I would like to congratulate
Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election to lead the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I wish to thank him
and the outgoing President, Mr. John Ashe, for their
leadership. I must also commend Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon, who has more than measured up to the
tremendous tasks associated with his high Office.

Allow me to extend my sympathies to the families
of the victims of the tragic and appalling events that
have recently unfolded around the world, from the
passengers on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17 to the
recent beheadings by the Islamic State of Iraq and
Syria, to the victims of the Ebola epidemic and natural
disasters. We will never forget those tragedies and the
loss of lives.

I am humbled to speak in this hallowed Hall for the
last time as President of my island nation, the Federated
States of Micronesia. Like my predecessors, I come
with great respect for this honourable institution. This
global Organization is best suited to address and solve
the pressing issues of our global family.

I have come to the United Nations compelled
by the dictates of conscience. We are all stewards of
God’s creation here on Earth. The bounties of Mother
Nature are priceless, and we all bear the obligation to
sustainably manage them.

Over 30 years ago, small island countries brought
the issue of climate change to the attention of the
United Nations. Some Members have criticized us for
focusing too much on climate change and sea-level rise,
but those issues influence our every decision and affect
every aspect of life in our islands. Across the globe, the
deadly impacts of climate change on the environment
are stark realities. Others can afford to speak of them
as future threats, but we in small island countries
are already facing the impacts, which are worse than
science predicted.

Micronesia means “little islands”, with atolls rising
only a few feet above sea level. According to the Fifth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change, human-caused climate change
is leading to sea-level rise, more frequent and more
intense typhoons and severe droughts. A small increase
in the sea level would be a catastrophe for the atolls
of Micronesia. Our islands contribute almost nothing
towards the causes of climate change, and yet we
face the brunt of its adverse impacts. Climate change
threatens our food and water security, the health of our
population, the health of our oceans and coral reefs,
our biodiversity and the very existence of our island
nations.

What are we doing about it? Collectively, in order
for small islands to survive, the Alliance of Small
Island States (AOSIS) advocates for limiting global
warming to well below a 1.5°C increase above the
pre-industrial temperature. That requires immediate
action from all stakeholders. Small Island Developing
States (SIDS) must not be asked to fight climate change
by themselves. On that note, we support the recently
launched World Bank initiative on carbon pricing.

Next year, the twenty-first session of the Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (COP21), to be held
in Paris, will establish a new climate change treaty,
which will go into effect in 2020. However, the United
Nations Environment Programme has identified a pre-
2020 emissions gap. Therefore, AOSIS has also made

an important proposal to the work plan on enhancing
mitigation ambitions in order to close the gap.

Micronesia has made an equally important proposal
to amend the Montreal Protocol to phase down the
production and consumption of hydrofluorocarbons
(HFCs), which are powerful greenhouse gases. That
action can reduce the global average temperature
increase by up to 0.5°C by the end of this century.
Reducing HFCs and other short-lived climate pollutants
can reduce the rate of sea-level rise by 25 per cent.
Near-term climate mitigation will give all atolls around
the globe a chance to survive.

The Montreal Protocol’s success and enormous
potential to protect the climate was recognized in The
Economist this week. The magazine has a separate
editorial entitled “Paris via Montreal: The quickest
way to cut greenhouse gases is to expand the Montreal
Protocol”. Indeed, the success of the Montreal Protocol
in the next six months is our ticket to a successful
outcome in Paris at COP 21. I commend the United
States of America and China for continuing to work
to fulfil their agreement to use the Montreal Protocol
to reduce HFCs. I call on other world leaders to join
Micronesia and adopt the proposed HFC amendment.

In the face of already occurring climate change
impacts, the best small island nations can do on the
ground is to try to anticipate and adapt to climate change
and instil the best possible disaster risk reduction and
response policies. Adaptation is therefore a priority
in Micronesia’s Climate Change Act, which was
recognized at the recent world summit of the Global
Legislators Organization for a Balanced Environment.
The Act implements our nationwide integrated disaster
risk management and climate change policy. The goal of
the policy is two-fold: first, to achieve economic growth
and self-reliance within a framework of sustainable
development, and secondly, to minimize the risks
associated with all human-induced and natural hazards,
including those associated with climate change.

Micronesia has also developed an agriculture policy
to address food and water security and strengthen
economic development. The policy also provides the
basis for action to revitalize sustainable agriculture,
while recognizing the major role played by traditional
farming systems and the importance of climate-resilient
crops. Other key national actions of Micronesia and
other SIDS are reflected in the Majuro Declaration for
Climate Leadership and the Palau Declaration on “The
Ocean: Life and Future”.

In this International Year of Small Island
Developing States, the United Nations has convened
a number of important conferences whose outcomes
must be incorporated into the post-2015 development
agenda. In that regard, I stress the critical importance
of implementing the Small Island Developing
States Accelerated Modalities of Action — Samoa
Pathway — the purpose of which is to stimulate
sustainable development in SIDS through durable and
genuine partnerships.

We note with appreciation the report by the
Chairs of the Open Working Group on Sustainable
Development Goals and fully endorse the proposed
sustainable development goals (SDGs). We rely on
our development partners to assist us in undertaking
the actions identified in the Samoa Pathway and in
fulfilling the SDGs in ways that are appropriate for our
peoples and our cultures.

Clean energy and energy efficiency are two of the
key engines for advancing our sustainable and low-
carbon development. Therefore, our national energy
policy gives priority to energy efficiency and renewable
energy. By 2020, the share of renewable energy sources
will be at least 30 per cent of total energy production,
while electricity efficiency will increase by 50 per cent.
That will require harnessing sunshine, which we have
in abundance, as well as renewable wind and marine
energy resources. I call on our development partners
to assist us in implementing our national energy
policy, including through the SIDS Renewable Energy
Initiative.

Our ocean and its resources are of paramount
importance, but they are threatened by climate change
and ocean acidification, which damage coral reefs and
could alter the migration patterns of tuna, our most
commercially valuable resource. Foreign vessels,
which enjoy unprecedented returns from harvesting
our exclusive economic zone, need to help us maintain
the health, productivity and resilience of our ocean.
Micronesia must also receive fair compensation for the
value of its resources.

As part of a programme of sustainable use, we must
reduce the amount of by-catch being discarded, bring
it to shore and put it to good use. Illegal, unreported
and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) continues to
threaten our ocean resources and undermines our
economic sustainability. We all must abide by the rules.
IUU fishing must be stopped.

Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have become
a leading cause of death in the Pacific. Therefore,
Pacific leaders have declared NCDs an epidemic. Such
diseases are lifestyle diseases, but they are compounded
by climate change, which destroys our food crops
and contaminates our water supplies. Tackling that
multisectoral issue requires broad cooperation and
support.

Human trafficking is one of the most serious social
diseases of modern society. It robs individuals of their
dignity, particularly women and children. Profiting
from human misery is despicable. Micronesia supports
the eradication of trafficking in all its forms. Objective
and transparent ratings of countries will help achieve
that goal.

We urge the establishment of the “One UN”
approach for the North Pacific. We are now benefiting
from the United Nations Joint Presence in the region,
but we need to increase its efficiency at the country
level. The One UN approach is timely as we position
ourselves to implement the Samoa Pathway and the
post-2015 development agenda, and it will help us
address our national priorities.

Despite the United Nations target of setting aside
0.7 per cent of gross national product for official
development assistance, most developed nations fall far
short of that goal. Small island developing States face
unique challenges owing to our extreme vulnerabilities,
including climate change. The need for financial and
technical assistance from development partners is
greater than ever, especially for human resources
development and the capacity-building of domestic
institutions.

Internationally agreed financial mechanisms such
as the Green Climate Fund must be fully capitalized
and sufficiently scaled up to support the post-2015
development agenda. We applaud Germany, France and
six other nations for pledging specific sums. We urge
those countries and the other major economic Powers
that are also the major polluters to deliver the funds.

My Government has liberalized its
telecommunications system, and the World Bank is
providing assistance in the form of grants for installing
a state-of-the-art fibre-optic system in my country. That
much-needed infrastructure will spur economic and
social development. We continue to look to the World
Bank, the International Telecommunication Union,
the Asian Development Bank and other development
partners to help us accelerate implementation of that
new system and provide for cyber-security.

The reform of the Security Council is long overdue.
A reformed Council should reflect the political realities
of today. It would be inconceivable to have a reformed
Council without permanent seats for Japan, Germany,
Brazil and India, as well as representation for Africa.

Micronesia is confident that the United Nations
can maintain international peace and security. It shines
like a bright beacon of hope for those suffering from
the ravages of war. Micronesia condemns senseless
killings, no matter where they occur. The Middle East
is a specific trouble spot that deserves this body’s
attention. Peace can be achieved through mutual
respect and economic stability, not by using civilian
lives as shields.

Micronesia also looks to the United Nations to
effectively address the global security threats posed by
climate change. Micronesia has taken an active role in
the international sustainable development and climate
change negotiation processes. We will continue seeking
solutions to those challenges, out of the conviction that
it is our moral obligation to protect Mother Nature
and her bounties. All countries must work together to
protect our children’s future.


