On
behalf of the Eastern Republic of Uruguay, I would
like to congratulate my friend Ambassador Vuk
Jeremić on his election to preside over the work of the
General Assembly during its sixty-seventh session. His
experience, competence and reliability will be crucial
in ensuring that the most representative body of the
United Nations effectively fulfils its duties. We assure
him of the full support of Uruguay.
The focus of the General Assembly this year
on the promotion of the rule of law at national and
international levels is extremely relevant, and I take
this opportunity to welcome the declaration adopted
by the General Assembly on Monday on that matter
(resolution 67/1). Respect for and promotion of the rule
of law at the national and international levels are two
sides of the same coin, which has the well-being of the
individual as its raison d’étre. It means also that neither
individuals nor States are above the law, but are subject
to it. Uruguay considers rule of law a constitutive element
of the social contract that sustains its democratic system
and that stands out as a pillar of its foreign policy. It
is important to stress that this was not motivated by
foreign influence, nor did it come through the adoption
of an abstract political model from outside. Rather, it
was the result of a profound internal process of building
and organizing the free coexistence of our people.
The principle of juridical equality of States,
like equality among individual people, is one of
the fundamental principles of our Organization,
guaranteeing to all the same right to participate in
the responsibilities of the international community,
independent of the power possessed by each nation. It
is precisely in respect of this principle that our country
rejects any coercive unilateral or extraterritorial
measure that contravenes the rules of international law
and the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The clearest contemporary example of such a measure
is the embargo unfairly set against the Republic of
Cuba.
The principle of the self-determination of
peoples — understood as a collective right that must be
observed in a manner analogous to respect for freedom
of the individual at the domestic level — is also an
essential pillar of the rule of law. That freedom, which
includes freedom of expression and other fundamental
freedoms, is closely related to the effective operation of
democratic institutions.
In that respect, and without prejudice to reaffirming
that any attempt at the partial or total disruption of the
national unity or territorial integrity of a country is
incompatible with the purposes and principles of the
Charter of the United Nations, Uruguay has always
defended the right to self-determination of peoples
as a key principle for the international coexistence
of States. It reiterates its desire for a peaceful, just,
sustainable and mutually accepted solution of the
question of Western Sahara, based on international law
and resolutions of the General Assembly and Security
Council and respectful of the human rights and the will
of the Saharan people.
An independent judicial system, to which all
persons have access on the basis of the principle of
equality before the law, is necessary for the genuine
rule of law. Projecting this concept of the State and
of the law beyond our borders is a vocation for peace
and the peaceful settlement of disputes, of which my
country was an early promoter. My country showed its firm commitment to those values and principles
already at the Hague Conference of 1907, where it tried
to introduce compulsory international arbitration, and
also in 1921, when it became the first country to legally
accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the Permanent
Court of International Justice, under only the condition
of reciprocity.
The strenuous efforts of the international
community to build a fair system and to achieve greater
balance among countries and greater well-being for
their societies have not yet achieved the necessary
ethical and policy solutions.
Recently we have seen what appears to be an era
of change in some regions of the world. Peoples are
seeking their freedom with the means they have at
hand, with a legitimate desire to achieve democracy
and greater well-being. Political actions of peoples
seeking new alternatives of power have come up
against those who are better organized politically and
who thus will prevail, as they have always prevailed.
Those who have now assumed power must be aware of
their responsibilities towards those peoples.
Eradicating tyranny, consolidating peace and
making social benefits available to everyone are
enormous challenges. The task is to build real
democracies, and to build them with all of the
contradictions, differences and difficulties that exist
within a society.
Even in our region we have received threats with a
major ideological component. The attempted coup d’état
in Ecuador and the breakdown of the democratic order
in Paraguay have shown that Governments of change
have been affected in the development of their policies.
The rule of law and democracy are not acquired values;
rather, they must be defended each day as precious
goods.
Recent events such as what happened in Paraguay
demonstrate that the rule of law is still threatened and
that despite progress in terms of democratic institutions
in all our nations, threats to the full exercise of
fundamental rights and democratic values persist.
That represents a great challenge to our aspiration
to strengthen the integration and development of our
countries, making the defence of the rule of law and
the democratic order a necessary and unavoidable
condition.
Despite the great changes that have afflicted
humanity, the international system continues to work hard, yet it does not resolve the problems, or resolves
them unfairly. It has been unable to create equal
financial or commercial opportunities. Even today, it
is not a priority to invest in countries’ human resources
according to their specific needs. The political system
has acted to control or decide political destinies, rather
than to ensure the security or well-being of the people.
Those who suffered before are suffering now. Powerful
countries still threaten or intervene in other countries.
We have written about values and principles and
have incorporated them in our constitutions. We have
preached in many ways about what is good for everyone.
But we have not succeeded in meeting the basic needs
of billions of poor people, nor have we guaranteed
them programmes for health, education, housing or
employment.
The basis of social justice has not changed. It is
peace, it is freedom, because without that we cannot be
actively aware of noble causes that require that one not
be dominated or oppressed — and without that, there is
nothing. It is dignified housing that protects a family,
work with dignity at a fair wage, the right to education
and the responsibility of each individual. It is the health
care that can save the 7 million children under 5 years
of age who die each year around the world and that
cares for the elderly, for women and for the destitute.
What is truly revolutionary is to change the
conditions of life for those who cannot fully enjoy their
rights, because our political ideal must be, essentially,
the human dimension. The solution requires that the
system provide each person the greatest guarantees of
his political rights and that it be fair with regard to the
obligations and responsibilities in that respect.
The greatest freedom implies the greatest
responsibility. Each person, as both an individual
and part of the community, must receive, possess and
enjoy the rights that are fundamental to ensuring the
well-being of all as a way to transform solutions into
reality. The struggle for transformation determines
the struggle of each person to find a solution for his
problems. Resolving the issues inherent in poverty,
lack of freedom or impediments to the enjoyment of
economic, social and cultural rights requires concrete,
urgent and immediate action.
Almost 200 years ago, someone declared that
the most unfortunate would be the most privileged.
His thinking was truly revolutionary, but there was
something in it even more revolutionary, because he took on the task of orchestrating and executing
the changes that would provoke the redistribution of
resources. He took his solutions to the most needy:
widows with children, children, and poor blacks,
zambos and creoles.
Development requires change. The present day has
given us, as a fundamental condition of our projects,
insoluble problems such as poverty, malnutrition,
overcrowding, unemployment, child mortality and
other socioeconomic scourges that still afflict most of
humanity. Therefore, this system requires a change,
and the only way to carry it out is to transform reality.
Our responsibilities as a community of nations
cannot be avoided, as some of those problems occur as
a natural result of the conditions and characteristics of
relations among States. The international context tends
to concentrate wealth, efficiency and competitiveness
and has no mechanisms to redistribute the resources in
a fair and efficient manner that would provide a roof to
every homeless person, a plate of food to every hungry
person or break the chains of the oppressed. The
international system is based on the struggle of national
interests for a more powerful position, and that means
that the concentration of power becomes ever greater.
Everyone is aware that countries such as ours
operate within highly competitive international markets,
that we do not determine prices, that commodity prices
f luctuate thus altering our national export matrix, and
that we are exposed to successive financial crises.
Continuing with this line of thought, it is essential to
prioritize Uruguay’s involvement in the international
community, integrating international aspects of the
country’s issues in the areas of agriculture, industry,
commercialization and financing, all with the purpose
of eliminating poverty, achieving social justice and
firmly establishing primary education. Among other
things, this requires reducing or eliminating the
distortions that pose obstacles to commercial exchange,
particularly agriculture subsidies, internal supports and
other protectionist measures that prevent international
trade from becoming a factor that contributes to solving
the financial crisis that is currently affecting the global
economy.
Economic and social development requires the
stability and predictability that the rule of law ensures.
The United Nations has grasped that reality, and it is
encouraging to see that strengthening the rule of law,
and the institutions whose job it is to implement that rule of law, is central to the tasks of the Organization’s
various peacekeeping, peacebuilding and special
political missions, including the United Nations
Stabilization Mission in Haiti, to which Uruguay is a
principal contributor.
Our historical belief that a national society must be
ruled by law means that we believe that the community
of sovereign nations should regulate itself in conformity
with international law. In that context, it is Uruguay’s
hope that the international community can take
effective steps towards eliminating nuclear weapons
and focus its efforts on eliminating this terrible threat
still hanging over humankind. Similarly, we call for
redoubled efforts to enable us finally to conclude a
treaty regulating the arms trade, which has a serious
impact on Latin American and Caribbean countries and
other developing regions of the world.
Regarding the promotion and protection of human
rights, Uruguay’s coordination with the international
system has reached a very high level. Our country is
party to all legal instruments relating to human rights
and international humanitarian law. It offers an open
invitation to all universal and inter-American special
procedures to visit the country and recognizes the
binding jurisdiction of all monitoring committees for
receiving individual complaints and communications.
