At the outset I would like to congratulate
you upon your unanimous election as President of the
sixtieth session of the General Assembly. I am confident
that with your experience and diplomatic skills you will
guide our deliberations to a successful outcome. I
would also like to convey our great appreciation to His
Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, President of the fifty-ninth
session of the Assembly, for the efficient manner in
which he presided over our work as well as for the fine
accomplishments recorded during the session.
Sixty years after its creation, the United Nations,
our only multilateral Organization, is at a crossroads.
When the Organization was established, the promotion
of peace and security, as well as that of economic and
social development, were its main objectives. It was
then conceived to save succeeding generations from
the scourge of war and insecurity, to reduce and
eradicate poverty and to move towards economic
prosperity for all.
Today, the world is still filled with conflicts,
violence, insecurity, hunger, poverty and despair. We
have therefore every reason to act collectively to
reform and strengthen this multilateral institution to
enable it to effectively address the many complex
challenges the world is now facing.
In this reform process, revitalizing the General
Assembly has now become one of the crucial issues for
consideration by Member States. In our opinion, the
Assembly, which comprises all the Members of the
United Nations, should continue to play a central role
as the chief deliberative, policy-making and
representative organ. It should serve as a forum for
high-level policy statements, as well as for the
consideration, of, inter alia, agenda items of special
political importance or urgency. In order to strengthen
the role and authority of the General Assembly,
Member States should stress the need to fully respect
and restore the balance between the principal organs of
the United Nations, within their respective purviews
and mandates, in accordance with the Charter.
At the Millennium Summit in 2000, the leaders of
the States Members of the United Nations resolved to
strive for the elimination of weapons of mass
destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. In this
regard, we regret that the seventh Review Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held in New York from 2 to
27 May 2005, was unable to reach consensus on the
substantive questions relating to the three pillars of the
Treaty. The Lao People's Democratic Republic is of the
view that all States parties should remain committed to
the NPT and believes that it should continue to have
cornerstone status in the context of global disarmament
and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
The world economy continues to be characterized
by slow and uneven growth and instability.
Globalization may offer a great many opportunities to a
number of countries. However, it also presents
numerous challenges and risks for the developing
world, particularly the most vulnerable groups, namely,
the least developed countries and the landlocked
developing countries. In reality, the process of
globalization among and within countries has not
produced equal benefits. The gap between the
developed and developing world is widening, and we
are all greatly concerned about increased poverty in
many developing countries.
In order for developing countries to reap the
benefits of globalization, an enabling external
economic environment for development is required. To
that end, we should all strive to achieve greater
coherence among the international trading, monetary
and financial systems.
Among the most vulnerable groups, the
landlocked developing countries deserve special
attention. The Almaty Programme of Action, which
was adopted in 2003, was a landmark document that
set out five priority areas. The Sao Paulo Consensus,
which was adopted in 2004 by the eleventh United
Nations Conference on Trade and Development,
recognized, among other things, that the landlocked
developing countries were small and vulnerable
economies. Those documents, together with the
relevant General Assembly resolutions, constitute a
significant achievement on which the Group of
Landlocked Developing Countries is building in order
to move forward in promoting its legitimate cause. In
my capacity as Chairman of that Group, I appeal to the
international community for sympathy and support for
our endeavours.
In order to strengthen unity and solidarity among
the countries of the South, and as a follow-up to the
6

implementation of the Havana Programme of Action,
adopted by the first South Summit in 2000, the second
South Summit of the Group of 77 and China was held
in Doha, Qatar, from 12 to 16 June 2005. The Doha
Declaration and Plan of Action, which were adopted at
the second South Summit, called for a more energetic
effort to deepen and revitalize South-South
cooperation, with a view to enhancing sustained
economic growth and the sustainable development of
the countries of the South.
Last April in Jakarta, Indonesia, the Asian-African
Summit was held with the objective of reinvigorating the
spirit of the 1955 Bandung Conference and of charting
future cooperation between the two continents towards
a new Asian-African strategic partnership. That
partnership, which was inaugurated at the Summit,
constitutes an important building block for the further
strengthening of South-South cooperation.
I would like commend Mr. Kofi Annan, the
Secretary-General, for his tireless efforts to ensure the
success of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the
General Assembly. The Lao People's Democratic
Republic highly values the outcome document adopted
by our heads of State or Government, in which they
reaffirmed the Millennium Declaration and their
commitment to implementing effectively and fully the
Brussels Programme of Action for the Least Developed
Countries and the Almaty Programme of Action:
Addressing the Special Needs of Landlocked
Developing Countries within a New Global Framework
for Transit Transport Cooperation for Landlocked and
Transit Developing Countries.
Given the aspirations of the overwhelming
majority of Member States, the second South Summit,
held in Doha, called upon the Government of the
United States to put an end to the economic,
commercial and financial embargo against Cuba,
which, in addition to being unilateral and contrary to
the Charter, international law and the principle of good
neighbourliness, is the cause of enormous material loss
and economic damage to the people of Cuba.
On the Korean Peninsula, we welcome the recent
resumption of the six-party talks, which have yielded
important progress. The Lao People's Democratic
Republic expresses the hope that the concerned parties
will further deploy joint efforts and undertake concrete
actions based on the principles and commitments
contained in the Joint Declaration of 19 September
2005 on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free
Korean Peninsula, thus contributing to the promotion
of peace, security, stability and development
cooperation in the wider Asia-Pacific region.
In the Middle East, although the situation remains
difficult and complex, a degree of progress has been
made that ought to be further promoted. In order to
achieve a comprehensive and lasting peace in the
region, the question of Palestine in all its aspects
should be resolved in accordance with international law
and relevant United Nations resolutions. In this regard,
the Lao People's Democratic Republic reaffirms its
unwavering support for the legitimate struggle of the
Palestinian people, under the leadership of the
Palestine Liberation Organization, to exercise their
right to self-determination, including their right to
establish an independent State of Palestine living side
by side with Israel.
The situation in Iraq continues to be a matter of
concern to the international community. It is our
sincere hope that durable peace, security and stability
can soon be secured in that country, paving the way for
the Iraqi people to be truly the masters of their own
future and destiny.
The year 2005 marks the thirtieth anniversary of
the proclamation of the Lao People's Democratic
Republic, a historic event of great significance in the
political life of the nation. In general, the national
economy is continuing to grow at a sustained pace. The
rate of growth reached 7.2 per cent in the period 2004-
2005. Foreign investment is on the increase, political
stability, social tranquillity and security are assured
and the living conditions of the people are continuing
to improve. The multi-ethnic Lao people, while
enjoying fundamental rights, including the right to
believe or not to believe in any religion, stand firmly
united in nation-building. Furthermore, the Lao People's
Democratic Republic remains committed to implementing
a policy aimed at establishing a State based on the rule
of law so as to ensure freedom, democracy and the
legitimate interests of its citizens, as well as of foreign
residents and other foreigners living and working in the
Lao People's Democratic Republic.
Externally, the Lao People's Democratic Republic
has vigorously participated in multifaceted regional
and international activities aimed at fostering peace,
stability, friendship and the promotion of development
cooperation. One of the greatest events for the Lao
7

People's Democratic Republic was the historic hosting
of the tenth Summit of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) in November 2004, which
was followed by the successful holding, from 24 to 29
July 2005, of the thirty-eighth ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting, the post-ministerial conferences and the
twelfth ASEAN Regional Forum. Those events reflect
the great sense of responsibility of the multi-ethnic Lao
people as a whole in the discharge of the country's
chairmanship of ASEAN during the past 12 months.
Furthermore, those accomplishments have
significantly contributed to narrowing the development
gaps within ASEAN member countries and fostering
the realization of an ASEAN community. That
community has three pillars: the ASEAN Security
Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and
the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, all of which
are closely intertwined and mutually reinforcing for the
purpose of ensuring durable peace, stability and shared
prosperity in the region.
ASEAN hopes that friendly countries and the
United Nations will become more involved in the
implementation of the Vientiane Action Programme and
the ASEAN Development Fund for regional economic
integration, particularly in the areas of human resource
development, infrastructure, information technology
and energy development.
Peace cannot be achieved without development,
and development in turn cannot be realized without
cooperation among nations, with the United Nations
playing an important catalytic role.
The United Nations - the sole multilateral,
universal Organization - cannot be strengthened,
however, if it does not embrace, in equal measure, the
concerns of all, including the small, vulnerable, and
weak States, which make up the majority of its
Members. In that respect, we should all remind
ourselves that not only will our words and the
principles we espouse be judged by future generations,
but so, too, will the actions that we undertake to bring
about development for the whole of humanity.