It
is an honour to participate in the sixty-ninth session
of the General Assembly of the United Nations by
representing the people and the Government of the
Dominican Republic. I wish to express my sincere
congratulations to Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election as
President at the current session. I wish to thank the
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the honour
bestowed on our country by inviting us to participate
in the Education First initiative. As I hope that he
was able to note in his recent visit to our country, the
priority that education is being given in the Dominican
Republic is perhaps the best indicator of the new hopes
springing up in our country. It is true that news of hope
is especially valuable these days when it is not very
abundant.

Generally speaking, the times we live in
raise major challenges for the mission of the
Organization — preserving peace, encouraging
development, making education and health the
entitlement of all inhabitants of the Earth. As we are
all aware, about six years ago, a crisis that began in
the financial sector of developed countries quickly
spread to all productive sectors and has affected the
entire planet. The consequences of the economic shock
continue to be felt and were translated into tens of
millions of unemployed, millions of evictions and deep
cuts in social benefits in our countries.

The welfare State, the instrument which produced
some of the greatest advances in development and
security in history, was jeopardized. Today, we live
the paradox of seeing how that ideal of sustainable
growth and social justice becomes more fragile in
the countries of origin, while it is being reborn in
emerging countries. While developed countries adopt
policies of austerity and structural adjustments, which
are concepts sadly familiar to Latin Americans, we
see how social programmes proliferate in different
corners of the planet, lifting millions out of poverty and
mitigating inequality.

In the Dominican Republic, we still have a long
road ahead of us, but we are taking firm steps in the
fight against poverty and inequality. We are a small
country but we do not lack ambition. We have made
the commitment to our people, our citizens, to put
them at the centre of our public policy. And we have
set ourselves the goal to become a developed and
prosperous country, where equal opportunities will be,
not an ideal, but an everyday reality.

To achieve this, we have established a major
domestic compact, which will be our top priority as a
nation: namely, education. That is why we have doubled
the current budget for public education and allocated

to it 4 per cent of our gross domestic product. This
will enable us to carry out the largest expansion of
school infrastructure ever in our history and ensure
that all girls and boys, without exception, will have
access to quality public education. I am also proud to
tell the Assembly that at the end of this year, thanks to
the efforts of thousands of volunteers, we will be in a
position to declare our country free of illiteracy.

In health, that second pillar essential to the welfare
State, we are also making significant progress. We
have eliminated the co-payment for all public hospitals.
Every year, we add 450,000 participants to the
subsidized health insurance system.

We are also giving priority to supporting small
agricultural producers. We have been visiting rural
communities every week for two years now, listening
to people and seeking ways of helping them, such as
by providing credits, training and infrastructure. The
result of this, which is being monitored by the United
Nations Development Programme, is a rebirth of the
Dominican countryside, including improving its ability
to feed the country and creating employment in rural
communities. Thanks to that and other measures, over
the past 18 months in the Dominican Republic overall
poverty has been reduced by 6 per cent and poverty
in rural areas by 9 per cent. In other words, in 18
months we have lifted more than half a million people
out of poverty. We will continue to work tirelessly,
implementing policies that put the economy at the
service of the people and taking measures to combat
poverty and inequality in a sustainable manner, and we
will continue to create the basis of what one day will be
a full welfare State in the Dominican Republic.

It is an honour for us to be one of the signatory
nations of the founding Charter of the United
Nations, which, as everyone knows, assigned to the
Organization its purpose of saving future generations
from the scourge of war. We should recognize that 2014
is presenting major challenges to that noble purpose. In
different latitudes of the world, there have been violent
conflicts between communities, peoples or States. The
contexts of those conflicts are varied, but one thing
remains constant — the extent to which past grievances
shape our identities today, and how dangerous it is to
allow oneself to be submerged by them. We watch in
perplexity and indignation the virulence with which
these violent conflicts are waged in different parts of
the world.

The Middle East is once again the scene of the
bloodiest sectarianism, which we condemn from this
rostrum in all its manifestations. In the history of all
nations or communities, without exception, there is
a long history of disagreements, misunderstandings
and quarrels that, at times, can be used to stir up the
worst passions. They can be manipulated by individuals
seeking to consolidate power or inflamed by extremist
groups that feel that they have nothing to lose. There will
always be someone who keeps old disputes alive. There
will always be someone who does not mind sacrificing
the true interests of the people at the time because of
the wrongs of the past recorded in the history books.

However, there are plenty of examples to the
contrary. Throughout the world, there are people and
countries that have managed to leave their past behind
in order to focus on building the future that they want
for their children and new generations. Whether it is
building bridges between countries once in conflict, as
the European Union did, or among communities that
decided to share the same nation, as in the case of South
Africa. Hope can and must find its way.

I would also like, if I may, to bring a note of
optimism from our Caribbean region. In the past year,
we started a dialogue process with neighbouring Haiti
that can rightly be regarded as historic. Our situation is
of course unique but not to the degree that it cannot be
echoed in other parts of the world. As members perhaps
know, since the birth of our two Republics, there has
been a long history of misunderstanding and disputes,
which led to each of our countries having a distorted
picture of the other.

It is true that in our past there were a couple of
painful chapters, which are part of our identity.
However, if we limit our identity to those few chapters,
it will be impoverished. Our history is very rich. It has
hundreds of chapters. In many of them, we can find the
inspiration to guide us towards a better future and a
more complete, richer and more human identity because
that is clearly an excellent basis for understanding. In
both countries, there are millions of people who want
better development, education, health care, security
and jobs and more opportunities. Those are concrete
demands that require specific measures. The truth is
that, by responding to them and reaching agreements
in each of those areas, in a few months we were able to
achieve the progress that we had not made in decades.

Little by little, we are moving forward. We are
discovering that old wounds do not impede advancing
on that path, but that they heal as we move forward.
Our peoples demanded that we exercise the necessary

courage to take the first step. We will continue to take
steps until we achieve our goal of two free, sovereign
and independent nations that, on the basis of their
sovereignty, cooperate for the benefit of their respective
peoples.

I wish to take this opportunity from this rostrum
at the General Assembly to make an appeal. As I have
said, a new era in Dominican-Haitian relations has
begun. In that new phase, we would like to enjoy the
support of the international community. One of our
main actions to strengthen Dominican sovereignty and
to ensure the rights of people living in our territory
is to provide them all the relevant documentation. As
members know, many of those people are Haitian. In
order to regularize their status in the territory of the
Dominican Republic, they must first have identity
papers from their country of origin, which many of them
unfortunately lack. Haiti is making an effort to reach
those Haitians and to provide them with documents
that recognize them as its nationals. However, Haiti’s
technical and economic resources are limited. In the
past, a number of international organizations and
countries have expressed their concern about the
fate of Haitian migrants. We share that concern for
humanitarian reasons and because it affects us as the
main host country.

I would therefore note that now is an excellent
time to move from words to actions. With specific and
relatively simple actions, the international community
can have a major and lasting impact on the lives of those
people. I appeal for help for Haiti. May the international
community help Haiti to document its people in its
territory and in ours, since documentation is the first
essential step for the enjoyment of a wide-ranging body
of rights. Let us not allow a few technical shortcomings
to be an obstacle to such a hopeful and necessary process
with as much potential as that new stage of cooperation
between the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

There are times when our best aspirations seem
fragile. There are times when cynical people point out,
under I do not know what law of the economy or in
history, that we are bound to repeat the mistakes of
the past. They say that poverty cannot be overcome,
that the gap of inequality will always grow and that
past grievances will be reborn in each new generation.
However, we know that none of that is true. We know
where to look to find the path of hope. We have only to
look at those who are closest, that is, our own people,
their basic daily needs and the hopes that motivate them
to continue the struggle. If we look carefully, we see
that the economy is not a prison but can be a tool for
improving the lives of people. We find that the people
are free. They are free to know which parts of their past
they wish to use as a guide to their future and which
they wish to leave aside.

We will find a way to work together, as we have
done with the neighbours with whom we share an island,
or as we found yesterday, during the climate summit,
with the other countries with which we share the planet.
The citizens that we represent, increasingly better
informed, demand that we live up to our responsibility
and our declared commitment: to preserve peace, to
promote development and to make education and health
care the right of all inhabitants of the planet.


At the outset,
I would like to express my sincerest congratulations to
Mr. Sam Kutesa on his assumption of the presidency of the
General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I am confident
that he will steer the work of this session towards the best
results. Allow me also to commend the efforts of Mr. Ban
Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, for
achieving the objectives of the Organization and for
promoting international peace and security. I would like
to thank him in particular for standing with the Libyan
people during the revolution against the dictatorship and
for providing support for our nascent democracy after the
revolution.

I am honoured to stand before members today as
the representative of the Libyan people to describe their
ambitions, pains and hopes, to participate in the quest
for the best ways to maintain peace and security on our
planet and to achieve the common aspirations of our
peoples. There is no doubt that those who witnessed the
revolution of the Libyan people against dictatorship in
2011 were impressed by the courage, unity, awareness
and creative capabilities of our people. But today there
is no doubt that many are astonished by events in
Libya — the fighting, the bloodshed among brothers,
the unjustified destruction of infrastructure and public
and private property. Many may wonder, where are
the people they saw three years ago? Where are the
unarmed revolutionaries who flocked into the streets,
facing bullets with their bare chests to defend their
rights? Where are the intellectuals who flooded the
media with realistic assessments and convinced the
world of the justice of their people’s cause?

