I
congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the
presidency of the General Assembly. I wish you every
success in your noble mission and recognize your long
experience in international political affairs. I also
extend our greetings and thanks to former President,
His Excellency Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann,
whose positions and active efforts reflected the spirit
and principles of this international organization, which
is headed by His Excellency Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon, whom I also salute. I express our
appreciation for everything he has done personally and
through the organs and agencies of the United Nations,
notably the United Nations Relief and Works Agency
for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to
assist the Palestinian people and defend their rights.
 During this session we have a full agenda before
us. The peoples of the whole world are looking to this
body to determine what can be done to save our planet
from the effects of climate change and global warming
and to address the world financial crisis. Many
countries, including small and developing countries,
see the need to reform the United Nations, including
the Security Council, so as to reflect the reality of the
current international situation and to ensure more
comprehensive representation of the international
community.
 These common concerns must not overshadow
the fact that serious problems face the Middle East
region in particular, first and foremost the lack of
commitment to the Charter of the United Nations and
the extent to which the resolutions of the General
Assembly and the Security Council are actually being
implemented without the application of double
standards. Everyone agrees on the need to achieve
peace in the Middle East, to counter extremism and
violence, and to establish the region as a zone free of
nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction. Yet the larger wound and deeper tragedy
remains the suffering of our Palestinian people since
the Nakba — the catastrophe — more than 60 years
ago, to which the United Nations is a living witness. Its
archives contain not dozens but hundreds of resolutions
that have not been implemented.
 The suffering of the Palestinian people as a result
of Israel’s settler occupation is crystal clear to the
world. Since the occupation of the West Bank and the
Gaza Strip, including East Jerusalem, in 1967, Israel
has continued with its settlement policy on all
Palestinian land, especially in holy Jerusalem, where
that policy is being accelerated and escalated by many
means, including the seizure of the homes of
Palestinians in the city, the imposition of restrictions,
even preventing Palestinians from building and
sometimes from repairing their homes while new
settlement neighbourhoods are established. Jerusalem
is becoming completely isolated from its surroundings
because of the illegal settlements and the apartheid
wall.
 We now face a unique situation. If international
law stipulates the inadmissibility of the acquisition of
the territory of others by force, how can we then deal
with the current situation where Israeli settlement
policies are undermining the goal of establishing a
geographically contiguous Palestinian State in
implementation of the will of the international
consensus? That consensus is reflected in the many
resolutions and principles, including the Road Map,
which we all agreed upon and which is based on the

31 09-52463

principle of land for peace and on an end to the
occupation that began in 1967.
 Immense efforts have been exerted and many
conferences have been held over the years, particularly
since the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993. Yet all
of this has not led to an end to the conflict. President
Barack Obama gave much hope to our people and the
peoples of the region when he announced his vision for
a peace agreement on the basis of a two-State solution
and the cessation of all settlement activities. We
welcomed the active American diplomacy to revive the
peace process and all efforts of the international
Quartet and its members: the United Nations, the
European Union, the Russian Federation and the
United States.
 All these active efforts and initiatives, which
have been welcomed and supported by us and by the
Arab States, are however confronted by the
intransigence of Israel, which refuses to adhere to the
requirements for relaunching the peace process. How is
it conceivable that negotiations can be held on the
borders and on Jerusalem while Israeli bulldozers are
working to change the reality on the ground with the
aim of creating a new reality and imposing the borders
that Israel desires? How can one conceive of holding
negotiations without agreement on the terms of
reference and the objective of those negotiations,
which the whole world has unanimously agreed upon,
namely ending the Israeli occupation of the territories
occupied in 1967, establishing the State of Palestine,
with Jerusalem as its capital, reaching a just and agreed
upon solution to the question of Palestinian refugees on
the basis of resolution 194 (III) of 1948, and achieving
peace on all the Palestinian, Syrian and Lebanese
tracks, as affirmed in the Arab Peace Initiative, which
provides a precious opportunity that must be seized to
achieve peace?
 In this regard, I should like to express our deep
appreciation of the important speech delivered to the
Assembly by President Obama two days ago (see
), in which he affirmed the necessity of
ending the occupation that began in 1967 and the
illegitimacy of the settlements. He also stressed the
need to establish an independent, sovereign and viable
Palestinian State and to address all the final-status
issues in the negotiations, foremost among these
Jerusalem, refugees, borders, water and settlements,
along with others. We reiterate that adherence to these
principles, in addition to a complete freeze on all
settlement activities, can salvage the peace process and
open horizons for its success.
 I reaffirm the eagerness of the Palestine
Liberation Organization to achieve a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace in accordance with the
resolutions of international legitimacy. At the same
time, I caution that the settlement policy and the
building of the separation wall, which continue to be
pursued by the Israeli occupation, will abort
opportunities to relaunch the peace process. Time is
running out and the risks are becoming greater as a
result of the continued suffering of the Palestinian
people under the last remaining occupation in the
world.
 We call upon the international community to
uphold international law and international legitimacy
and to exert pressure on Israel to cease its settlement
activities, to comply with the agreements it has signed,
to cease its policies of occupation and colonial
settlement, to release the approximately 11,000
prisoners and detainees and to lift the unjust siege
imposed on the Gaza Strip, which was subjected
months ago to devastating aggression claiming
thousands of civilian casualties among and causing
unprecedented destruction of infrastructure and public
facilities, including hospitals, mosques, schools and
even United Nations facilities.
 Our people, which continues to demand its rights
and to be determined to remain in its homeland despite
all of the suffering caused by the detentions, the
blockade and the killings, is also keen to end internal
division and to restore national unity. Our sister, Egypt,
is making commendable efforts to achieve that goal.
 In spite of all our suffering from the occupation
and its practices, we continue to work to build and
develop our national institutions. We have made
significant progress in this regard both in upholding the
rule of law and public order and in promoting
economic and social development, despite the harsh
conditions of the occupation and the blockade. We
continue to make every possible effort for the success
of the efforts of our brothers in Egypt to end the
ongoing coup in the Gaza Strip and to restore our
national unity by resorting to the ballot box and
holding presidential and legislative elections on their
constitutional date under the supervision and control of
Arab and Islamic countries, the United Nations and the

09-52463 32

international community. In that way, democracy will
be firmly institutionalized in our political life.
 Hope will remain alive in our souls and we will
not despair of regaining our rights on the basis of
relevant resolutions of the United Nations, the historic
role of which we reaffirm for attaining peace and
upholding the principle of “might for right” and not
“right for might”.
 From this rostrum, I conclude by reaffirming our
commitment to the Road Map, the Arab Peace
Initiative and to all terms of reference of the political
process. We call upon all parties to respect and abide
by them to provide the opportunity to launch a
successful and effective peace process. We are
confident that all our brothers in sisterly Arab countries
will adhere to the Arab Peace Initiative as a basis for
safeguarding our rights and opening the way towards
genuine peaceful relations with Israel once the
occupation is ended and the independent State of
Palestine is established.