At the same time, Uruguay has expressed its preference
for establishing international jurisdictional bodies
and institutions. Our country’s longtime goal in this
area was realized at the regional level through the
establishment in 1969 of the Inter-American Court of
Human Rights under the San José de Costa Rica Pact.
Uruguay has been a member of the Human Rights
Council since its creation in 2006 and is its President
for the period 2011-2012. During our mandate, we
have advocated for a new culture of dialogue, for the
progressive and incremental utilization of special
procedures and other instruments for action before
resorting to coercive or confrontational measures, for
a two-way cooperative model between States and the
United Nations system, for greater regional coordination
and for the importance of civil society’s participation.
We have promptly, clearly and constructively expressed
our position on situations involving serious violations
of human rights, ethnic cleansing, crimes against
humanity and war crimes.
Uruguay has been a party to the Rome Statute since
2002 and has enacted a law that can be seen as a model
of cooperation with the International Criminal Court. Seven years ago, when the Assembly was
considering the concept of the responsibility to protect,
we committed to ending mass atrocities, giving priority
to prevention and aiding States that so requested to
comply fully with their responsibilities to protect their
peoples from such scourges and to respond speedily
and decisively in accordance with the provisions of the
United Nations Charter.
We firmly condemn the serious violations of
human rights that are taking place in Syria. The
situation has deteriorated and the suffering of the
civilian population has become intolerable. We support
the work of the independent international commission
of inquiry established by the Human Rights Council,
which in its most recent report (A/HRC/21/50) states
that there is reason to believe that Government forces
are committing crimes against humanity. All violence
in Syria must cease immediately; it is essential that
we establish a process of dialogue aimed at reaching a
peaceful solution. Uruguay supports the mediator role
of the United Nations within a framework of a strict
respect for international law and the principles of the
Charter. The protection of civilians is a multifaceted
task, of which the most sensitive and important aspect
is protecting those facing imminent danger of physical
violence.
Through its firm commitment to peacekeeping
operations, Uruguay has played and will continue to play
a proactive and constructive role both at Headquarters
and on the ground. Nevertheless, we must make greater
efforts and work for better coherence among all the
actors involved in order to eliminate or minimize as
far as possible the numbers of civilian victims of armed
conflicts.
Human rights are universal, interdependent and
indivisible. Ensuring that they are enforced, protected
and promoted is possible only through a firmly
established rule of law and well-functioning democratic
institutions, democracy, good governance and a more
effective multilateral system.
It is essential that the United Nations adapt to
global challenges, guarantee its presence on the ground
and respond to all the challenges faced by developing
countries in accordance with their priorities and
needs. It is thus imperative that development processes
emphasize one of the greatest threats to the rule of
law and democracy — poverty, particularly extreme
poverty, which causes instability and insecurity. Our country has given absolute priority to combating that
scourge purposefully and head on. In the past year
alone, Uruguay was able to reduce the percentage of
people living in poverty from 18.6 to 13.7 per cent, and
of those in extreme poverty from 1.1 to 0.5 per cent.
Combating the adverse effects of climate change, a key
challenge to achieving sustainable development, is also
one of our priorities.
Now more than ever, we must revitalize our global
alliance for development and increase international
cooperation.
Finally, if the strength and sustainability of the
rule of law at the national level depend on the active
participation of citizens in defending the standards
that ensure every society’s continued coexistence and
development, at the international level it requires full
compliance with the principles of international law and
the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations and
strong commitment to the causes of peace, the peaceful
settlement of disputes and multilateralism. That is the
main goal that Uruguay has pursued during the process
of building the United Nations, both as a founding
Member and through its participation in the activities
of the General Assembly. It is our ambition to continue
those efforts from within the Security Council should
our country be elected, as we hope, to that body as a
non-permanent member for the period 2016-2017.


I congratulate the President on his election to preside
over this session of the General Assembly. I respectfully
offer him the support of the Panamanian delegation
during his tenure. We welcome his proposal to focus
this high level debate on the theme “Bringing about
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations by peaceful means”. That theme is based
on Chapter VI of the United Nations Charter, which
addresses the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Since its establishment, the United Nations
has played an essential role in the prevention and resolution of international conflicts. The commitment
of the United Nations continues to be to protect future
generations from the scourge of war and to ensure that
peace and respect among nations are the permanent
conditions for global coexistence.
International conflicts have always been and will
remain a challenge for the international community
and a grave threat to freedom and the right to enjoy a
peaceful coexistence among all the nations and peoples
of the world. That is why all the countries of the world
have the responsibility to ensure the maintenance of
international peace and security.
The Panamanian people possess the strong
conviction and the commitment to use all existing
peaceful means to solve international conflicts on the
basis of the United Nations Charter and international
law. Those are simple truths that are easily forgotten,
but which we all must defend. They are the basic
condition for our existence in full peace, freedom and
independence.
Panama advocates for the solution of all international
conflicts by peaceful means. We support the promotion
and defence of multilateralism and of all multilateral
organizations as ideal frameworks for solving, through
dialogue and cooperation, the problems that afflict
humankind so that we may thereby maintain peace and
international peace and security.
The search for mediation and dialogue has
been the stance that Panama has historically always
maintained with regard to the conflicts that disturb
peace and international political stability. That search
must include legitimate representatives of the parties
in conflict, who must make efforts to recognize the
rights of their counterparts and comply with their own
obligations, with sincerity and a generous spirit, to
reach just and permanent solutions.
For that reason, the Government of the Republic
of Panama considers that Palestine has the right to be
recognized as a nation-State. However, it must resolve
its differences with its neighbour, Israel, recognizing
that Israel has the right to a peaceful and safe existence
within its national territory — a right that has already
been recognized historically and legally by the
international community.
Panama expresses its concern at the escalating
violence that has been developing in the Middle East
and calls upon the international community to propose and attempt to enforce plans and solutions oriented
towards peace, contributing to ending violent acts that
affect the most vulnerable populations.
The Government of the Republic of Panama
expresses is concerned about the severe crisis that has
affected the fraternal Syrian Arab Republic for over
a year. We therefore respectfully remind all parties
involved that peaceably resolving conflicts is the only
means acceptable to the community of nations and
peoples of the world for achieving a just and permanent
solution.
The Panamanian people deeply deplore the
murder of His Excellecy Mr. J. Christopher Stevens,
Ambassador of the United States of America to Libya,
as well as the Foreign Service personnel who were
victims of the nefarious attack against the American
Consulate in Benghazi. Our prayers and thoughts are
with their families. Panama energetically condemns
such actions, which cause sorrow and grief to a friendly
nation and which violate the fundamental principles of
international law, particularly the Charter of the United
Nations and the Vienna Conventions on Diplomatic and
Consular Relations.
The recent attacks on the diplomatic missions of
the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom,
Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Israel and France are absolutely
unjustifiable. We reiterate that host States have an
obligation to ensure the principle of the inviolability of
the diplomatic and consular missions of the world and
to safeguard international peace and security, as they
are the source of communication and understanding.
We call loudly and clearly for tolerance, dialogue and
peaceful coexistence,
The Republic of Panama is convinced that all
international conflicts should be settled by peaceful
means, using the instruments and mechanisms that
have been created for those purposes. For that reason,
Panama formally joined the Group of Friends of
Mediation, demonstrating its historic commitment to
the peaceful solution of conflicts, which is the central
topic of this debate at the current session of the General
Assembly.
As a firm believer that dialogue is a powerful tool
for facilitating peace and the international political
stability so necessary to ensure economic and social
development for our peoples, Panama wishes to reiterate
its call, as it has done on other occasions, to support the
Chinese people in Taiwan so that they may have greater  participation as observers in international forums,
organizations and initiatives and may cooperate and
support the development and maintenance of peace
both in Asia and other parts of the world.
Panama is a multicultural country where people
of diverse ethnicities, cultures and religions coexist
in peace and harmony and which has historically
maintained friendly relations with States of different
political and ideological orientations. I am speaking
of a demilitarized country, one that by virtue of its
domestic law adheres to the doctrine of human security
and that possesses a canal that is neutral. In addition,
Panama has tradition and experience as a participant
in efforts for the peaceful solution of international
controversies. Those conditions are our guarantee and
asset in advocating for a world that is peaceful and
respectful of international law.
Panama continues to be committed to
multilateralism, dialogue and negotiation among States
as the only way to seek and achieve just solutions in
global affairs. As a part of this commitment, in 2013 we
will host a series of important international meetings at
the global and regional levels.
Panama will welcome the International Congress
of the Spanish Language, an event of a universal
character and a forum for the ref lection on the status
of the Spanish tongue, which shapes our identity as
a nation and unites the peoples of Hispanic America.
