It is always inspiring to
come to this forum and, time and again, observe that
there are many more things that unite rather than divide
nations around the globe. Indeed, we are united in our
vision of a world free of violence, where every
individual has freedom of choice and where human
dignity is respected. We are united in our aspirations to
meet the challenges of the twenty-first century, because
we know that in a globalized world a threat to one
nation is a threat to all nations.
 Nowhere is this new reality more evident than in
the much-needed work of the United Nations. Poverty,
imbalances in development, armaments, the spread of
ideologies of hatred, cybercrime: those are some of the
threats that we face today. The new, daunting
challenges are different in kind. Therefore, both
individual States and the international community have
to find ways to deal with this new reality and how to
respond better to new challenges.
 Seven years ago, at this United Nations conclave,
all nations made a historic step, pledging to eradicate
poverty, illiteracy and environmental degradation, and
to improve health and promote gender equality. That
was our response to the challenges of the time. This
year, we are halfway to the 2015 deadline for achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Over the
past few years, an estimated 135 million people
managed to get out of extreme poverty. Significant
positive changes are taking place in the fields of
primary education for poor children, child vaccination
and better access to retroviral treatment for persons
with HIV/AIDS, to name but a few.
 Yet overall progress in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals remains uneven and too slow. If
we want to live up to our commitments, we must
increase our efforts considerably and urgently.
 The twenty-first century has also confronted us
with such challenges as a deteriorating environment.
Global warming affects all aspects of our lives from
social and economic growth to changing habitats and
migration patterns. Time is clearly not on our side. We
are taking measures to adapt our policies to counter
climate change, but our actions are obviously too slow
and sometimes too reluctant. Therefore, Lithuania
welcomes the Secretary-General’s focus on climate
change as a global challenge that requires global
concerted efforts. We believe that the United Nations
climate change process is the appropriate forum for
negotiating future global action in this effort.
 But that already may not be enough. I am
convinced that the world needs a more coherent and
inclusive system of international environmental
governance. This system needs to be strengthened by
establishing a United Nations Environment
Organization, based on the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) with a revised
mandate. With December’s Bali climate change
conference in mind, I call on all countries to come to
the negotiating table later this year with the ambition
of concluding by 2009 a global and comprehensive
post-2012 agreement. Before such an agreement is
reached, Lithuania is doing its best to fulfil the
commitment of the European Union to achieve at least
a 20 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by
2020 compared to 1990 levels.
 We have started to focus on a wider use of
indigenous and renewable energy resources. The share
of these resources in the primary energy balance in
Lithuania will increase up to 12 per cent by the year
2010. Last year alone, we planted 21,000 hectares of
trees, an area that corresponds to 32,000 soccer fields.
For a country the size of Lithuania, that is no small
measure. These are but a few of the concrete steps by
which my country shows political will sufficient to
fight new global challenges.
 The necessity to fit in and effectively integrate
into the international system has been the cornerstone
of our policies since we regained our independence in
1990. Membership in the European Union and NATO
is the best example of success in that effort. Now we
are taking on increasing responsibility in the fields of
security, stability and sustainability in our region and
beyond. We are active at the front of the war against
terrorism, including our contribution to restoring
stability and security in Iraq. We are leading a
Provincial Reconstruction Team in Afghanistan’s Ghor
province. Over the past two years, Lithuania has
doubled its development aid budget and has committed
to increasing it to 0.33 per cent of its gross national
income by 2015. Our contribution to global security
and the vision of inclusiveness and of building a
“Europe whole and free” motivated Lithuania to offer
its candidacy for the chairmanship of the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2010.
 If Lithuania and the Baltic region in general are a
success story in terms of establishing themselves in a
new global environment, some countries in our region
are not. We may only guess why those countries
perceive the integration of democracies on their
borders as a national threat. We feel sorry for a society
at large when its Government chooses to spend the
country’s natural riches on guns and not on democratic
reforms. Clearly, we should not tolerate attempts to
falsify historical facts about the Soviet occupation of
the Baltic States or the denial of the deliberately
caused Holodomor in Ukraine, which killed millions.
 Fitting in is never easy. Therefore, we consider
that the United Nations could help Member States to
efficiently integrate into the international system, as
the European Union is already doing by engaging its
neighbours in this process through various
neighbourhood instruments and cooperation formats.
 However, our readiness to stand up and speak
openly to States if they cross the line is also an
indispensable element of that effort. We should ask
ourselves: where did we fail, that the killings of
hundreds of thousands of innocent people were
permitted to take place in Darfur?
 Today conflicts occur on every continent, with
particularly grave consequences in Africa and the
Middle East. Some conflicts in the world, however, are
less visible. But that does not make them less
dangerous. Frozen conflicts in Eastern Europe and the
South Caucasus may become very hot one day unless
we act immediately. We consider it morally
unacceptable for the international community to remain
indifferent to the frozen conflicts in the GUAM area.
Let us not forget that it is not only the conflicts that are
frozen; the lives and dreams of the people living in
those areas of artificial conflict are also frozen. That is
where the United Nations should be more visible and
more outspoken. That also applies to Kosovo, where
attempts to create another frozen conflict must be
excluded.
 It is not only States, but also the United Nations
itself that must adapt to new, changing realities. We
encourage the Secretary-General to continue the reform
of the United Nations, in particular making the
Organization’s operational system more consolidated,
coherent and effective, with the highest standards of
conduct and ethics. We must proceed with real actions
in carrying through the reform of the United Nations.
The Secretary-General has my full support in this
context. He should be applauded for his bold and
forward-thinking vision of the reform in United
Nations peacekeeping. We welcome all efforts by the
United Nations to streamline and reform the
peacekeeping procurement system.
 I encourage the United Nations to further
strengthen, develop and use its capabilities in the area
of good offices and conflict prevention, as envisioned
in the 2005 World Summit Outcome (resolution 60/1).
That would enable us to address many issues in a more
efficient manner and, hopefully, to avoid costly
peacekeeping operations.
 The prevention of nuclear proliferation and the
pursuit of nuclear disarmament in accordance with the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
are crucial for global peace and security. We need to
strengthen the authority of the Treaty. Lithuania will
support the process leading to the elaboration of a
binding international arms trade treaty. Lithuania will
also continue to increase practical assistance and
funding to international mine action projects and the
implementation of the Programme of Action on Small
Arms and Light Weapons.
 Two years have passed since the adoption of the
World Summit Outcome, which elaborated on the
concept of the responsibility to protect, and yet we
have been too slow in responding to massive violations
of human rights and mass atrocities. The principle of
the responsibility to protect can no longer be confined
to paper. We therefore encourage the Secretary-General
to follow up on the World Summit document and take
measures to operationalize that principle.
 Only a reformed and proactive United Nations
will be truly instrumental and effective. Only such a
United Nations will have the required support and
financing. Only such a United Nations will be trusted
by the people.
 The ability to adapt is the quality of the strong.
Fitting in is the least we can do for future generations.
It is the responsibility of every nation and the
international community as such.


Allow me to first
extend to all of you the fraternal greetings and best
wishes of President Michel of the Republic of
Seychelles, the Government and the people of
Seychelles on the convening of the sixty-second
session of the General Assembly. Seychelles is proud
to be here today, as a partner and an ally, to further our
international efforts, to address the challenges that are
central to the future of all humanity and that pose a
threat to global political and economic stability and
security.
 I join previous speakers in congratulating
Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. His
election to the helm of this Assembly is a testimony to
the high esteem in which the international community
holds him and his country, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. I take this opportunity, too, to
express my country’s sincere appreciation to his
predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of
Bahrain, for her outstanding stewardship of the work of
the General Assembly at its sixty-first session.
 Allow me to commend and to renew Seychelles’
strong support to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for
the determination and strong will he has shown since
the beginning of his tenure in office, in strengthening
the role of the United Nations.
 Seychelles remains unwavering in its support of
the United Nations. Our commitment has not changed
since we joined this Organization 31 years ago. More
than ever, we believe that the world needs strong and
effective multilateralism. Indeed, we are convinced
that the most effective means of advancing our
collective interests is through the United Nations.