Allow me to
congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of
the General Assembly at the sixtieth session. We are
delighted to see a distinguished son of Sweden and a
friend of Mozambique in the stewardship of this body
and wish to express our confidence that, under your
able leadership, our deliberations will produce
successful results. I would like to take this opportunity
to pay a well-deserved tribute to your predecessor, His
Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, for the remarkable manner
in which he spearheaded the deliberations of the fifty-
ninth session of General Assembly. May I also
commend the Secretary-General for his continued
vision and leadership in our collective efforts to pursue
the fundamental ideals of the United Nations, in
particular the implementation of the international
agenda for peace and development highlighted in his
report (A/59/2005). We encourage him to continue his
outstanding work.
We gather here today inspired by the spirit of
togetherness and collective vision on the path that we
should strive to continue to travel in order to achieve
our common aspirations, as underscored throughout the
deliberations of the High-level Plenary Meeting. We
must seize this momentum to reinforce multilateralism
as a guiding principle upon which the international
community should rely to adequately face today's
challenges. We believe that the emphasis of the World
Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1) on the vital
importance of an effective multilateral system and our
determination to fulfil the commitments we set for
ourselves will generate and galvanize good momentum
for action aimed at tangible results.
As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the
United Nations, we should reflect on what we want the
Organization to be and on what role each country and
region should play in these collective endeavours. In
recognizing inclusiveness and the equal rights of men
and women and of all nations, the Charter of the
United Nations builds on our diverse cultural and
traditional values to unite us around our common
humanity. Our failure to overcome the poverty trap in
which developing countries are caught, as well as the
constant threat posed by terrorism, indicates the need
for an international system that is more inclusive and
democratic and that conforms to the Charter of the
United Nations and the relevant provisions of
international law. It is our firm belief that the United
Nations continues to be an indispensable instrument for
achieving those objectives. Thus, the strength of the
Organization must be high on our agenda. We ought to
improve its performance by reforming its organs and
structures.
Therefore, it is our sincere hope that United
Nations reform will help to foster strong relationships
and cooperative links of coordination among all its
principal organs, in particular the General Assembly,
the Security Council and the Economic and Social
Council.
Security Council reform should be aimed at
building transparency, democracy, openness and
consistency with regard to all regions represented in
the Organization. In that regard, the growing political
commitment and involvement of Africa in the
international agenda for peace and stability calls for
enhanced representation on the Security Council.
We hope that the recently proposed Peacebuilding
Commission will help to keep sustained international
attention on countries in transition from post-conflict
situations to recovery and long-term development and
ensure continued support for them. Indeed, the
experience of Mozambique's transition from a post-
conflict situation to reconstruction and development
testifies to the valuable contribution and impact of the
concerted support provided by the United Nations and
25

the international community for peace and
development efforts.
The adoption of the Millennium Declaration and
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) gave new
momentum to our quest to fight poverty, accelerate
human development and facilitate the gradual and
effective integration of the developing world into the
global economy. Despite the less ambitious outcome of
the recently concluded summit, the time has come to
build a genuine international partnership and to
reaffirm our political will to fully implement
internationally agreed commitments.
We need to work diligently to implement the
commitments made in Monterrey. In that regard, the
establishment of a detailed calendar for the
implementation of the goals set on financing for
development is vital to generate access to additional
financial support for developing countries. To that end,
we welcome the decision by the European Union to set
collective and specific targets with a view to reaching
the internationally agreed target of devoting 0.7 per
cent of gross domestic product (GDP) to official
development assistance (ODA) by 2015.
The sustainable development of low-income
countries, particularly in Africa, depends upon a more
open, equitable and rules-based multilateral trading
system, as trade constitutes an engine for growth and
development. In that regard, we view partnership
agreements such as the Cotonou Agreement and the
African Growth and Opportunity Act as important
steps towards fulfilling some of the development
objectives. We strongly believe that the completion of
the Doha round by 2006 will help to establish an
international trading system consistent with
development goals and policies.
While developing countries are striving to
finance the MDGs, debt servicing has been diverting
significant amounts of their limited resources, at the
cost of social and economic development. In that
context, we reiterate the calls for more radical action
by the international community, in line with
recommendations that debt relief should cover
multilateral and bilateral debt and reduce debt stock
and debt servicing by up to 100 per cent. To that end,
we support the continuation of the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries Debt Initiative and other relief
measures, particularly those addressing the special
needs of African countries.
In that regard, we commend the debt-cancellation
decision made by the ministers for finance of the
Group of Eight (G-8) in favour of 18 developing
countries, including Mozambique. We encourage the
G-8 and other development partners to continue with
such important initiatives and to address the
unsustainable debt burden of many developing
countries, so that new resources can be invested in
pursuit of poverty reduction.
The Government of the Republic of Mozambique
is now fully engaged in the implementation of its
programme for 2005-2009 that incorporates our vision
of development based on continuity and renewal. That
approach is founded on past experiences and
programmes pursued in the quest for development and
the well-being of all Mozambicans. The eradication of
poverty requires new dynamism and vigour, as clearly
pointed out in the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), the Brussels Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries and the
Millennium Development Goals. In that context, our
five-year programme focuses on integrated rural
development and the expansion of basic economic and
social infrastructure, with the aim of reducing absolute
poverty through the promotion of rapid, comprehensive
and sustained economic growth and job creation. In
addressing social and economic development, the
programme seeks mainly to reduce regional imbalances
and to expand the supply of basic services such as
health, education and access to electricity and safe
drinking water. The programme also gives due
attention to the fight against HIV/AIDS, malaria and
other infectious diseases, as well as to the special
needs of young people in terms of training,
employment and housing.
Through the implementation of sound political
and macroeconomic policies and strategies for
development, we have registered economic growth
rates that have averaged 7.5 per cent annually from
2000 to 2005. Poverty levels have declined
significantly, from 69.5 per cent in 1997 to 54 per cent
in 2003. That has been possible due to our focus on our
nationally owned poverty eradication strategy. That
strategy has not only mainstreamed the MDGs and
adapted them to our own realities; it also embodies a
clear pro-poor and people-centred development
strategy.
The consolidation of peace, democracy and
national unity continue to be high on our national
26

agenda, as we recognize that peace and stability are
sine qua nons for securing sustainable development in
our country.
We continue to build self-confidence around
Africa. The continent counts on NEPAD to raise the
spirit of ownership of African leaders, and thus bring
about significant changes in our development. The
adherence to date of 28 countries to the African Peer
Review Mechanism has bolstered the credibility of
participating States, as it ensures that their policies and
practices comply with agreed political, economic and
corporate-governance values, codes and standards.
We are seeing good examples of conflict
resolution in Africa. However, conflicts continue to
cause unbearable human suffering, which deprives a
large number of our fellow Africans of their
inalienable right to live in dignity. We commend the
efforts of the Secretary-General and the international
community at large to address both humanitarian crises
and the root causes of conflict in Africa.
With regard to Western Sahara, we urge the
parties concerned to work together with the Secretary-
General with a view to finding a political solution to
the long-standing conflict in that country.
We are following with keen interest the latest
developments in the Middle East. We continue to
believe that a lasting solution to the question of
Palestine ó the core of the conflict in the region ó
must be in accordance with international law and
relevant United Nations resolutions and must fully
recognize the right of the Palestinian people to self-
determination.
We welcome the decision to conclude a
comprehensive convention on terrorism not later than
June 2006, for that will constitute a further effort to
strengthen the international community's resolve to
face the challenge of eliminating the scourge of
terrorism. Similarly, we would like to stress the
importance of regional agreements and declarations to
combat and eliminate terrorism in all its forms as a tool
to strengthen cooperation among Member States and
provide a platform for the effective implementation of
international legal instruments to suppress terrorism.
We support the calls for a transparent verification
mechanism that can help to prevent the use of nuclear
weapons against non-nuclear States. In that regard, we
also share the view that all States parties to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, without
discrimination and while undertaking their
responsibilities for nuclear disarmament and non-
proliferation, should have the right to use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes, as well as to engage in
research on nuclear technology in conformity with the
provisions of the Treaty.
We would like to conclude by reaffirming the
commitment of Mozambique to the principles and
purposes enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations, as well as our belief that the United Nations
reform process will strengthen the Organization with a
view to providing more and better assistance to all
Member States, in particular with respect to addressing
the special needs of Africa.


It
gives me great pleasure at the outset to extend to you,
Mr. President, our congratulations upon your election
to the presidency of this sixtieth session of the General
Assembly. We wish you every success in discharging
your functions. I would also like to extend thanks and
appreciation to your predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. Jean Ping, for his valuable efforts in conducting
the work of the Assembly’s fifty-ninth session,
especially his efforts to reach a consensus on the final
document of the world summit of 2005.
I would also like to thank His Excellency
Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, for his tireless efforts to strengthen the role of
our international Organization.
World leaders who met at United Nations
Headquarters to follow up on the outcome of the
Millennium Summit and the coordinated and integrated
implementation and follow-up of the outcomes of the
major United Nations conferences and summits in the
social, economic and related fields have managed to
adopt a document that calls for implementing reforms
in the United Nations and for taking bolder collective
steps to combat poverty, achieve development,
establish international security and uphold human
rights.
The world today is experiencing extremely
difficult economic conditions which pose a real threat
to the process of social and economic development in
the developing countries, especially the least developed
countries, and pose a major threat to the development
of their peoples. That situation is the result of such
factors as a decline in official development assistance;
unfair international terms of trade; the imposition of
restrictions on the access of their exports to world
markets; unfair prices for their commodity exports; a
heavy external debt burden; and the adverse effects of
globalization.
Despite the progress made in many fields of
international cooperation, the problems of hunger,
poverty and such diseases as AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis have taken on horrific dimensions and
continue to pose major challenges to the international
community. Unless the latter makes concerted efforts
to accelerate equitable development in the developing
countries, especially the least developed countries, the
Millennium Goal of halving poverty by 2015 will
remain elusive.
The international community, by resolving, at the
Millennium Summit, to declare war on poverty by
launching an ongoing campaign to make the right to
development a reality for all peoples, has made an
implicit commitment to creating a social, economic and
political environment in the developing countries,
especially the least developed countries, that would be
more favourable to the translation into concrete reality
of the right to development for all of their peoples.
That would provide cohesion and equitable social
integration for their societies as well as a real
opportunity to eradicate poverty, enabling them to
enjoy full, productive and gainful employment. The
international community also resolved at the
Millennium Summit to seek to achieve a fair and just
globalization that embraces everyone, in order to spare
the developing countries, especially the least developed
countries, the danger of being marginalized within the
international economy.
At the Millennium Summit, world leaders
affirmed that international cooperation was the most
important factor in making the world a better place to
live in. They also affirmed that free trade,
liberalization of the economy and interdependence are
the best means to accelerate equitable economic
development in the developing countries.
The international community is at a critical stage
of the negotiations related to the Doha Development
Agenda. Those negotiations made concrete progress
last year in some difficult and controversial areas.
Agreement was reached on the launching of
negotiations regarding the question of trade
concessions, one of the four questions which were left,
38