In 2013, Panama will also host the Conference of the
States Parties to the United Nations Convention against
Corruption. That demonstrates that the fight against
corruption and the promotion of transparency are
essential elements of the modern rule of law to which
my Government is fully committed.
We will also host the fifty-fourth annual meeting
of the Board of Governors of the Inter-American
Development Bank, at which ministers of economy and
finance, central bank presidents and representatives of
various multilateral financial institutions will discuss
topics related to their financial appointments.
In addition, we will host the Americas
Competitiveness Forum, which will address the issue
of the development of the region’s competitiveness
agenda on the basis of the 10 general competitiveness
principles of the Americas.
We will also host the Ibero-American summit,
which will bring together the 22 States of Latin
America and those of the Iberian peninsula. That
summit represents an effort, involving dialogue and
cooperation, to foster the development of our countries
by opening up new markets and new opportunities
for trade and cooperation with the peoples and the
countries of Europe.
The international meetings set to take place in 2013
will be held in the context of the celebration of a historic
event that marks Panamians to this day. I note that
today is the anniversary of that event — the discovery
of a passage, through our country, to the Pacific Ocean.
Today — 25 September — marks almost 500 years since
the so-called discovery of the South Sea, later known as
the Pacific Ocean, a feat that changed the geography of
world navigation and the history of humanity.
With the discovery of a passage from the Atlantic
to the Pacific, we saw the beginning of a process of
economic and demographic globalization around the
world. From that moment on, Panama began to play
an important role in global navigation and trade that
continues today. Since then, Panama has become the
primary hub of the Americas. Indeed, it is one of the
most important telecommunications and navigation
routes in the world.
We continue to make good progress in the expansion
of the Panama Canal and Tocumen international
airport, which will become the largest airport in Latin
America. Both of those projects will make it possible
to further develop the Panama Canal route and will
have a tremendous impact on international trade and
on tourism.
The feat accomplished by Vasco Núñez de Balboa
on 25 September 1513 helped to forge Panama’s
character as a country dedicated to the global transit of
goods, and, with the construction of the Canal, it was
consolidated as the hub of worldwide maritime trade.
There is no magic formula for the resolution of
conflicts. Nor do the global conditions exist for the
complete fulfilment of Chapter VI of the Charter of the
United Nations, on the peaceful settlement of disputes.
The world still has some important steps to take in
order to ensure that dialogue is always the means of
adjudicating differences. There must be a commitment
at the State level for meeting that goal.
One of the major steps forward we must take is
in the area of education. Education not only sets us
free: it makes us free thinkers. It helps us understand and respect different ideas. It provides us with an
opportunity to be dreamers. Through education we can
learn to value cultures that might seem strange to us;
being different does not make us enemies. But in order
to understand this in an all-encompassing way, we need
a good and objective education.
Access to information through the Internet and
social networks is an indispensable tool to raise the
level of knowledge and discernment among all peoples.
While I advocate for the responsible use of those
tools, I think that we have to go further. I believe that
we must also address the issues of equality and self-
esteem, which help distance us from resentment and
violence. Once again, education is the answer.
Such intangible wealth leads us to honest
competition. The substitution of competition for
violence can be achieved only through a modernization
process in which our principles are preserved. A good
education is one that is built upon a foundation of ethics
and values. Money is not the best type of assistance
we can give our children. The best assistance we can
give them is an education that is divorced from politics,
passions and paradigms. That is the only way to achieve
excellence.
We must focus our educational efforts on young
children. Good, balanced primary education is the base
of a solid pyramid. Educating our children properly
today is the best guarantee of a better future for all
tomorrow.
Without education, there is no possibility of
dialogue and vice versa. That is the reason for my
Government’s focus on the well-being of Panamanian
children through the improvement of our schools
and classrooms; the creation of a free national
Internet network; the provision of free computers; the
implementation of a universal scholarship, without any
distinction on the basis of class or politics; and, finally,
the transformation of our educational curriculum.
However, access to information must be provided
to children in keeping with their developmental stage,
respecting the fact that they are children and requiring
that they do the best they can for their age. To respect
children is to harvest peace.
As I stated at the recent Connect Americas Summit,
held in our country in July, we must continue to harness
our respective wills to reduce the digital divide and to
maximize Internet access around the world. Every step in that direction will be key to the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals by 2015.
Nevertheless, I remain uneasy about the risks
posed by the misuse of cyberspace for boys, girls and
adolescents.
Our job will not be finished if we do not assume the
responsibility of facing up to one of the most significant
ethical and moral challenges of our time: the protection
of children and young people from the threat posed to
them by the misuse of cyberspace.
For that reason, we support the initiative promoted
by the International Telecommunications Union in that
respect. I also invite all States represented here to share
their experiences in order to establish and harmonize, on
the basis of international telecommunications criteria,
norms that will allow us to ensure that minors are no
longer exposed to the risks and dangers disseminated
through cyberspace. That should in no way be
interpreted as a means of limiting or distorting freedom
of expression or the universal use of the Internet, which
we defend firmly and with great conviction.
Panama is preparing draft legislation in order
to establish minimum regulations geared towards
protecting our children and adolescents from the
dangerous content spread through the Internet and
other electronic media. We are currently working
to pass that legislation based on consensus with all
of Panamanian society. We must become allies and
close ranks against Internet sites that promote child
pornography and pornography in general, obscene and
lascivious conduct, and physical, sexual and emotional
violence.
Let us combine efforts and take concerted action
against sites that facilitate the making of weapons or
explosives, that incite illegal drug use, and that promote
racism, xenophobia or any other type of discrimination
that runs contrary to human dignity.
Let us take measures against those who dedicate
themselves to making public, using and disseminating
minors’ personal information and to making threats of
all kinds against our boys, girls and adolescents. Let us
harness information and communications technology
for the benefit of development and to ensure a better
quality of life for our children, and let us not allow the
benefits of accessing the Internet to put them at risk.
The Government of the Republic of Panama
supports the international community and the United Nations through two large-scale projects. The first is
the United Nations Regional Centre for Latin America
and the Caribbean in Panama, which will host the 16
United Nations subregional offices already established
in our country. That Centre will contribute to greater
coordination and synergy within the United Nations
system, thereby contributing to its operational process,
as outlined in the report of the High-level Pannel on
United Nations System-wide Coherence, “Delivering as
One” (see A/61/583). We invite friendly nations who are
committed to those reforms to financially contribute to
that project, which will soon be open to international
bidding. The other project is the regional humanitarian
assistance logistics centre for the Americas for the
delivery of humanitarian aid in the event of disasters in
the region. Panama is committed to being a responsible
humanitarian actor in the region, and we place our
advantages as an international logistical platform at the
disposal of the international community.
Panama’s economic growth is widely recognized
throughout our region. From 2012 to 2013, Panama
moved up nine places — from 49 to 40 — in the Global
Competitiveness Index, which represents our biggest
jump in that ranking since 2005, when our country
began to be monitored by the World Economic Forum.
Such an increase indicates we are doing things well.
Panama’s economic growth is the greatest in
Latin America. It is based on free market principles,
is respectful of the environment, social standards and
free enterprise initiatives, and is strongly committed
to social inclusion. That has made it possible for us to
significantly reduce unemployment in our country to
4.6 per cent and to reduce poverty, including extreme
poverty, from 33.4 per cent to 25.8 in just three years,
without compromising the riches of our environment.
At the same time, our economic growth allows us to
allocate resources to confront the threats of climate
change, which is affecting and will continue to affect
large and small nations without regard for their level
of development. We all need to be more responsible in
that regard.
Panama will continue to advocate for the
international community to work on an institutional and
multilateral structure that would reinforce the rights of
all people to a planet with an environment suitable for
the development of a healthful and peaceful life. We
will insist on a new high-level discussion forum on
the protection of the environment in the context of the
General Assembly.

Finally, Panama reaffirms that it is a country that
favours peaceful and respectful coexistence among
all the peoples and Governments of the world. We
Panamanians believe that humankind will always be
capable of fighting for that cause, united by the hope
that we can all build a better tomorrow. There is still
time to share, as brothers, in the feast of existence on a
peaceful planet that truly belongs to all.


I wish at the outset to express my sincere gratitude
for being given the honour of speaking from this lofty
rostrum.
Allow me first of all to convey to the members of
the Assembly and to the peoples of their countries the
greetings and wishes for peace and prosperity of His
Excellency the President of Turkmenistan, Gurbanguly
Berdimuhamedov.
Allow me to congratulate His Excellency Vuk
Jeremić on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to wish him
every success in his upcoming critical work. I would
also like to express appreciation to His Excellency Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, for the skilful and
effective manner in which he carried out his duties.