I wish first of all to congratulate Mr. Ali Abdussalam
Treki on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. Knowing his
broad experience in the United Nations and his
dedication to dialogue and consensus, I assure him that
Peru will constructively support his initiatives.
 The global outlook is extremely complex and full
of great contradictions. We face the deepest economic
and financial international crisis that our generation
has experienced and which once again proves that the
borders in a global world are purely cartographic and
that the symbol of our times remains interdependency.
The economic and financial crisis has stymied world

09-52598 6

growth and, above all, exposed the weaknesses that
caused the market to malfunction. As rarely in recent
history, the international community has mobilized
huge resources and political capital to avoid
unprecedented economic collapse. A significant share
of those resources must support the developing
countries, which certainly did not cause the crisis but
are the most affected by it.
 It is regrettable that the convergence of wills and
interests with regard to the crisis is, in turn, not
apparent with equal resolve in the endeavour to achieve
the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 and to
firmly address the threats that endanger freedom,
democracy and, ultimately, regional and global
stability.
 In that context, allow me to point out that one
crucial problem we face is the huge sums spent on
arms acquisitions. How can we explain to our peoples
that, in the midst of one of the worst global economic
recessions and with more than 1 billion people living in
extreme poverty throughout the world, countries can
commit over $1,464 billion to military expenditure in
2008, and that, while economies contract, arms
purchases grow in real terms every year?
 Recently, the President of Peru, Mr. Alan García,
in a communication to South America’s ministers for
foreign affairs and of defence that is being circulated
as a document of this General Assembly (A/64/367),
seriously questioned that state of affairs in the region
and asked why, in the five years since the
establishment of the Union of South American Nations,
our countries have allocated for military spending a
total of $156 billion, but in addition have acquired
approximately $23 billion more in new weapons,
cannons, aircraft and ships. That figure could reach
$38 billion this year. The President appealed for that
absurdity to stop if conditions are created for a
strengthening of security and confidence in the region.
 To that end, on this occasion I affirm Peru’s
proposal that a friendship and non-aggression pact be
concluded to guarantee the commitments to
strengthening a zone of peace in South America, and to
achieve the gradual reduction of arms purchases and
the future establishment of a peace and interposition
force to avert any conflict in the region. The final
objective would be to create a regional collective
security system that complements and is upheld by the
Charter of the United Nations, enabling all our
countries to end the arms race in which South America,
a region that is otherwise demonstrating great maturity
and respect for international law in the handling of its
disputes, seems to be engaged for no discernible
reason. Our proposal will certainly require greater
study and consideration in the light of experiences in
other parts of the world.
 A second transnational threat that is not receiving
due attention is drug trafficking and its dangerous link
to terrorism and violence in general, the consequences
of which affect not only the security and rights of
millions of people, but also the environment. We are
paying an enormous price through our inaction
concerning a problem that causes millions of deaths a
year and tremendous material losses.
 At the global level, the traffic in drugs brings in
around $500 billion a year, equivalent to 8 per cent of
global trade, while, according to data of the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, their use affects
over 200 million people, in particular young people,
throughout the world.
 According to the 2008 report of the International
Narcotics Control Board, it is clear that South
America’s narcotics trafficking networks collaborate
with one another in their illicit activities, especially
money-laundering, and recruit specialists at the highest
technical level. It is therefore a matter of urgency that
combating narcotics trafficking once more be given top
priority on the world agenda and in cooperation
between developed countries, pursuant to the principle
of shared responsibility.
 We must respond jointly to halt the advance of
narcotics trafficking and related criminal activities,
such as trafficking in arms or people, the destruction of
nature, corruption and terrorism. Legislation concerning
illicit crops and their interdiction and eradication should
be complemented by prevention and rehabilitation
programmes aimed at comprehensive, alternative and
sustainable development. To that end, the concerted
efforts of all international actors are essential under the
principles of cooperation and, above all, shared
responsibility.
 In Peru, drug traffickers are working with the
remnants of terrorist groups. This situation
exponentially increases the level of violence among
both criminal groups, and if we do not solve the
problem now, we may find ourselves in a situation of
unprecedented consequences in the future. Illicit coca

7 09-52598

production is a process of utmost destructiveness to the
environment. Three hectares of forest have to be
destroyed to obtain one hectare of coca. This is causing
irreparable damage in the Peruvian Amazon forest; the
logging and burning of trees to clear land for illegal
crops erodes the soil and has resulted in the
deforestation of 2.5 million hectares of Amazon forest,
a leading contribution to global warming.
 For all these reasons, the Government of Peru has
devoted special attention to the problem in terms of
financial and human resources. But the results have
often left us feeling that this is a solitary struggle with
a problem for which the international community, and
especially the countries that consume the bulk of
narcotic drugs, do not have adequate or rapid solutions.
Peru, which dedicates more than $600 million a year to
fighting an illicit industry with a turnover of
$22 billion, cannot fight the illicit production of drugs
alone or hope for any long-term success without the
firm, supportive cooperation of the international
community and, particularly, of the consuming
countries, based on the established principle of shared
responsibility.
 Real cooperation has diminished alarmingly since
2002. The largest contributor to Peru reduced its
contribution from $140 million to $128 million in 2003
and to $116 million in 2004. This year, the total will be
$70 million and next year, $57 million. Peru therefore
considers it essential for the United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime to draft a report providing updated
figures for the global resources that the international
community allocates to combating the illegal narcotics
trade, the donor sources and specific ongoing projects,
as well as identifying key programmes to improve
cooperation with the countries most affected by illegal
drug production. Such precise, reliable and
internationally comparable information would dispel
many myths concerning the efforts and joint action that
we should undertake without delay, and would be a
practical starting point from which to better coordinate
the efforts of contributing States, international
organizations and financial institutions with those
States most affected by illegal narcotics production and
trafficking, in order to strengthen them in this fight. We
hope that this task can be accomplished without delay,
since, I repeat, international action in this area must not
be postponed.
 Another sensitive issue that has been the subject
of special debate is that of climate change and the
preservation of the environment in general. Peru is
suffering dramatically from the effects of global
warming, seen in the accelerated retreat of its tropical
glaciers and its ensuing difficulties in adequately
meeting the water needs of its population. Peru
considers it essential to establish concrete goals for
technological cooperation and transfer, as well as the
creation of financial assistance funds for projects
aimed at directly combating the effects of climate
change in the countries most affected by it. Faced with
the urgent need to confront the adverse effects of
climate change, Peru supports the ongoing establishment
of binding international commitments by the countries
that created this problem, and hopes that at the
fifteenth International Conference on Climate Change,
to be held in Copenhagen in December, all States will
be willing to adopt them.
 In this regard, Peru reiterates its proposal that a
financial mechanism be established towards the
creation of a global fund to support measures aimed at
mitigating and adapting to the effects of climate
change in developing countries. This would involve a
duty of $0.50 on every barrel of oil, inasmuch as the
fuel bears a responsibility at every stage in its chain of
production, from extraction through refining to its
uses, direct and indirect. Peru also proposes that
comprehensive programmes of adaptation to climate
change be established. Such programmes, which could
be financed by the Global Environment Facility or the
World Bank, would identify a comprehensive approach
to sectoral adaptation and emphasize strategies to
reduce the occurrence of disasters and to protect the
health and food security of affected populations,
economic infrastructure and biodiversity.
 Finally, we wish to raise an issue of particular
interest to Peru and developing countries in general —
the situation of migrants. Peru is an active promoter of
the defence of the human rights of migrants and their
families, and of the sharing of responsibility for
addressing this phenomenon by their countries of
origin and host countries. We endorse the principle that
migration is a factor for development and has
undeniably been so throughout human history. It has
enriched the culture and social life of nations, and
allowed us to come into contact with the contributions,
discoveries and developments that have gradually
shaped our modern society.
 It is therefore essential that we be aware that
what migrants contribute to their host countries today,

09-52598 8

and what they can contribute in the future, will be in
large measure the backbone of those societies. That is
why xenophobic and discriminatory pressures must be
avoided, since they do nothing but delay the inevitable
integration of the world and the human race.
 In Latin America, we are living through a crucial
time in the consolidation of democracy and the
promotion of the social and political rights of our
peoples. Peru therefore expresses its deep concern over
the recent events in the sister country of Honduras,
where the democratic system has been abruptly
interrupted. The actions taken against Brazil’s embassy
in Honduras should be repudiated and should cease
immediately, pursuant to Honduras’s legal traditions as
a country that respects its international obligations,
particularly the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic
Relations.
 We call for a dialogue aimed at re-establishing
democracy in Honduras. All Honduran political groups
should take advantage of the return of President
Manuel Zelaya to Tegucigalpa to establish a
Government of unity and national reconciliation as
outlined in the San José agreement, which, through
entirely peaceful means, will allow the country to
move forward with free, democratic and transparent
elections that will guarantee the election of a
Government that respects its Constitution and promotes
national integration and solidarity for each and every
Honduran citizen.
 At a time when communications and technology
bring us closer together than ever before, we must also
understand that our problems and responsibilities
should also bring us closer together and that challenges
to one State are challenges to all. This Assembly
therefore remains the most appropriate forum in which
to discuss global and local challenges, which are now
identical and of concern to us all, and should also —
why not? — inspire us all with hope.