I would say, yes, that was the true Libyan people.
They did not think in terms of material gains or leadership
positions. Their only aspiration was to put an end to
dictatorship and pave the road for democracy to ensure
a prosperous future for all Libyans. Unfortunately,
Libya today is in a completely different situation. Most
of the activists have left the political arena, either
because of the forcibly imposed political isolation law
or because of the campaigns of intimidation, arrests and
assassinations perpetrated by various armed groups
against anyone who opposes their views or calls for
their disarmament and demobilization.

Some armed groups are no longer subject to the
Government’s direction as they try to impose their
will on the Libyan people by force, violate human
rights and blackmail the Government to gain access
to funds, while they refuse to arm the police and to

reinstitute, reconstruct and arm the army. The existing
conflict in and around Tripoli among armed groups
that opposed the legitimate authorities has forced the
Government to evacuate all of its premises, which
were seized by a coalition of armed groups. Those
included a terrorist group that professes Al-Qaida
ideology and is known for its stand against the building
of State institutions — a group placed on the list of
terrorist organizations by the United States and the
European Union. Moreover, the residences of many
ministers and citizens were looted and burned down.
That group is still waging war on the region west of
the city of Tripoli, inhabited by the Warshafana tribe.
The indiscriminate shelling with heavy weaponry led
to the exodus of most of its population, which then led
the House of Representatives to declare it a disaster
area. That could not have happened if the international
community had taken the situation in Libya seriously,
assisted the Government in establishing a strong army,
exerted pressure to ensure the disarmament of armed
groups and supported the arming of the police.

The armed groups that captured the capital have
clearly declared their opposition to the legitimate
institutions of the State and their quest to overthrow
the elected House of Representatives and the elected
Government, in an apparent effort to derail the process
of democratic transition and topple the legitimate
authorities by forming a parallel Government.
Furthermore, that has not sufficed for the group that
controls Tripoli. It has also persecuted political activists,
human rights defenders and journalists, shut down
media channels and forcibly prevented opponents from
demonstrating in the city of Tripoli and other cities. It
has recruited media personnel and some radical clerics
to incite the killing of those with different opinions and
those who support the elected House of Representatives
and the Government.

The group has allied itself with Ansar Al-Sharia,
which professes the ideology of Al-Qaida. It has
practised terrorism in some Libyan cities, especially
Benghazi and Derna. It has provided a safe haven and
training camps for terrorists from all over the world,
including Tunisia, Algeria, Egypt and Mali, with
unrivalled financial and media support from outside the
country, in order to undermine the legitimate Libyan
authorities and enable it to implement its conspiracy.

I wish the Assembly to know that turning a blind eye
to terrorism in Libya is no longer acceptable. Our people
can no longer tolerate assassinations, humiliation,
intimidation, suppression of freedoms or human rights
violations based on an individual’s background and
belief. The international community can either stand
with the elected legitimate authorities and implement
Security Council resolution 2174 (2014) by imposing
sanctions on those who impede the political process,
undermine security and seize State institutions, or
affirm loudly and clearly that the Libyans have to take
on terrorism single-handedly. Surely, the international
community must take action to withstand the effects
of the expansion of terrorism in North Africa and the
Sahel region.

We are in need of substantial assistance from
Libya’s friends — help in rebuilding the army and
providing it with all it needs to stop the fighting among
brothers and battle terrorism and extremism, which
now form a broad front stretching from Iraq to Algeria.
That front cannot be eliminated without an alliance
of the States concerned to ensure the elimination
of terrorism and guarantee the dissemination of the
principles of tolerance and democracy. The failure to
provide arms and training to the Libyan army in its war
against terrorism serves the interests of extremism,
adds to instability in Libya, disrupts calm in the region
and threatens global peace.

We welcome all efforts and goodwill by friendly
countries, the United Nations, the League of Arab States
and the African Union to help the legitimate Libyan
authorities regain control, either by taking a bold stand
with the House of Representatives, the Government and
the constitution-drafting body and by persuading armed
groups to give up their arms, withdraw from State
institutions and obey the Government’s directions, or
by exerting pressure on the political movements and
armed groups so that they renounce violence and agree
to a dialogue on the priorities and future of Libya.

Every illegitimate contact, unauthorized by the
Government, of any foreign country with individuals,
groups and organizations that do not recognize the
Government’s authority or that of the elected House
of Representatives and that use violence as a means
to impose their views on the Libyan people will be
considered by the Government an unfriendly act against
the unity and stability of Libya. Hence, all necessary
measures will be taken to confront it.

The Libyan people, under the leadership of the
legitimate authority, will not submit to blackmail and
intimidation and will resist any attempt to impose
a totalitarian dictatorship, whatever its slogan. We

wish that the Government did not need the assistance
of brotherly and friendly countries to extend State
authority over its territory and eliminate the terrorism
and criminality that threaten Libya’s security and unity,
causing the displacement of hundreds of thousands from
their homes in various parts of Libya and destroying
the economy.

The House of Representatives and the Government
are determined to pursue the path of dialogue and
tolerance within the framework of legitimacy, solve
all the problems and differences between Libyans,
agree on priorities, respect the democratic process and
re-establish the rule of law and the holding of elections.
They are also determined to demobilize all armed
groups and to stop their funding by the end of the
current year. We hope that the international community
will help us to carry out the following measures.

First, we must ensure the establishment by the
State of defence and security organs and make the
Government the sole, legitimate authority capable
of using force in disarming the armed groups and
exercising its authority over all Libya’s territory.

Secondly, we must ensure Government control
over the capital, Tripoli, and the withdrawal of armed
groups from State institutions so that officials can work
without being threatened and provide services to the
citizens.

Thirdly, we must realize that the establishment of
illegal institutions set up in parallel with the existing
bodies is impeding the political process and is subject
to sanctions under Security Council resolution 2174
(2014).

Fourthly, we must establish genuine, active
cooperation in combating terrorism through a strategic
alliance between Libya and its neighbouring countries
north and south of the Mediterranean.

Lastly, we must strengthen the culture of dialogue,
without exclusion or marginalization, and, with the help
of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, the
neighbouring countries, the League of Arab States and
the African Union, initiate a comprehensive dialogue
for all Libyan people.

As the General Assembly begins its deliberations
at its sixty-ninth session, whose main theme is the post-
2015 development agenda, I would like to point out
that when the Millennium Development Goals were
set, Libya started to review its economic policies and
restructure its economy to achieve them. However,
the deteriorating security situation has disrupted the
economy. I would like to note the close interlinkages
among security, stability and development. Without
security, there will be no development, and vice versa.
Therefore, restoring security and stability in Libya is
key to advancing development, bringing the disrupted
economy back on track, achieving the remaining
Millennium Development Goals and preparing to
achieve the post-2015 development goals, once they are
adopted.

Libya looks forward to the support of the United
Nations and friendly countries in restoring security
and the capacity-building of military and security
institutions in order to ensure the launch of programmes
for reconstruction and development. We also look
forward to the assistance of all countries in tracing looted
funds abroad and repatriating them to enable Libya to
increase funding for development and infrastructure
programmes. That will help eliminate unemployment
and absorb a large numbers of foreign workers, estimated
at several millions, from neighbouring countries. Both
Libya and the neighbouring countries would benefit,
and illegal immigration to Europe of people in search
of work and decent living conditions would be reduced.

Despite the circumstances in Libya, we cannot
forget the tragedy of the Palestinian people and their
suffering. They have taken refuge in various countries
around the world because of the Israeli occupation. We
reaffirm our condemnation of the Israeli occupation
and its practices in the Palestinian and Arab occupied
territories. We call for the Security Council to
provide protection for the Palestinian people, set a
timetable to end the Israeli occupation and establish
an independent and sovereign Palestinian State on all
the Palestinian territories, with East Jerusalem as its
capital. The Palestinian State should be a full member
of all international organizations. Palestinian refugees
should be entitled to return to their lands, from which
they were expelled.

The continued blockade and repeated Israeli
aggression against the Gaza Strip and the destruction
of infrastructure have brought shame on civilized
human beings. The international community should be
committed to the reconstruction of Gaza, preventing
the recurrence of destruction and killing by the Israeli
army, ensuring the prosecution of all those responsible
for war crimes committed in the Gaza Strip and
supporting the efforts of the Government of national

reconciliation, led by Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas.


It is a great
satisfaction for Brazil, which has the honour and
privilege of opening this debate, to have as the President
of this session of the General Assembly a son of Africa.
As Brazilians we are united by ties of history, culture
and friendship with the African continent, whose
legacy was and always will be decisive for my country’s
national identity.

I open this general debate on the eve of elections
in Brazil that will determine the President of the
Republic, State governors and a significant portion of
our Congress. Those elections represent the celebration
of a democracy we achieved almost 30 years ago, after
two decades of dictatorial rule. Through democracy we
also advanced towards the country’s economic stability.

During the past 12 years in particular, we have
consolidated those achievements by building an
inclusive society based on equal opportunity. The great
transformation to which we are committed has resulted
in a modern economy and a more egalitarian society. At
the same time it has required strong civic participation,

respect for human rights and a sustainable vision of
development. Lastly, it has also required an engagement
on the world stage characterized by a multilateral
approach, respect for international law, the quest for
peace and a culture of solidarity.