by agreement, outside the scope of the Doha
Programme of Action: investment, competition, trade
and environment and trade concessions. However, that
agreement by the developed countries was, regrettably,
conditional on the non-holding of negotiations on the
other three questions.
We are looking forward to the achievement of
solid, ambitious progress at the sixth World Trade
Organization Conference in Hong Kong, and we hope
that we will be able to conclude negotiations in 2006.
The developing countries have fulfilled their
pledges, and we hope that the upcoming negotiations
regarding the implementation of the outcome of this
summit will translate into reality the global partnership
for the achievement of the internationally agreed
development goals. We hope that the right to
development will become a living reality and that the
developed countries will honour their pledges,
including increasing official development assistance to
0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product, and will
accelerate the process of forgiving the external debt of
all poor countries.
We have often stated that peace in the Middle
East can be achieved only through the implementation
of the resolutions of the Security Council and of the
General Assembly. All of those resolutions recognize
the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, foremost
among which is the right to self-determination and to
the establishment of their independent State on their
national soil, with Al-Quds as its capital; withdrawal
from the occupied Golan Heights up to the border of
4 June 1967; and full withdrawal from the rest of the
Lebanese territories still under occupation.
On that basis, the international mediation process
produced the road map, which affirms the principle of
land for peace and calls for the withdrawal of Israel
from the occupied territories and the establishment of
the State of Palestine.
The Arab summit, meeting in Beirut in March
2002, endorsed an international initiative calling for
the normalization of relations between the Arab States
and Israel in return for Israel’s withdrawal to the 1967
border.
The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip is an
important and positive first step, which, we hope, will
be followed by similar steps in all the Palestinian
territories and the other occupied Arab territories, in
accordance with internationally binding resolutions and
the relevant initiatives and agreements, in order to
bring about stability, security and a comprehensive and
just peace for all States and peoples of the region.
I cannot fail to mention the difficult conditions
experienced by the fraternal Iraqi people. We hope that
the new constitution will embody the hopes and
aspirations of the Iraqi people and contribute to the
establishment of security and stability in the country.
We hope also that it will take into consideration the
interests of all segments of the Iraqi population, that all
the people will feel that they all are part of the
established system, and that the unity and the national
identity of Iraq will be preserved.
Believing as it does in the great importance of the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) to international peace and security, the State of
Qatar has acceded to the Treaty and calls from this
rostrum on all States to do so. It also seeks to transform
the Middle East region into a zone that is totally free
from all kinds of weapons of mass destruction.
My country has unambiguously condemned
terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. It has also
supported all Security Council resolutions related to
the question of terrorism, and it has cooperated with
the international community in implementing those
agreements. However, we feel that success in
eradicating that phenomenon requires that we deal with
its underlying causes, including the social, economic
and political aspects that provide a fertile breeding
ground for terrorism.
We also support the idea of convening an
international conference on terrorism and of drawing
up an international strategy to combat it. In that
context, we feel that defining terrorism and clearly
distinguishing it from the struggle waged by peoples in
exercise of their legitimate right to defend their
freedom and enjoy self-determination must be the most
important norm and enjoy international consensus.
This is a right that is enshrined in all international
norms and practices.
Our world today more than ever needs a
comprehensive authority and frame of reference that is
qualified to perform its role as an international
instrument; one that seeks to achieve international
cooperation in resolving international problems of a
social and economic nature, as well as consolidating
security and stability, maintaining international peace,
39

and enhancing respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms for all. Moreover, we must
earnestly seek to respect this global diversity, protect it
and allow it to prosper.
Hence, we feel that the proposal to establish a
standing Human Rights Council, with a smaller
membership, to be elected by a two-thirds majority
only, merits further study in serious intergovernmental
negotiations, with a view to achieving consensus on the
establishment of the proposed Council, its membership,
its mandate, and the organ destined to be its parent
body, which we hope will be the General Assembly.
We must commit ourselves to human rights, as
enshrined in the United Nations Charter, and we must
fully comply with internationally recognized human
rights standards.
The question of expanding the Security Council
and the concept of collective security require further
study and intergovernmental negotiations so as to
arrive at a consensus on these important questions.
In this context, we support the Secretary-General
on the question of reforming the United Nations
Secretariat for the reasons indicated in his report
entitled “In Larger Freedom”. However, we feel that
any proposals to reform the Secretariat are extremely
important and must be the subject of careful study,
discussion and negotiation by the General Assembly.


 On behalf
of President Bush and all of the American people,
welcome to New York City.
In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, my fellow
citizens have experienced the compassion of the United
Nations. I want to thank Secretary-General Annan for
mobilizing the support of this institution. I also want to
thank the representatives of the 126 countries that have
offered assistance in our relief efforts. The United
States will never forget their generosity in our time of
need.
In moments of tumultuous historical change,
leaders must become architects of a better world. We
must survey the new international landscape, lay firm
foundations of moral principle and build institutions
8

that reflect our unique moment in history. It is those
institutions that enable citizens of conviction to lead us
ever closer to the ideals of justice that stir every soul:
the universal desire for security, prosperity, liberty and
dignity.
Sixty years ago was just such a time of
transformation. After one of the greatest cataclysms in
world history, the United States joined with visionary
builders from over 50 countries to create the United
Nations. We placed the enduring principles of human
rights and fundamental freedoms at the foundation of
the United Nations Charter. We built an institution that
has helped to support a peaceful world order for six
decades. Today, however, with the end of the cold war
and the rise of globalization and the emergence of new
threats, the very terrain of international politics has
shifted beneath our feet. In this new world we must
again embrace the challenge of building for the future.
The time to reform the United Nations is now. We
must seize this opportunity together. Chapter I, Article
1, of the Charter of the United Nations proclaims the
four purposes of the United Nations, great aspirations
that have stood the test of time. But consider what
different forms they take today, in 2005, as opposed to
1945, when they were first declared.
The first purpose of the United Nations is to help
maintain international peace and security. In 1945 the
most serious threats to peace and security emerged
between States, and were largely defined by their
borders. Today, however, the greatest threats we face
emerge within States, and melt through their borders:
transnational threats like terrorism and the proliferation
of weapons, pandemic disease and trafficking in human
beings.
The second purpose of this institution, as written
in the United Nations Charter, is to develop friendly
relations among nations, based on equal rights and the
self-determination of all peoples. In 1945, a life of
liberty and dignity was more an aspiration than a
reality for a majority of the world’s people. Today,
however, more nations than ever have enshrined the
principles of democracy and human rights — a true
moral triumph that will be complete only when all
individuals are secure in their basic freedoms.
The third purpose of the United Nations is to
achieve international cooperation in solving
international problems. In 1945, the fear was that
strong, aggressive States, eager and able to expand
their frontiers with force, would be the primary cause
of international problems. Today, however, it is clear
that weak and poorly governed States, unwilling or
incapable of ruling their countries with justice, are the
principal source of global crises, from civil war and
genocide to extreme poverty and humanitarian disaster.
The final purpose of the United Nations, as the
Charter states, is to be a centre for harmonizing the
actions of nations in the attainment of common ends.
In 1945, the world’s leaders joined together to build an
institutional partnership that could address the shared
challenges of their time. Today, faced with the realities
of a new world, we must transform the United Nations
to meet the shared challenges of our time.
The Members of this body must work together to
strengthen security in a world threatened by stateless
extremists. Today, I call on the nations of the world to
ratify the comprehensive convention on terrorism. No
cause, no movement and no grievance can justify the
intentional killing of innocent civilians and non-
combatants. That is unacceptable by any moral
standard. It is time for every Member of the United
Nations to outlaw acts of international terrorism.
We must also work together to promote
prosperity and development in a world of great
potential. The United States is committed to the
Millennium Development Goals. And at the Monterrey
Conference three years ago all nations agreed that
development must be a two-way street. Donor
countries have a responsibility to increase their
assistance to developing nations. And developing
nations have a responsibility to govern justly, advance
economic liberty and invest in their people. The
Monterrey Consensus is working.
Now is not the time to revert to old, failed
thinking about development. Countries representing
three quarters of the developing world’s population are
on a pace to meet the targets of the Millennium
Declaration by 2015.
And, as President Bush said on Wednesday, the
United States is prepared to take new action to
accelerate this progress: we will eliminate all tariffs
and subsidies that distort free trade — as other nations
do the same.
Members of the United Nations must work
together as well to support democracy in a world of
expanding liberty. To advance this common purpose, in
9