 Seychelles is pleased that the overarching theme
of this year's session is responding to climate change,
as the General Assembly of the United Nations is the
forum for concerted and comprehensive action in
addressing a defining issue of our time.
 Fifteen years ago, in 1992, Seychelles, a small
island developing State, was the second country to
accede to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change (UNFCCC). We were convinced
then, as we are now, that the Convention’s primary
objective of reducing the dangerous levels of carbon
dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the earth’s
atmosphere must be realized in order to protect the
environment and avoid serious socio-economic
disruptions. Six years later, in 1998, Seychelles
reiterated its commitment to the ideals of the UNFCCC
by adopting the Kyoto Protocol. However, the attempts
of the international community to act on those
international agreements have been modest at best.
 The challenge of development has never been
higher on the international agenda. However, the
adverse impacts of climate change are a major barrier
for the achievement of sustainable development goals
in many countries, especially small island developing
States, which are recognized as being most vulnerable
to climate change.
 We must emphasize again that for the majority of
small island developing States, agriculture, fisheries
and tourism have for a long time been the mainstay of
survival and economic development. Let us not forget
that small island developing States are home to a
sizeable proportion of the world’s biodiversity and that
the majority of the species are endemic and
increasingly under threat because of climate change.
 In Seychelles, the fisheries sector is a key pillar
of our economy. It is expected that changes in climate
may cause migratory shifts in tuna aggregations to
other locations, thus depriving our country of one of its
main sources of income. Moreover, inshore and
traditional fishing, the mainstay of local fishermen and
a major source of food, is also highly threatened. Food
security on islands is at stake.
 The impacts of climate change on the tourism
sector are also expected to be significant, and that is
why we believe that support for economic
diversification towards other revenue-generating
sectors in small island States is more than necessary.
 Climate change is also a security issue. But it is
not merely a matter of narrow national security   it
has a new dimension. It is a question of our collective
security and responsibility in a fragile and increasingly
interdependent world, where the notion of borders has
undergone a powerful symbolic transformation.
 It is now up to politicians, businessmen and civil
society to continue the work accomplished by
scientists. The peoples of the world are increasingly
looking to their leaders to take action, and the time is
now. A week ago, at a meeting of the Global Island
Partnership in Rome, our President, James Michel,
launched the Sea Level Rise Foundation, as an attempt
to ensure that island nations have the capacity to adapt
to climate change. Together we are mobilizing
leadership, gathering resources and sharing skills,
knowledge, technologies and innovation in a cost-
effective and sustainable way that will catalyse action
for conservation and sustainable livelihoods on islands
and low-lying areas in the face of climate change.
 We count on the valuable support of the
international community for ensuring the success of
this noble and important endeavour. We call on the
developed countries to take a strong lead and
commitment in combating climate change. Aspirational
global emissions reduction goals are not sufficient. We
believe that the Kyoto Protocol paves the way forward
for Annex I countries to fulfil their commitments under
UNFCCC. We urge those parties to commit to their
legally binding targets and to translate them into
concrete actions for the reduction of their gas
emissions.
 We believe that a United Nations-based
multilateral approach that builds on the Kyoto Protocol
framework is the only decisive way of moving forward.
There cannot be any doubt as to the major importance
of the first steps taken at Kyoto and of the quantum
improvements brought about by the provisions of the
Protocol. The size and urgency of the problem requires
that we take bold initiatives and compromises.
 However, as the globe suffers because of climate
change, it is essential that the international community
as a whole be formally and unequivocally reminded
that neither the efforts made thus far in implementing
UNFCCC, nor the emissions reduction targets, set on
average at 5.2 per cent, adopted in Kyoto represent an
adequate effort to stabilize greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at safe levels. We
know that we need to do much more. In that regard, we
would like to take this opportunity to praise the recent
work accomplished by the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change in urging the need for deeper cuts in
greenhouse gasses of 25 per cent to 40 per cent below
1990 levels by 2020. Moreover, we would like to
extend our heartfelt appreciation for the determination
shown by our Secretary-General in facilitating the
international dialogue to address the problem.
 It is now up to us to build the political
momentum needed in order to ensure that a
comprehensive agreement is met at the world summit
on climate change in Bali, Indonesia. There is an
urgent need to ensure that developing nations,
including small island developing States, can continue
to develop and prosper in an equitable manner. Small
island developing States need to be equipped
financially, technically and technologically to adapt to
global climate change and sea level rise without
redirecting their limited resources from sustainable
development.
 Allow me to now turn briefly to other issues that
are of particular importance to Seychelles.
 First of all, Seychelles recognizes that
globalization has the potential to advance human
development throughout the world. But it is not
automatic, for globalization has also increased our
vulnerability, insecurity and the possibility of
marginalization.
 It is internationally recognized that trade can be
an important source of financing for development. In
this particular context, Seychelles strongly believes
that more emphasis should be placed on the
development dimension of small island developing
States in multilateral trade negotiations, in recognition
of their specificities and structural handicaps.
Moreover, in our view, ownership of development
orientations by recipient countries is the precondition
for the emergence of a true partnership in development
cooperation.
 Furthermore, it is extremely important that the
whole issue of development policies and cooperation
be monitored closely within the international system.
Decisions affecting development are being taken in
different arenas, forums and agencies. Increasingly,
there is the need to ensure coherence in policies and
programmes. The international system currently does
not have an effective mechanism for conducting such
an exercise. We reiterate our belief that one of the
urgent tasks of the moment is to create a mechanism
within the international architecture that will focus on
trade, finance, technology and development policy in
an integrated manner.
 Seychelles remains determined to build its
economy based on our assertion of the principle of
responsibility for our own development. Our efforts at
economic re-engineering have been very dynamic. The
Seychelles Strategy 2017 commits the Government of
the Republic of Seychelles to doubling the gross
domestic product in the next 10 years. The reforms
being undertaken will not only ensure that our
economy continues to grow but also will facilitate the
participation of every Seychellois in wealth creation.
That is the commitment of the Government of
Seychelles. However, owing to our inherent
vulnerabilities, we need the support of the international
community in guaranteeing that the considerable
successes achieved so far in the economic and social
sectors are not lost.
 I have spoken thus far on climate and
development issues, which are both closely related to
other critical areas of the international agenda. One
such area concerns peace and security. It is tragic and
painful to witness the continued cycle of violence
around the world. Peace accords and ceasefire
agreements do not, unfortunately, entail a cessation of
hostilities.
 We support the strong will shown by the United
Nations, working alongside the African Union, in
ensuring that peace and security are brought to the
people in the Darfur region of the Sudan. Seychelles
associates itself with all those calling and working for
peace in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and elsewhere.
 Against the backdrop of increased violence from
war and terrorism, it is clear to us that violence and the
use of force cannot be the answer. We must embrace
multilateralism and insist that international relations be
guided by the rule of law as the basis for our collective
security.
 The United Nations remains a significant partner
and interlocutor of the modern development and
progress of Seychelles. It is with complete faith, as a
small island developing State, that we renew our trust
in the principles of the Charter. We cannot stop
emphasizing the compelling urgency of altering the
design and function of the Security Council, if it is to
fulfil the mandate conferred by the Charter of 1945 in
the realities of the world today.
 With regard to the General Assembly, what is
needed is a resuscitation and use of the powers of the
General Assembly and the assertion of its role as the
principal organ of the United Nations. The Assembly is
a forum of equals. Its pronouncements and policy
decisions must carry the stamp of legitimacy as the
voice of the international community. However, we
must emphasize that, irrespective of whatever
institutional arrangements we may devise, in the final
analysis, it is the commitment and political will among
Member States alone that can make the system work.
(spoke in French)
 In the demanding context of globalization,
regions are players with which the multilateral
organizations, donors and international investors
devote increasingly sustained attention. The regional
approach is also the best bastion when it comes to
mounting defences against terrorism, insecurity,
banditry, trafficking, pandemics, or to providing an
efficient response to disasters in real time. A region is,
ultimately, for the countries that comprise it, the
strongest legal space in which those countries can
obtain the natural resources and raw materials that they
share.