A few days ago, the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations announced that
Brazil is no longer on the World Hunger Map. That
transformation is the result of economic policies that
have generated 21 million jobs, raised the minimum
wage and increased its purchasing power by 71 per cent
in the past 12 years. Those policies have also reduced
inequality. Since 2003, 36 million Brazilians have been
lifted out of extreme poverty, 22 million of them during
my Administration alone. Social policies and income-
transfer programmes, coordinated within our plan for a
Brazil without extreme poverty, have also contributed
to those results. On the health-care front, we have been
able to meet our target for reduced child mortality
before the deadline set by the Millennium Development
Goals.

We have also made access to basic primary and
middle-school education universally available, and we
are now pursuing the same goal for secondary education.
We are equally committed to enhancing the quality of
education by, inter alia, improving curriculums and
raising the profile of teachers. Vocational education
has made strides, with the creation of hundreds of new
schools and the professional training and development
of 8 million young people over the past four years.
There has been an unprecedented expansion of higher
education, with the establishment of new publicly
funded universities and of scholarships and financial
aid that has given 3 million students access to private
universities. Affirmative-action policies have enabled
poor, black and indigenous students to enrol in
universities on a massive scale.

Finally, our efforts to tackle the challenges
of building a knowledge-based society have led
to the creation of a programme known as Science
Without Borders, which has sent more than 100,000
undergraduate and graduate students to the world’s
best universities. Through a presidential initiative, our
National Congress has enacted legislation allocating
to education 75 per cent of the royalties earned from
pre-salt oil exploration and 50 per cent of the social
fund generated by pre-salt oil revenues, with 25 per
cent of pre-salt oil exploration royalties going to health
care. We will thus be able to transform finite resources
such as oil and gas into permanent assets — education,
science and technology, and innovation. That will be
our passport to the future.

We have not neglected fiscal discipline and
monetary stability, and we have striven to protect
Brazil from external volatility. We were thus able to
overcome the challenges arising from the major global
economic crisis, triggered in 2008 by the collapse of
Lehman Brothers, which subsequently developed into
national sovereign debt crises affecting many countries.
We resisted its worst consequences — unemployment,
wage depreciation, erosion of social rights and
stalled investment. We followed through with income
distribution by stimulating growth and employment and
maintaining our investment in infrastructure. Brazil
jumped from the thirteenth- to the seventh-largest
economy in the world. Our per capita income more than
tripled, and inequality fell sharply. In 2002, more than
half of Brazil’s population was poor or living below the
poverty line; today three out of every four Brazilians
are firmly in the middle-class and upper-income
ranges. During the economic crisis, when hundreds of
millions around the world were left unemployed, Brazil
created 12 million new jobs. In addition, we became
a primary destination for foreign investment, and we
resumed our investment in infrastructure through
strong partnerships with the private sector.

All of those gains have occurred within the context
of a sound fiscal environment. We have reduced our
net ratio of public debt to gross domestic product
(GDP) from about 60 per cent to 35 per cent. Our gross
external debt in relation to GDP fell from 42 per cent
to 14 per cent. Our international reserves increased
tenfold, making Brazil an international creditor. Our
annual inflation rate has also remained within the
maximum and minimum range fixed by our current
national targets.

Although we have managed to fend off the most
harmful consequences of the global crisis, we have
nonetheless been acutely affected by it in the past
few years, owing to the persistence all over the world
of substantial economic difficulties that have had a
negative effect on our growth. Here I would like to
reiterate what I said at the opening of last year’s general
debate (see A/68/PV.5). It is vital and urgent that we
restore the momentum of the global economy, which
should work to drive investment and international
trade and reduce inequalities between countries, and
not become a factor that ultimately slows economic

development and income distribution in society as a
whole.

Regarding international trade, there must be a
unanimous commitment to an action plan leading to the
conclusion of the Doha Round. It is also imperative that
we end the disparity between the growing importance
of developing countries to the global economy and their
insufficient representation and participation in the
decision-making processes of international financial
institutions such as the International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank. The delay in expanding
developing countries’ voting rights in those institutions
is unacceptable. The risk to those institutions is that
could lose their legitimacy and effectiveness.

In July Brazil had the pleasure of hosting the
sixth Summit of the BRICS countries, namely, Brazil,
Russia, India, China and South Africa. We welcomed
their leaders in a fraternal and fruitful meeting that
pointed to important possibilities for the future. We
signed agreements establishing a new development
bank and a contingent reserve arrangement. The bank
will cater to the infrastructure financing needs of the
BRICS and other developing countries. The contingent
reserve arrangement will protect them from financial
volatility. Each instrument will have a capital injection
of $100 billion.

The current generation of world leaders — our
generation — is also being called on to deal with significant
challenges to peace, collective security and the
environment. We have been unable either to solve old
disputes or to prevent new threats. It is impossible to
eliminate the underlying causes of conflict through the
use of force. That has been made clear by the persistence
of the Palestine question, the systematic massacre of
the Syrian people, the tragic national fragmentation of
Iraq, the serious insecurity in Libya, the conflicts in the
Sahel and the clashes in Ukraine. Instead of leading to
peace, every military intervention has worsened those
conflicts. We are witnessing the tragic proliferation
of civilian victims and humanitarian disasters. We
cannot allow such barbaric acts to increase and violate
our ethical, moral and civilizational values. Nor can
we remain indifferent to the spread of the Ebola virus
in West Africa. We therefore support the Secretary-
General’s proposal to establish a United Nations
Mission for Ebola Emergency Response. Brazil is
solidly in favour of it.

The Security Council has had some difficulties
in promoting peaceful solutions to those conflicts.
To overcome such stalemates, a genuine reform of
the Council will be required, a process that has been
dragging on for quite some time. The coming seventieth
anniversary of the United Nations, in 2015, appears to
be an occasion conducive to achieving the progress
that the situation currently calls for. I am quite certain
that we all understand the serious risks arising from
paralysis and inaction in the Security Council. A more
representative and legitimate Security Council would
also be more effective.

I wish to underscore that we cannot possibly remain
indifferent to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis, particularly
after the recent dramatic events in Gaza. We condemn
the disproportionate use of force that has strongly
victimized the civilian population, especially women
and children. The conflict must be properly resolved,
not precariously managed, as has been the case up to
now. Effective negotiations between the parties must
ultimately lead to a two-State solution with Palestine
and Israel living side by side in security within
internationally recognized borders.

Amid so many conflict situations, Latin America
and the Caribbean seek to face up to the main problem
that has marked our region for centuries. I am talking
about social inequality. Democratic roots have become
stronger, and the demand for more just, inclusive and
sustainable growth has grown ever stronger. Through
the Union of South American Nations, the Common
Market of the South, and the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States, integration efforts
have made tremendous headway.

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges of
our times. To overcome that challenge, we need a sense
of urgency, political courage and a keen understanding
that actors have to contribute according to the
principles of equity and common but differentiated
responsibilities. The recent Climate Summit, which was
convened in a very timely manner by the Secretary-
General, further invigorated negotiations at the level of
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.

The Brazilian Government will strive to ensure
that the outcome of the negotiations will lead to a
balanced, fair and effective agreement. Brazil has been
doing its part to face up to the challenge of climate
change. In 2009, during the Copenhagen Conference,
we committed to a voluntary reduction of 36 to 39 per
cent of our projected emissions by 2020. Between 2010
and 2013, we avoided releasing into the atmosphere an

average of 650 million tons of carbon dioxide every
year. Throughout those years, we achieved the lowest
deforestation rates in our history. In the past decade,
we have reduced deforestation by 79 per cent, without
giving up our agenda of economic development and
social inclusion.

We have therefore shown that it is possible to
grow, to include, to preserve and to protect. Such an
achievement stems from the continuous and steadfast
commitment of the Brazilian Government, civil society
and other public and private stakeholders. We hope
that developed countries, which have not only the
legal but also a political obligation to lead by example,
will unequivocally and concretely demonstrate their
commitment to combat this problem that affects us all.

At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development in Rio de Janeiro, we were proud to set
the foundations for a new development agenda, based
on sustainable development goals applicable to both
developing and developed nations. It will be crucial
for us to identify the means of implementation that
correspond to the magnitude of the challenges that we
have committed ourselves to overcoming. We must be
ambitious when it comes to financing, cooperation,
national capacity-building and technology transfer,
especially to ensure that the least developed countries
benefit. Let me underscore, in that context, the need to
establish a mechanism for the development, transfer and
dissemination of clean, environmentally sustainable
technologies.

In addition to sustainable development and peace,
the international order that we seek to build must be
anchored on fundamental values. Among those values,
emphasis should be put on efforts to combat all forms
of discrimination and exclusion. We have a clear-cut
commitment to the empowerment of women in the
labour market, liberal professions, entrepreneurship,
political activity and access to education, among others.
My Administration has tirelessly fought violence
against women in all its forms. We consider the twenty-
first century to be the century of women.

By the same token, the promotion of racial equality
seeks to compensate Brazilians of African descent for
the consequences of the centuries of slavery to which
they were subjected. Today, those Brazilians account
for more than half of our population. We owe them our
rich and permanent legacy of cultural, religious and
human wealth and values. For us, racial miscegenation
is a matter of pride. Racism is not only a heinous and
extremely serious crime, but it is also a scourge that we
have not hesitated to fight, punish and eradicate.