2004 President Bush proposed the creation of a
democracy fund. With the broad support of this body,
we have made it a reality. The Fund is now receiving
donations in cash and in kind from countries large and
small that wish to help other nations lay the
foundations of democracy. Showing its leadership as
the world’s largest democracy, India made the generous
opening pledge of $10 million.
Now, to be sure, when speaking about democracy,
the United States has every reason for humility. After
all, it was only in my lifetime that America guaranteed
the right to vote for all its citizens. Obviously, the path
to democracy is long and imperfect and different for
every nation. But the principles of democracy are
universal, as is the desire for them. And the United
Nations must support every country that embraces the
challenge of self-government. In Afghanistan, Iraq,
Lebanon, the Palestinian territories and throughout the
world, peoples who want to build democracy deserve
our help.
The many goals we share are great indeed. And
the United Nations has a major role to play in their
achievement. But for this institution to become an
engine of change in the twenty-first century, it must
now change itself. The United Nations must launch a
lasting revolution of reform.
The United Nations summit declaration
(resolution 60/1), which every head of State endorsed
this week, expresses a global consensus on the fact that
reform is imperative. I want to thank former General
Assembly President Ping for his tireless hard work.
Our challenge now, under President Eliasson’s
leadership, is to enact the vital reforms that will make
the United Nations more accountable to its Members,
more suited to new challenges and more faithful to its
founding purposes.
The United States welcomes the commitment of
all leaders to establish a new Peacebuilding
Commission. Now, we must embrace the difficult task
of implementing that vision. A Peacebuilding
Commission should plan for post-conflict missions
before crises erupt. And it must help to coordinate
reconstruction efforts after the fighting stops. In a
world threatened by civil strife, the United Nations
needs to be better prepared to help countries rebuild in
the aftermath of conflict.
We are also pleased that the world’s leaders have
recognized the importance of establishing a new
Human Rights Council. But it will take a lot of hard
work in the coming months to realize that goal. The
Human Rights Council must have fewer members, less
politics and more credibility. And it should never,
never, empower brutal dictatorships to sit in judgement
of responsible democracies. The Human Rights
Council must have the moral authority to condemn all
violators of human rights, even those that sit among us
in this Hall.
Finally, we welcome the promise of the world’s
leaders to make the United Nations a more effective
and a more principled institution. As President Bush
said on Wednesday (see A/60/PV.2), the United
Nations must stand for integrity and live by the high
standards it sets for others. For the United Nations to
champion democracy more legitimately, we must
increase the transparency and the accountability of this
institution. For the United Nations to promote
prosperity more credibly, tougher ethics rules and
greater internal oversight are needed to ensure the
highest professional standards. And to make the United
Nations relevant to the challenges of today, the purpose
and the performance of all United Nations programmes
must be reviewed thoroughly, consistently and
comprehensively.
Our fellow citizens deserve a United Nations that
commands their respect and is worthy of their hard-
earned tax dollars. In a democracy, leaders must be
able to justify that their people’s money is indeed being
well spent.
Real progress on those fundamental reforms will
prove that the United Nations can address greater
issues of change, in particular the reform of the
Security Council. We want that important body to
reflect the world as it is in 2005, not as it was in 1945.
The United States is open to expanding the Security
Council. We have long supported a permanent seat for
Japan. And we believe that developing countries
deserve greater representation on that body. All this
would make for a more effective Security Council.
And the Security Council must be effective. It
must be able to deal with great challenges such as
terrorism and nuclear proliferation, especially when it
faces real threats and when countries such as Iran
threaten the effectiveness of the global non-
proliferation regime. When diplomacy has been
10

exhausted, the Security Council must become involved.
Questions about Iran’s nuclear activities remain
unanswered, despite repeated efforts by the
International Atomic Energy Agency. And after
agreeing to negotiate with Europe, Iran unilaterally
walked away from the talks and restarted its nuclear
programmes. Iran should return to the negotiations
with the European Union three and abandon forever its
plans for a nuclear-weapons capability.
The experience of recent years has reinforced the
universal truth that international institutions are only as
strong and effective and relevant as their members
choose to make them. The United Nations is no
different.
The United States believes in a United Nations
that is strong and effective. And we have ambitious
hopes for its future.
So in this year, as the United Nations marks its
sixtieth anniversary, let us recommit ourselves to
principled action. Let us embrace the same spirit of
creation that moved the builders and leaders of 1945.
And let us reform this great institution to meet the
challenges of a new era.


It is an honour
for me to extend to His Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson
my sincere congratulations on his election to the
presidency of the sixtieth session of the General
Assembly. Let me also pay tribute to his predecessor,
His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, for his extraordinary
dedication and leadership during the fifty-ninth
session. I also wish to express my Governmentís
sincere appreciation to the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his tireless efforts
aimed at strengthening multilateralism and upholding
the purposes and principles of the United Nations.
Five years ago, at the Millennium Summit, world
leaders reaffirmed their faith in the United Nations and
its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more
peaceful, prosperous and just world. While there has
been progress in some areas, much remains to be done
to bring about the full realization of the ambitious
Goals set forth in the Millennium Declaration.
The promise of a global partnership to realize the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remains
unfulfilled for the vast majority of the peoples of
Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, where
a total of more than one billion people still live below
the poverty line. For the Caribbean region in particular
challenges remain in the area of trade, where the
erosion of tariff preferences for primary commodities
such as bananas and sugar have been extremely
prejudicial to the socio-economic development of
many countries of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM).
The Caribbean region has also been affected by
the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which has killed over 20
million men, women and children worldwide. The
implicit threat to economic and social stability, human
development and security cannot be underestimated or
denied.
The target of devoting 0.7 per cent of gross
national income to official development assistance
(ODA) also remains an elusive goal, although there
have been encouraging signs recently, such as the
commitment made by the Group of Eight (G-8) at the
Gleneagles summit and the commitments of other
developed countries to meet that target by the year
2015. Those commitments were reiterated in the 2005
outcome document (resolution 60/1) of the High-level
Plenary Meeting.
At the same time, we have been increasingly
confronted by humanitarian emergencies caused by
devastating natural disasters, with the resultant internal
displacement of people. Once again, we wish to
express our sympathy to the Government and the
people of the United States of America in the wake of
Hurricane Katrina. In our own CARICOM subregion,
we remain particularly vulnerable to the devastating
effects of hurricanes. In the light of the extensive
damage inflicted on the sister island of Grenada last
year, we urge the United Nations, the international
community and donor agencies to give priority
attention to the CARICOM subregion in the areas of
disaster preparedness and post-recovery assistance.
The rise of global terrorism, the threat of the
proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons and the concomitant prospect of them falling
into the hands of non-State actors have emerged as
issues of extreme urgency. The spread of small arms
and light weapons - the weapons of choice in many
intra-State conflicts - also poses a threat to the
security of many countries. In that regard, CARICOM
is particularly concerned about the increasing
incidence of violent crime caused by the presence of
illegal firearms and their association with the illicit
drug trade.
The confluence of all those interconnected threats
and challenges, as daunting as this may seem, can and
must be countered and effectively addressed. We must
therefore demonstrate the political will and the
commitment to act collectively to develop national and
regional strategies with renewed resolve at the global
level to support robust multilateralism, with a strong
and effective United Nations at its centre. No one
State, no matter how powerful, can act wholly by itself
to resolve those common problems. There is also
simply no legitimate alternative to the United
Nations ó no comparable multilateral institution
where all member States meet, deliberate, advance and
harmonize their views and interests and negotiate and
adopt instruments for collective action to the benefit of
all.
Last week, in adopting the outcome document,
we agreed to a road map, as it were, of measures
required to reorient the United Nations to meet todayís
challenges. Even as we reaffirm our faith in the United
Nations and our commitment to more robust
multilateralism, and even as we work towards a more
effective United Nations through the implementation of
8