 That is, therefore, the aim of the Indian Ocean
Commission, which strives to defend the interests of all
countries of the Indian Ocean in all areas. What it
represents today and the place that it occupies in the
landscape of regional cooperation organizations is due,
in large part, to the specialized agencies of the United
Nations. I would very much wish for that support to be
strengthened in the coming months, so that the
Commission truly has the means to achieve its
ambitions. The observer status that the Commission
obtained in the General Assembly on 4 December 2006
enabled our regional organization to acquire additional
legitimacy to work with the specialized agencies of the
United Nations. We welcome those new prospects and
paths of cooperation.
 The future of generations to come rests not so
much on the vigour of our debate and the declarations
we make in this Assembly at its sixty-second session,
but on the action we take. Our people are demanding
that, collectively, we emerge with a clear vision, that
we display the courage and unrelenting commitment to
build a world of peace, justice and equity that we can
inhabit together in true harmony. Let us here resolve to
build one world where every man, woman and child
can realize the true purpose and fulfilment of life.


At the outset,
I offer my congratulations to Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his
election to the presidency of the General Assembly. Let
me assure him of the Kingdom of Tonga’s cooperation,
and of every confidence that the sixty-second session
of the General Assembly will be productive and
successful under his very able leadership. I also wish to
commend Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed
Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain for her
dedication in guiding the work of the sixty-first session
of the General Assembly. I also take this opportunity to
congratulate the new Secretary-General, Mr. Ban
Ki-moon, and to assure him of Tonga’s support during
his tenure in office.
 As the United Nations advances well into its
sixty-second year, we can ask ourselves how we have
fared in the stewardship of our world. Have we passed
the test or have we been found wanting? The plethora
of outstanding issues, unfulfilled commitments, and
new and evolving global challenges reaffirms the
relevance of the United Nations as the only multilateral
institution that can appropriately deal with these
complex global issues.
 The year 2007 marks the halfway point towards
the target date for accomplishment of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which were endorsed by
world leaders as a road map to a better world by the
year 2015. As the President rightly observed,
“[a]chieving the MDGs is not solely a test of our
ability to deliver on our promises; it is, above all, a test
of our moral obligations and the values that are
enshrined in the Charter” (A/62/PV.1).
 The process of an annual ministerial review of
progress made in the implementation of development
goals and targets, which commenced this year,
provides us with a tool to gauge progress at the
national level and bring into focus outstanding issues
to be addressed, as well as highlighting positive
experiences and best practices that can be replicated by
Member States. In addition, the President’s proposal to
hold a MDG leaders meeting during the sixty-second
session is very welcome.
 Any meaningful discussion of the MDG cannot
be had without also referring to financing for
development. Since the landmark agreement endorsed
in Monterrey in 1992, the scorecard has been mixed.
While considerable advances have been made in some
areas, stagnation or retrogression has been experienced
in others. One such area is in the fulfilment of
commitments by developed countries to achieve the
target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP)
for overseas development assistance by 2015. Tonga
joins others in calling on donor countries that have not
fulfilled their obligations to recommit themselves to
meeting the targets by 2015. We also look forward to a
positive outcome in the forthcoming High-level
Dialogue on Financing for Development to be held
later this month as a lead-up to the Follow-up
International Conference in Doha, Qatar, in 2008.
 Tonga has emphasized in other forums that, in
order to achieve the MDGs, it is also imperative that
affordable, clean and efficient energy be available to
all through improved access to reliable and affordable
energy services. Technical and financial support,
however, is required to ensure that the poor derive
tangible benefits from public investment in the energy
sector.
 The central theme selected for the general debate,
responding to climate change, is of particular relevance
to small island developing countries, including Tonga.
Climate change is not regarded as just an
environmental issue, since it has implications for
economic growth, sustainable development and the
achievement of the MDGs. Tonga commends the
Secretary-General for his laudable initiative to hold the
recent high-level dialogue, which infused political
momentum and set the stage for the Bali Conference of
the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, to be held in
December 2007. Tonga supports the view that
negotiations must be advanced towards a global and
comprehensive agreement on a post-2010 framework to
limit global emissions to avoid dangerous climate
change. It is important, therefore, that this process be
completed by 2009.
 Tonga further supports the position that the
essential parameters of such a global framework should
include the following items: enhanced leadership by
the industrialized countries on emission reductions;
incentives for developing countries to act, but without
sacrificing economic growth or poverty reduction, and
in a manner fully consistent with the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities;
significantly increased support for adaptation in
developing countries, especially the least developed
countries and small island developing States; and
strengthened technology development and
dissemination, with new approaches to financing,
including better use of market-based approaches.
 The threat of terrorism continues to be real, and it
is a complex global issue. Following the adoption of
the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
(resolution 60/288) in September 2006, success will be
guaranteed only if the Strategy is fully implemented.
Tonga looks forward to positive progress leading to the
finalization of a comprehensive convention on
international terrorism during the sixty-second session
of the General Assembly.
 As regards peacekeeping operations, we are all
witnessing a surge in the demand for peace operations,
with over 100,000 personnel currently serving in the
field. It is also projected that there will be a further
increase in numbers as new and expanded missions are
approved. This development will certainly provide a
major operational challenge to the institution. Tonga
remains committed to supporting international
peacekeeping efforts where we are requested to provide
such assistance and in keeping with the policy of my
Government. We commend the contributions of United
Nations peacekeepers in fulfilling the role of helping
parties to end hostilities.
 Tonga supports the ongoing work on the reform
agenda of the United Nations and commends the
commitment by the Secretary-General to breathe new
life and inject renewed confidence into a strengthened
United Nations firmly anchored in the twenty-first
century, and effective, efficient, coherent and
accountable. On the outstanding issue of Security
Council reform, we need to remind ourselves of our
commitment in the 2005 World Summit Outcome
(resolution 60/1) to early reform of the Council. Tonga
looks forward to the forthcoming intergovernmental
negotiations and anticipates that the process will
provide the necessary impetus for decisive action to
bring closure to the issue.
 On the question of Taiwan, Tonga is of the view
that maintaining the sovereignty and territorial
integrity of Member States and non-interference in the
internal affairs of Member States are among the
cardinal principles enshrined in the Charter of the
United Nations. Thus, Tonga continues to adhere to the
one-China policy, recognizing Taiwan as an integral
part of China.
 Regional integration and cooperation are vital for
small island developing countries of the Pacific in view
of their remoteness, small size and narrow economic
base. The Pacific Plan is currently in its second year of
implementation; it focuses on four overlapping pillars,
including economic growth, sustainable development,
good governance and security. In this regard, Tonga
commends the Secretary-General for attaching
importance to strengthening United Nations
cooperation with our regional organizations. Tonga
continues to support the process of regional
cooperation and looks forward to hosting the thirty-
eighth annual Pacific Islands Leaders Forum in
Nuku’alofa later this month.
 After 10 years of negotiations, the World Trade
Organization (WTO) welcomed Tonga on 27 July 2007
as the 151st member of the organization. As a small
island developing nation, there are many challenges
and obstacles to gaining full benefit from the global
trading system, including productive capacity and
infrastructure. It is, therefore, imperative that the Doha
development Round negotiations be concluded
expeditiously, with a meaningful development package,
including the elimination of all export subsidies,
improved market access and enhanced special and
differentiated treatment. Last year, we urged the donor
community to move forward with the delivery of “aid
for trade” independent of the Doha Round. In this
regard, we wish to commend our donor partners for the
effort to improve the delivery of aid for trade in Asia
and the Pacific to ensure that countries take full
advantage of the open global market in the lead-up to
the WTO global aid for trade review that will be held
later this year.
 Tonga continues to advocate for labour mobility
as a vehicle for achieving its pro-poor strategies.
Earlier this year, the New Zealand Government
instituted a seasonal labour programme for agricultural
workers from five kick-start countries in the Pacific,
including Tonga. We view this as an important and
positive step towards wider acceptance of this type of
model by developed countries as an option for
resolving seasonal labour shortages.