The same commitment that we have had to combat
violence against women and African Brazilians, we
have also had against homophobia. My country’s
Supreme Court has recognized same-sex civil unions,
thereby ensuring them the full range of civil rights
arising therefrom. We firmly believe in the dignity of
all human beings and in the universal nature of their
fundamental rights. Those rights must be protected
from all double standards and all forms of politicization,
both domestically and internationally.

Yet another fundamental value is the respect for
public good. We all face a relentless fight against
corruption. History has shown that there is only one
correct and efficient way to tackle corruption; that is
by ending impunity, thereby strengthening institutions
that oversee, investigate and punish acts of corruption,
money-laundering and other financial crimes. That is
a responsibility incumbent upon each Government, a
responsibility that Brazil has fulfilled by strengthening
our institutions.

In Brazil, we have designed and built a Government
transparency portal website that gives citizens access
to all information on Government spending within 24
hours after monies are spent. We have also adopted
a law on access to information, which allows all
Brazilian citizens the right to access Government
data, except for that related to the country’s national
sovereignty. We have strengthened and given autonomy
to investigators as well as to those in charge of internal
Government controls. We have passed laws that punish
not only those who actively engage in corruption but
also those who passively agree with acts of corruption.
Strengthening those institutions is absolutely crucial
for strengthening open and democratic governance.
Brazil’s recent re-election to the Executive Committee
of the Open Government Partnership will also allow
us to contribute to promoting more transparent
Governments worldwide.

It is essential that measures be taken to effectively
protect human rights, not only in the real world but
also in the virtual world, as stated in resolution 68/167
on privacy in the digital age, adopted by the General
Assembly in the past year. Brazil and Germany
promoted an important discussion on the matter in
2013. We intend to deepen that discussion during this
sixty-ninth session. For our review of such matters, the
2013 annual report of the Office of the United Nations

High Commissioner for Human Rights, published in
May 2014, can provide significant inputs. In September
2013, I proposed from this rostrum (see A/68/PV.5) that
a civil framework be development for the governance
and use of the Internet, a framework based on the
principles of freedom of expression, privacy, network
neutrality and cultural diversity.

I am pleased to note that the international community
has, since then, mobilized its efforts to enhance the
current Internet governance architecture. Brazil’s
initiative to hold the Global Multistakeholder Meeting
on the Future of Internet Governance, NETmundial, in
São Paulo in April was an important step in the process.
The Meeting brought together stakeholders from
various regions of the world and from multiple sectors.
Discussions were held on the principles that should be
followed and the actions to be undertaken in order to
ensure that the Internet will continue to develop in an
open, democratic, free, multisectoral and multilateral
manner.

The United Nations and its Member States have
before them today challenges of great magnitude, which
should be the priorities of this session of the General
Assembly. The year 2015 must be a turning point. I am
certain that we will not shy away from fulfilling, with a
sense of courage and insight, our lofty responsibilities
to build an international order founded on the promotion
of peace, sustainable development, poverty eradication
and the reduction of inequality. Brazil stands ready and
is fully determined to contribute to that end.


It gives me
great pleasure to express my sincere congratulations
to the President on his well-deserved election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. We are confident that his wisdom and
experience will ensure constructive and fruitful
deliberations on the very important and vital issues
before the Assembly. I should like to assure him of the
full cooperation of my delegation to that end. I also
express my deep appreciation to his predecessor and
my gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
competent and excellent leadership of the Organization.

I am delighted to report to the Assembly that
Afghanistan has achieved a significant milestone
with the successful conclusion of its presidential
elections, including the important task of recounting
the votes. The new President, Mr. Mohammad Ashraf
Ghani Ahmadzai, will be sworn in on 29 September.
Afghanistan is witnessing the transfer of power from one
elected administration to the next. While Afghanistan
faces marked challenges, we are confident that the new
Government, which enjoys the full backing of the vast
majority of Afghans, will strive to bring about political
security and socioeconomic prosperity to Afghanistan
and, by extension, to the region and beyond.

It was more than a decade ago that many countries
of the world joined the Afghan people in their struggle
for peace and fought against the forces of extremism
and terrorism. In that regard, we have collectively
achieved tangible results. Unfortunately, however,
the menace of terrorism and extremism continues to
threaten security, socioeconomic development and
peace, not only in Afghanistan but also in the region.
There is an urgent need for a comprehensive response
to the threats from terrorism, drugs and extremism at
the regional and international levels.

Today, Afghanistan has credible political
institutions, an elected Parliament, a Constitution
and elected provincial councils supported by the
brave Afghan National Security Forces. The people
of Afghanistan have witnessed many positive
achievements in the past decade, including in the fields
of socioeconomic development, education — especially
education for our girls — health, communications
and information technology, and the promotion and
protection of human rights, including particularly
the rights of women. Afghanistan has one of the
most dynamic media scenes in the region, propelled
by the freedom of expression that the Afghan people
have enjoyed for more than a decade. We should also
underscore the pioneering spirit of our youth, who are
behind much of the innovativeness and diversity of
thought in academia and in the private sector.

The Afghan people appreciate and thank the
international community for the vital support that it has
given the country to build security, peace and prosperity
in Afghanistan. We look forward to continued mutual
cooperation with the international community to
protect our achievements and ensure the sustainability
of a strong partnership.

The transfer of security responsibilities from the
international forces to the Afghan National Security
Forces for the whole of Afghanistan, launched in the
summer of 2011, will be achieved by the end of 2014.

As we speak, Afghan forces are providing security
independently across the country, despite increasing
acts of terrorism inside Afghanistan, which are being
committed with support from terrorists from beyond
our borders. The growing levels of violent extremism
and the alarming developments in the Middle East and
other parts of the world make international support
for the NATO mission in Afghanistan even more
imperative.

Parallel to our ongoing efforts to enhance the
capacity and capabilities of our National Security
Forces, the Afghan Government is also pursuing a
dialogue to achieve peace through political means and
reconciliation. We have put in place clear conditions
in order for that process to be accepted by the Afghan
people. For instance, we demand the renunciation of
violence and respect for Afghanistan’s Constitution, as
it guarantees full and equal rights to Afghan men and
women and is the only tool for the preservation of our
collective achievements of the past decade.

Afghanistan strongly believes in comprehensive,
long-term, friendly and good-neighbourly relations
between Pakistan and Afghanistan in the fight against
terrorism and the strengthening of peace and stability
between the two nations in the region. At the same time,
we would like to express our serious concern over the
rocket attacks by Pakistani forces onto Afghanistan’s
soil. The continuation of such attacks is unacceptable
to Afghanistan. We hope that the Government of
Pakistan, considering our common interests in ensuring
peace and stability, will put an end to any kind of acts
that could endanger the prospects for good-neighbourly
relations and will act to protect cooperation and trust
between our two nations.

The Afghan Government is keen to reduce the
negative economic impact of the security transition and
to move towards sustainable economic development in
at least three ways.

First, we will focus on the development of
agriculture and the agribusiness sector, where more
than 70 per cent of our population is directly or
indirectly engaged, with enormous potential for growth
and employment generation.

Secondly, Afghanistan is estimated to hold trillions
of dollars worth of natural resources, including minerals
and hydrocarbons, representing a guaranteed source of
wealth and income for generations to come. We already
have several State-owned and private companies from
China, India, the United Kingdom, Canada, Turkey, the
United Arab Emirates, Azerbaijan and other countries,
in addition to Afghan companies, expressing a keen
interest in investing billions of dollars.

Thirdly, Afghanistan is now on the eve of a
transformative decade, from 2015-2024, which will
be a multidimensional process that will have security,
political and economic ramifications. Therefore,
the pledges made at the 2012 Tokyo and Chicago
Conferences will maintain the Afghan Government’s
overall socioeconomic efforts. Afghanistan critically
needs the continuation of that support from its
international partners over the next few years.

Afghanistan’s report on its progress in achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), published
in late 2013, shows that the progress with regard to most
of the MDG targets, in particular those related to health
and universal primary education, is commendable.
Despite only starting in 2005, Afghanistan is committed
to achieving most of the MDGs by 2020. Meanwhile,
national consultations are under way to synchronize
efforts towards achieving the off-track MDG targets,
bearing in mind the outcome of the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals.

As we embark on the important task of crafting
the new post-2015 development agenda at this session,
I am happy to inform members that that process also
coincides with Afghanistan’s transformation decade.
Both are top priorities for Afghanistan’s national
development agenda. We appreciate the work of the
United Nations in recognizing the need to reduce
the number of sustainable development goals to an
affordable, achievable and realistic number in the post-
2015 development agenda. We are of the view that
that agenda should leave no one behind, it should be
adaptable to both global and local settings, and it should
have sustainable development and poverty eradication
at its centre.

Our region is blessed with vast resources and
opportunities for economic cooperation. An expanded
level of regional cooperation can serve both economic and
security purposes. The Afghan Government’s regional
strategic goal for economic cooperation is to establish
regional economic growth and resource corridors that
connect the Silk Road through Afghanistan, the people
of South and Central Asia and the Middle East and their
key economic activities, including agriculture, light
manufacturing and mineral extraction, with essential
trade, transit and energy enablers.

Regional cooperation is one of our priorities.
The Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process represents a
significant step towards enhancing stability and
regional cooperation between Afghanistan and the
12 participating countries, with the support of 12 other
country partners and nine international organizations.