Today the international
community is striving to meet challenges that the
founders of the United Nations could not have
envisioned some 65 years ago. At the same time, the
founding principles of the United Nations have not
changed. The provision of joint security and prosperity
and the safeguarding of human rights remain the
impetus for United Nations activities as they were
60 years ago. Countries that gather here, big and small,
have a common responsibility as members of the
United Nations to uphold and cherish the ideals
expressed in the United Nations Charter.
 The global financial and economic crisis is not
the only problem today. Terrorism, the proliferation of
weapons, energy challenges, climate change and many
other issues must be addressed in order to make the
goals of the United Nations a reality. Complex
challenges require comprehensive responses. It is
obvious we cannot benefit from isolationist or egoistic
policies.
 The United Nations must come of age. It must
become the visible and credible expression of the
globalization of politics. The modern world dictates
that we are dependent on each other. Either we work
with each other or suffer in isolation.
 Today more than ever before, the United Nations
has to play the leading role in strengthening our
societies by promoting the shared values of humanity
and tolerance. It is our responsibility to make sure that
such phenomena as anti-Semitism, xenophobia and
racism are eliminated from our lives. There can be no
excuse for not bearing this responsibility. Countries big
and small alike have duties not only towards their own
citizens but also towards global society. But it is
usually the poor and vulnerable who suffer the most,
especially as the current crisis and the lag in donor
commitments push back the hopes of implementing the
Millennium Development Goals on schedule.
Therefore, with all due regard for the domestic
concerns and needs of national taxpayers, we need to
adapt to the reality of global complexity and to respect
our common responsibility and international
commitments. We need to make sure that the
Millennium Development Goals do not become the
prime victims of the current global economic and
financial situation.

09-52320 12

 What particular steps should be taken? I will
mention several. First, recent United Nations peace
operations show that efforts to achieve and consolidate
peace entail many dimensions, ranging from
peacebuilding to nation-building. Despite its current
economic limitations my country is determined to meet
its obligations. We will contribute to peace-keeping
missions and operations working to ensure global
security and stability, specifically by continued
participation in the European Union missions in
Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Afghanistan.
 Second, the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and
biological weapons will never be halted unless there is
an international consensus to do so. The United
Nations must strengthen its policy against
proliferation; in particular we need to find ways to
allow nations to develop civil nuclear power but not
nuclear weapons. Therefore the upcoming Review
Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons next year will provide a good
opportunity to seek diplomatic solutions and work for
full compliance with international commitments and
requirements.
 Third, better and more responsible governance at
the global, regional and local levels is crucially
important for a steady and sustainable economic
recovery. Protectionism and isolationism have never
worked and will never work in the future.
 Fourth, realizing the fact that global climate
change calls for global solutions, we will do our best to
reach an international consensus at the Climate Change
Conference in Copenhagen. Fully aware of the global
impact of climate change, we support the ambitious
European Union commitment to cut carbon dioxide
emissions by 20 per cent by 2020, within the
framework of an international agreement.
 Fifth, I think that global responsibility has to be
addressed regionally as well — this is the rule for
effective implementation of the United Nations
Charter. Regional organizations should assume a
greater responsibility for taking care of their regions.
They must share their best practices with their
neighbours and other regional organizations.
 Aware of being a comparatively small State,
Lithuania is assuming its regional and global
responsibility to promote United Nations values
through the core principles of dialogue, respect,
understanding and tolerance, as it assumes the
presidencies of regional and global organizations.
Lithuania began its one-year presidency of the Council
of the Baltic Sea States as well as the presidency of the
Community of Democracies on 1 July 2009, and it will
take on the chairmanship of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe in 2011. A
Lithuania representative will then assume the yearly
presidency of the United Nations General Assembly in
September 2012 and will complete that term as
Lithuania takes on the European Union presidency in
the second half of 2013.
 It is an immense responsibility to guide the
Community of Democracies forward at this point in
time. In our view, real progress in development is
linked directly to the institution of democratic norms
and principles. We believe democracy to be inseparable
from peace, the rule of law, respect for individual and
human rights, equal opportunity and overall prosperity.
 Allow me to reiterate that small or less developed
States can no longer avoid global responsibility and
that all of us are responsible for our common present
and future. Let us all recognize from now on, in each
of our capitals, that the global interest is our national
interest and global responsibility is our national
responsibility.


Yesterday and today we have
heard many inspiring words. We heard powerful words,
words of hope. A few moments ago we heard words
about salvation. Although most of us would not agree
that salvation is around the corner, at the same time I
believe all of us will agree that improvement is
possible and that the reason we are here is to make that
improvement a reality. But in order to do that, we must
do what the peoples of the world legitimately expect
from us as representatives of United Nations Member
States: to make this institution, the United Nations,
effective and to work for it with a sense of common
purpose, truly as united nations.
 I express full confidence in your experience and
wisdom, Mr. President, congratulate you on your
election and wish you every success in your work for
the improvement of humankind’s situation.
 At the same time, I would not wish to miss the
opportunity to thank the President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session, Mr. Miguel
d’Escoto Brockmann, who guided this Assembly with
great determination and an ethical commitment to
fairness and justice.
 I also wish to pay tribute to our Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his guidance in these
trying times.
 In the past few days, many of us were engaged in
an effort, spearheaded by the Secretary-General, to
generate the necessary political will to seal the deal in
Copenhagen. We all appreciate this example of
international leadership. Humankind must take resolute
steps towards a new and effective system to mitigate
the effects of global warming and to ensure our
necessary adaptation.
 Our responsibilities are common and
differentiated. Today, we understand that each of the
Member States of the United Nations must do its share
and that, together as united nations, we can save the
planet. Let the Copenhagen Conference be the turning
point.
 We also need to broaden the front and fully
include civil society and the business sector in broad
action for this needed technological and social
transformation. Action starting now to mitigate the
consequences of climate change will have to lead to
profound societal change — a change in the way we
produce, the way we consume and the way we live. Let
us not be afraid of these changes. These changes may
not amount to a revolution, of which President Chávez
Frías of Venezuela spoke, but they will have to be real
and, if guided in a wise and timely manner, they can
improve our common future.
 Now the world needs a comprehensive strategy in
order to fulfil this task. Such a strategy needs to
address all the main challenges of our time in a
consistent manner. The food crisis, climate change, the
energy crisis, the spreading of infectious diseases and
other problems may have different roots, but they
produce a single, communicative effect. They hobble
global development and make the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals only a distant
possibility. Therefore, clear responses are called for.
 And what is the role of the United Nations in this
context? Some of the answers have already been
provided. They are enshrined, inter alia, in the
Outcome of the United Nations Conference on the
World Financial and Economic Crisis and its Impact on
Development, which was held in New York in June.
Results of that Conference should be further
elaborated. Specific priority tasks for global
development must soon be defined.
 These days, many expectations are linked to the
G-20 summit meeting in Pittsburgh. Much needs to be
done to bring greater discipline and responsibility to
the global financial system. This is an important and
immediate priority. Moreover, it is necessary to
increase resources and to adjust the Bretton Woods
institutions with a view to the proper maintenance of
global financial stability and of development financing.
The restarting of global trade negotiations has become
an urgent priority.
 But even more is needed, including the
improvement of official development assistance, with a