Today the international community is witness to
complex, multifaceted processes in geopolitics, the
global economy and the humanitarian sphere. Serious
environmental problems challenge us with their
unprecedented urgency. It is no exaggeration to say that
major global issues related to energy supplies acquiring
universal importance. All of these require a constructive
and effective response on the part of the United Nations
and the elaboration of appropriate international
mechanisms aimed at maximizing the effective use
of existing political, financial, organizational and
other resources, so as to overcome existing problems
and challenges, enhance mutual understanding and
trust, and reaffirm the irreversibility of the process of
sustainable development of all the peoples of our planet.
Objectively speaking, energy security is
fundamental to the stable and conflict-free development
of today’s world. As a leading energy provider with
the fourth-largest reserves of hydrocarbon resources,
Turkmenistan legitimately and consistently calls for
the establishment of a sound and reliable international
energy supply system and the drawing up of plans
and projects for cooperation in world energy markets
appropriate to modern realities. We believe that it is
now time for the United Nations to adopt consensus
decisions on universal political and legal mechanisms
to govern global energy cooperation.
As members know, at previous General Assembly
sessions, the President of Turkmenistan launched a
number of initiatives on energy security and mutually
beneficial cooperation in the energy sector. The realities
of modern life affirm the relevance of such initiatives.
As a step towards those initiatives, Turkmenistan
proposes that States Members of the United Nations
consider in depth the establishment of an international
legal framework to govern the operation of an energy
supply system, taking into due account the interests
of hydrocarbon producers and transit and recipient
nations.
As a first step in that direction, we believe that
it would be appropriate to draw up a draft resolution
during this session on the establishment of an
expert group to develop the relevant United Nations
international instrument. At the same time, we look
forward to constructive engagement with all States Members of the United Nations, which, we believe,
would significantly help to find common approaches
to solving one of the most urgent problems of modern
development.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, held in June this year, clearly identified
the need to strengthen our efforts on ecological issues
and environmental protection. Speaking at the meeting,
the President of Turkmenistan noted that, at the
institutional level, today’s main objective is to merge
and complement existing global, regional and national
instruments.
It is no secret that the Central Asian and Caspian
Sea regions have difficult environmental conditions.
We think that the efforts made to date to improve
the situation are clearly insufficient. We need a joint
and results-oriented action plan that combines the
use of scientific, technological, political, diplomatic,
administrative and technical measures for effective
outcomes in that direction. We therefore propose setting
up, in cooperation with the United Nations, a regional
centre for climate change technologies in Central
Asia and the Caspian basin. We believe that such a
structure would enable the countries in those regions
to significantly strengthen cooperation on ecological
safety. It would promote the effective coordination of
national, regional and international efforts and would
further mutual understanding and confidence-building
towards achieving sustainable development goals.
With regard to international politics, Turkmenistan
gives particular attention to the issues of peace and
security and to ensuring sustainable development. In
that context, one of the main challenges facing the
international community today is the need for our joint
efforts to ensure non-proliferation and disarmament.
As a party to the principal international treaties and
United Nations conventions in that field, Turkmenistan
expects to continue to fully support global disarmament
processes.
We believe that it is relevant to pursue the
multilateral dialogue on the validity of the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We propose
that a high-level consultative meeting be held next year,
under the auspices of the United Nations, to discuss
steps to expand the international non-proliferation legal
framework. Turkmenistan’s initiative is particularly
relevant to the practical implementation of steps
towards a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia.
As we know, the agenda of the sixty-seventh session includes an item on a nuclear-weapon-free zone in
Central Asia.
Our country is ready to actively cooperate with the
Office of the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament
Affairs and to participate in a number of initiatives
in that regard. Given that further improving relevant
United Nations agencies may be one practical step in
implementing consistent disarmament measures, we
think it appropriate to consider the establishment of a
United Nations subregional centre for disarmament in
Asia.
Strengthening comprehensive, targeted and long-
term cooperation with the United Nations is a strategic
choice of Turkmenistan and a priority of its foreign
policy. As an important part of that cooperation,
our country is considering participating in United
Nations activities to ensure human development, better
living standards and people’s well-being; to establish
conditions conducive to global economic and social
growth; to utilize human creativity; and to promote
people’s rights and freedoms.
In pursuing those lofty goals and striving to
contribute, where possible, to their achievement,
Turkmenistan has announced its candidacy for
membership of the Economic and Social Council for
the period 2013-2015. That decision was made on the
basis of the country’s current progress in the political,
socioeconomic, cultural and other fields, its active role
in international processes and its understanding of the
responsibilities inherent to membership of the Council.
If elected, Turkmenistan plans to use all available
means to improve international cooperation for the
effective implementation of sustainable development
goals. At the same time, Turkmenistan will actively
contribute to strengthening the Economic and Social
Council by expanding its role in addressing the urgent
issue of global socioeconomic development.
The most important element of the modern system
of international relations is humanitarian cooperation.
To underscore that the humanitarian component is at
the centre of the highest principles and values of the
community of nations, our country will continue to
promote its cooperation with the United Nations on
protecting human rights and on establishing conditions
conducive to human development. On that basis,
given that the United Nations plays a major role in the
comprehensive development of humanity and bearing in
mind the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, we believe it appropriate during this sixty-
seventh session to consider including the humanitarian
issues on the United Nations international agenda as a
separate issue.
In that context, Turkmenistan proposes establishing
a United Nations platform of action for humanitarian
affairs with a view to it becoming the political and
legal basis for the consolidation of the international
community’s humanitarian efforts. We believe that
such a holistic approach will enable us to galvanize
the activities of United Nations agencies, to develop
long-term solutions in line with international law
and General Assembly resolutions, and to ensure the
practical implementation of United Nations conventions
on humanitarian matters.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that our
foreign policy, which is based on our love of peace,
on neutrality and on broad international cooperation,
together with the constructive positions advocated
by our country, form a solid basis for Turkmenistan’s
work in the United Nations. In that spirit, we will rely
on broad cooperation with all countries of the world
in order to strengthen and develop a comprehensive
international partnership.


On behalf of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,
let me congratulate President Jeremić on his election
as President of the General Assembly. He can count on
the full support of my country as he assumes this major
responsibility.
The General Assembly is the central body of the
United Nations architecture. Here all Member States
are represented, and each has a vote, irrespective
of its size, its population or its economic power. The
Assembly truly is the concert of nations embodying
the principle of the sovereign equality of all Member
States. To President Jeremić, the conductor of the
concert of States here assembled, we wish inspiration,
passion and wisdom.
Luxembourg is proud to have been part, since the
very beginning, of the peace project that is the United
Nations.
Our then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Joseph
Beck, in presenting the Charter of the United Nations
Charter — signed a few weeks earlier in San Francisco —
to the Luxembourg Parliament on 9 August 1945, spoke
the following visionary words:
“It is in the work of the United Nations that our
country found the hope of rebirth in its darkest
hour; it is within the United Nations that it has
taken up its place as an independent State, as a free
country; it is among these peaceful countries, just
united by the Organization of San Francisco in the
wonderful hope of a lasting peace, that it will find
the guarantees of a future which are necessary for
its renewal”.
History has vindicated him. Determined, with the
other peoples of the United Nations, to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war, Luxembourg
found in the United Nations and in multilateralism
in general the ideal framework to flourish as an
independent, sovereign State, free to choose for
itself. Luxembourg has been able to prosper thanks
to the peace it has enjoyed since 1945. In return, we
have resolutely committed ourselves, within the
United Nations, to contribute to building peace and
to promoting sustainable development for the greatest
number possible.
President Jeremić has rightly chosen the peaceful
settlement of disputes as the theme of the general
debate at the current session. It is one of the overarching
objectives of our Organization, aimed at enabling it to
maintain international peace and security. To settle
disputes peacefully, the Charter has attributed a major
role not only to the Security Council, but also to the
General Assembly and to the International Court of
Justice.
The Syrian crisis, which has lasted already 18
months, continues to get worse. It has now claimed more
than 20,000 victims. Repercussions on neighbouring
countries continue to intensify. The crisis is a call on
our collective conscience and puts our commitment to
the test. Some are tempted to accuse the United Nations
of inaction. However, the fault lies elsewhere. Those
responsible for the terrifying violence, the war crimes,
the egregious human rights violations and crimes
against humanity committed in Syria will one day
have to answer for them. Such is Luxembourg’s firm
conviction.
The failure to this day of attempts to resolve the
Syrian crisis through peaceful means must not lead
us to neglect the quest for political solutions to other
crises.
Luxembourg has consistently advocated a peaceful
settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That
conflict has been going on for far too long. It is
essential that the parties resume direct negotiations and
negotiate a sustainable peace among themselves, with
the support of the Quartet. The path will no doubt be
arduous, but the objective is worth it for the Israelis, the
Palestinians and the region as a whole. We would like to
see an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable
State of Palestine, living side by side with the State of
Israel in peace and security.