This year’s General Assembly session takes place
at a time when the United Nations has seen a number
of conflicts continue and new ones have taken shape.
My Government fully supports the inalienable rights
of the Palestinian people and the establishment of
an independent Palestinian State with Jerusalem
as its capital. We strongly condemn illegal actions
and violations by the occupying Power against the
Palestinians as a whole, especially the ongoing
disproportionate and indiscriminate attacks on innocent
Palestinian civilians.

We express our grief at the killing of innocent
civilians in Syria and support a political resolution,
reached through a broad-based national dialogue that
meets the aspirations of all Syrians. With the worsening
security situation in Iraq and Libya, we strongly
condemn the actions of the Islamic State of Iraq and the
Sham and its brutality, and we call for joint efforts to
defeat that evil. In that context, I call upon the United
Nations to take appropriate action within its mandate to
uphold international peace and security.

My delegation believes that there is an urgent need
for the international community to pay attention to the
resolution of the crisis in Ukraine, while taking into
account the situation of civilians.

In conclusion, let me assure members that
Afghanistan remains committed to its national and
international responsibilities and obligations. We
reaffirm our strong will for a further strengthening of
democracy and good governance, including a further
strengthening of the rule of law; accountability and
transparency; the promotion and protection of human
rights, particularly the rights of women; justice reforms;
the fight against terrorism, narcotic drugs, corruption;
and the eradication of poverty. The support of the
international community is essential for all of that.


Let me
begin by conveying to the United States authorities my
delegation’s heartfelt gratitude for their always warm
hospitality in hosting this great annual event here in
New York. I also express my sincere congratulations to
the President and wish him full success in conducting
the work of the Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.
Finally, on behalf of my delegation and myself I renew
our full gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
for his commitment to serving our Organization.

The current session — the sixty-ninth — is
taking place at a crucial moment in the history of our
Organization, a crucible of multilateralism and global
diplomacy that has, over time, become an ever more
precious and indispensable tool for peace and security
in the world. The session is being held on the eve of
our Organization’s seventieth anniversary, which we
will celebrate one year hence in this beautiful city
of New York. We will celebrate it here, at a venue
renowned for the discussions and ongoing dialogue
that place humankind and the environment at the
forefront of concerns, with a view to fostering peace in
international relations. In the light of the wisdom and
experience of its 69 years, our Organization must find
fresh strength and vitality and renew its commitment to
a world continually faced with challenges and threats
that change and become more unpredictable with each
passing day.

The current session also provides us with an
important opportunity to carry out a comprehensive
assessment of our Organization’s work and undertake
the preparations to ensure that 2015 will be the year
of reform, on the occasion of our seventieth birthday.
Clearly, as part of that process, we should take greater
account, first, of new complications, such as those related
to the extreme vulnerability of small island developing
States, in accordance with the recommendations of the
recent Third International Conference on Small Island
Developing States, held in Apia. Secondly, we should
work to ensure better representation for developing
countries, particularly those in Africa, which today
includes not only areas that are seeing significant
economic growth but also some that are afflicted by
great poverty and often bloody conflicts that slow
their development and are an obstacle to their peoples’
welfare.

Meanwhile, it is vital that the long-hoped-for reform
of our Organization include ensuring that the Security
Council takes on the role of coordinator in the fight
against the new global scourge of terrorism. In any
event, as a country committed to and involved in the
East African Standby Force, the Union of the Comoros
fully appreciates the Security Council’s responsibilities
in helping to promote, guide and supervise the
prevention and resolution of conflicts in Central Africa,
Nigeria and Mali, as well as Libya, Syria, Iraq, Ukraine
and any country in crisis. All are sources of tension
that undermine peace in various parts of the world and
have become fertile breeding grounds for international
terrorism. It is in that context, and especially in the
wake of the recent and bloody armed attacks on our
Palestinian brothers in Gaza, that I would like to stress
the urgent need for a just and immediate solution to the
question of Palestine, which, sadly, is almost as old as
our Organization.

In order to maintain and build peace in a constantly
changing world, we must focus unfailingly on conflict
prevention, while continuing to support efforts to
solve crises as they arise. Our community of nations
has a duty to take the initiative on issues that may ruin
our Organization’s credibility if not dealt with fairly.
That is the case with my country, which, admitted
as a Member of the United Nations under resolution
3385 (XXX), of 12 November 1975, in affirmation of
the importance of respecting the unity and territorial
integrity of the Comoro Archipelago, consisting of four
islands, still awaits the completion of its decolonization
process. In that regard, in my address to the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session (see A/68/PV.10), I
discussed our new approach to reaching an agreement
with France on a fair solution that is consistent with the
principles governing our Organization.

In keeping with the commitment I expressed from
this rostrum, I would like to inform the Assembly that
the high joint council proposed by the Paris Declaration
has been established. This monitoring body began its
work in November 2013 and is preparing to meet again
at the end of this year. At its second meeting, the issues
it will address will include that of people’s movement
between the archipelago’s four islands, in an effort
to end the tragedies that afflict Comorian families
daily — tragedies that generally go unnoticed by
international public opinion but are deeply damaging
to my people’s collective consciousness. These are
tragedies that are equally troublesome to the conscience
of France, the great country whose humanistic values
we share.

In other words, quite apart from the two countries’
territorial dispute, it is extremely urgent that we end
this human tragedy through a peaceful and committed
dialogue between the two parties, which can only
benefit from United Nations support. That is why,
in the spirit of the Paris Declaration and to pave the
way for building a renewed relationship focused on
the future, I recently sought the support of the Indian
Ocean Commission at the fourth summit for Heads of
State and Government of that subregional organization,
of which France and the Comoros are both members.

There, the Comorian Government put the emphasis
on a spirit of harmony aimed at preserving the bonds
between our peoples, while reaffirming the importance
of respecting the principles of international law in
settling this 40-year dispute.

The purpose of the Assembly’s sixty-ninth session
is to define a development programme for the post-
2015 period, with, as its chief aims, the eradication
of poverty and hunger and the promotion of inclusive
and sustainable economic growth throughout the
world. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
unquestionably created a global covenant of solidarity
for our nation’s socioeconomic progress. Like many
countries, and like small island developing States
in particular, the Union of the Comoros has made
significant strides towards achieving the Goals,
including improving maternal health and women’s
participation in political and economic life, reducing
malaria and infant mortality, fighting HIV/AIDS and
ensuring equality in children’s education. However,
there is still much to do, particularly in the areas of
food security, access to universal health care and the
deterioration of the environment. Similarly, energy,
sustainable agriculture and access to drinking water
for much of the population are still matters for concern.

That is why, at a time when my country is
negotiating entry into the World Trade Organization,
we urge that the MDGs that have still not been reached
be incorporated into our new sustainable development
goals. We also call for strengthened strategic
partnerships for development, the establishment of an
equitable regime for international trade, the promotion
of domestic and foreign direct investment and, lastly,
greater mobilization and commitment in combating
climate change. It is also vital to implement promptly
the recommendations of the various climate summits,
especially the Samoa Conference and the Climate
Summit held here in New York on 23 September.

Many indicators over the past few years, such as the
rate of economic growth in various African countries,
give reason to hope for a better future for development
on our continent. However, Africa is having to deal
with challenges related to conflict resolution and
multiple threats to peace and security that no country
in the world can manage alone, without international
cooperation and support. One example is Ebola, a virus
that is devastating various West African countries, the
alarming scale and speed of whose spread represent a
global threat. We welcome the steps that many countries
have taken recently to help contain and eradicate this
epidemic.

It is on my belief in the crucial importance of
international solidarity in meeting our peoples’
ever-growing needs that I base my hopes of seeing
our Organization successfully negotiate its own
transformation after almost 70 years of existence.
Indeed, it is by rising to meet the many current
challenges and fully assuming the demands of an
increasingly interdependent and complex world that we
will be able together to open up ways of hope for future
generations.


We gather this week to reaffirm our commitment to
peace, justice and development. Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines proudly recognizes Mr. John Ashe, son
of our Caribbean soil and President of the General
Assembly at the sixty-eighth session, and commends
him for his invaluable contribution in advancing the
international agenda during his superlative tenure. We
joyously welcome the current President as our new
standard-bearer. As part of the African diaspora, we
celebrate with the continent of Africa in claiming him
as one of our own, and in investing the same faith and
confidence in him in this role as do the people of his
native Uganda.

Fifteen years into the twenty-first century, the
challenges of our times have caused some nations
to question the value or role of sovereignty in an
increasingly borderless world. Globalization and
modernity have unleashed a number of forces that
operate independently of national Governments or
borders. They include the ills of climate change;
communicable diseases such as Ebola; and economic
contagion that spreads like wildfire as external shocks
that pose serious developmental and existential threats
beyond the scope of individual States to address.
Groups have emerged — from terrorists to drug cartels
to certain rapacious multinationals — that span the
globe and exploit systemic weaknesses to further their
own nefarious self-interest.

The pressures of keeping pace in an interconnected
world have prompted suggestions that we can no longer
rely on a traditional rulebook that does not specifically
contemplate our modern challenges. Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines emphatically rejects this suggestion.
The rulebook that governs our international cooperation
is the Charter of the United Nations, and its principal
golden rule is that of respect for the sovereign equality
of all States.