09-52425 10

particular priority on development in Africa. Issues of
global development represent a large part of the agenda
of the current session of the General Assembly.
 However, we must also think about the fate of
human rights in current global circumstances. Human
rights and development are closely connected. The
current recession has already increased global levels of
poverty. Unemployment is growing. The faith of many
young people is becoming ever more uncertain. All
these are serious challenges to global social stability
and may turn into the serious security concerns of
tomorrow if left unattended.
 I welcome the efforts of the International Labour
Organization and the Global Jobs Pact adopted in June.
Today, there is no challenge to human rights more
pervasive, more strategic and more pressing than the
challenge of poverty and unemployment. Policymakers
need to ensure that economic policies and human rights
policies alike are coordinated and that mechanisms are
put into place at the national and international levels.
 Slovenia was one of the first Member States to
sign today the Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Protocol will give individuals an additional and
potentially significant implementation mechanism.
This is a small step, but one which demonstrates our
awareness of the problem and our commitment to
action.
 We are also looking to the Human Rights Council
as the main body of the United Nations to devise
strategies for human rights. Slovenia has been an active
member of the Council and we remain optimistic. The
progress achieved so far in developing new methods of
work in the Council is encouraging, albeit not yet
sufficient. We welcome the election of the United
States to the Council and believe that only an inclusive
forum for human rights can be an effective forum for
human rights. Members of the Human Rights Council
must realize that they bear a special responsibility to
lead.
 But there are problems which exceed the
potential of the Human Rights Council itself. The
failures to protect human beings from mass atrocities
and from gross and systematic violations of human
rights should not be repeated. We still have not found
the right tools to respond in a timely and effective
manner to such situations. I therefore welcome the
debate on the responsibility to protect that took place
in the General Assembly in July this year. Continued
engagement of the General Assembly on this subject
has proved to be necessary, and I hope that this
discussion will yield results.
 Issues of environment, development and human
rights represent today the bulk of the current United
Nations agenda, but it is in the area of the maintenance
of international peace and security that some of the
most urgent thinking and action are necessary. Four
areas of work are of special importance.
 The reform of the Security Council is long
overdue and progress made at the sixty-third session of
the General Assembly is insufficient. However,
negotiations so far have generated a positive
momentum. It is apparent that the expansion of the
Security Council in the permanent and non-permanent
categories of membership has gained broad support
among United Nations Member States. Exactly a year
ago from this rostrum, I suggested a specific model for
Security Council expansion. It was one of many
proposals that were made. Now the time is right for
that and other proposals to be put on the table and to be
addressed head on.
 In addition to structural change, such as Security
Council reform, we need to strengthen the United
Nations practical role in the maintenance of
international peace and security. I welcome the
thinking expressed in the report of the Department of
Peacekeeping Operations entitled “A New Partnership
Agenda: Charting a New Horizon for United Nations
Peacekeeping”, published in July this year. The report
highlights many of the most pressing and subtle needs
for improvement. Member States must give careful
consideration to the report and to such concepts as
expanding the peacekeeping partnership, the purpose
of which is to strengthen the operational capacity and
political sophistication of United Nations peacekeeping.
 Let us not overlook the fact that progress in
peacekeeping would strengthen all other United
Nations activities linked to the maintenance of
international peace and security, including preventive
diplomacy and post-conflict peacebuilding.
 The third area which needs to be addressed is
disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control,
where we have come up against far too many
stumbling blocks in the past. United Nations action
needs to be energized now, and the forthcoming review

11 09-52425

of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons has to be a step forward.
 Fourthly, the United Nations will continue to be
an indispensable forum for political consultation and
policy advice. The experience of the United Nations is
irreplaceable. The situation in Afghanistan can be cited
as a case in point. For three decades now, the United
Nations has been seized with a variety of problems
affecting Afghanistan, a Member State. No one should
doubt that Afghanistan belongs to the Afghans or that
the Afghanization of security is the only real path
towards security in the country. There can be no
military solution to the country’s variety of problems.
It is becoming ever more apparent that the international
community will have to assist in an Afghan process of
transition that will decrease and eventually phase out
the international military presence in the country.
 Let me emphasize the role of the United Nations
in that context. Sometimes, matters such as the
situation in and around Afghanistan are discussed at
specialized international conferences, but wisdom and
common sense suggest that the experience of the
United Nations be put to use. Let us not forget the
unique success of the United Nations, of the United
Nations-led 2001 Bonn Conference and of the
subsequent Constitutional Loya Jirga. The time has
come for a broad look at the entire experience since
that period, an assessment of what exactly went wrong
and why, a sober assessment of the current situation,
and the careful definition of further steps that will
make international political, economic and
administrative assistance more effective and the
international military presence no longer needed. The
assistance of the Security Council and the General
Assembly will be valuable in that regard.
 Let me conclude by saying something very
obvious. The agenda of the United Nations today is
heavy, but that is not news. The United Nations has
always been the forum for addressing the world’s most
intractable problems. At the same time, however, the
United Nations has always represented hope and
promise to the world. Let us live up to that hope and
that promise. Let us make this the era of the United
Nations and the Organization’s finest hour.


I should like to
congratulate the President on the singular honour of
having been chosen for the presidency of the United
Nations General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I
would like to assure him of my delegation’s fullest
support as he undertakes his momentous responsibility
to unite Member States in pursuing the common goal
of a more humane, secure, united and prosperous
world.
 There was a time recently when that elusive goal
finally appeared within reach, but multiple new
challenges have coalesced to render the goal even more
distant. It is therefore most encouraging that the world
is turning to the United Nations to find a common,
global path to resolving the most intractable difficulties
facing humanity. There is a clear recognition emerging
that together we can all rise, but that separately, we can
only sink.
 There was a time when the powerful disdained
this institution’s ability to be a unifying player. That is
now changing, and in this regard, I would like to
commend the President of the United States, who holds