Luxembourg has for many years now supported the
building of the Palestinian State at both the political
and the economic levels. We also support Palestine’s
aspirations to assume its place among the nations of the
world. We provide financial support to the Palestinian
Authority in order to assist it in making its public
administration and basic social services work, and we
are also a reliable partner of the United Nations Relief
and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near
East. Under an agreement signed in February 2012, Luxembourg will provide assistance in the amount of
€15 million to Palestine refugees throughout the period
2012-2015.
Allow me to give a few other examples to illustrate
how Luxembourg is contributing to the peaceful
settlement of international disputes. First, as was
recalled during the High-level Meeting on the Rule of
Law, Luxembourg was one of the very first States to
recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court
of Justice as compulsory. The Court elucidates and
develops international law and thereby strengthens
peaceful relations between States. Next, Luxembourg
supports preventive diplomacy and mediation activities
as well as the good offices undertaken by the United
Nations. Our support in that area also benefits regional
organizations, such as the African Union. Finally,
Luxembourg also supports civil society, as it did
in 2010, when it backed the mediation efforts by the
Community of Sant’Egidio between political and civil
society actors in Guinea and the Niger.
Luxembourg, a multicultural and multilingual State
by virtue of its history, its geographical location and the
composition of its population, has often played the role
of mediator between its large European neighbours and
within the European Union.
Building on a balanced foreign policy, free
from the legacy of a colonial past and defined by
an unwavering commitment to multilateralism,
Luxembourg is at the service of the United Nations
when it comes to playing the role of honest broker and
assuming the responsibilities that come with that role.
In 2009, moreover, Luxembourg had the honour of
chairing the Economic and Social Council at a crucial
juncture marked by the devastating effects of the global
economic and financial crisis of 2008.
My country has also been a linchpin of the
Peacebuilding Commission since its inception in 2005.
Since February 2011, the Permanent Representative of
Luxembourg to the United Nations, Ambassador Sylvie
Lucas, has chaired the Guinea configuration of the
Peacebuilding Commission. Luxembourg is honoured
to be able to marshal the efforts of the international
community in support of the authorities in Conakry,
who have asked to be assisted in three priority areas:
national reconciliation, security sector reform, and
youth and women’s employment. Our commitment
stems from our conviction that we need to adopt a
global approach towards peacebuilding and towards the maintenance of international peace and security — an
approach that recognizes the intrinsic link between
security and development.
Indeed, to ensure lasting peace, one must tackle the
root causes of conflicts. Luxembourg is concentrating
on two of these: social inequalities resulting from
persistent poverty, and the increasing scarcity of natural
resources as a result of climate change.
The fight against poverty is one of our stated
priorities. Since 2000, Luxembourg has reached the goal
set by the United Nations of dedicating at least 0.7 per
cent of its gross national income to official development
assistance. In 2009 and 2010, that assistance exceeded
the threshold of 1 per cent of our gross national income.
The Government of Luxembourg is determined to
maintain that effort despite budgetary constraints. Our
assistance is benefiting the least developed countries
in particular. Here again, we exceed the goal set by the
United Nations by dedicating more than 0.2 per cent
of our gross national income to those countries, the
majority of which are in Africa.
Beyond simple statistics, those figures reflect our
spirit of solidarity towards developing countries. That
spirit drives not only our political decision-makers
and our development cooperation experts but also the
numerous citizens who are acting through civil society
organizations. My family is proud to participate in that
movement of solidarity. My wife, the Grand Duchess,
invests herself fully in the social sector as a UNICEF
Eminent Advocate for Children, notably in Burundi.
She has been passionate about microfinance for many
years and has completed numerous projects in that area.
As the report of the Secretary-General (A/67/1)
highlights, we have achieved, worldwide, some essential
targets of the Millennium Development Goals ahead
of time. However, the effects of global warming are
catastrophic and are threatening to undo the progress
that has been accomplished. In the least developed
countries, the situation is particularly worrisome. It is
therefore essential that we act resolutely in that area.
Progress has been made at the Conferences of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change in Cancún and then in Durban. We
now need further commitments to be made in terms of
reducing carbon emissions. Another major challenge
lies in the mobilization of adequate financial and
technological resources to enable the most vulnerable
countries, in particular, the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island
developing States, to adapt to the effects of climate
change. Luxembourg is acting to meet that challenge.
We have thus decided to join an important programme
of support for renewable energy that would meet the
specific needs of Pacific small island developing States.
I personally attended the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development in Brazil in June in order
to show how high a priority the sustainable development
of our planet is for my country. None of us has the
means to make it on our own. Our interdependence
pushes us to act together. It is a matter of survival. And
it is within the United Nations that we must organize
our collective survival.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention another
priority for Luxembourg in terms of conflict
prevention, namely, disarmament and non-proliferation.
Luxembourg promotes the constant search for security
at the lowest level of armaments. It is a party to all
relevant global and regional treaties and conventions
and, despite the setback that the international
community suffered this year, we remain committed
to working towards an arms trade treaty, which would
help Member States to effectively combat the scourge
of uncontrolled arms circulation.
When conflicts break out despite attempts to
prevent them, Luxembourg does not shy away from
committing itself. My country participates quite
regularly and actively in peacekeeping operations. At
the present time, Luxembourg troops are contributing
to efforts under the United Nations mandate in Kosovo,
Lebanon and Afghanistan. Through its contributions
to European Union missions, Luxembourg has also
assumed responsibilities in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, in the fight against piracy off the coast of
Somalia and in the Sahel region, where the international
community must redouble its efforts to prevent terrorist
groups linked to transnational organized crime from
taking root.
All the areas of action I have touched upon here
show how indispensable the United Nations is. If
we are convinced of the relevance of a multilateral
approach founded on the United Nations, we must
give the Organization the means to be a true centre
of multilateral action. For that, we need to continue
to press ahead with United Nations reform, including
Security Council reform. We are all aware of the need
to make the Security Council more inclusive and more representative of today’s realities and to make it more
effective and transparent by continuing to improve its
working methods.
Africa should finally take its rightful place on the
Council, in particular among the permanent members.
It is also important to ensure adequate representation
for small States, which represent the vast majority of
the Member States of the Organization.
Luxembourg’s action in the United Nations
since 1945 can be summarized by three key words:
commitment, solidarity, responsibility. Yet, although
Luxembourg has consistently proved its solidarity and
commitment and has taken on responsibilities at the
United Nations, it has not ever had the honour of serving
on the Security Council. Building on its commitment to
peacekeeping operations and peacebuilding activities,
Luxembourg declared its candidature 11 years ago
for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for
the period 2013-2014. Luxembourg stands ready to
share primary responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security, which the States
Members of the United Nations have conferred on the
Security Council under the Charter.
Commitment to effective multilateralism does not
depend on size. During his official visit to Luxembourg
on 17 April 2012, when he addressed our Parliament
and thus our country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
made the following eloquent pronouncement:
“You have shown that it is not the size of a nation’s
territory that makes the difference. It is the size of a
nation’s heart. It is the breadth of a nation’s vision.
It is the depth of a nation’s promise to the wider
world.”
That recognition honours us. It has further strengthened
Luxembourg’s resolve to prove itself up to the task and
to serve the United Nations.


I am greatly honoured to deliver my
inaugural address to the General Assembly. Allow me
to begin by congratulating the President on his election
to oversee the sixty-seventh session of the Assembly,
and to wish him every success in his position. His great
country, Serbia, has historically enjoyed close ties with
Zambia. We are therefore delighted to see him in that
important seat.
I would also like to thank His Excellency Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for the steady manner in which
he has continued to steer our global Organization. In
Zambia we are particularly appreciative that, despite
his busy schedule, the Secretary-General made time to
visit our country earlier this year to undertake some
important programmes.
About a year ago, I ended my decade-long career
as an opposition politician when the people of Zambia
overwhelmingly chose to change their political
leadership through a democratic and peaceful electoral
transition that ushered me into office as the fifth
President of the Republic. I am indebted to the people
of Zambia for once again undertaking that process in a
peaceful manner.
It is my desire to utilize my experience at both
ends of the leadership spectrum to make a worthwhile
contribution to our democracy. I trust that Zambia will
be able to share its lessons, as well as to learn from those
with longer and even better democratic experiences.
As the Assembly is aware, we still face considerable
challenges with respect to meeting the basic needs of
the majority of the Zambian people. Shortly before I
took office, there was much publicity about our positive macroeconomic indicators, but those results did not
trickle down to the average citizen.
In the quest to develop at the micro level, the focus
of my new Government is on enhancing agricultural
productivity and access to markets for peasants and
small-scale farmers, providing improved health
services as close to the families as possible, improving
the quality of education and facilitating access to decent
housing and accommodation.