To be sure, certain administrative aspects of our
rulebook — for example, the composition and working
methods of our fossilized and increasingly irrelevant
Security Council — are clearly long overdue for
meaningful reform. However, the principles that inform
our Charter and undergird the Assembly are timeless.
Any attempt to deviate from the Charter in word, deed
or spirit would constitute an assault on sovereignty, a
departure from diplomacy, and the improvisation of
international law on the fly.

The loss of sovereignty has never benefited the
weak or powerless. The erosion of sovereignty has
never restrained the interests of the powerful. The list
of nations whose sovereignty has been violated in the
interest of great Power convenience grows inexorably
longer, while the tally of those whose populations are
demonstrably better off for such violations remains
tragically short. Accordingly, Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines rejects the choice between modern
interconnectivity and traditional sovereignty as false
and intended to accelerate a global slide into lawless
unilateralism.

As upholders of and adherents to international law,
we continue to struggle in search of common themes
to help us understand which coup d’état is legal and
which is not; which foreign intervention is just and
which is criminal; which particular sovereignty or
territorial integrity is worth fighting for, and which
should be conveniently disregarded and swept under
the rug of endless, impotent debate; which national
border constitutes a barrier, and which represents an
invitation; which World Trade Organization decision
will be enforced to the detriment of the weak, and
which, as in the case of our Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) neighbour Antigua and Barbuda, will be
ignored by the guilty but powerful party. As a small,
open, vulnerable State, we cannot accept the suggestion
that our existence rests on the whim, generosity or
benign neglect of powerful States. International law
and sovereign equality are the bulwarks against the
type of naked aggression and unilateralism that have
too often led our nations to the precipice of war.

The cancer of terrorism continues to spread. The
world has witnessed the celebration of savagery and
the multiplication of misery by those who sow death
and hatred in the name of religion. Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines, like every other civilized nation,
is outraged at the global rise of militant groups that
commit unspeakable acts of mass violence in their
quest to enforce a brutal and indefensible social order.

However, the fact that terrorists disregard national
borders and sovereignty is no excuse for us to do the
same. We must not stoop to their level by neglecting
the bedrock principles of the peaceful coexistence
of nations. Nor must we ever repeat the mistake of
believing that terrorism is a force that can be harnessed
or supported to further some greater political objective.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines cannot accept that
the difference between noble rebel and evil terrorist

can hinge on something as arbitrary as on which side of
a border they decide to perform their rapes, beheadings
and bombings. We unequivocally support genuine
efforts targeted at eliminating this scourge, and we
call for global solidarity and international cooperation
in this urgent cause. Politics may make for strange
bedfellows, but in a civilized world, humanity must
always trump ideology in the fight against murderous
barbarism.

The political manipulation of the term “terrorist”
threatens our shared resolve to eliminate its growing
menace. Nowhere is this manipulation more glaringly
objectionable than in the false designation by the United
States of the Republic of Cuba as a State sponsor of
terrorism. Cuba has been a victim of State terrorism, a
condemner of State terrorism and a collaborator in the
fight against State terrorism. Meanwhile, other actors
nakedly support and lavishly fund the most despicable
terrorist groups, without so much as a hint of public
reproach. It is hard to imagine why the United States,
a firm, honourable and unquestioned global leader
in the fight against terrorism, and the target of the
most heinous attacks, would want to distract itself,
or its allies, from the fight at hand by maintaining its
unfounded characterization of Cuba.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines reiterates the
call of the overwhelming majority of States for an
immediate end to the illegal economic, commercial
and financial embargo against Cuba. The external
projection of political self-interest is not a sovereign
exercise, but a retrograde and anachronistic attack on
the very principles that undergird the Organization.
The United States is a far greater nation than this petty,
punitive and illegal embargo suggests. We encourage it
to demonstrate the courage to cast aside this Cold War
relic.

We are one month removed from the disastrous
consequences of yet another violent conflict between
combatants in Israel and the State of Palestine.
Thousands are dead and thousands more were
wounded — the overwhelming majority of whom
were Palestinian civilians. Whatever the motivations
for that particular conflict, no one can doubt that
the underlying problem remains unaddressed and
unresolved. At its root is the invasion, occupation and
economic strangulation of Palestine, and the steady,
illegal erosion of its internationally established borders.

Despite regrettable actions on both sides of this
dispute, no amount of political relativism can apportion
blame equally between occupier and occupied. The
unquestionable right of Israel to exist in peace and
defend itself does not and cannot give it unfettered
licence to occupy, oppress and suppress the sovereign
rights of the Palestinian people. Israel is a powerful,
accomplished, democratic nation with powerful
friends. It diminishes itself and the status of its allies
by its unchallenged actions in Palestine. Once again,
the absence of borders and the disregard of sovereignty
threaten to make the concept of a two-State solution
nothing more than feel-good rhetoric with limited
applicability on the ground.

A great Caribbean artist, Peter Tosh, once lamented
in song that while “everyone is crying out for peace,
none are crying out for justice”. Peace cannot be
assumed in the absence of war, nor can it be established
in the absence of justice. This Assembly owes the
people of Palestine its attention and action in the long-
overdue quest for real peace and statehood.

Climate change does not respect national
borders — a fact known all too well in Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines. Despite a tiny carbon footprint and
minuscule emissions, our country has nonetheless been
repeatedly victimized by weather anomalies partially
caused by the historical and continued environmental
abuse of major emitters. In the past four years,
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines has experienced
a hurricane, a drought and two floods. The loss and
damage caused by each of those events has resulted
in annual double-digit hits to our gross domestic
product (GDP). Last December, in a mere three hours
of unseasonal rainfall, 17 per cent of our GDP was
washed away in flash flooding. Our sister islands of
Grenada and Dominica were similarly affected. Lives
and livelihoods were lost, homes and infrastructure
were destroyed, and a developmental hole was dug from
which it will take years to emerge.

Yet, despite the gathering and intensifying global
threat of climate change, with its real and ruinous
present-day impacts, historical and major emitters
continue to act as if the planet had time on its side.
The excuses offered for continued inaction, whether
political, historical, scientific or economic, grow
increasingly indefensible. The prospects of genuine
progress against climate change become increasingly
remote with each passing day of diplomatic dithering,
buck-passing and finger-pointing.

Last week, the Secretary-General convened a
high-level Climate Summit here at United Nations

Headquarters in an admirable attempt to galvanize
political will for an ambitious and legally binding climate
treaty by 2015. However, the tangible results were less
than encouraging. Despite some welcome new pledges,
the numbers simply do not add up to anything close to
what is required to cap global warming at 1.5°C above
pre-industrial levels. Furthermore, the new resources
raised and pledged for the financing of adaptation to
climate change were a drop in the bucket — akin to
having a bake sale to settle the national debt.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is fearful that
the legally binding agreement, which we are scheduled
to enact next year, will be insufficiently ambitious to
solve our looming climate crisis, and that adaptation
financing will be woefully short of what is truly required.
If narrow interests and local electoral cowardice force
us to retreat behind our national borders and bury our
heads in the sand, we may squander a decade of effort
and our only real chance to save the planet on which we
live. The stakes are that high. We cannot afford to fail.

It is appropriate that the President of the General
Assembly will preside over the launch of the
International Decade of People of African Descent,
which runs from 1 January 2015 to 31 December 2024.
The theme of that Decade will be “People of African
descent: recognition, justice and development”. The
meaningful and action-oriented implementation of
this theme can have far-reaching positive effects on
the African continent and among its far-flung diaspora
alike.

One element of recognition, justice and development
that will be of central importance to Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines and the wider Caribbean Community
is the advancement of our claims for reparatory justice
from the European colonizing Powers that engaged in
native genocide, the transatlantic slave trade and the
prolonged system of chattel slavery itself. Over the past
year, CARICOM Heads of State and Government have
unanimously approved a series of policies, structures
and initiatives aimed at educating our populations
and engaging former slave-holding and slave-trading
nations in a conversation about reparatory justice. The
level of priority that CARICOM Governments accord to
the issue of reparatory justice cannot be overstated. At
the historical root of our region’s many developmental
impediments is an enduring legacy of slavery, which
is the unchanging millstone that we have been forced
to carry uphill for generations. We seek the support of
the international community in furthering our just and
timely cause.

Similarly, in a region still grappling with the
aftereffects of systematic discrimination, victimization
and human rights violations under the cover of unjust
law, we cannot countenance the re-emergence of
judicially sanctioned bigotry within our Caribbean
civilization. The application of the year-old decision
of the Constitutional Court of the Dominican Republic
continues to retroactively deny thousands of Dominican-
born citizens of their rights to nationality, identity
and equal protection. The unanimous international
condemnation of the decision has led to welcome and
increased political interaction between Haiti and the
Dominican Republic on a host of bilateral issues. We
hold out every hope that those discussions between
neighbours will benefit both countries.

However, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the
wider CARICOM remain outraged at the core human
rights violations that have not been corrected and cannot
be resolved by bilateral tête-à-tête. We are beyond the
point where continuing human rights violations can
be masked behind seemingly benign bureaucracy.
We call on the international community to assist our
brothers in the Dominican Republic in reinstating the
constitutional and human rights of those Dominicans
who have been so wrongly stripped of their citizenship
and dignity.