 Our Legislative Assembly this year passed a law
that allows dual citizenship. The new law gives due
recognition to the large number of Tongans residing
overseas, their significant contribution to the economy
and their desire to still have links to their homeland.
 Last year at this rostrum, we provided a brief
synopsis of the state of play in the process leading to
the greater democratization of Tonga’s political system.
Regrettably, while the report of the National
Committee on Political Reform was being deliberated
by the Legislative Assembly, the supporters of one of
the three models of reform rioted, burned and
destroyed 80 per cent of the central business district,
which resulted in the loss of eight lives. In a matter of
a few hours, the tally of the damage incurred equated
to a loss of 20 per cent of the gross domestic product.
A state of emergency was subsequently declared by the
Government, initially for a one-month period, but has
by necessity and by demand been continuously
extended to prevent any further civil disturbance.
In our hour of need, Tonga sought the support of
its neighbours New Zealand and Australia to assist
local police in establishing order. They responded
promptly and appropriately with the deployment of
military and police personnel. Within a period of two
weeks, the role played by our friendly neighbours, as
well as by the Tonga Defence Services and the Tonga
Police Force, provided security and law and order for
the country.
 A reconstruction committee under my
chairmanship is coordinating the reconstruction of
Nuku’alofa Township. Government, however, is fully
committed to bringing all of the perpetrators of that
horrendous event to full accountability for their
actions, and the court cases are ongoing. At the same
time, efforts are in progress on a process of national
reconciliation.
 A tripartite select committee of the Legislative
Assembly was also established to review the political
reform agenda. The report of the tripartite committee
was recently tabled to the Legislative Assembly, where
a timetable was approved for the full implementation
of political reform by 2010.
 We seek the understanding and support of the
international community as we continue with the
healing of the wounds through the national
reconciliation process, the rebuilding of the central
business district, as well as the transition into a more
democratic political system that is relevant to the
economic, social and cultural architecture of the
nation.
 It has been emphasized time and again that what
is needed in the United Nations is to close the gap
between rhetoric and actions. There has been much
rhetoric and commitment, but the world will not judge
us on rhetoric. The world will judge us on our outputs
and on what we deliver. Let us face up to our
responsibility, fulfil our promises so as to equate
rhetoric with action, and show the people whose lives
will be impacted by the decisions we make in this Hall
that we can be trusted to deal effectively with global
issues that require global solutions.


I
would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to
preside over the General Assembly. I would also like to
reiterate Chile’s support for the new Secretary-General.
Chile will participate in all the undertakings of the
United Nations.
 The international community knows about my
people’s devotion to peace, justice, freedom and
solidarity. It knows that this country at the southern
edge of the world   despite the size of its economy
and population, as well as its remoteness   has
espoused the great causes of humankind. It knows
about Chile’s contributions in the areas of poverty,
AIDS, hunger and social cohesion. It knows that we
have made substantial contributions to the promotion
and observance of human rights. It knows that, even in
difficult times, we have always supported international
law and world peace   with dignity and
determination.
 Mine is a country that believes in progress and in
the ability of human beings to be the authors of their
own destiny and to build a better future. The world is
an uncertain place when we are not able to act together.
Globalization becomes unpredictable when we are not
able to manage it. That is the reason we need to
promote the greatest possible sustainable development
with greater justice and social equity for all
humankind. To that end, it is crucial that we craft
agreements and strengthen multilateral institutions, all
the while making progress in the areas of disarmament
and non-proliferation; that we begin negotiations on
the reform and expansion of the Security Council; and
that we make progress in the area of management
reform   on the subject of which Chile, South Africa,
Sweden and Thailand have put forth a proposal for the
consideration of Member States.
 The major tasks facing us today will probably
require more consensus-building than ever before
known. How can we ensure once and for all that human
rights are respected throughout the entire world? How
can we halt climate change on all continents and
oceans? How can we make equity and social justice for
all the men and women of the world a concern of all
countries? Those are the major challenges which we, as
an international community, must today tackle urgently
and with dedication.
 Chile will vigorously promote universal respect
for human rights. The establishment of a fairer and
more humane international order will be possible only
if we place respect for the dignity of the human person
at the heart of the debate. We in Chile will work not
only to improve our own practices and domestic
legislation, but also to promote the strengthening of
human rights, economic and social development, peace
and security.
 As the General Assembly is aware, human rights
have been at centre of Chile’s recent history. For the
citizens of my country no place is too remote nor any
situation too foreign when it comes to protecting
human lives and dignity.
 We are pleased with the progress made in the area
of norms, both internationally and nationally. We
welcome the adoption and opening for signature of the
International Convention for the Protection of All
Persons from Enforced Disappearance, which fills a
gap in the system for protecting human rights from a
crime against humanity. Chile signed that instrument
and expects to ratify it in the near future. In addition,
the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment is in the process of being approved by our
National Congress.
 The new United Nations Human Rights Council
should continue to promote a more effective
international regime for protection, early warning and
promotion in the area of human rights. We also
strongly support the United Nations Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples, which is a very
important step in the recognition of the rights of those
peoples.
 We shall also work to ensure that democracy and
freedom are consolidated throughout the world.
Democracy is a universal value, but it is a process that
must be supported over time. That is why we will
strongly support the United Nations Democracy Fund,
so that this aspiration becomes a reality.
 We are studying with concern the scientific
evidence showing the devastating effects of climate
change on our planet. Yesterday we were discussing its
social, human and economic effects. We are glad that
the world is beginning to take notice of this. It is clear
that there is a serious threat to our future, and we must
act now.
 In Chile, for example, we have seen that the
speed with which the glaciers are melting has doubled
in the past ten years. Our southern zones are, in turn,
experiencing a dangerous depletion of the ozone layer,
jeopardizing the health of our citizens. Although we are
not the ones mainly responsible for this deterioration,
Chile has begun to take the necessary steps to mitigate
the effects of global warming and to combine efforts so
that, as a matter of urgency, solutions may be found.
 As has been said here many times, there is no
time to lose. The consensus that we must reach, the
effort to enlist the greatest possible support, is
comparable only to the international mobilization that
led to the adoption of the San Francisco Charter six
decades ago. If we do not act now, the future of all
humanity will be endangered.
 Therefore we all have the obligation to construct
a new global political consensus to generate collective
action capable of solving the problem in accordance
with the principle of shared but differentiated
responsibility and within the framework of the United
Nations. All of us must contribute, but especially those
who have already polluted and achieved development.
We ask the developed countries to pledge technical and
financial assistance to the developing countries that
most need help with their efforts to combat climate
change.
 We strongly hope that at the meetings of the
Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol to be held in December
in Bali, progress will be made in defining the
parameters of a post-2012 process. We also hope that
the developed countries will make greater
commitments regarding mitigation, adaptation,
technology transfer and financing.
 We must, however, realize that the greatest efforts
by the developed countries will not suffice to halt
climate change. It is also necessary that the developing
countries take additional emission reduction actions in
the framework of a global effort within the scope of the
Convention.
 I am the bearer of a message of hope as well for
all nations seeking to eradicate poverty and build fairer
and more inclusive societies. We still have a lot to do.
Nonetheless, we can say that Chile has moved closer to
becoming the country that we so deeply desire,
enjoying greater prosperity and greater social justice.
We are eradicating poverty. In 17 years of democracy,
we have reduced poverty from 40 to 13.7 per cent. We
have achieved practically all of the Millennium
Development Goals. It is an ambitious objective, but
one that is justified by our achievements. We are
constructing a social welfare system that guarantees the
social rights of Chilean men and women from the
cradle to old age. We are protecting our children
girls and boys, our young people, our mothers and
fathers, grandfathers and grandmothers.
 We know that we are not alone in this effort.
Poverty, hunger, extreme inequality and exclusion are
realities that exist all over the world. With regard to the
fulfilment of the Millennium Goals, progress has been
made in some regions, but it is not enough. We,
therefore, join in the commitment to the forthcoming
launch of the Global Business Plan for Millennium
Development Goals 4 and 5   that is, to greatly
reduce maternal and child mortality. We do not need
new commitments; we simply need to fulfil the
commitments already made.