As we draw closer to the 2015 deadline for meeting
the Millennium Development Goals, the international
community needs to maximize its efforts towards
achieving all eight goals. Zambia has made steady
progress in achieving some of them.That is most visible
in the education sector, which has seen an increase in
the net enrolment of children in primary schools, while
the health sector has seen reductions in the prevalence
of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.
Notwithstanding our progress in tackling
communicable diseases, Zambia is also attempting
to address non-communicable diseases such as
hypertension, diabetes and cancer.
While still considering matters related to the
health sector, allow me to mention that my Government
recently reviewed statistics that indicate that Zambia
now has the second-highest rate of cervical cancer in
the world. From 22 to 24 July, our capital, Lusaka,
hosted the sixth annual Stop Cervical Cancer in Africa
Conference, made up by the Forum of African First
Ladies against Breast and Cervical Cancer and the
African Parliamentarians and Health Ministers against
Cancer. Just last year, former United States President
George W. Bush travelled to Lusaka to launch the
Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon campaign against breast and
cervical cancer. He has since facilitated some generous
contributions for the facilities now in place to fight the
diseases. I would like to express the Zambian people’s
deep appreciation for all those efforts. However, the
challenges in the health sector and elsewhere do not end
there, and by no means have we stood by with folded
arms.
Since my Government assumed power, in September
2011, our country has seen reasonable improvements
in our economy, with an inflation rate that is down to
6.6 per cent and a gross domestic product growth rate
of about 6 per cent, in spite of slow global economic
trends. That has been attributed to enhancement of the
investment policy framework and to improvement of the infrastructure and to human capital development.
Despite those efforts, however, 60.5 per cent of the
Zambian people continue to live in poverty.
My Government attaches similar importance to
promoting good governance. As such, we have put
in place a robust anti-corruption programme with
improved and increased resources, which should
set a new stage for our development. In addition, for
the first time, Zambia has entrusted the governance
of our legislative and judicial institutions to our
women. The Inspector-General of Police, the Chief
Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice, the chair of the
anti-corruption commission and the commissioner of
the drug enforcement commission are all women. I
remain convinced that they will improve our record and
surpass the nation’s expectations.
Our national programmes are also focused on
creating employment for our youth. Despite our vast
natural resources, unemployment continues to be the
most pressing problem for the younger generation. We
are therefore looking to improve partnership with the
various United Nations agencies and the rest of the
international community to harness best practices from
across the world. After all, it is the youth of 2012 who
have made Zambia the African football champion.
Our Government has recognized that without the
rule of law, social justice and an independent judicial
system Zambia will not be able to attain sustainable
social and economic development. As an initial step in
that regard, our Government is currently undertaking
a constitutional review process that is intended to
ensure the primacy of the individual citizen and his
liberties. We further wish to speed up the process of
domesticating the international conventions that seek
to bridge the gaps for minorities. Special emphasis will
also be placed on improving the treatment of people
with mental and physical challenges.
Zambia participated in the process leading to the
Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development. Over the years, we have learned to
appreciate the transboundary nature of matters such
as our common environment. I would like to express
appreciation to the Government of Brazil, the Chair of
the Conference and all who made tremendous efforts
to bring about the final outcome document of that
historic conference. We are concerned, however, that
as States Members of the United Nations we missed
the opportunity to develop a formidable international process for promoting sustainable development.
The failure to commit any funds to the means of
implementation, and indeed the little progress in
outlining the sustainable development goals, has
underscored the lack of ambition in addressing our
deteriorating environment, worsening inequality and
a growing global population that shares the Earth’s
limited resources. In that instance, we failed the test for
global solidarity.
Today, Zambia is encouraged that three committed
global citizens have been appointed as co-Chairs of the
Secretary-General’s high-level panel to advise on the
post-2015 global development agenda. We therefore
would like to congratulate His Excellency President
Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono of Indonesia, Her
Excellency President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia
and His Excellency Prime Minister David Cameron of
the United Kingdom. We wish them every success as
they take on that onerous task. We must support the
high-level panel to help recoup the lost opportunities of
the recent past. As I indicated earlier, we are still a long
way from attaining the Millenium Development Goals.
Discarding them entirely would be to the detriment of
the poorer nations. I trust that the Secretary-General’s
panel will take that into consideration.
The theme for this year’s session of the General
Assembly, “Bringing about adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations by peaceful means”,
is undeniably significant in the wake of the turmoil that
continues to threaten international peace and security
with the persistent conflict situations on the African
continent in places such as the Sudan, South Sudan,
Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Somalia. I therefore wish to
report that our Government has in certain instances
supported measures to help mitigate the humanitarian
situation. I urge the international community to
redouble its efforts in bringing peace to those troubled
regions.
Farther afield, but no less important, is the
situation in Syria, which has seen the indiscriminate
killing of many innocent people. There is a need for
concerted efforts to utilize peaceful means, such as
mediation and negotiation, to put a halt to the killings
and to restore peace to the country. Humanity has again
been embarrassed by the unnecessary carnage. Despite
the trouble spots, Zambia remains convinced that the
United Nations has since 1945 performed quite well.
However, circumstances have since changed greatly, and we need only look at the sovereign representation
in this Hall to prove that.
It is therefore imperative that ongoing efforts to
reform the United Nations be approached with renewed
vigour. We are concerned that a seemingly difficult
deadlock has been created in the reform process of the
United Nations.
In addition, I wish to reiterate that despite the slow
process of the reform of the Security Council, Africa
should not relent or become frustrated. We should
stand up and be counted. As enshrined in the Ezulwini
Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, Africa must be
given two permanent seats with a veto immediately
exercisable and two non-permanent seats to correct
the historical injustice that the continent has suffered
and also adhere to the geopolitical realities of modern
times. Furthermore, the Council should improve its
working methods.
I wish to appeal to all nations to renew their
commitment and to strive for new common ground
where individual national interests take a back seat.
Just as many international conventions have been
subject to innovative translations in the recent past, we
must plan to be as flexible in creating a new United
Nations, sooner rather than later. To ignore this need
for transformation would be tantamount to killing the
Organization.


At
the outset, I should like to join previous speakers in
congratulating Mr. Vuk Jeremić and the other members
of the Bureau on his election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I
should like also to congratulate Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser for the work that he accomplished during
his mandate, and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
for his commitment to defending the ideals of our
Organization.
The holding of a session of the General Assembly
offers each of us an opportunity to participate in a
collective process of ref lection on ways and means of
ensuring the success of efforts aimed at peace, security
and development in each of our States and throughout
the world.
President Jeremić has rightly recommended
that interventions during this general debate focus
in particular on the adjustment or settlement of
international disputes by peaceful means. That
recommendation is particularly wise because this is an
issue whose relevance and timeliness are immutable
and which is part and parcel of the process of tirelessly
seeking peace through means other than the use of
force.
World history makes clear the operational validity of
the principle of the peaceful settlement of international
disputes. It also teaches us that processes of dialogue
and negotiation, in order to remain credible as ways of
resolving conflicts and disputes, must be based on truth
and respect for the law and the values and universally
recognized principles. They should guard against both
hasty action and stalemate, and they should demonstrate
effectiveness by producing the hoped-for results, even
if this is done in a gradual manner.
It must be noted that more than 60 years after the
founding of the United Nations, the world continues
to witness many situations of war and instability.
Terrorism is increasing instead of decreasing. Maritime
piracy, which we thought had been eradicated, is once
again becoming one of the main threats to peace
and security. The Middle East is today a hotbed of
tension. Syria is in the throes of bloodshed, and Mali is
witnessing attempts at separatism.
More broadly, as peace is more than just the absence
of war, many scourges still affect humanity. Many are
devoting their creativity and energy to destabilization
and destruction, by means of drug trafficking, trafficking in persons and other violations of the rights
and freedoms of human beings, instead of working for
the prosperity and for individual and collective well-
being.
In addition, for the sake of more than two thirds of
humanity, there is an increasingly urgent need to fight
poverty, ignorance, violence, injustice and diseases of
all kinds, particularly HIV and malaria.
After years of difficulties, my country, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, is in the process
of consolidating of peace and security. To that end, no
effort has been spared, and remarkable progress has
been made. Begun for the first time only 10 years ago
in a country that has had independence for 50 years,
tireless efforts towards democratization, the building
of a State based on the rule of law, the development of
the socioeconomic infrastructure, and the improvement
of the living conditions of our people continue, which is
proof of the determination of the Congolese people and
of its leaders to be a factor of peace and stability.