the outcome document, we must recall that the main
purpose of last weekís Meeting was to review the
progress made since the Millennium Summit adopted
the MDGs, five years ago. Indeed, it is the overall
improvement in the lives of all our peoples, in whose
name we are gathered here, by which history will
ultimately judge or condemn us. Permit me, therefore,
to offer some views on issues that Trinidad and Tobago
considers paramount, and on the principles that should
serve as a guide for our future deliberations.
Those must of necessity include the following:
the imperative of recommitting ourselves, as a matter
of priority, to the full realization of the development
goals and objectives that have emerged from major
United Nations conferences and summits, including the
MDGs; greater democratization of all United Nations
organs and related bodies, in terms of both their
composition and their mode of operations; strict
observance of the rule of international law and justice;
and respect for the commonly shared values on which
the United Nations is founded.
Development must remain central to the agenda
of the United Nations.
Trinidad and Tobago supports the increased
attention of the international community towards
Africa in overcoming its developmental challenges and
in providing that continent with the increased resources
needed to enable it to fully implement the New
Partnership for Africaís Development (NEPAD).
We welcome in particular the commitment
contained in the outcome document to the
implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States. We call for the full and effective
implementation of the commitments, programmes and
targets contained in the Mauritius Strategy, adopted at
the International Meeting to Review the
Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action
for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
States.
Trinidad and Tobago has demonstrated
remarkable strength and resilience in the face of a
global environment characterized by rapid economic,
social and other changes. We have embarked on the
road to developed-nation status and hope to reach our
goal by the year 2020 or earlier.
Our Vision 20/20 includes the evolution of a
technologically driven, knowledge-based society, a
highly productive and globally competitive economy,
and the provision of a standard of living comparable to
that of the developed world. To achieve that vision, the
Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is
developing its human capital by creating a virtually
seamless educational system from the primary to the
tertiary level, with increasing emphasis on information
technology and other related subjects. In this way we
will ensure that our young people can become an
integral part of the global labour force, with the
necessary skills to compete locally, regionally and
internationally.
Our development agenda is not centred solely on
the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is, as my
Prime Minister stated from this very rostrum one year
ago, "part and parcel of a pan-Caribbean agenda to
which we are irrevocably and solidly committed -
[and in which the] development of Trinidad and
Tobago and CARICOM are intertwined". (A/59/PV.10,
p. 8)
We therefore remain committed to the integration
of the Caribbean region through the instrumentality of
CARICOM. To that end, Trinidad and Tobago has
provided substantial financial and economic assistance
to our CARICOM neighbours through a variety of
mechanisms, including capital market activities, direct
foreign investment, debt relief and direct bilateral
assistance. We have also provided extensive hurricane
relief as well as assistance to the private sector in
CARICOM to strengthen their export capability.
As an energy surplus country, Trinidad and
Tobago has, through its own Petroleum Stabilization
Fund, made financial assistance available to
CARICOM countries to the tune of some $48 million
per annum ó and this without any conditionalities.
No development or security assessment in our
subregion would be complete without consideration of
the grave political, economic, social and security crisis
that confronts the Haitian people. We look forward to
the holding of free, fair, democratic and inclusive
elections in Haiti and to the installation of a truly
democratically elected Government in that nation, so
that Haiti can once again sit in the Council of
CARICOM.
Trinidad and Tobago and other CARICOM States
remain committed over the long term to securing the
9

progress and future of the Haitian people. We therefore
urge the United Nations system and the international
donor community to provide the necessary support to
Haiti in the post-election period. Effective assistance,
the disbursement of funds pledged and the release of
other resources will ensure the progress of a nation
currently overwhelmed by daunting challenges.
In the area of disarmament, we share the
disappointment of many Member States at our failure
to demonstrate the necessary political will to ensure the
consensus adoption of agreements leading to tangible
and substantive results at the Review Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and in the outcome document.
Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its condemnation
of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and it
is committed to doing its part to eradicate that scourge
from our world. In that vein, we look forward to the
early conclusion of a draft comprehensive convention
on international terrorism.
In addition, we welcome the action taken by
members of the international community to combat
terrorism, but we would wish to reiterate that the
human rights and the civil and political rights of
individuals must be respected in the course of any
counter-terrorism actions taken by Member States of
the international community.
As a small island developing State, we face
difficulties associated with the evils of the drug trade
and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.
As a result, it is becoming increasingly difficult to stem
the tide of criminal activity within our society.
Trinidad and Tobago believes that an
international order based on the rule of law must be
observed in relations between and among States. This
fundamental pillar is indispensable for the proper
functioning of the international system. In their
relations, States must have regard, at all times, for the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations and of
international law.
We reaffirm in particular those principles relating
to the sovereign equality of all States Members of the
United Nations, non-interference in the internal affairs
of Members, respect for their political and territorial
integrity, the right of peoples to self-determination, and
recourse to peaceful means for the settlement of
disputes.
We also reaffirm the important role of the
General Assembly in the development of international
treaties.
Trinidad and Tobago expresses its deep regret at
the failure of the outcome document to include any
reference to the International Criminal Court or the
question of impunity. In that regard, we call on all
States Members of the United Nations to become
parties to the Rome Statute of the International
Criminal Court in order to ensure that it becomes a
truly global instrument for the trial of those accused of
committing crimes that affront the conscience of all
humanity.
My country welcomes the cooperation between
the International Criminal Court and the United
Nations, which was highlighted earlier this year when
the Security Council decided to refer the situation in
Darfur to the Court. We look forward to increased
opportunities for collaboration and cooperation
between these two important global institutions in
putting an end to such crimes and to the culture of
impunity that has for so long accompanied them.
Trinidad and Tobago reaffirms its commitment to
the reform and strengthening of the United Nations. We
share the view that the reform of the United Nations
must seek to reinforce and consolidate the democratic
foundation upon which this Organization was built.
We are of the view that cardinal to the reform
agenda must be the revitalization and restoration of the
role and authority of the General Assembly, as the
chief deliberative, policymaking and representative
organ of the United Nations.
Trinidad and Tobago supports the comprehensive
reform of the Security Council. In that regard, we wish
to underline the importance of the adoption by the
international community of a comprehensive set of
reform measures. It is imperative that expansion should
proceed on the basis of making the Council more
representative of the general membership of the United
Nations. It should contribute to a greater
democratization of its functioning. It should impart
greater legitimacy and transparency to its decisions,
and it should be achieved through the broadest possible
consultation.
Trinidad and Tobago also looks forward to
participating in discussions on reform of the United
10

Nations human rights machinery and on the pending
issues relating to the Peacebuilding Commission.
Trinidad and Tobago commends the Secretary-
General for his ongoing efforts to enhance the effective
management of the United Nations. An efficient,
effective, well-resourced Secretariat which is
accountable to the General Assembly is indispensable
to achieving the objectives of a strengthened
Organization.
Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the Secretariat
and management reform proposals contained in the
outcome document as a first step towards a necessary
thorough debate and discussion, and we look forward
to participating actively in these negotiations.
It is imperative, however, that these proposals
meet the test of viability, that they have the sanction of
the established intergovernmental process and that they
do not individually or collectively seek to derogate,
diminish or further marginalize the role of the General
Assembly.
As we embark on the path of implementation of
the outcome document, we must spare no effort to
ensure that the future of the United Nations is not
compromised by the exigencies of the moment.
Institutional renewal, a strengthened United Nations
and a robust multilateralism must allow us to forge a
truly effective global response and commitment to the
common threats and challenges that confront us.
Trinidad and Tobago pledges to do its part to
make the United Nations a more effective instrument in
the common service of all our peoples.


On
behalf of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, I am
pleased to extend to Mr. Eliasson my wholehearted
congratulations on his election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its sixtieth session. We are
convinced that his wealth of experience and immense
talent will allow him to address the international and
regional issues on our agenda with confidence and
ensure the success of this session, which coincides with
the sixtieth anniversary of our Organization.
I cannot fail to seize this opportunity to pay
tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Gabon, for his gifted and patient
performance at the helm of the General Assembly at
the fifty-ninth session and for his tireless efforts to
establish the appropriate conditions for the holding of
the session and the High-level Plenary Meeting that
preceded it.
I should also like warmly to congratulate
Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his colleagues on
their intense and consistent mediation and efforts to
ensure the convening of this session and the
achievement of the Organization’s lofty objectives.
I also hail the major efforts made during the
intersessional period at the high-level dialogue begun
in New York in late June on financing for development
and at the Economic and Social Council session on
national achievements and steps towards the attainment
of the Millennium Development Goals and to
implement the outcomes of the international
conferences held from 1992 to 2002.
Attaining the objectives of development, security
and stability hinges on how effectively we deal with
the issues of violence and terrorism. The global nature
of the phenomenon of terrorism requires that the
question be dealt with in a global manner, through the
complementarity of the cultures of nations and a
rejection of confrontation and conflict. It is also
important not to forget the considerable growth gap
that exists between poor and rich countries, particularly
since the social, scientific and technical lag is one of
the major causes of tension and one that nurtures
terrorism and violence in the world. In Mauritania, we
condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations,
and we view it as a phenomenon that is alien to our
society and our Islamic values of tolerance. We reject
violence and extremism and call for mutual
understanding, dialogue and tolerance.
It is clear that we must quickly begin a political
dialogue, which is the only means to end the conflict in
the Middle East and to restore calm there. In this
context, my country believes that the Israeli
withdrawal from Gaza and a few cities of the West
Bank constitutes an important step towards the
implementation of the road map and the Arab peace
initiatives. Through those initiatives Arab States have
proposed to Israel a comprehensive peace and normal
relations in exchange for total withdrawal from all
Palestinian territories and from Syrian and Lebanese
territories, a return to the 4 June 1967 borders, the
establishment of a Palestinian State with East
Jerusalem as its capital, and a negotiated, just
settlement of the problem of Palestinian refugees.
We are following with interest the developments
of the situation in Iraq and are anxious to preserve
Iraq’s territorial unity, the unity of its people, its
sovereignty, independence and non-interference in its
internal problems, in order to overcome the problems
and ensure security, stability and the re-construction of
the State, while supporting the transitional
Government.
We are following with equal interest the
development of the situation in the Sudan, and we give
our blessing to the Agreement between the
Government of Sudan and the Sudanese People’s
Liberation Army. We support the commendable efforts
of the Sudanese Government, in coordination with the
African Union, the Arab League and the United
Nations, to tackle humanitarian, security and political
questions related to the Darfur crisis.
Regarding Western Sahara, Mauritania supports
the efforts of the United Nations and its Secretary-
General to find a definitive solution to assure stability
in the region, a solution that has the support of all
parties.
Mauritania today is on the eve of an era that
began with an initiative taken by the Military Council
for Justice and Democracy on 3 August 2005, which
was hailed by the entire Mauritanian people. It put an
end to totalitarian practices that caused suffering and
led to dangerous derailments that threatened the future
of the country over the last two decades. This initiative
rests on the commitment of the Council to the
Mauritanian people to create the right conditions for
the emergence of an honest and transparent democracy
and to allow civil society and all legal political actors
10

