrease in international trade will undermine the
continuation of export-oriented strategies of many
emerging markets.
 It would be a tragic mistake to fundamentally
impair economic freedom in favour of State or
supra-State regulation just now. Long-term experience
shows us that it is thanks to free markets and free
entrepreneurship that we enjoy the current material
well-being and economic progress. Business cycles,
accompanied by economic downturns, recessions and

23 09-52228

crises, did exist, do exist and will exist in the future. In
spite of them, the world has been — at least in the past
two centuries — characterized primarily by economic
growth and growing prosperity.
 When looking for an appropriate reaction to the
problems connected with the current crisis, we should
build on the idea that the crisis was basically a failure
of Governments, not of markets. The manipulation of
monetary policy in an attempt to artificially prolong
the period of growth, the irrational subsidization of
demand in the housing sector and the failures in
financial-market regulation contributed substantially to
the crisis. Let us not delude ourselves into believing
that economic cycles and their consequences can be
prevented by more extensive Government regulation or
by aiming at global governance of the world economy.
 This issue has its important territorial and
geographic aspects as well. We have to pay attention to
the needs and interests of all kinds of countries — rich
and poor, developed and developing. Global economic
development will benefit from the removal of barriers,
not from creating new ones, because barriers would
substantially complicate poorer countries’ access to
foreign markets, as well as their ability to develop by
their own means.
 Economic recession and large increases in public
debt have reduced the possibilities available to today’s
world to meet such goals as combating climate change.
I do not intend to go into details of this issue here now,
but we should carefully follow it because of unfinished
scientific debate and pay attention to the costs and
benefits of our future decisions.
 I do, however, want to emphasize that the
measures proposed to combat climate change represent
another heavy burden for both developed countries,
which are falling into deep fiscal deficits now, and for
developing countries. This is happening in a context in
which rich countries, often pushing this agenda at
international forums, are losing their ability to
compensate poorer countries for the impact of those
additional costs.
 The Czech Republic, as a successor State to
Czechoslovakia, which was one of the founding
Members of the United Nations, has always
participated actively in all kinds of United Nations
activities. It intends to do so in the future as well. It is
in our interest that the Organization remains a
respected high-level forum that contributes to
prosperity, stability and peaceful solutions to the
conflicts of today’s world.