09-52470 28

a very special place in the hearts of Africans, Kenyans
in particular, for having on Wednesday so eloquently
indicated the centrality of the United Nations in
charting common solutions.
 In order to better equip the United Nations for
meeting these challenges, we must continue to press
for reform in the Organization. The Security Council,
in particular, must be enlarged and made more
democratic and representative of current day reality.
Part of the enlargement must include permanent, veto-
bearing seats for Africa.
 The world can no longer continue to marginalize
a continent that is home to nearly one billion people.
That is wrong in principle, but even more, it is wrong
in practice. We cannot find sustainable solutions to our
challenges when such a large part of humanity is given
so little voice and role in that quest for peace.
 The world is now acutely aware that the quest for
peace begins with ensuring the survival of the planet.
I would, therefore, like to thank Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for having convened the high-level
meeting on climate change, which has put that issue
squarely onto the world’s centre stage. There is no
issue that so clearly unites the population of the entire
world as climate change does.
 Regrettably, the far-sighted decision at the 2005
United Nations World Summit to explore the
possibility of a more coherent institutional framework
for international environmental governance has not
borne any fruit. This is particularly unacceptable now
when climate change is indeed the most pressing
challenge of our times. We therefore call for the
upgrading of the United Nations Environmental
Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, so that it can become
the central environmental institution handling the
numerous conventions.
 We have noted with regret the emergence of
multiple centres dealing with environmental issues.
That dissipates their impact and sometimes even leads
to contradictory actions. The United Nations Office in
Nairobi should now be elevated to the same level
United Nations Offices in Geneva and Vienna to enable
it to provide comprehensive support to all Member
States and organizations struggling to adjust to a new
paradigm of a sustainable and dynamic green economy.
 Without that, the lives of billions will be
imperilled. Already, as the Secretary-General pointed
out on Wednesday, another 100 million people may fall
below the poverty line this year owing to climate
change setbacks. Markets may be bouncing back, but
incomes and jobs are not. These developments do not
augur well for the future.
 I regret to say that my own country is emblematic
of the woes unleashed by years of rampant excesses in
the global and local mismanagement of our
environment. The melting of the famed ice caps of
Mt. Kenya and nearby Mt. Kilimanjaro, the destruction
of vast swathes of our once beautiful forests, the drying
of fast-flowing rivers, the intensifying cycles of
drought and floods, the spread of malaria to highland
regions as temperatures rise — these are all
consequences of human action within and outside our
borders. And so the solution also must also entail
action on both fronts.
 The greater challenge for us, I am afraid, is the
external one. We, like the rest of Africa, produce only a
tiny proportion of the emissions that are rapidly
warming the planet and wreaking havoc with our
capacity to produce adequate amounts of food and
energy and husband sustainable water supplies. Our
economies are in disarray. We are victims of the richer
world’s acts and omissions, and therefore we need
large amounts of funds in assistance and private-sector
investment to reverse the course of events. The world
community must agree on concrete actions in
Copenhagen.
 But we in Kenya are not interested in playing the
blame game or waiting for international action to
materialize. We have already begun to make very tough
political decisions to reverse the ravages. Our
immediate goal is to fully restore our largest water
tower, the famed Mau Forest complex, as well as
Kenya’s other four water towers, and are embarking on
a huge reforestation drive to plant seven billion trees,
which will restore the carbon-taming sinks that once
made us self-sufficient in food and energy. We are also
undertaking a crash programme designed to rapidly
shift energy production to green technologies that use
assets in which we are naturally rich — wind and sun,
but most important of all, geothermal energy, which
could more than double our current energy production
within the next four years.
 For all of these programmes, we are mobilizing
local resources, but we will need significant assistance
and investment to succeed in our goal of achieving

29 09-52470

self-sufficiency in a green way. The rich nations have
recognized that their own self-interest is served in
promoting such green commitments in developing
countries, but the existing mechanisms through which
they can support such programmes need to be refined
and made more effective in quickly releasing
resources.
 We therefore support British Prime Minister
Gordon Brown’s proposal for a $100 billion facility,
and at the same time urge that the $20 billion pledged
by the Group of Eight (G-8) for enhanced food
production be speedily mobilized and disbursed. We
need immediate assistance in feeding the 10 million
Kenyans who are now living in hunger and will
otherwise face starvation shortly. Just last week we
declared this situation a national disaster requiring
$500 million to rectify, of which $250 million will be
mobilized from our own resources, while we urgently
appeal to our development partners to furnish the other
$250 million.
 Tens of thousands of livestock animals have died.
This devastation is the result primarily of climate
change. We have had droughts before, but they now
recur much more frequently and with greater severity.
One drought year is difficult enough, but the rains have
now failed us for the past four consecutive seasons.
I appeal to our well-wishers, who are many, to assist us
in this dire emergency. To mitigate the suffering, we
have carried out a massive mobilization — including of
the military — in providing relief and in drilling
boreholes and transporting water to areas in acute need.
 I am very proud to say that despite the terrible
post-election violence and the subsequent multiple
reverses that made reconciliation and reconstruction
even more difficult, our people have shown an
extraordinary maturity and resilience in rising to
unprecedented challenges. We were able to overcome
the bitterness over the election with an accord that we
signed with the help of the African Union and the
mediation of Kofi Annan, as well as with the support of
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who personally
visited Kenya at the height of the crisis — for which
we are deeply grateful.
 Let me now turn to an area where peace does not
prevail and which is a source of immense concern to
the entire international community — and that is
Somalia. As its immediate neighbour and with a large
population of Kenyan Somalis, we have done more
than any other country to assist Somalia in overcoming
its divisions and conflicts. No one is more eager than
we are to help defeat the forces of extremism in
Somalia, which have so much sway because of the help
of external elements. The continuing inflow of
refugees, small arms and light weapons from Somalia
is the major source of insecurity in our country.
 The latest setback resulting from that insecurity is
disruption through piracy against international trade in
one of the busiest sea routes in the world. Despite the
risks incurred by doing so, Kenya has offered facilities
for the detention and prosecution of suspected pirates,
as part of our international obligation to promote
peace. We have also offered to host a United Nations-
organized conference in Kenya on how to coordinate
and more effectively deal with the scourge of piracy. In
return, we ask the international community to
recognize our many sacrifices and assist us in dealing
with our major refugee and security burdens.
 The Intergovernmental Authority on Development
(IGAD) and the African Union have recommended to
the United Nations Security Council that it impose a no-
fly zone and a blockade of airports and seaports held by
insurgents so as to prevent the influx of arms. Kenya
fully supports their position. It is now incumbent upon
the United Nations Security Council to take decisive
action to forestall further anarchy in Somalia.
 To succeed in the quest for peace in Somalia, we
must recognize that the present focus primarily on the
use of force has not led to any curbing of extremism.
Indeed, the security and humanitarian crises are worse
than ever. We must therefore take a more
comprehensive approach in tackling the extremists —
an approach that includes encouraging the Transitional
Federal Government to much more aggressively pursue
its commitment to a more inclusive political process,
by bringing into the Government all forces that eschew
violence. Such outreach to all moderates can succeed
only with much greater international support. It is
regrettable that many pledges made at the Brussels
donors conference have yet to be honoured. I call upon
all those who have not honoured their pledges to do so
immediately.
 Turning back to the global economic crisis, it is
now recognized that one of its principal causes is the
weakness of the international financial system. We
should strengthen and promote effective multilateralism
with the United Nations at the centre. We need to reform

09-52470 30

the international financial governance institutions, so
that they can prevent crises and develop more effective
and equitable responses to them.
 The ideals and principles of the United Nations
are, today more than ever, the surest hope for a more
prosperous and equitable world. Multilateralism in this
globalized age is the only sure way to ensure that
peace, development and unity prevail at a time when
the world is riven with so many divisions. We need a
genuine partnership among all nations and peoples, so
that everyone feels that he or she is a critical
stakeholder in national and international decision-
making.
 Finally, within democratic nations, each person’s
vote is equal to those of all others, regardless of their
power or wealth. That is the principle that must finally
be applied to the workings of the entire international
system.