to participate in this endeavour with full freedom. The
Military Council will not exercise its powers beyond
the period necessary to prepare for and set up genuine
democratic institutions, and that period will not extend
beyond two years. The Military Council for Justice and
Democracy solemnly reaffirms respect for all of
Mauritania’s international commitments and instruments.
In crystallizing this initiative, the Military
Council for Justice and Democracy has defined the
priorities of the transitional Government. It has
established three ministerial committees entrusted with
the task of defining the modalities to guarantee proper
elections, working together with political parties and
civil society organizations to establish an equitable
legal system, in consultation with the national bar
association. The aim of these efforts is to propose all
measures necessary for the emergence of a genuine
system of good governance, in which the private sector
and civil society participate.
In order to ensure justice and national
reconciliation and to enable all people to participate
freely and actively in political life, a comprehensive
and absolute amnesty was proclaimed on 2 September
2005 for all Mauritanians condemned for political
crimes and misdemeanours. At this point in time, no
Mauritanian is being prosecuted for any political crime
domestically or abroad.
For the first time, the mass media are open to all
political parties and civil society institutions. A
constitutional law was enacted prohibiting the
President and members of the Military Council for
Justice and Democracy, the Prime Minister and
members of the Transitional Government from
standing in the forthcoming elections or supporting any
political candidate or party. An independent elections
committee was formed to supervise elections, seeking
help from any nation willing to help. It is in this
context that Mauritania presented a memorandum to
the United Nations regarding provision of assistance to
international observers invited by the Mauritanian
Government to provide technical and logistical
assistance for the elections. This is with a view to
conducting a constitutional referendum, which will be
organized by July 2006 at the latest, as well as
legislative and presidential elections to be held before
6 August 2007. The referendums and elections would
be held in accordance with the commitment made by
the Military Council for Justice and Democracy with
the Transitional Government, in order to provide the
appropriate conditions for a transparent and open
democracy and to facilitate the establishment of
institutions that will be truly representative and
diverse.
Mauritania is eager to contribute to the
development of cooperation and solidarity in the
regional context. It is in that context that we would like
to reaffirm our total support for the Arab Maghreb,
which remains an incontrovertible strategic choice and
an ambitious project for the people of the region in
their aspirations to greater complementarity and
solidarity.
With regard to the African continent, we would
like to reiterate the importance we attach to our
friendship and brotherly relations with all countries of
the continent. We would like to further strengthen
cultural dialogue, communications and relations, which
we have pledged to do within the Five-plus-Five
framework and the Barcelona process, the tenth
anniversary of which we shall celebrate this year.
Given ongoing world changes, we would like to
see the role and functions of the General Assembly
enhanced and to see its decisions implemented. That
holds true for other organs of the United Nations, in
particular the Economic and Social Council.
The Security Council needs to be strengthened,
and to be made more representative by including
members from Africa, Latin America and other regional
groups, such as the Arab Group, as well as other
industrialized States such as Germany and Japan. Finally,
the working methods of the Council and its performance
need to be improved so that it can achieve its mandate
of maintaining international peace and security.


Sixty years ago at San Francisco, the United
Nations Charter was adopted. It was an event that set
the path for the future of nations and peoples. It was an
event at which intelligence was resolutely dedicated to
peace and justice, and willpower was used for the
common interest.
With the adoption of the outcome document by
the High-level Plenary Meeting, a process of
15

paramount importance has been set in motion, one in
which you, Sir, can count on the full support of the
delegation of Spain. I wish to pay tribute to the
sustained effort of your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, and
to reiterate to our Secretary-General my admiration for
his personal and diplomatic skills.
There can be no doubt that the United Nations
has taken a step forward as a result of the High-level
Plenary Meeting. We have achieved progress in
essential areas. Spain is satisfied with the outcome
because we have stressed the importance of assisting
victims of terrorism. The Alliance of Civilizations
initiative has been well received. The summit recalled
the need to continue assisting middle-income countries
and supported the search for new sources of financing
for implementation of the Action against Hunger and
Poverty initiative.
I would like to mention here that an initiative on
United Nations reform was unanimously adopted by
the Spanish Parliament on 13 September 2005, urging
the Government to achieve a number of objectives that
are now reflected in the outcome document of the
recent High-level Meeting. We recognized in that
document that development, peace and security and
human rights constitute the three basic interdependent
and interrelated pillars of the United Nations system
and are the foundation for our collective security and
well-being. In our globalized world, we can solve
international problems, and deal with new challenges
and risks only through concerted action based on
solidarity.
Among those collective actions, the fight against
terrorism is an absolute priority for Spain. The General
Assembly should adopt a global strategy that includes
the goal of creating an international fund for victims.
Spain has just signed the International Convention for
the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, and in
the Sixth Committee Spain is determined to promote
the adoption of a comprehensive convention on
international terrorism before the end of this sixtieth
General Assembly.
The summit concluded that tolerance, respect,
dialogue and cooperation amongst different cultures,
civilizations and peoples are essential elements for the
promotion of international peace and security. This is
precisely the conviction that inspired the President of
the Government of Spain to propose the Alliance of
Civilizations initiative at the previous General
Assembly. The Secretary-General's High-level Group
to guide the initiative will hold its first meeting in my
country this autumn. This initiative, co-sponsored by
the President of the Government of Spain and the
Prime Minister of Turkey, is more necessary today than
ever. It is imperative to put an end to the negative drift
in mutual perceptions that is being fomented and used
by extremist groups.
It is also urgent to find innovative and additional
sources of financing for development. For that reason,
Spain, along with five other countries, is promoting the
Action against Hunger and Poverty initiative with the
aim of identifying innovative and additional sources of
financing for development. In this regard, Spain
actively participates in the cancellation of debt to
benefit the heavily indebted poor countries and is
preparing a plan to swap debt for public investment in
key human development areas in Latin America.
Let me reiterate Spain's firm commitment to
peacekeeping operations, which translates into
substantial contributions of our armed and security
forces wherever needed, especially in the Balkans,
Haiti and Afghanistan. I would like to underline the
high degree of commitment and professionalism shown
by Spanish peacekeeping forces and recall with pride
those who have sacrificed their lives for international
peace and security. The creation of a Peacebuilding
Commission is another outstanding achievement of this
summit. Spain, as an important contributor to the
United Nations budget and to its peacekeeping
operations, is ready to participate actively in the work
of this commission.
Since its inception this Organization has been
determined to provide the international community
with a binding legal framework for the protection and
promotion of human rights. Spain shares this goal. We
have strengthened our cooperation with the Office of
the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and we
have increased our contribution to its budget. We are
also pleased with the establishment of a Human Rights
Council and are fully prepared to contribute actively to
the work of this new council. Over the past year,
important legislative developments have occurred in
my country, and we have taken significant steps to
promote real equality among citizens in areas such as
gender violence and discrimination on grounds of
sexual orientation. The Government has also tackled
the situation of immigrant workers through the
16