 My country supports the idea of holding an
international conference to focus concerted worldwide
efforts on attaining the Millennium Goals, proposed by
the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, so that the
dream of also globalizing the prosperity that some have
already achieved can come true in the not too distant
future.
 We can also emphasize innovative development
financing mechanisms for development in order to
combat inequality and promote social cohesion.
 We are on the right track. As the Assembly knows
well, the Presidents of Brazil, France, Chile, Spain and
Germany, among others, organized an Initiative on
Action Against Hunger and Poverty and their
UNITAID Initiative, through which we have managed
to collect hundreds of millions of dollars to finance the
purchase of drugs to treat AIDS, tuberculosis and
malaria; these medicines have been given to hundreds
of thousands of children, mainly in Africa.
 But we have to do more. Social equity and the
construction of a world with a human face should
become a central topic on our global agenda.
 The three major causes that I have mentioned can
be tackled only by common accord of the international
community. Hence, the importance of our commitment
to effective and efficient multilateralism, with the
United Nations as its centre of gravity. We are at a
complex juncture, but one of great opportunity. What
we do or fail to do in the next few years will determine
the future of our descendants. It all depends on us.
Now is the time to act.


As I address
this body, may I seize this opportunity to extend to
Mr. Kerim my sincere and warm congratulations on his
well-deserved election to preside over the sixty-second
session of the General Assembly.
 In view of the constraints of time and in
deference to all, I shall take no more than 10 minutes
to share some facts and reflections on the situation in
my country, as well as on select issues of regional and
international concern.
 Timor-Leste is encouraged by Secretary-
General’s organization of the high-level event on
climate change, to be followed by negotiations on the
United Nations Framework Convention in Bali. The
industrialized countries of the North bear enormous
responsibility for the damage done to our fragile
ecosystems. They, more than anyone else, must reverse
the course and lead the effort to save the Earth.
However, we in the developing world cannot escape
our own responsibilities. The demographic explosion
and our own efforts to catch up with the rich North all
contribute to the pressures on our lands, forests, rivers,
lakes and oceans. Let us therefore set rhetoric aside
and work as one to redress the enormous damage we
have done to the common home of humankind.
 As to the political situation in Timor Leste, in
April and May 2006, less than five years after my
country’s accession to full independence, we were
plunged into our first major crisis. The then President
of the Republic, the Speaker of the National Parliament
and the Prime Minister jointly agreed to seek the
United Nations urgent assistance and the rapid
intervention of friendly countries. I wish to reiterate
here our sincere gratitude to those who came to our
assistance in that time of need. We are forever grateful
to Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, as well as to
Portugal, which dispatched a fully equipped company
of its elite force, the National Republican Guard. The
Security Council approved the deployment of an
integrated mission, the United Nations Integrated
Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT), with a police
component of 1,740 police. The deployment of the
United Nations police contingent was understandably
extremely slow, and the projected force was complete
only in January 2007.
 We have made significant progress since the dark
weeks of April and May 2006. Presidential and
legislative elections were held between April and June
2007. The election campaign period was mostly free of
violence and there were few reported irregularities.
Though we are proud that the two elections were
managed by our own agencies, we also acknowledge
that the active support of UNMIT and other United
Nations agencies, including the United Nations
Development Programme, were indispensable and
crucial to enable us to undertake such a complex task.
 While the result of the presidential election was
warmly welcomed by all, including the defeated
candidate, the same did not happen when a new
Government was announced following the 30 June
legislative election. FRETILIN, the former ruling
party, won most votes, but not enough to govern on its
own; after several weeks of lobbying, it failed to forge
a coalition to govern. A post-election four-party
parliamentary alliance opposed to FRETILIN secured
37 seats in the new Parliament of 65 seats, was invited
to form a Government. There was violence in a number
of locations in which local law enforcement elements
were implicated, but the swift intervention of the
United Nations police and the International
Stabilization Force (ISF) succeeded in quickly
controlling the situation. Our own defence force played
a constructive role in helping to defuse the violence. I
also acknowledge the role played by the FRETILIN
leadership in restraining its more passionate followers.
 Law and order have been restored. However, the
relative tranquillity prevailing in the country is
precarious and due in large measure to the effective
role played by United Nations police, ISF and our own
defence force. That will remain the case until such time
as our police force has been reconstructed and turned
into a credible and effective force. That will take two
to five years at a minimum. I wish to assure all that, in
the meantime, the East Timorese will pursue national
dialogue so that we can reconcile and heal the wounds
of the past.
 As to the social situation in Timor Leste, the 2006
crisis caused widespread looting and destruction in the
capital. More than 30 people died, more than 100 were
wounded, and tens of thousands were displaced. We are
slowly recovering. However, tens of thousands of
people remain in precarious camps in the capital and
elsewhere. I thank the international community, the
United Nations and its agencies, the International
Organization for Migration, and international
non-governmental organizations for their generous and
prompt assistance. The new Government has pledged
to cooperate with all to address the situation of
internally displaced persons.
 Last year’s late rains, floods and a locust plague
have caused significant damage to our subsistence
agriculture sector. As a result, an acute food shortage is
foreseen in the coming months. The Government is
planning to purchase significant amounts of food items
in the regional markets to make up for the food
shortage.
 Endowed with some oil and gas resources, Timor-
Leste cannot complain of not having enough financial
means to turn our economy around and lift the living
standards of our people. According to a recent report of
the Asian Development Bank, Timor-Leste’s economy
will see a strong 22-per-cent growth this year due to
our oil revenues.
 However, all this is not enough to improve the
living standards of the people. The vast majority of the
people who have been poor for centuries should not
wait. I have pledged to be the President of the poor and
I intend to be their best advocate. I am establishing a
fast-track mechanism under my personal leadership to
provide direct assistance to individuals, groups or rural
communities. The idea is that it should take no more
than 10 working days for a decision to be made on a
project and for the first instalment of a grant to be
disbursed. Coupled with public investments in
infrastructure   roads, bridges, port and airport   and
in the agriculture sector, Timor-Leste should see, in the
medium term, a significant reduction of unemployment
and a decrease in poverty levels.
 Regarding the presence of the United Nations, we
are cognizant of the fact that the international
community faces a number of critical situations around
the world   in the Middle East, Somalia, the Sudan-
Darfur, Iraq and Afghanistan, to mention but a few
that are far more serious than the situation in my
country and that may be of greater strategic importance
and have greater implications for regional and world
peace. We hope that as the situation progresses, the
Peacebuilding Commission will consider placing
Timor-Leste on its agenda as a follow-up to UNMIT.
 I now turn to the issues of human rights, the rule
of law and justice. At the time that sovereignty was
transferred to the people of Timor-Leste, in May 2002,
what existed was no more than the sketch   the
idea   of a modern, democratic State. We had to build
our country from scratch. While we failed in many
areas, we succeeded in others. We have succeeded in
not abandoning our deep commitment to our human
rights and the rule of law. Timor-Leste stands among
the very few that have ratified all seven core human
rights treaties.
 Timor-Leste seeks a seat on the Human Rights
Council for the term 2008-2011, and we are
particularly pleased and grateful that many countries
have so far expressed support for our candidacy. I wish
to assure everyone that as a member of the Council,
Timor-Leste will favour dialogue on human rights
situations and will accord priority to strengthening
thematic procedures, promoting the ratification of
existing human rights treaties and strengthening
national and regional human rights mechanisms.
 Next, I shall discuss the Truth and Friendship
Commission. In August 2005, the Presidents of Timor-
Leste and Indonesia inaugurated a forward-looking
policy and mechanism of truth-finding as a means to
address the violence of 1999, when the two countries
parted ways. While there were some calls for the
establishment of an ad hoc international tribunal to try
those responsible for the 1999 violence, the leaders of
the two countries opted instead for a binational version
of the South African truth and reconciliation process.
That was a novel and unique approach to redressing the
wrongs of the past, although, being untested, it
provoked much criticism and opposition in certain
quarters.
 With regard to international and regional
relations, we are expanding and consolidating our
relations with the region and the rest of the world. We
are an active member of the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum and are
working towards full membership in ASEAN. We are
an active observer in the Pacific Islands Forum and a
member of the Comunidade dos países de Lingua
Portuguesa (CPLD).