I should like to begin by
extending to His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki
my delegation’s warmest congratulations on his
election to preside over the General Assembly at its
sixty-fourth session. I assure him of the full support
and cooperation of my delegation. I also take this
opportunity to express our most profound appreciation
to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Miguel
d’Escoto Brockmann, for the exemplary manner in
which he guided our work at the sixty-third session.
 I should also like to record my delegation’s
heartfelt gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
for his inspiring leadership and dedication in
promoting the noble principles and ideals of this
Organization.
 This is the first time the General Assembly has
been addressed by a democratically elected President
of the Maldives. I am extremely pleased to be here. I
have spent many of the past General Assembly sessions
locked in a hot, humid, damp cell with my hands
shackled and my feet bound, imprisoned for my
conviction that the 300,000 people of the Maldives
should be free from fear, free from want and free to
live their lives in liberty and in dignity.
 I would like to thank the international community
for its invaluable support in securing our democratic
transition. Reformers in the Maldives and our friends
in the United Nations should feel justifiably proud that
our island home was able to mark last year’s first
International Day of Democracy in the best possible
way: by throwing off a 30-year-old autocracy and
securing a smooth, peaceful and democratic transfer of
power.
 Just as the international community played a key
role in securing the Maldives’ democratic transition,
so, I hope, will it play a role in the even more difficult
task of making sure our democracy becomes a
permanent feature rather than a passing illusion. All of
us who care about the Maldives and believe in
democracy bear an enormous responsibility to ensure
that the beliefs we fought for are set in stone rather
than written in sand.
 There are three areas in which the Maldives seeks
the help of the international community. The first is
continued collaboration in democracy-building. We
must work together to strengthen the various pillars of
a democratic society, namely protection of human
rights, good governance, independent oversight bodies,
a free press and civil society. The Maldives has made
enormous progress on all of those pillars, but much
remains to be done. My sense is that the necessary
foundations are now in place. The separation of powers

09-52425 34

has been established by constitutional reform. A range
of independent agencies and commissions have now
been set up. We have a thriving independent media.
Nevertheless, several crucial challenges still remain,
and we look forward to the support of the international
community as we move to meet these challenges. In
particular, I would like to stress the importance of
ensuring the equality of women and men, not just in
name, but in practice.
 The second way in which the international
community can help consolidate democracy and the
rule of law in the Maldives is by promoting a
conducive economic environment. As a small, open
market economy that is heavily dependent on tourism
and fishery exports, the Maldives has suffered badly
from the current global recession. Moreover, since
assuming office, we have come to understand that, in
the run-up to last year’s election, the former regime
engaged in highly irresponsible economic policies in
the hope of buying their way to victory. Add to this
picture our continued efforts to recovery from the 2004
tsunami, our impending graduation from the least
developed country category and the high oil and food
prices of recent years, and the scale of the economic
challenge facing the new Government becomes very
apparent.
 The new Government is determined to confront
this challenge with honesty and with vigour. In
consultation with the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the World Bank, we have embarked on a
programme of major economic reform designed to
reduce the bloated public sector, privatize public
utilities and promote private enterprise and trade. Yet
the scale of the problems we face means we cannot
succeed on our own. We therefore look to our friends
in the international community to help us get back on
our feet. We are very grateful for the support extended
to us by the IMF and the Indian Government, to name
but two of our partners. However, more is needed if
democracy and human rights are to coexist with
economic stability and prosperity.
 The third way in which the international
community can and must help the Maldives consolidate
democracy and establish a secure, prosperous and
equitable society is by taking urgent and effective
action to tackle climate change. The threats posed to
the Maldives from climate change are well known.
Every beach lost to rising seas, every house lost to
storm surges, every reef lost to increasingly warm
waters, every job lost as fish stocks dwindle and every
life lost to more frequent extreme weather events will
make it harder and harder to govern the country, until a
point is reached when we must consider abandoning
our homeland.
 I therefore call on you, the leaders of the world,
to protect the future of frontline countries like the
Maldives by reaching an ambitious and effective
agreement at December’s United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference
in Copenhagen which seeks to limit average global
temperature increases to less than 1.5 centigrade
degrees above pre-industrial levels. To do otherwise
would be to sign a death warrant for the
300,000 Maldivians.
 But the Maldives is determined to do what we
can to survive. We are going to be the first country to
go carbon neutral, in 10 years’ time. In order to do that,
we are determined to formulate a survival kit: a
carbon-neutral manual that would enable others to
replicate our actions, in order that all of us together
might just about save ourselves from climate
catastrophe.
 As part of our efforts to achieve a unified voice, I
will be inviting some of the most vulnerable States
affected by climate change to the Maldives. We hope
that that November summit will reinforce our
determination to leave no stone unturned to ensure our
survival.
 I should now like to touch on a number of other
important issues which are of enormous concern to us.
The Maldives abhors terrorism in all its forms and is
determined to stand shoulder to shoulder with all
countries in facing down this menace. Events over the
past year in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India, our
neighbours and partners in South Asia, show us that
victory in this fight will not be easy to achieve. They
also show us that to effectively tackle terrorism we
must reaffirm and not dilute our commitments to
human rights, democracy, the rule of law and good
governance.
 While we applaud recent efforts to reform and
revitalize the United Nations, we believe that such
reforms cannot be successful or complete without the
much-anticipated and much-needed reform of the
Security Council. We strongly believe that the third
round of intergovernmental negotiations on Security
Council reform must produce tangible results. I call

35 09-52425

upon the Assembly to complete this task during the
sixty-fourth session and come to agreement on
increases in both the permanent and non-permanent
membership of the Council. In terms of composition,
we believe that the geo-political realities of the
contemporary world must be duly reflected in the
membership of the Council. Therefore, we support the
inclusion of India and Japan as permanent members.
 The new Government of Maldives is determined
to pursue friendly and mutually respectful relations
with every country represented in this Hall. However,
any friendship must include a willingness to be frank
with one another and to object to behaviour not
befitting a sovereign State.
 We believe dialogue and constructive engagement
serve the cause of peace better than ostracism and
isolation. The new Government in Maldives will look
to renew relations with Israel and to use the
relationship to reiterate our support for an independent
and sovereign Palestinian homeland, in conformity
with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
 Maldives is seeking election to the Human Rights
Council during the current session of the General
Assembly because we firmly believe in the universality
of human rights and their critical importance to
achieving the noble goals of the United Nations
Charter.
 Standing at this rostrum, I must admit how, as a
prisoner, I was inspired by the courage and vision of
Aung San Suu Kyi of Burma. Today I would like to
echo the call of the Secretary-General for her
immediate and unconditional release along with all
other political prisoners. I also reiterate my strident
support for the work assigned to Mr. Ibrahim Gambari,
the United Nations Special Envoy to Burma, and say a
prayer for political prisoners everywhere.
 In conclusion, I must say that the most critical
test so far of the resoluteness of the international
community to save itself will come during Mr. Treki’s
watch as President of this Assembly: the Copenhagen
meeting in December. We must prime ourselves to
succeed at that conference. Between now and then, we
must all use every opportunity, every debate, and every
encounter to achieve that goal. It is imperative that we
succeed. If we want to save the world, I suggest that
saving Maldives is a very good starting point.