Last year, from this rostrum, Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines called on the United Nations to accept its
role and offer recompense to the victims of the cholera
outbreak in Haiti, it having been established that United
Nations peacekeepers brought the cholera with them to
Haiti (see A/68/PV.16). A year later, the United Nations
continues to dodge its moral and ethical responsibility.
The legitimacy of the Organization to conduct future
peacekeeping missions and the legacy of its leadership
at the highest levels will be irreparably damaged by any
failure to immediately redress this glaring wrong.

The prestige and legitimacy of the United Nations
can be further enhanced through further acceptance
of the reasonable calls for Taiwan’s meaningful
participation in the specialized agencies of the United
Nations. Taiwan already participates actively and
constructively in many critical international bodies.
My country and several others in the Caribbean and
Central America bear testimony to Taiwan’s principled
conduct of its intergovernmental relations. Surely the

time has now come for this exemplar of the magnificent
Chinese civilization to be permitted to participate in
the work of various agencies of this world body.

The chosen theme for this general debate — “Delivering
on and implementing a transformative post-2015
development agenda” — reflects a wise focus on a
central priority and core strength of this institution. The
exercise and advancement of the right to development is
an overarching priority for the overwhelming majority
of the world’s peoples, and it is the absence of sufficient
developmental progress that is often the root cause of a
great deal of global violence and unrest.

The post-2015 development agenda must coalesce
around a series of goals and targets that offer a
people-centred path of progress for developing
countries. In elaborating that agenda, and in this,
the International Year of Small Island Developing
States (SIDS), it is critical that the vulnerabilities and
unique characteristics of SIDS inform that document.
The recently agreed Small Island Developing States
Accelerated Modalities of Action (A/CONF.223/3,
annex), which emerged from the historic Third
International Conference on Small Island Developing
States, must constitute a foundational input in shaping
the development agenda in areas such as concessional
financing for development, inequality, poverty
alleviation, debt relief, disaster-risk reduction, oceans
management and education.

In that regard, we consider it vital that the post-
2015 goals and indicators focus equally on targets
within developing countries and measurable, timely
commitments from development partners. A major
shortcoming of the Millennium Development Goals
has been the nebulous nature of the so-called global
partnership for development. Let us anchor our
shared future ambitions in concrete, measurable and
predictable action.

Civilized Governments and peoples must respect
borders and sovereignty even if some of the forces
unleashed by globalization and modernity do not. Let
us build on what is right, good and proper in our new
interconnected world and cast away not the rulebook
but the excuses for disregarding its time-honoured
rules.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines celebrates the
good of a world in which every student of Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines can browse the stacks of an American
library using his or her own Taiwanese computer
that was assembled in China. It welcomes a business
environment where we can rely on the support of an
American non-governmental organization in engaging
an Icelandic company and its Canadian counterpart
in harnessing our national geothermal resources and
propelling us towards 100 per cent renewable energy. We
celebrate an international solidarity in which brotherly
nations offer support in our time of need after a natural
disaster, and engineers and architects convene on our
shores to help us rebuild. We welcome technology that
allows us the opportunity to communicate, celebrate
or commiserate with our migrant diaspora in real time
and affords them the opportunity to send remittances
to their families at home from every corner of the
globe. We value an international order that allows
a tiny State to disagree respectfully with a large one
without fear of unjust repercussions. We revel in
regional integration arrangements, like the Caribbean
Community, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas
and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean
States, where sovereignty is respected and often pooled,
in furthering a cooperative, people-centred vision for
growth and development.

Those are not dreams but modern realities in our
country today. They demonstrate the paths of peaceful
coexistence and development that are possible when
sovereignty is enhanced, not eroded. Any nation can
like or dislike another nation, approve or disapprove of
its decisions, admonish or praise its actions, befriend
or avoid its Governments. Those are sovereign rights.
But every nation is obliged to respect its counterpart’s
equal and unfettered right to exist, act and determine
its own political destiny and development path.

The challenge of the twenty-first century is the
obsolescence, not of the rulebook, but of the outmoded
playbook of cynical strategies, tactics and inconsistent
application of international law by those who see it as
a tool to further their goals, rather than a restraint on
hegemonic geopolitical ambition. Sovereignty is not the
right to erect a wall of repression or injustice around
national borders. Nor is it the right to protect and
project national interests to the detriment of another. It
is neither sword nor shield. It is, instead, a responsibility
to adhere to an ethic of reciprocity — to do unto other
nations only what one’s own nation would accept being
done unto itself.


Allow me to congratulate
Mr. Kutesa on assuming the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. We are indeed
proud of the honour that has been bestowed upon the
African continent as a result of his election. The theme
he has chosen for this session, that is, “Delivering
on and implementing a transformative post-2015
development agenda”, is pertinent, appropriate and
timely. It is relevant in our efforts to achieve a seamless
transition from the Millennium Development Goals to
the sustainable development goals and the broader post-
2015 development agenda. We look forward to having a
candid and comprehensive debate on the challenges we
continue to face at the domestic and international levels
in our efforts to eradicate poverty.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
helped to focus and mobilize global development
efforts in order to achieve progress in the social sectors.
However, despite the significant achievements within
the framework of the MDGs, progress was uneven
between goals, among regions and within countries.
Consequently, we cannot remain complacent when some
sections of the global community are marginalized or
even left behind. We are therefore gratified that the
proposed sustainable development goals have taken
on board the unfinished business of the Millennium
Development Goals. Part of that unfinished business
concerns the critical issue of poverty eradication, which
remains the greatest global challenge. That issue should

therefore be the top priority and overarching objective
of the development agenda for the future.

We in the Southern African Development
Community share the view that the post-MDG agenda
must be informed by national development priorities and
that the new targets must better reflect local conditions.
In that regard, Zimbabwe adopted its own economic
blueprint, the Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-
Economic Transformation. It is a bold and achievable
development programme that has the objective of
ensuring inclusive economic growth, decent jobs
for all, affordable and reliable energy, food security,
sustainable agriculture and the development of reliable
modern infrastructure. Through the programme, we
also aim to expand the industrial base, which is key to
the sustained overall economic development and human
development of our country. We continue to push for
the leveraging of our diverse and abundant resources
through beneficiation and value addition. We therefore
expect that the proposals in the sustainable development
goals, which complement those elements of our national
aspirations, will be endorsed and integrated into the
post-2015 development agenda framework.

Social justice, political stability and sustainable
development in African countries can best be achieved
through genuine and committed support for the
ownership of means of production that favour the poor,
who are in the majority. In Zimbabwe, my Government
has gone a long way in laying the foundation for
sustained food production through our land reform
programme. The majority of the rural people have been
empowered to contribute to household and national
food security. The possession and exploitation of land
has also turned them into masters of their own destiny,
thus giving true meaning to our national independence
and unquestioned sovereignty.

Because Zimbabwe has thus been preoccupied with
the empowerment of its people economically, it has
become a victim of the evil machinations of Western
countries, namely, the United States and States members
of the European Union, which continue to apply
unilateral and illegal sanctions as a foreign-policy tool
to achieve short-term political objectives, particularly
regime change. Regime change is a diabolical and
illegal policy of interference in the domestic affairs of
my country, and no good can come from undermining
our economy or depriving our citizens of the necessities
of life. Why, I ask, should Zimbabweans continue to
suffer under the American and European yoke of
unjustified and unwarranted illegal sanctions? Those
evil sanctions violate the fundamental principles of the
Charter of the United Nations and should be condemned
by the international community. We once again call for
their immediate and unconditional removal.

We are a peaceful and peace-loving nation, ready to
engage in constructive dialogue for mutually beneficial
relations. We call on those who continue to harbour
ill will against us to cast away their hegemony-driven
hostility, as we appeal to them to review their hard-
line and cruel positions and open a new chapter in their
relations with us based on mutual respect and friendly
cooperation.

To support the implementation of the post-2015
development agenda, we call for an expeditious reform
of the Bretton Woods institutions, particularly their
governance structures. It is high time that we addressed
the democratic deficit in those institutions and improved
their legitimacy. Those reforms must reflect current
realities and ensure the full voice and participation of
developing countries in the decision-making and norm-
setting activities.

Zimbabwe firmly believes that the United Nations
should promote dialogue to achieve peace, the rule of
law and common understanding among States. The
peace, security, stability and welfare of Africa and our
subregion is vital for us. In Africa, the African Union is
working tirelessly to push for peace in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, the Central African
Republic and Somalia. The international community
must remain intensively engaged and support Africa
in the maintenance of peace and stability, thereby
enhancing its peacekeeping-capacity needs through
training and logistical and financial support. Africa also
remains seized of the issue of Western Sahara, the last
colonial vestige in Africa. The United Nations should
not shake off its responsibility to ensure the realization
of self-determination by the people of Western Sahara.

We continue to witness the suffering and persecution
of the people of Palestine at the hands of Israel. We have
witnessed the callous murder of women and children in
shelters, where they seek refuge from Israel’s bombs.
We have witnessed the brutal and random destruction
of infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. While those heinous
acts were being perpetrated by Israel, the so-called
civilized world maintained a deafening silence. And we
ask, why?

Lasting peace in the Middle East can be achieved
only through a two-State solution based on the 1967
borders. Any other manoeuvres to change demographic
realities through settlements or the use of force will
only prolong the suffering of the Palestinians.

In conclusion, as we move forward, it is important
to muster the necessary political will to create a
development-oriented international environment that
facilitates the eradication of poverty and enhances
the sound management of our natural resources for
economic and social development, under a renewed and
real global partnership.