 I shall now turn to some international issues of
concern to Timor-Leste. With regard to the situation in
Myanmar, I wish to say that, as a country of the region,
Timor-Leste is following the developments there with
deep concern and disappointment. As human beings
and friends, we are distressed at the deteriorating
social, humanitarian and political conditions in that
neighbouring country. The leaders of Myanmar must
not continue to hold Nobel Peace Prize laureate Daw
Aung San Suu Kyi and the entire nation hostage to a
mindset that belongs to the cold war and to policies
that have brought international opprobrium and
economic ruin to a country endowed with vast natural
resources and a very proud people.
 With regard to nuclear proliferation, Timor-Leste
commends the six-party talks on North Korea, which
have achieved some modest positive results in inducing
that country to reverse its nuclear-weapons capability.
That modest success shows that patient diplomacy can
make progress on even the most intractable conflicts
when the parties involved identify common concern
and interest.
 On the other hand, Timor-Leste is deeply
concerned about the climate of mistrust and
confrontation regarding the situation in Iran. Iran is
entitled to explore all peaceful means to acquire
technology that would make it less reliant on
non-renewable sources of energy. No one denies that
Iran or any other nation has that right. However, Iran
must do more to cooperate fully with the International
Atomic Energy Agency and to reassure its neighbours
and the rest of the world that it is not seeking to
acquire nuclear-weapons capability.
 Asia is the most nuclearized region of the world.
I do not know that we should be proud of such a status.
Mutually assured destruction   MAD   is indeed
madness, as the acronym itself suggests. Our scientists
have developed Frankenstein’s monsters that may well
destroy us all   either by design, if the weapons fall
into the hands of non-State actors, or by accident.
 Concerning the death penalty, Timor-Leste is part
of a cross-regional initiative calling for a moratorium.
We note that the trend towards the worldwide abolition
of the death penalty continues.
 As for the situation in Darfur, Timor-Leste
commends the African Union, the United Nations, all
those in Government and those individuals who have
done their very best to end the suffering of the people
in that region   suffering that is now compounded by
natural calamity. In the midst of such a tragedy, we can
find some consolation and inspiration as we see
millions of people around the world crossing the
boundaries of religions and cultures and joining
together in solidarity with the victims of Darfur.
 I now turn to the situation in Palestine. As a small
and newly independent nation and a friend of Israel,
Timor-Leste cannot remain indifferent to the suffering
of the Palestinian people, who have many times been
victims   victims of Israel’s obstinate policies of
occupation and discrimination, victims of manipulation
by regional Powers and victims of their own sectarian
division and violence. While Timor-Leste does not
subscribe to the many one-sided anti-Israel resolutions
adopted over the years in various United Nations
bodies, the facts on the ground show a whole people
living on the edge of desperation as a result of decades
of humiliation, exclusion and violence. Timor-Leste
joins the rest of the international community in calling
for the implementation of the Road Map, leading to the
formal establishment of a viable Palestinian State.
 With regard to Western Sahara, Timor-Leste is
encouraged and commends both Morocco and the
Frente POLISARIO for the recent talks held on Long
Island under the good offices of the United Nations.
 Concerning indigenous peoples’ rights, more than
500 years ago   long after Chinese navigators and
explorers had circumnavigated the globe   European
kings, navigators, missionaries, adventurers and
mercenaries began the great European conquest of the
world. In the process, tens of millions of people were
subjugated and colonized, fortunes and empires were
made at the expense of the peoples with whom they
came into contact and new diseases were brought into
the new colonies. Slavery uprooted at least 10 million
from the African continent. Millions of indigenous
peoples were decimated by wars and diseases. Their
demise and their lands gave birth to new nations that
were alien to their sacred birthplaces. This very island
of Manhattan was once the sovereign home of Native
Americans.
 That is all part of the history of the world: the
history of European conquest, with its glory and
tragedy. Timor-Leste commends the General Assembly
for finally adopting the United Nations Declaration on
the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (resolution 61/295,
annex). That is the least we can do to redress the grave
injustices done to some of the earlier civilizations of
the world.
 I now turn to the issue of United Nations reform.
Negotiations on reform of the United Nations system,
in particular of the Security Council, should begin.
Rather than seeking dramatic reforms, we may want to
adopt an incremental approach. The Council must be
incrementally expanded to include major Powers such
as India, Indonesia, Japan, Brazil, South Africa and
Germany. On the other hand, it is an absurdity that
Asia, which contains almost half of the world’s
population, should be so grossly underrepresented.


Please accept  my congratulations, Mr. President, on your election as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-second
session. I wish you every success.
 We are currently experiencing a period of
dramatic changes. Great opportunities are accompanied
by considerable risks. Global structures are changing.
States, economies and societies are becoming
networked as never before. That is what we call
globalization.
 The good thing about that development is that
prosperity is increasing, and more and more people are
escaping from poverty. The challenge that that
development poses is that not everyone has their fair
share of this prosperity. There are considerable
imbalances. We thus need a global awareness, beyond
national boundaries, of our joint responsibility in order
to master the major challenges facing our world.
 Climate change is undoubtedly one of the central
challenges facing humanity today. I therefore very
much welcome your decision, Mr. President, to make
climate change the focus of this year’s session of the
General Assembly. Never before have the facts been so
clear, the consensus among scientists so great or the
need for action so indisputable. Each and every country
is affected by the impact of climate change. No one
country can tackle it alone. Not to take action would
incur immense costs and cause new global conflicts.
 What does that mean for the way ahead? In quite
concrete terms, it means that any contribution from
individual States or groups of States is welcome.
However, I would like to add most emphatically that
such contributions can only complement a post-Kyoto
agreement under the auspices of the United Nations.
They can never replace it.
 This session of the General Assembly therefore
has to set the course for the next vital step: the climate
conference in Bali. Environment ministers will have to
agree in Bali on a clear road map so that negotiations
can be successfully concluded by 2009. There are three
key elements: a common understanding on the scale of
emissions reduction, a common understanding on fair
national contributions and a common understanding on
the instruments we should use both to protect the
climate and to foster economic growth.
 The scope of the need for action is becoming
increasingly clear. We must at least halve global
emissions by the middle of the century. For this we
have a clear guiding principle: the principle of
common but differentiated responsibility.
Industrialized countries must embrace ambitious
absolute reduction targets. During the German
presidency the European Union adopted bold targets
for 2020. All industrialized countries will have to
drastically reduce their per capita emissions.
 Emerging economies will first of all have to
decouple their economic growth from emissions. In the
long term, per capita emissions in both industrialized
countries and emerging economies will have to
converge at a level compatible with our global climate
protection target.
 Such a process of long-term convergence offers
all countries scope to develop. It does not demand too
much of anyone. There is no doubt in my mind that
only a United Nations agreement can provide the
dependability this will require.
 Climate protection will therefore be a litmus test
of the international community’s ability to act
effectively in the twenty-first century. For, on our own
continent, we Europeans know from our daily
experience that   although any individual country is
too small to make a real difference   together we can
achieve much.
 In the light of our experience, I believe three
principles are of crucial importance to our common
future. First, economic strength and social
responsibility belong together. This principle applies
both to how States treat their citizens and to how States
treat each other. It emphasizes the right and freedom of
each individual to achieve their full potential. At the
same time, it upholds cohesion and solidarity, while
categorically rejecting isolationism and protectionism.
 That is why we are seeking a balanced and
comprehensive agreement on multilateral trade. In
concrete terms, this means that we have to bring the
Doha Round to an early and successful conclusion. Too
much time has been wasted. We have to seize the last
chance for negotiations this autumn. Our aim must be
transparent financial markets and effective protection
of intellectual property, as well as minimum legal and
social standards. For I am convinced that there can be
no fair competition without common ground rules.
 We can only achieve cohesion and solidarity in a
global development partnership. With the Millennium
Development Goals, the international community has
laid down binding quantifiable targets and deadlines
for the first time. Together with its EU partners,
Germany has undertaken to reach the United Nations
0.7 per cent target no later than 2015. We stand by
these pledges.