First, I echo
previous speakers in warmly congratulating Mr. Ali
Abdussalam Treki, of the Socialist People’s Libyan
Arab Jamahiriya, on his election to preside over the
General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I am
confident that under the able stewardship of Mr. Treki,
a veteran of the United Nations, the Assembly will
make significant progress on many critical issues of
common concern.
 Our tribute also goes to Mr. Miguel d’Escoto
Brockmann, of Nicaragua, who successfully presided
over the General Assembly at its sixty-third session.
 Everyone is concerned today about the
considerable challenges that our world confronts,
challenges such as the current global economic and
financial crisis, climate change, food and energy
insecurity, and the threats of terrorism and the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I hope
that in its deliberations the Assembly will come up
with new ideas to cope with those global challenges.
 There is no doubt that the present global
economic and financial crisis will go down in history
as a landmark case of world economic meltdown. This
global crisis has clearly undermined the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). While the developed
countries have more possibilities and resources to cope
with the slowdown, the developing countries have
suffered the most, with huge losses of national income,
as their economic growth is expected to fall sharply
due to a drastic reduction in exports, which they have
largely depended on, falling investments, rising
unemployment and so forth.
 In order to help mitigate the impact of this
economic and financial disaster on developing
countries, we should do everything possible to get the
Doha Round negotiations back on track for a
successful conclusion in order to break down barriers
to trade, improve market access, particularly in
agricultural goods, and reduce agricultural subsidies.
 In this regard, Cambodia greatly appreciates the
commitment that the Group of 20 (G-20) made in
Pittsburgh, just two days ago, to “bringing the Doha
Round to a successful conclusion in 2010”. At the same
time, the Monterrey Consensus should be invigorated
in order to help developing countries to alleviate
poverty and meet the MDGs.
 Under these terrible circumstances, we warmly
welcome the G-20’s commitment, made in London in
April 2009, to address the impact of the global
financial crisis with the injection of $50 billion to
support social protection, boost trade and sustain
development in low-income countries, and with an
additional $6 billion concessional and flexible
financing over the next two or three years for social
protection, including through investing in long-term
food security in the poorest countries.
 Today, everyone in the world is increasingly
concerned about climate change, which is another very
serious threat to humanity. Global warming has
triggered more and more frequent cyclones, typhoons,
extreme floods and droughts. Our planet is now
confronted, more than ever, with increasing natural
disasters. The worsening impact of climate change has
now reached an alarming level everywhere around the
planet. The shrinking of the Arctic summer sea ice
should be an alarm signal for everyone that global
warming is inexorably advancing, and with perilous
speed.
 South-East Asia, according to the Asian
Development Bank (ADB), will be the most affected
region. Its vulnerability to climate change is largely a
result of its geography, with low-lying nations and long
coastlines. The negative impact of climate change on
farming in South-East Asia would seriously jeopardize
the production of rice and other agricultural products,
and consequently would have ripple effects on food
security, as South-East Asia is one of the world’s most
important rice crop regions.
 Based on the estimate by the ADB, the total cost
of loss in agricultural production and other negative
aspects of climate change would be equivalent to as
much as 6.7 per cent of the region’s gross domestic
product compared with the 2.6 per cent loss estimated
for the world as a whole.
 Cambodia is essentially an agrarian country, with
the livelihood of more than 80 per cent of its
population depending on farming. Therefore, it is very

09-52592 16

vulnerable to weather-related disasters. Fully aware of
that danger and the serious consequences of climate
change and global warming for the well-being,
livelihoods and development of peoples around the
world, Cambodia has been assuming its share of
responsibility in the matter of global warming since
2003.
 We have made the utmost effort to implement the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and the Kyoto Protocol by promoting Clean
Development Mechanism projects and implementing
our National Adaptation Programme of Action on
climate change.
 We have also launched a major campaign of
reforestation all over the country; more than 49,000
hectares of trees have been planted. We have also
banned timber exports.
 In this context, Cambodia warmly welcomes the
recent United States initiative to engage with the lower
Mekong basin countries by sharing with the Mekong
countries its best practices and experience on climate
change and flood and water resource management. At
the same time, the Mekong countries and Japan are
now looking into an approach for the future to achieve
sustainable development of the Mekong basin
potential, with better respect for the environment of the
mighty Mekong River.
 Furthermore, Cambodia commends the recent
promise of the Group of Eight (G-8) at its summit in
July to work towards an 80 per cent reduction in
heat-trapping pollution by 2050. Nonetheless, since
climate change is evolving steadily with time, we may
question whether the pledged reduction can match the
speed of global warming. I believe that the
industrialized countries, which produce 80 per cent of
the greenhouse gases, should share greater
responsibility and take more drastic and urgent
measures to reduce emissions of those deadly gases.
 Governments around the world have just over
three months to craft a new treaty to deal with global
warming. It will be a historic treaty for generations to
come. The United Nations Climate Change Conference
to be held in Denmark in December could secure a
milestone plan to really slow down climate change for
the safety of all humankind. Therefore, Cambodia
believes that all countries and all actors should join
hands to reach an agreement in Copenhagen in
December. The international community has an
obligation to roll back global temperatures before it is
too late. The future generations of our children and
grandchildren are at stake.
 I turn to the subject of food and energy security.
The sharp increase in oil prices last year prompted a
number of countries to turn to the production of
bioenergy crops as an alternative source of energy, thus
reducing the available cultivated land, while the
world’s population continued to grow day by day,
increasing demand for food. The combination of those
realities underlines the importance of a comprehensive
approach to tackle the planet’s food crisis.
 The challenge we now confront is, on the one
hand, how to produce enough food to feed the growing
world population, and, on the other hand, how to
respond to the increased need for clean energy to save
the global environment and stop the advancing climate
change. The solution to this twin problem is to find a
balanced approach between food crop and bioenergy
culture, and to develop alternative energy sources to
meet the growing demand. We should avoid any short-
term solution to the energy problem that would have
harmful consequences for food security worldwide in
the long term.
 Finally, Cambodia welcomes the outcome of the
G-8 meeting in L’Aquila, Italy, with the commitment to
mobilize $20 billion over the next three years to
support agricultural production in poor countries. We
hope that the commitment will be translated into
concrete and timely action.
 In parallel to all the serious global challenges that
I have mentioned, there remain political and security
problems causing great concern. Terrorism is a threat
everywhere and has caused the death of innocent
people. To fight terrorism more effectively, we need
stronger and closer cooperation between the many
authorities concerned in order to face up to such
criminal acts against humanity. Moreover, some
countries with the capacity to produce nuclear weapons
have not yet signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
 The dissemination of weapons of mass
destruction constitutes another massive, deadly menace
to humanity. In this context, Cambodia highly values
the call by United States President Obama on
23 September to “stop the spread of nuclear weapons
and seek the goal of a world without them”
(). Cambodia also warmly welcomes the

17 09-52592

Security Council’s resolve, expressed at its summit
(see S/PV.6191) on 24 September, “to seek a safer
world for all” (Security Council resolution 1887
(2009), first preambular paragraph).
 Within the framework of the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we have the Treaty
on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone,
which is an important instrument to keep South-East
Asia free of nuclear weapons in order to ensure peace
and security in that part of the world. It is also a good
confidence-building mechanism, which needs to be
adhered to by all, especially the nuclear-weapon States.
In recent years ASEAN has actively encouraged the
nuclear-weapon States to accede to the Treaty, but
there has been no concrete result or effect yet. Here
also we appeal to all nuclear-weapon States to engage
more constructively with the Treaty.
 I come now to the Korean Peninsula issue. We are
all concerned about the rising tension in that part of the
world, which can affect peace and security in the
region. Cambodia urges all parties concerned to
exercise the utmost restraint and re-engage in peaceful
negotiations in the six-party talks aimed at the early
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. We should
call upon the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
to keep in mind that the six-party talks remain an
appropriate forum to contribute to the settlement of the
overall problem in the Korean Peninsula.
 While talking about threats to international peace
and security, we should also keep an eye on the Middle
East situation. The never-ending cycle of violence of
the Israel-Palestine conflict must be broken. One of the
most pressing issues is to achieve a just,
comprehensive and sustainable solution to the problem
of Palestine in accordance with the legitimate rights of
the Palestinian people and the relevant Security
Council resolutions. Cambodia strongly urges all
parties involved to cease using military force and
violence, in order to foster a peaceful and lasting
settlement through the establishment of a State of
Palestine living side by side with the State of Israel in a
spirit of peaceful coexistence and close cooperation
between the two peoples.
 Before concluding, I should like to say a few
words about United Nations reform. For many years
now, almost all delegations to the General Assembly
have voiced their demand for reform of the United
Nations. But when it was time to act a conflict of
interest arose. In my view, the reform of the United
Nations should be in the interest of peace, security and
development for the whole international community,
and not just the particular interests of a country. The
reform should also go beyond the restructuring of the
United Nations organs, in order to enable this world
body to engage itself more actively in revitalizing the
primary role of the United Nations in world affairs.