That momentum, unfortunately, is now under
threat by the enemies of peace. Since March 2012, the
province of North Kivu, in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, where the concepts of peace, stability,
reconciliation, work and human dignity had begun
to regain a foothold, has, sadly, once again gained
notoriety, not because of the incomparable beauty
of its landscape or the extraordinary richness of its
biodiversity, but as an example of the profound evil
that selfishness, extremism, communal violence and
the philosophy of “might makes right” can wreak on
a society.
Even as I address the Assembly today, hundreds
of thousands of children, women and men in North
Kivu are deprived of peace and are being subjected to
inhuman and degrading treatment by negative forces,
led by unrepentant elements with a vast capacity to do
harm and who benefit from external support. Children
are unable to attend school and are forced to carry
and use firearms to kill other children, even their own
brothers and sisters. That situation is unacceptable. It
should be condemned and should give rise to sanctions.
We expect that the community of nations will shoulder
its responsibilities in that respect and that the Security
Council will ensure compliance with its resolutions.
That is a condition for those resolutions to be effective
and remain credible.

We are aware that it is up to us, the Congolese
people, to defend our country and ensure law and order
and security throughout our national territory. We are
determined to assume that responsibility and we intend
to dedicate all of our human, material and financial
resources to that end, even sacrificing our legitimate
ambitions for the emergence of Congo. We also remain
determined to guarantee national cohesion and ensure
equal protection for all Congolese citizens.
At the same time, it is my hope to see the Organization
encourage all Member States, in particular those that are
tempted by violence, to respect the guiding principles
of the Charter of the United Nations.
In conclusion, I would like to thank all those who,
from afar or from close by, bilateral or multilateral
partners, including the United Nations, have assisted us
in our efforts to build at the centre of Africa a Congo
that is united and prosperous and that lives in peace
with itself and with all of its neighbours. I would like
to assure the Assembly of one thing: the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is a safe investment.


At the outset, I
would like to congratulate my good friend, Mr. Vuk
Jeremić, on his election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, and to wish him
every success in fulfilling his highly responsible duties.
We are also grateful to Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser
for presiding ably over the sixty-sixth session.
This is the fi rst general debate that I have addressed
since Azerbaijan was elected to a non-permanent seat
on the Security Council, and I would like to express
our sincere gratitude and profound appreciation to the Governments of States Members of the United Nations
for their valuable support for our candidacy and for
their solidarity with Azerbaijan during 17 rounds of
elections.
The theme of the this year’s general debate,
“Bringing about adjustment or settlement of international
disputes or situations by peaceful means”, is timely
and topical. It also represents a logical continuation of
discussions we had during the previous session. Indeed,
the peaceful settlement of disputes is one of the key
and core principles of international law enshrined in
the United Nations Charter. Its true value is to be able
to commit States to respecting one another’s territorial
integrity and political independence, refraining in
their international relations from the threat or use of
force and resolving their disputes in conformity with
international law.
At its sixty-fi fth and sixty-sixth sessions, the General
Assembly adopted two resolutions on strengthening the
role of mediation in the peaceful settlement of disputes,
conflict prevention and resolution (resolutions 65/283
and 66/291), and the Secretary-General submitted
a report on the subject that contains a Guidance for
Effective Mediation (A/66/811, annex I). As a sponsor
of those resolutions, Azerbaijan considers the process
begun by their adoption to be an essential effort
towards reinforcing the promotion of mediation in the
peaceful settlement of disputes, conflict prevention
and resolution, as well as providing useful guidance to
existing and future mediation mechanisms. A crucial
factor is that those resolutions, and the Guidance for
Effective Mediation developed by the Secretary-
General, reaffirmed the key importance of the United
Nations Charter and of international law and justice,
in particular the commitment to respect and uphold
the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political
independence of States.
During Azerbaijan’s presidency of the Security
Council this past May, we organized an Arria-formula
meeting of the Council to encourage a frank exchange
of views, within a flexible procedural framework, on
the role of mediation, judicial settlement and justice in
promoting durable peace and reconciliation based on
international law. We look forward to further initiatives
on the topic in the General Assembly and the Security
Council with a view to contributing to the development
and implementation of comprehensive peace strategies
within specific frameworks that provide that dispute settlement and conflict resolution must be based on
respect for the rule of law and for justice.
The world continues to face persistent, grave and
systematic violations of the fundamental norms and
principles of international law. There are still instances
where archaic patterns of the use of force against the
territorial integrity and political independence of
States are used to achieve territorial gains. Hundreds
of thousands of people throughout the world continue
to suffer from aggression, military occupation, ethnic
cleansing and a prevailing culture of impunity for the
most serious crimes of concern to the international
community.
The ongoing armed conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan continues to represent a serious threat
and challenge to international and regional peace and
security. The conflict has led to the occupation of
almost 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan and
has turned more than one million people in the country
into internally displaced persons or refugees. The war
has also led to the deaths and wounding of thousands
of Azerbaijanis, including women, the elderly and
children. In addition, the aggression against Azerbaijan
has severely damaged the country in socioeconomic
terms. Not a single Azerbaijani historic or cultural
monument has been left undamaged, and no sacred
site has escaped desecration in either the occupied
territories or in Armenia.
We sincerely believe that there is no alternative
to peace, stability and mutually beneficial regional
cooperation. As a country suffering from the occupation
of its territories and the forcible displacement of
hundreds of thousands of its citizens, Azerbaijan is the
most interested party in the earliest possible negotiated
settlement of the conflict. Without prejudice to its rights
under the United Nations Charter, in particular those
set forth in Article 51, Azerbaijan embarked on and
remains committed to the conflict settlement process,
confident that it will lead to the end of the illegal
Armenian occupation, ensure the return of forcibly
displaced people to their homes and guarantee the
peaceful coexistence of the Armenian and Azerbaijani
communities in the Nagorno Karabakh region within
the Republic of Azerbaijan.
Attempts by the Armenian side to misinterpret
the norms and principles of international law and
its insistence on unrealistic annexationist claims,
which Azerbaijan will never accept, speak to the real
intentions of Armenia’s leadership and represent an
open challenge to the conflict settlement process, as
well as a serious threat to international and regional
peace and security. In f lagrant violation of the United
Nations Charter, Armenia continues to use force to
maintain its occupation of the Nagorno Karabakh
region and seven other districts of Azerbaijan, as well
as to prevent internally displaced Azerbaijani persons
from returning to their homes. It is attempting to alter
the demographic balance in the occupied territories
and to remove any signs of their Azerbaijani cultural
and historical roots. Additionally, regular ceasefire
violations and deliberate attacks by the armed forces of
Armenia against the inhabitants of towns and villages in
Azerbaijan along the front line and the border between
the two States have become more frequent and violent
in recent times, resulting in the killing and injuring of
many Azerbaijani civilians.
We have no doubt that the Azerbaijani and
Armenian communities of Nagorno Karabakh will
one day live side by side in peace and dignity in that
region of Azerbaijan. It is therefore essential and vital
to continue efforts for peace and coexistence between
the two communities. Azerbaijan considers that an
important part of the whole reconciliation process
and has therefore accepted invitations from a number
of European non-governmental organizations to hold
intercommunal meetings. However, those proposals
have so far been blocked by the authorities in Yerevan.
Moreover, the aggressive rhetoric of Armenia’s
leadership and its blatant promotion of odious ideas of
racial superiority, ethnic and religious incompatibility
and hatred towards Azerbaijan and other neighbouring
nations only deepen mistrust and make more elusive
the prospect of a speedy negotiated settlement.
The situation is further complicated by Armenia’s
irresponsible and unacceptable behaviour in the highly
sensitive domain of justice and reconciliation. The
perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity,
including acts of genocide against the Azerbaijani
people, not only remain unpunished in Armenia but
are even promoted, venerated and officially rewarded
with the title of hero. Schools, universities and streets
are named after them and monuments are erected in
their honour. War criminals who proudly avow their
role in the mass killing of Azerbaijani civilians are
reincarnated as highly placed politicians, military
commanders and public figures.

Armenia must finally realize that the irresponsible
and provocative policy of territorial claims, animosity
and hatred towards neighbouring countries and nations
based on historical, cultural, racial and religious
prejudices has no chance of success. The earlier it
grasps that fact, the sooner our countries will be able to
reach mutual understanding and enjoy peace, stability
and cooperation.
It is clear that both the conflict-settlement process
and its outcome must be consistent with international
law. The achievement of peace, security, stability and
confidence therefore depends first and foremost on the
removal of the consequences of Armenia’s illegal use
of force. That will ensure that the occupation of the
territories of Azerbaijan is at an end and that the right
of internally displaced Azerbaijani persons to return to
their homes and recover their property and possessions
will be implemented. That is what international
law and the relevant Security Council and General
Assembly resolutions require, which means that this
condition cannot be subject to compromise or used as
a bargaining chip in the conflict settlement process.