implementation of a broad-ranging legalization
process.
We firmly support the reform process aimed at
strengthening the effectiveness of the United Nations,
which will ensure the concrete implementation of its
resolutions. It is of little use to improve existing
structures, if there is no enforcement of compliance
with decisions. The United Nations must regain its
credibility. We believe that the reform, especially that
of the Security Council, must be the result of a broad
agreement among all of us.
I agree with the Secretary-General that our
greatest failure has to do with non-proliferation and
disarmament. For Spain, nuclear proliferation
represents a serious risk for international peace and
security. We are concerned about the illicit trade in
small arms and light weapons, and we support the
preparation of an international arms trade treaty.
I cannot but mention here, once again this year,
the question of Gibraltar and the need to put an end to
this dispute through the implementation of the repeated
mandates of the General Assembly that have urged
Spain and the United Kingdom to continue their
bilateral negotiations, with a view to reaching a
definitive solution to the decolonization process, in
accordance with the relevant United Nations
resolutions. Spain is willing to work in a constructive
spirit; this spirit is reflected in the creation of a
trilateral dialogue forum, the aim of which is to
produce an atmosphere of mutual trust and cooperation
for the benefit and prosperity of Gibraltar and the
region as a whole.
Next month, Spain will host the fifteenth Ibero-
American Summit in Salamanca. It will be a meeting
that will constitute a turning point in the creation of a
true Ibero-American forum, with the
institutionalization of its secretariat and the
manifestation of a stronger will to contribute to
effective multilateralism.
Spain pays particular attention to its relations
with its neighbours in the Maghreb region. Through an
active and comprehensive policy, Spain wishes to
reinforce its cooperation with those countries, firmly
supporting political stability, respect for human rights
and those reforms that are put in place to consolidate
the rule of law and economic and social development.
In this regard, Spain firmly believes that the
Western Sahara conflict, which has lasted for almost 30
years, requires priority attention. The international
community must contribute to overcome the stalemate
and offer, within the framework of the United Nations,
a just and definitive political solution, in accordance
with international law. To that end, Spain is developing
an active diplomacy and believes that steps taken, such
as the recent appointments by the Secretary-General of
his Personal Envoy and of the Special Representative
for the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in
Western Sahara, will provide the opportunity to
relaunch the process.
In the Middle East, the disengagement from
Gaza, carried out with great skill and with great
effectiveness by the Israeli Government, may
constitute a powerful driving force in the peace
process. It is only right to congratulate the Government
of Israel for its decision. I also extend my
congratulations to the Palestinian National Authority
for having significantly contributed to the entire
operation, so that it was completed in a peaceful
manner. Now that the disengagement has been
satisfactorily completed, the road map must again
become the central framework for the peace process.
Moreover, the time has come to increase our aid
to Africa and to support African countries in their
efforts aimed at integration, peace and progress.
The summit outcome document is a good starting
point to continue working towards achieving the
agreements that still elude us. We cannot allow
inaction, lack of ambition or shortsightedness to
prevent the successful conclusion of the task ahead.
Sixty years ago the signatories of the United Nations
Charter translated into an agreement a thought that was
as solid as it was simple: we can either walk together
towards peace, or we will never find it. A year ago,
before this Assembly, the President of the Spanish
Government recalled that the history of humanity does
not give us many reasons to be optimistic. Let us work
with imagination and commitment to turn this
Organization into an expression of common will, an
Organization legitimized by its effectiveness and its
universal character. Let us work so that some day we
will feel proud as human beings. We are the United
Nations, and the people of the world expect us to act as
such in the face of the challenges and opportunities
afforded to us in these times of change.


At the
very outset of my remarks, both on my own behalf and
on behalf of the Haitian nation, I would like to express
our sincerest congratulations to you, Sir, on your
unanimous election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at the sixtieth session. Your wealth of
experience in matters of security, human rights and
development augur well for the success of our
discussions.
I would also like to pay tribute to Jean Ping,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Gabon, whose
moderation, sense of compromise and restraint won
him universal respect and esteem during the previous
session.
May I also express my sincere gratitude to the
Secretary-General for his tireless efforts in the cause of
peace, democracy and development. That triad —
peace, democracy and development — is now the new
name for progress made by peoples and for stability in
the world.
It is in that context that, for more than a year
now, the Organization has deployed the United Nations
Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), which is
helping to improve the security climate in the country.
We requested the Mission because of our firm belief in
international solidarity. We would like to take this
opportunity to thank all those countries that have
displayed their friendship to Haiti by contributing in
one way or another to the deployment of MINUSTAH.
From this rostrum, I would like to express my
sincerest sympathy for the afflicted populations of the
southern part of the United States of America that have
been so tragically affected by the passage of Hurricane
Katrina in August, one of the most devastating
hurricanes ever to strike our continent. We would like
once again to express to the Government and people of
the United States our deepest compassion and our
profound solidarity in these trying times.
Our Organization is now 60 years old. The
celebration of that anniversary will be a splendid
extension of the High-level Plenary Meeting of heads
of State or Government, which was intended as an
initial stocktaking of the implementation of the
commitments undertaken in the Millennium
Declaration.
The Government of Haiti supports the spirit of
the text adopted on 16 September, which broadly
reviews the minimum objectives that the international
community intends to achieve by 2015. Likewise, the
Republic of Haiti supports all steps taken to increase
development assistance through the use of funds of
solidarity at the international level.
The Government of Haiti attaches the greatest
importance to the proposal of the French Republic to
create stable and lasting financing through innovative
mechanisms in order to prevent and cure the major
pandemics of our time. I am pleased to note that many
of the world’s leaders have received that proposal with
the greatest interest.
We also welcome various other initiatives,
including the United Kingdom proposal for an
International Financial Facility, which arranges for
borrowing on the financial markets to increase
assistance to the poorest countries, in particular for the
fight against HIV/AIDS. It deserves our consideration.
However, those efforts may not achieve their
objectives if a comprehensive solution to the debt
problem of the countries of the South is not found. It
would be a positive contribution to international
security to solve the debt problem by cancelling the
8

debts of the least developed countries and helping
those countries overcome their financial difficulties by
assisting their development. The Republic of Haiti
unreservedly supports all negotiated, effective,
comprehensive and lasting initiatives of the United
Nations aimed at solving the distressing debt problem
of the peoples of the poor countries.
On the sixtieth anniversary of our Organization,
we should heed the many calls for the reform of the
United Nations. Certainly, significant progress is being
made, in particular the proposal to transform the
Commission on Human Rights into a Human Rights
Council. Chapter XIII of the Charter should be
removed, along with the references to trusteeship
contained in Chapter XII.
With respect to the Security Council, the
Republic of Haiti supports paragraph 153 of the
outcome document, which proposes the early reform of
the Security Council in order to make it more broadly
representative, efficient and transparent and thus to
further enhance the Council’s effectiveness and the
legitimacy degree of implementation of its decisions.
In that regard, I reaffirm the position of Haiti, as
expressed by Prime Minister Gérard Latortue, in favour
of correcting the historical error of not having a
representative of the Latin American and Caribbean
region among the permanent members of the Security
Council.
The Republic of Haiti is at the crossroads. In a
few weeks, general elections will be held throughout
the country to select the nation’s elected
representatives at all levels. The elections are
thoroughly inclusive. All sectors and all political
parties without exception are participating. Admittedly,
the road to completing the process has been difficult,
marked by the outbreak of violence and feverish
moments. Rediscovering freedom is not easy. During
long months, the country has lived in a situation
bordering on chaos, in which armed bands have held
many of the capital’s neighbourhoods hostage and
committed the worst atrocities. Fortunately, they have
been, for the most part, held in check by the combined
efforts of the Haitian National Police and the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).
Calm is gradually returning. I am convinced that
the electoral campaign will take place in a peaceful
climate, in spite of the large number of presidential
candidates. At present, the horizon is brightening
perceptibly, despite the desperate acts of ruthless
gangs. Also, a national dialogue has been launched
involving all relevant sectors of the country. The
preparatory committee established for the purpose will
shortly issue its report.
In that context, the Government and the people of
Haiti are grateful to the United Nations and friendly
countries of all continents for their solidarity with Haiti
and for their interest in the successful outcome of the
present elections. Nothing can now stop the march
towards pluralist and democratic elections, to be held
in a climate of security ensured by the Haitian National
Police, with the support of MINUSTAH.
Haiti’s chronic political instability and serious
socio-economic problems have compelled a great
number of our fellow citizens to migrate to
neighbouring shores considered to be more hospitable.
However, tensions are now arising among a certain
fringe sector of the local population of the host
countries. We request the leaders of those countries to
deal with that issue urgently in order to stop radicals
from taking advantage of the situation and committing
abuses against expatriate Haitians. For our part, we are
open to all negotiations aimed at restoring calm and
finding solutions in accordance with international
treaties and rights related to immigration.
At this decisive moment of the transition, we
renew our appeal to the international community to
visit us to observe the holding of the elections. We
want transparent elections in which the candidates
elected will not be challenged. We are grateful to the
United Nations for the support that it is providing to
Haiti during this critical period.
I reiterate the solemn appeal that I made from this
rostrum one year ago to the international community
not to leave Haiti isolated, so that, on 7 February 2006,
I can hand over power to a new, freely elected
President, thereby placing Haiti once and for all in the
community and comity of democratic nations; so that
the Government which emerges from the elections can
get down to the challenging task of economic
reconstruction and social progress — with, of course,
the resolute support and unflagging solidarity of the
international community; so that Haiti can emerge from
underdevelopment and extreme poverty, which provide
fertile ground for all dictatorships; and so that the
country can finally recover its unity and its soul.
9

In that spirit of solidarity and authentic
cooperation — which is, after all, the raison d’être of
the United Nations — the Republic of Haiti will work
to achieve, between now and 2015, the Millennium
Development Goals, to which all countries aspire.