 There can be no doubt that genuine partnership
places all sides under an obligation   an obligation to
step up the fight against corruption, to aim for better
governance and to better protect human rights. We
want to support Africa in particular. There have been
encouraging developments on the continent but
unfortunately, also, serious setbacks, for example in
Zimbabwe.
 “Growth and responsibility in the world
economy” is, therefore, also the motto guiding this
year’s German presidency of the Group of Eight (G-8).
 The second principle is that we have to
strengthen the effectiveness of the United Nations. In
my view, there is absolutely no doubt   the United
Nations is the place where binding joint responses can
be found to global challenges. But the United Nations
is in need of reform. This is true, above all, of the
Security Council. In many crisis situations it needs to
be able to come up quickly with universally binding
proposals. To do this, it must have international
legitimacy. However, the present composition of the
Security Council no longer reflects the world today.
There is, therefore, no alternative to adapting it to
political realities.
 My country has over the past years been actively
involved in this debate. Germany is prepared to assume
more responsibility, and to take on a permanent seat on
the Security Council. What we need now are tangible
results. We are by no means only at the start of our
endeavours. The United Nations reform process has
already produced some results, such as the report of the
High-level Panel on United Nations system-wide
coherence and the establishment of the Peacebuilding
Commission.
 But time is short. There are numerous crises we
have to deal with right now. And notwithstanding the
many differing factors that have led to these crises,
they all have one thing in common: they can only be
solved multilaterally. The key to ending them is unity
of purpose. This is particularly true with respect to
Iran. Iran has continuously worked on its nuclear
programme in clear contradiction of the demands of the
International Atomic Energy Agency and the United
Nations. Nobody should be in the slightest doubt as to
the dangerous nature of this programme. Iran is
ignoring Security Council resolutions. Iran is blatantly
threatening Israel.
 Let us not fool ourselves. If Iran were to acquire
the nuclear bomb, the consequences would be
disastrous, first and foremost for the existence of
Israel; secondly, for the entire region; and ultimately
for all of us in Europe and the world who attach any
importance to the values of liberty, democracy and
human dignity. That is why we have to prevent Iran
from acquiring nuclear arms.
 The international community must not allow
itself to be divided or have its decisive response to
Iran’s provocations undermined in any way. The world
does not have to prove to Iran that Iran is building a
nuclear bomb. Iran has to convince the world that it is
not striving towards such a bomb.
 Each and every German Chancellor before me
has shouldered Germany’s special responsibility for the
existence of Israel. I, too, pledge to live up to this
responsibility that our history has bequeathed us. It is
one of the fundamental principles that guides my
country. In other words, Israel’s security is
non-negotiable for me as German Chancellor. And that
being the case, we have to do more than pay lip-service
to it. Together with its partners, Germany will continue
to seek a diplomatic solution. With this aim in mind,
Germany will   if Iran does not come around
firmly advocate additional and harsher sanctions.
 Unity of purpose is also the key in the fight
against international terrorism, and especially in our
efforts aimed at security and stability in Afghanistan.
Unity of purpose is also vital for ensuring a peaceful
future in Kosovo, where NATO and the European
Union play a particularly active role. We want a
solution under United Nations auspices. All parties are
now called upon to show a willingness to compromise.
 We also strongly support the efforts of the Middle
East Quartet for peace in that region. Germany is a
staunch advocate of the vision of two States, within
secure borders and in peace, for the Jewish people in
Israel and for the Palestinians in Palestine. We
welcome the fact that both parties are continuing their
talks with great vigour, above all with a view to the
Middle East conference scheduled for November.
 The third principle is that we have to strengthen
our shared immutable values. In my opinion, one of the
great dangers of the twenty-first century is that crises
and conflicts could give rise to a clash of civilizations.
This must not happen. For this reason, I plead for
tolerance   tolerance as properly understood, not
“anything goes” masquerading as tolerance. Everybody
must be able to follow his or her own path, but it must
be a path within the international community, not
outside it.
 This path is clearly departed from wherever
massive human rights violations are committed, as in
Darfur. A human tragedy is being played out there. Too
much time has already been squandered. Now is the
time to act. The crimes perpetrated there must not go
unpunished. This path has been departed from in
Myanmar, where human rights have likewise been
disregarded for years. I urge the Government not to use
force against the peaceful demonstrators and finally to
make way for a democratic future for the country. This
path is also departed from when political assassinations
are carried out, as in the case of Rafik Hariri or the
recent cowardly attack just a few days ago in Lebanon.
The Hariri tribunal must commence its work with all
possible speed. I call on Syria to grant Lebanon
diplomatic recognition at long last.
 It is my fundamental conviction that we must,
time and again, muster the strength to assert our shared
values of freedom and democracy. In order to do that,
we need an unshakeable foundation.
 We have such a foundation: the Charter of the
United Nations. It was written when Europe and wide
swathes of the rest of the world lay in ruins. At the
most basic level, it is a statement that, notwithstanding
all the dark chapters and tortuous turns of our history,
universal human rights do exist. In other words, what it
all comes down to is respecting and protecting the
dignity of each individual person. That is the
underlying reason why we assemble here each year and
work together for the future of our peoples.
 Germany will do its utmost to advance that work.
We look forward to fruitful cooperation with all
partners in the United Nations.


Allow  me to congratulate Mr. Kerim on his election as
President of the General Assembly and to wish him the
greatest success in his work.
 After five years in office, we come to the General
Assembly once again to inform members on issues
crucial to Colombian democracy.
 We have rejected the dismantling of the State and
refuse to enter into a statism that would wither private
initiative. We have reformed 420 State entities and are
determined to work to that end until the last day of our
Government. We seek a more efficient State at the
service of the community and not owned by political
machinations, union excesses or interest groups.
 We are committed to the development of an
entrepreneurial society, in opposition to State or private
monopolies, in a nation with a consensus centred on
productivity, discipline and equity. We provide every
space for private initiative with social responsibility,
which must be expressed in the transparency of
relations between investors and the State, in
entrepreneurial solidarity with the community beyond
the legal minimums, and in labour relations framed by
fraternity, contrary to savage capitalism and class
struggle.
 In sectors such as electricity, metallurgy and
health, we have encouraged participatory trade
unionism, with simultaneous responsibility in the
social field and entrepreneurial management, distinct
from traditional entitlement organization. We have
increased by 40 per cent the affiliation of workers to
social security through the improved performance of
the economy and our fight against evasion. In the past
five years, the minimum wage has grown by 8 per cent
above inflation. Our per capita income has gone from
$1,851 to $3,517. After adjustment in terms of
purchasing power, it has increased from $6,468 to
$9,456. For the first time in decades, the Gini
coefficient of income distribution has started to
improve.
 From the first day of my Government, with our
democratic security policy we made the decision not to
tolerate the murder of any Colombian and to defeat
impunity. The security situation has improved
substantially. In 2002, Colombia suffered 29,000
homicides, of which 196 were perpetrated against trade
unionists, and we closed 2006 with a 40 per cent
reduction in general violence and a 70 per cent
reduction in violence against trade unionists. This year,
there are 6,714 Colombians with individual protection
from the State, of which almost 1,200 are workers
belonging to trade unions, at a budgetary cost of almost
$39 million.
 In our struggle against impunity, between the
budgets for 2002 and 2008 we will have increased the
resources for the judicial branch and for the Attorney
General’s office by 76 per cent and 78 per cent,
respectively. The budget for the special unit of the
Attorney General’s office devoted to cases of the
murder of trade unionists has increased by 40 per cent.
The unit oversees more than 300 cases prioritized by
trade union movements.
 The fight against impunity for the murder of
unionized workers is being carried out under the
guidelines of the International Labour Organization
(ILO), in agreement between Government, workers and
employers. Reports on the progress made, submitted by
the ILO office in Colombia, have been positive.