Armenia’s implementation of its obligation to withdraw
its armed forces from the territory of Azerbaijan and
to resolve outstanding issues of State responsibility for
acts deemed wrongful under international law cannot
be made contingent on addressing the aggressor’s
unlawful and unacceptable claims.
The fact that the situation has remained unresolved
for so long does not speak well for the strength and
efficiency of the international organizations that are
deaing with the issue. It is obvious that the primary
role in the resolution of the conflict lies with the
States concerned. At the same time, when it comes to
principles, it is everyone’s duty to defend them. In that
regard, Azerbaijan highly appreciates the principled
stance of Member States, as expressed in various
forums, including the most recent summits of NATO,
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the
Non-Aligned Movement, on issues of vital importance
to our country and pertaining to its sovereignty and
territorial integrity. We count on the continued resolve
of the international community to defend the purposes
and principles of the United Nations Charter, and on its
strong solidarity with the just position of Azerbaijan.
We would like to express our concern over the
situation with regard to the Middle East peace process,
which has been at a standstill with no substantive
progress towards the resumption of direct talks between the parties. We call upon the parties to
create the conditions conducive to the resumption of
negotiations. In that regard, we share the concerns of
the international community over settlement activity
in the occupied Palestinian territories, which places
a tremendous burden on civilians, seriously obstructs
the peace process and, what is even more dangerous,
threatens the two-State solution and the emergence of
a viable Palestinian State. We reiterate our support for
Palestine’s application for admission to membership in
the United Nations and look forward to a solution to
that issuebased on international law.
Azerbaijan also remains deeply concerned
about the escalation of violence and the worsening
socioeconomic and humanitarian situation in Syria. We
believe that the solution to the crisis lies in the hands
of the Syrian people and in their desire for mutual
reconciliation and an all-inclusive political process. We
welcome the appointment of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi as
the Joint Special Representative of the United Nations
and the League of Arab States for Syria, and express
our firm support for his efforts.
We must once again express our deep concern
over the recent escalation provoked by the blasphemy
against Islam. We strongly condemn all assaults against
religions. At the same time, attacks on civilians, in
particular on diplomatic personnel, are unjustifiable
under any circumstances. It is critical to foster global
dialogue and cooperation to promote tolerance, peace
and better understanding across countries, cultures and
civilizations.
We are confident that during the sixty-seventh
session of the General Assembly, Member States will
be able to take successful steps towards a stronger
and more effective United Nations. With its active
participation in the work of the organs of the United
Nations, most notably the General Assembly and
Security Council, Azerbaijan will continue to be in the
forefront of international efforts to that end.


It is a pleasure to
be able to address the General Assembly here on this
beautiful morning in New York, and I would first like
to take the opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on
your election to the presidency of the Assembly at its
sixty-seventh session. Be assured that the Icelandic
delegation will assist you in every way possible.
Last year, I brought the Assembly the message
that my Government would propose to our Parliament
that Iceland recognize Palestine as a sovereign and
independent State. I am happy to be able to stand here
today and say that we have fulfilled that promise. What
is more, not a single member of the Icelandic Parliament
voted against the recognition of Palestine. Today, we
have a fully fledged and strong formal diplomatic
relationship between our two countries of Palestine and
Iceland. The United Nations recently estimated that Gaza
will no longer be livable by 2020 unless urgent action
is taken to improve water and power supplies, health
and basic education. The deplorable living conditions
described in that report demonstrate only too well that
the situation in Palestine is unacceptable to anyone
who has respect for human dignity. I have visited Gaza
myself. I met with fishermen who are not allowed to go
fishing in the waters out of Gaza. As an old fisherman
myself, that hurts my heart. l met children in Gaza
whose lives are made impossible by poverty, violence
and a blockade that others have described as an open-
door prison. I have seen for myself how the human rights
of the people of the West Bank are violated every day
by a man-made barrier that cuts through their roads,
their lands and their lives.
When I was in Qalqilya, the words of a former
statesman we all know rang in my head. Mr. Netanyahu,
tear down this wall! I also know that the Israeli people
are just like the rest of us. They want to live in peace,
and they deserve it. The best way to ensure that is a
two-State solution, which would benefit not only the
Palestinian people but the Israeli people as well.
I had the pleasure of listening to Mr. Netanyahu’s
speech on Thursday (see A/67/PV.12), and I have a
comment to make on behalf of the Icelandic people:
Do not bomb Iran. Not this year, not next year. Do
not start another war in the Middle East. At the same
time, I say to President Ahmadinejad and the Iranian
leadership: do not build a bomb. Let diplomacy work,
not rabble-rousing or fear-mongering. Let us work for
peace together.
We have seen fundamental changes break forth
with the Arab Spring, as demonstrated by democratic
elections. Democracy only matures and gets better
with time, and the Arab Spring is just beginning. In a
democracy everyone has a place and a role. As friends
and supporters we urge everyone to ensure that the
Arab Spring will advance the rights of all people,
working towards societies characterized by democracy
and social justice, where our sisters in the Arab world
are allowed to thrive in the same way as our brothers,
and where women and men enjoy equal rights.
Sadly, there is no spring in Syria. Thousands
of innocent people, not least innocent children, are
losing their lives because of an oppressive regime. The
international community must make a stronger and
better effort to seek a political and peaceful solution for
the sake of those children and the people of Syria. We
must also ensure that those who commit atrocities, on
both sides, will at the end of the day account for their
actions in an international court of law.
The Syrian problem is also a wake-up call for the
United Nations with regard to the Security Council.
Syria has demonstrated how archaic the Council is, and
how out of tune with the needs of the modern world.
The truth is that the Security Council has become an
obstacle to the international efforts to address and solve
situations such as that in Syria. We must reform it so
as to make it a tool for, not a hindrance to, progress in
situations such as that in Syria this year, or as we saw
last year concerning the Palestinian application.
Let me also add on behalf of the Icelandic people
that we must always oppose terrorism and violence in
any form. I think that we should all unite in condemning
the ghastly murder of the American Ambassador in
Libya recently. Our embassies, our tools to work for the
people for peace, must always be inviolable.
Iceland is an open and embracing society, and our
foreign policy is based on human rights for everyone.
From the point of view of human rights, it is not
acceptable that anyone is persecuted or mistreated
because of her or his sexual orientation or gender
identity. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
guarantees equal treatment and non-discrimination to
all people, and we, the community of nations, must
ensure that equal treatment in every sense of that
word extends as well to sexual orientation and gender
identity. Let us not forget that we all, every human
being, are sparks from the same sun.
Small countries can be global pioneers. Iceland
demonstrated that by breaking the ice for the recognition
of the Baltic States, by introducing geothermal energy
as an alternative in the world’s quest for clean power,
and by leading by example in the fight for gender
equality.
I am quite happy to relate that now, on this very
morning, Iceland is embarking on a pioneering
programme regarding clean renewable energy for up
to 150 million Africans. Iceland has ensured funds
to work with the World Bank to assist 13 countries of
the East African Rift Valley to identify, research and
prepare their considerable geothermal resources for
utilization. That will be the greatest and most historic
project Iceland ever has cooperated on with developing
countries. I can express the feeling today that Iceland is
very proud of it.

put our expertise in geothermal energy to use in East
Africa, we are also protecting the environment of our
own neighbourhood, the Arctic. The ice is melting at
a pace far greater than we ever anticipated. We do not
need to be prophets to predict that in the Arctic vast
areas will open, and sooner rather than later, for new
transport routes between continents and for production
of oil and gas. Of course, that may bring immense
commercial benefits to the people living in and around
the Arctic. But we are also acutely aware of the dangers
to the fragile Arctic ecosystem and to the traditional
livelihood of Arctic peoples. I tell the Assembly today
that we have to tread very carefully in the Arctic. It is
in the interest of all nations to ensure that the Arctic
Council becomes strong enough to provide, in the
future, the forum for shaping important decisions on
common interests of all the Arctic peoples.
Times have been pretty tough in Iceland in recent
years. In the recession in Europe, we were the first
country down, but we were also the first country up.
If there is any lesson to be drawn from the Icelandic
recovery, it is that austerity does not work on its own.
Iceland certainly went through its share of austerity,
but we also raised taxes, especially on the wealthiest
citizens, and we used the revenue to stimulate growth
and ensure that the welfare system was intact. Today,
Iceland has some of the lowest unemployment in
Europe and robust economic growth. The Icelandic
model works.
Perhaps the best sign that Iceland is back in
business is the fact that while the global recession
has, sadly, led to a decline in international support for
developing countries, Iceland is bucking that trend. We
are increasing ours substantially.
Finally, the first letters of the themes that I have
broached here today — Palestine, energy, the Arctic,
climate change and the economy — form the word we
should all hold dearest towards each other, whatever
our differences, that is, peace.