The
sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations is cause for
inspiration, concern and action. It is a source of
inspiration because 60 years of collective action for
peace and development is an anniversary to celebrate.
And what better time to do so than on the International
Day of Peace? It is a cause for concern because the
challenges, far from diminishing, have continued to
grow, and we have not reached a consensus on a whole
range of essential reforms. Some important
components are missing. It is a call for action because
all of us here have recognized that the United Nations
remains an indispensable instrument and because
change is still needed. We have no choice: we must
move forward.
But we have come a long way. Two years ago, the
United Nations was in a sorry state indeed; the
situation in Iraq not only had divided the membership
but had left deep scars within our institution. That is
why I pay tribute to the Secretary-General for having
established the High-level Panel on Threats,
Challenges and Change, whose report (A/59/565) has
truly revolutionized how all of us think about the
Organization’s future.
Jeffrey Sachs and his colleagues also delivered to
us a remarkable document on “Investing in
Development” — development that Canada has done
so much to promote ever since the era of Lester
Pearson. In “In larger freedom” (A/59/2005), the
Secretary-General summarized that work with clarity
and discernment and set out an ambitious plan for us.
We have not adopted all of his recommendations — far
from it. We could have, and should have, done better.
The summit is by no means the end of the debate. To
the contrary, we have a mandate to continue our efforts
and to make this sixtieth-anniversary year a year of
reform.
We are all aware of the risks of unilateralism or
piecemeal multilateralism. But we are not sufficiently
aware that humanity’s future lies in accepting the
inextricable links among security, development and
human rights.
To predict the future is to understand the past, so
it behoves us all to look back over the 60 years of our
Organization. The contribution of the United Nations
to the progress of humanity is indisputable. The
Organization’s successes, more than its failures, show
us the path to take so that we can meet current and
future challenges.
Let us not forget that in 1945 the whole world
was rising from ruins and States were determined that
that would never happen again. So it is not surprising
that the first objective expressed in the Charter of the
United Nations centred on security so as to “save
succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which
twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to
mankind”.
We have known the horrors of war over the past
60 years, but we have avoided descending into the hell
of a third world war. How did we do that? At the
United Nations, the super-Powers had no choice. Under
the aegis of the Organization, they concluded major
disarmament and arms control agreements. In sum, the
role played by the United Nations in ending the stand
off between East and West is one of the greatest
successes of the past century.
(spoke in English)
Sixty years ago, the nations meeting in San
Francisco set the second objective: to reaffirm faith in
fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of
the human person, in the equal rights of men and
women and of nations large and small. The founders of
the United Nations foresaw that if we were to avoid the
conflicts of the past, the world of tomorrow needed to
be more human. With that in mind, Canada’s John
Humphrey worked hard to help draft the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.
14

We have become ever more demanding about the
protection of human rights — including women’s
rights — as well we should be. We are duty-bound to
prevent or combat flagrant violations, which still
plague the world. The Commission on Human Rights
has played a key role in that respect, but its serious
shortcomings unfortunately eclipse its valuable
contributions, necessitating its replacement.
Mr. Mwakwere (Kenya), Vice-President, took the
Chair.
History shows that democracy and human rights
go hand in hand. The United Nations has entrenched
human rights through a series of legal instruments that
Governments concluded under the Organization’s aegis
and has extended a range of protections, such as
conventions on eliminating discrimination against
women, on children’s rights and against torture.
The United Nations remains a key forum for
debating human rights failures around the world. And
it is in that area that the Organization has played a
leading role in changing global culture, fostering the
acceptance of new standards and setting criteria for
judging Governments’ actions. That is another
remarkable success for the United Nations.
The third objective of the Charter called on
Members to establish conditions under which justice
and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and
other sources of international law can be maintained.
For 60 years, the United Nations has been at the heart
of a vast network of bilateral and regional treaties
covering nearly the gamut of international relations. In
so doing, the Organization has helped to bring about an
infinitely more integrated world where interactions
among peoples take place in a predictable fashion and
within a defined regulatory framework. This global
legal framework is the foundation of peace. Where the
framework has not yet taken shape, conflicts multiply.
The world needs the United Nations to perfect this
tremendous asset.
The fourth objective of the Charter touched at the
heart of our debate today on the Millennium
Development Goals, calling on members to promote
social progress and better standards of life in larger
freedom. That message was prophetic at the time. The
founders of the United Nations already foresaw that
beyond the massive destruction of 1939 to 1945, a
fundamental poverty afflicted almost every country and
region in the world — a poverty that had to be fought
unwaveringly.
Today, we salute their hope and their desire to
create a better, safer and more prosperous world.
Among the surest ways in which to create that type of
world are the growing participation of women in
economic, civil and political life and the emergence of
a middle class, both of which justify hope for real
progress on the road to growth. Those promising trends
need to be accelerated.
The United Nations has played a fundamental
role on that front. Its specialized agencies and affiliates
have helped set development objectives and have
delivered the bulk of international aid. Thanks to those
efforts, the world is a better place to live in today. And
today, five years after the Millennium Development
Goals were adopted, the United Nations is where the
world’s nations recall their common commitment to
development, with a keener understanding, since the
Monterrey summit, of the obligations that we all must
bear.
With respect to the four major objectives of the
Charter, comparing ideals against reality inevitably
brings disappointment. For each major step forward,
there have been many failures, in particular the absence
of a collective will to adapt our institution to current
needs.
Where are we now, and what do we need to do to
better respond to our hopes? The starting point is
clearly the document (resolution 60/1) approved by
heads of State or Government last week. That
document is a foundation on which, with a great deal
of political will on the part of all Members, we can
think of renewing the United Nations. In any case, we
have a working framework for the years to come.
I am especially pleased that the document
includes strong references to development and to the
values and principles that inspire us. The declaration
also provides clear, important directions on United
Nations management, transparency and accountability.
But we need to go much further in that direction.
I would now like to address some of the points
raised in the declaration. First is the “responsibility to
protect”. In recognizing that responsibility, this body
has taken a step that goes beyond utterances of “Never
again” — a step that brings us closer to making
15

genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity
things of the past. We now need to implement it.
Secondly, with respect to the Human Rights
Council, Canada is disappointed that members did not
show greater courage. We have not established the
Council; we have only the mandate to work on that
issue this year. We need such a Council because it will
help us take an in-depth look at situations of concern to
us, such as that in Iran. Canada’s position is clear: the
Council must be a permanent body, with members
elected by a two-thirds majority, on the basis of
specific criteria, and it must provide for a system of
peer review, starting with the countries that will sit on
the Council. I am pleased, however, that the High
Commissioner for Human Rights will have a bigger
budget.
(spoke in French)
Thirdly, let me turn to the Peacebuilding
Commission. Here again, our work is unfinished. A
reference to a sequential relationship between the
Security Council and the Economic and Social Council
could have been a solution to the question of relations
between the Commission and existing bodies.
The fourth point is global health. The United
Nations must make every effort to protect threatened
populations. HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria still
plague the world, to our collective shame. We have a
shared responsibility to eliminate those diseases; we
can and must do better. We need to prepare for
pandemics, including avian flu, on which Canada
recently hosted an international meeting of health
ministers.
Fifthly, with respect to terrorism, the attacks that
took place this past summer in London, in Egypt and
elsewhere make it more necessary than ever that there
be a global convention in the war on terror.
But we must also bear in mind that the overall
global security architecture must be strengthened, from
light weapons to weapons of mass destruction,
including the whole range of disarmament and arms
control measures. We can certainly be heartened by the
progress that is being made in the Middle East, Haiti,
the Sudan and Afghanistan, high-priority regions for
Canada and where United Nations action is often
exemplary. But that success remains fragile, and the
commitment of the United Nations must continue.
Sixthly, concerning the environment, if we want
to leave future generations a planet that is a healthy
place to live, we need jointly to manage its
environment. In less than two months, Montreal will
play host to a climate-change conference that should
represent a milestone in terms of our common thinking
and action in the face of that phenomenon. We will be
discussing the progress made in implementing the
Kyoto Protocol and new possibilities for action in the
decades to come.
Let me conclude with a few thoughts on what the
final document does not say, or at least does not say
well.
First, on disarmament, it is deplorable that a
United Nations outcome document could contain not
one paragraph on disarmament and non-proliferation at
a time when we are debating Iran’s and North Korea’s
nuclear programmes.
Secondly, on women’s rights, it is deeply
regrettable that the document could not even reiterate
as forcefully the commitments made 10 years ago in
Beijing or Cairo on women’s rights and gender
equality, despite the fact that they lie at the very heart
of the Millennium Development Goals. All Member
States need to implement their provisions and move
from promises to action.
Thirdly, on the International Criminal Court,
Canada regrets the absence of any reference in the
document to the International Criminal Court, as well
as its silence on commitments to end impunity. It is
imperative that the United Nations address the issue of
impunity. Two years ago, when the Rome Statute came
into force, the Secretary- General clearly stated that
“the time is at last coming when humanity no longer
has to bear impotent witness to the worst atrocities,
because those tempted to commit such crimes will
know that justice awaits them”.
We urge all States to sign and ratify the Rome
Statute. Together, we will break the cycle of impunity,
and justice will be done for the victims of such crimes.
We are meeting in New York today to help solve
humanity’s problems. But while this Hall has witnessed
too many unresolved debates and far too much costly
inaction, the challenges and problems we discuss lie far
afield. Over the years we have confronted grave
challenges in the Sudan, Haiti, Kosovo and Rwanda,
and in many other places. In some cases, we can hold
16

our heads high; in others, we need to recognize, and
learn from, our mistakes and failures. I think we have
charted the course, but we still have far to travel.