 Allow me to affirm before the United Nations
that murders and kidnappings have been the work of
terrorists. First, it was the Marxist guerrillas who, in
introducing their perverse scheme of a so-called
combination of all forms of struggle, murdered,
kidnapped and penetrated sectors of workers, students,
politicians and journalists. Then came the
paramilitaries, and they did the same, murdering
workers and accusing them of collaborating with the
guerrillas, which in reciprocity murdered those whom
they believed to be friends with the paramilitaries. In
certain parts of the country, the confrontation between
the two guerrilla factions that still exist leads to the
murder of workers.
 Overcoming that scourge once and for all is an
inalienable objective of our democratic security policy.
In that regard, our three Government objectives are to
consolidate democratic security, strengthen investor
confidence, and achieve our social programme, which
is more ambitious than the millennium social goals that
we hope to meet before the date set by the United
Nations.
 With regard to democratic security, we are
winning, but we have not won yet. With persistence
and transparency, Colombia will overcome terrorism
financed by illicit drugs. We have a long-lived,
respectable and ever-deepening democracy. We are
approaching the fifth electoral contest presided over by
my Government, and the transparency and
effectiveness of the guarantees offered to all
contenders are increasingly evident. There are 86,347
registered candidates of 235 different political origins
to fill 18,332 posts by direct election. This is
happening in a country that, five years ago, was facing
60,000 terrorists, and where about 11,000 still remain.
To fight them, we deepen democracy instead of
restricting it, protect liberties instead of suppressing
them, and stimulate dissent instead of silencing it. Our
fight against terrorism is being observed by national
and international critics, who can be in the country and
say what they please without restriction.
 Our democratic practice gives us the political
authority to say that those who take up arms financed
by illicit drugs are not insurgents against oppression
but terrorists against liberty. We will not refuse to
negotiate with them if they cease their violent actions,
but we will not allow for negotiation to become a trap
that enables the destruction of our democracy. We have
achieved the demobilization of 46,000 members of
different factions and we are carrying out a costly and
complex reintegration process with them that requires
truth, justice and redress for the victims.
 Thus, I now turn to the humanitarian agreement
to free kidnapped people being held by terrorists of the
Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia
Ejército del Pueblo (FARC). Most of those were
kidnapped before or during the time of the Caguan
demilitarized zone, which lasted 42 months. We do not
understand why FARC should ask for a demilitarized
zone to release the kidnapped when it had that option
for so long and did not free them. The country was
without law and order for many years, and with no
security, which allowed its almost complete takeover
by guerrillas and paramilitaries. Citizens do not want
terrorists; they plead for the exclusive presence of the
State in all regions. We are open to a humanitarian
agreement, but we cannot allow demilitarized zones,
which are ultimately concentration camps run by
terrorists, nor can we permit those who are released
from prison to return to crime, since it would be an
affront to the sacrifice of the country’s soldiers and
police.
 We have unilaterally freed 177 FARC members,
as well as Rodrigo Granda, a high-ranking member of
that organization, who was freed at the request of the
President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy. We have given
our consent for many people and institutions to be
facilitators. The only answer from the terrorists has
been the treacherous murder of 11 assemblymen from
Valle del Cauca, who were held hostage for more than
five years, and the ongoing assassinations of defenders
of democracy, such as those perpetrated last Saturday,
in which the victim was Julio César Marentes and
Alberto Martínez Barbosa, two candidates for mayor in
Villarrica and Río Blanco, Department of Tolima, and
members of a political party from the Government’s
coalition.
 The options open for the release of kidnapping
victims   including a French female citizen who is
also Colombian, and three American citizens   are not
options for the political positioning of terrorism.
Colombia will not permit the recovery of its legitimate
and democratic sovereignty to be frustrated by
restoring national or international space to the
murdering power of terrorism. If terrorists want to be
involved in politics, they have to renounce their bloody
activities and submit to the Constitution.
 Recently, the Government gave its permission to
Senator Piedad Córdoba, who is in the opposition to
the Government, to play a role as facilitator of the
humanitarian agreement. We also accepted the help of
President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who will meet
shortly with representatives of FARC. President
Chávez has invited some congressmen from the United
States to join him at that meeting, with my
Government’s support and suggestion that the
American delegation be bipartisan so as to preserve a
bipartisan approach in its relations with Colombia. We
celebrate the positive willingness of the Government of
the United States.
 We have established certain reservations in order
to defend our democracy’s higher interests, and we
encourage both President Chávez and Senator Piedad
Córdoba in their tasks because we are committed to the
release of those being held hostage. The dismantling of
paramilitarism, the weakening of the guerrillas, the
restoration of effective guarantees for democracy
beyond rhetoric, and the protection of a free press in a
country where 15 journalists were once murdered in a
year   this year there has been one case   are results
that allow us to look the world in the eye and demand
full support for our democratic security policy.
 Today there is no paramilitarism. There are
guerrillas and drug traffickers. The term “paramilitary”
was coined to refer to private criminal organizations
whose objective was to combat guerrillas. Today, the
sole entity that combats guerrillas is the State, which
has recovered the monopoly it should never have lost.
 With the backing of the United Nations, we are
striving to assist displaced persons and to restore their
dignity. We have multiplied by a factor of 10 the
budget to protect them. The phenomenon remains, but
has shown a significant reduction.
 Today, Colombians feel more confident. The
investment rate has risen from 12 per cent of gross
domestic product to 26 per cent. Deficit and
indebtedness are moving towards a net reduction.
Unemployment, which stood at around 20 per cent, is
now at 11 per cent, and we are struggling to lower it to
7 per cent. We are seeking to reduce poverty, which
stood at close to 40 per cent, to a level no higher than
35 per cent in 2010.
 We are advancing towards the goal of achieving
universal access to basic education. We have built an
excellent technical training system. We have gone from
300,000 to 1.5 million families living in poverty that
receive a subsidy for their children’s nutrition and
education. We aim in the next three years to meet the
goal of universal access to health services. We are
working hard to fulfil, during the current four-year
period, the target of providing 5 million microcredits to
an equal number of families with scarce resources, as a
basic strategy to overcome factors of exclusion. We
have gone from 3.7 million to 9 million children who
have benefited from our food programmes; we expect
to reach 12 million in 2010. Our programme
“Together”, undertaken to eliminate extreme poverty,
combines a variety of social tools to cover 1.5 million
families.
 We reaffirm our commitment to fighting global
warming. We have gone from 37,000 natural gas
vehicles to nearly 300,000. We have moved forward in
the construction of mass transportation systems in nine
cities to reduce individual transportation. With
indigenous communities, we have advanced in the
construction of a series of villages that compose a
barrier for the complete recovery of the Sierra Nevada
de Santa Marta. Our new forest law prohibits the
destruction of the rainforest and changes in land use.
Colombia has 578,000 square kilometres of tropical
forest, which constitutes a lung of the planet. We will
soon have 80,000 forest-keeper families, who are
remunerated by the State and are committed to
abandoning illicit drug production and to supervising
the recovery of destroyed forests. One national
objective is the production of bio-fuels, for which we
have 44 million hectares of savannah, which will allow
greater development, initially in sugarcane and African
palm, without jeopardizing food security or destroying
a single square millimetre of rainforest.
 I thank the United Nations system for all its
support for Colombia, and I would like to highlight
four areas. The United Nations Office on Drugs and
Crime has been the guarantor and supervisor of our
forest-keeper families programme to protect the
rainforest from the destructive threat of drug
trafficking. The International Labour Organization
carries out excellent work in our workers’ protection
programme. We have extended the mandate of the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to
maintain its presence in Colombia for the remainder of
my Government’s term of office. Furthermore, various
United Nations entities provide valuable support in the
task of assisting displaced people.
 We continue working for a society without
exclusion and without class hatred, in permanent
constructive debate; one that looks for options, that
does not stagnate in insurmountable antagonisms, that
is respectful of the Democratic Constitution and guided
by a long-term vision, and that sustains itself on an
inclusive dialogue every day.
 I thank the international community for all its
support. I invite everyone to visit Colombia, to talk to
our fellow countrymen and women, and to experience
the collective spirit to fight for the greater happiness of
future generations. Colombia should be known not
through bad news, but rather through a great
relationship with Colombians themselves. I reiterate
the invitation to visit our country.