I begin by joining others
in congratulating Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki on
assuming the noble and high responsibility of the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth
session. Let me wish him well in his leadership as the
United Nations makes its way through the myriad
evolving challenges on the global agenda. I also take
this opportunity to commend the Secretary-General for
his vision and for the initiatives that he has resolutely
pursued in the interests of all humanity.
 The theme of the sixty-fourth General Assembly
session will serve to focus the attention of the
international community on the critical importance of
building partnerships for more equitable and
sustainable development. My delegation shares the
belief that sustainable development is the responsibility
of everyone, and that its realization requires strong
partnerships at all levels. I firmly believe that equity
and sustainable development are mutually reinforcing
goals, for it would be difficult to support peace,
security and growth in any process of development that
left much of humanity behind.
 One of the major goals of my country’s
comprehensive reform programme, introduced during
the mid-1990s, is to promote social equity, especially
in terms of integrating the needs of our culturally
diverse people and geographically remote communities
into our national development priorities. I am glad to
say that we are still pursuing our nationwide policy
consultation processes, aimed at developing and
maintaining sound policies and frameworks for
delivering services to our people at the grass-roots
level.
 We in the Pacific are grateful to all our
development partners for their continuing support and
their commitment to working closely with us in
developing mechanisms for strengthening development
coordination, improving development outcomes, using
available resources effectively and ensuring
inclusiveness in our approach to development.
 We are very much aware of the fact that despite
continued high levels of development assistance over
many years, the economic and development
performance of island States in the Pacific region
remains weak. Many countries in our region, including
Vanuatu, are not on track to achieve all the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Vanuatu will
therefore remain firmly committed to the principles of
the Cairns Compact on Strengthening Development
Coordination in the Pacific. We are committed to
working closely with the Pacific Islands Forum
Secretariat and other multilateral agencies to ensure
that all resources made available to the region are
focused on the aim of achieving real progress towards
the MDGs. We are also committed to work with our
individual donor partners to ensure that they support
our national development priorities that are linked to
our overall efforts to achieve the MDGs.
 However, Vanuatu is aware that commitments to
strengthening development coordination in the Pacific
region are being made against the backdrop of the
global economic crisis. My delegation therefore wishes
to renew our call to international financial institutions
to assist Pacific island countries in responding to the
international economic crisis. Vanuatu is very
concerned that its recent high economic growth
performance, which rose above 6 per cent between
2006 and 2007, will fall sharply as a result of the
global economic recession. International Monetary
Fund and Asian Development Bank growth estimates
forecast that Vanuatu’s economy will grow at a slower

41 09-52470

pace in 2008 and 2009, averaging between 3 and 4 per
cent. Growth prospects for the future continue to be
uncertain. Maintaining strong economic growth over
the next few years will be critical if Vanuatu is to
succeed in sustained delivery of such basic services as
education, health and infrastructure development to its
80 scattered islands.
 In the light of these concerns Vanuatu is pleased
that in February 2010 it will be hosting a Pacific-
United Nations Conference on The Human Face of the
Global Economic Crisis in the Pacific. Discussions of
the organizational arrangements for this important
event are under way between my Government, United
Nations specialized agencies actively engaged in the
Pacific region and Pacific regional organizations. We
all look forward to the outcome of the conference,
especially in terms of guidance and support for
building Pacific regional partnerships that can assist us
in addressing the impacts of this and future global
economic crises on the livelihoods of our people.
 The complex and challenging circumstances in
Fiji have led to international condemnation and
pressure for early elections to be held. Further
international pressure has been brought to bear on the
Government of Fiji in view of more recent
developments. While Vanuatu is part of the Pacific-
wide regional calls for an early return of democracy in
Fiji, my Government believes that continued
engagement of the Fiji Government by the
international community will be critical. Under
Vanuatu’s chairmanship, the Melanesian Spearhead
Group has continued to maintain high-level dialogue
with the Government of Fiji, primarily to ascertain that
Government’s views and to put forward the concerns of
neighbouring States.
 Vanuatu welcomes the recent establishment of a
full-fledged department to oversee the implementation
of the framework for change that the Fiji Government
introduced recently and to facilitate a nationwide
process of reconciliation and dialogue. As the closest
neighbouring island State, Vanuatu continues to plead
that the process of returning Fiji to democracy and
parliamentary legitimacy should be driven by peaceful
dialogue and genuine concern for the socio-economic
well-being of the people of Fiji. Any punitive measures
would not be in the economic and social interest of the
good people of Fiji or the region of the Pacific as a
whole. We are all too aware of the unprecedented
challenges that small island developing States like
Vanuatu have come to be faced with today. Man-made
or linked with such phenomena as climate change,
these challenges pose unacceptable implications for the
social, economic and political structures of our small
island States and often have grave security
implications.
 Vanuatu would like at this juncture cordially to
applaud the tireless and collective efforts of all the
island nations, large and small, in cooperating and
working together towards the adoption by the General
Assembly this past June of resolution 63/281 on
climate change and its possible security implications.
This is indeed a historical milestone for Pacific small
island developing States, such as my own country,
because for the first time the security implications of
climate change were brought to the attention of the
international community. Over the years differing and
conflicting views have stalled the strenuous efforts of
the small island countries in convincing the world that
the impact of climate change was irreversible. Inherent
in many of the arguments that needed to be overcome
was the idea that there was still time.
 At this point I wish to reiterate that the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
must be the principal forum for addressing climate
change. Given our vulnerabilities and geographic
realities, we in the Pacific region have been among the
first fully to accept the security implications of climate
change. I would like to stress here that no country,
small or large, developed or developing, will be able to
avoid the security implications of climate change,
which are already affecting the livelihoods of our
people, as the international community struggles to
come to terms with the idea that climate change poses
a real threat to the future survival of mankind. Unless
all the relevant organs of the United Nations intensify
their efforts to consider and address the issue of
climate change, no word will be more appropriate to
the global situation under this particular crisis than the
word “doomed”. The momentum seen today forces
upon us the realization that these threats are real and
therefore require urgent attention.
 In preparations for the coming conference in
Copenhagen, leaders of the Alliance of Small Island
States have agreed this week that more action is
required from members of the international community
in living up to their commitments. While globalization
and interdependency have brought with them both
opportunities and challenges for the small island

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States, the challenges predominate and are ominous.
The gathering of world leaders at the Summit on
Climate Change at this year’s General Assembly was a
reaffirmation that climate change presents a security
threat to all our nations and peoples.
 Consisting of volcanic and coral islands, Vanuatu
is one of the smaller island nations in the South Pacific
region and in the world. Because of Vanuatu’s rapidly
growing young population and low economic growth
rate, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) assessment, until very recently, ranked it as
one of the poorest countries in the South Pacific
region. This degree of underdevelopment drastically
limits its capacity to effectively curb threats associated
with the adverse impacts of climate change.
 More than 80 per cent of the people of Vanuatu
live off the land through subsistence farming, which
constitutes their contribution to the national economy.
Vanuatuan traditional farming practices have been
shaped by farmers’ subsistence needs and climatic
conditions. Land has always been precious to the
Ni-Vanuatu; rights to its ownership and use form a
central part of their culture and traditional governance.
The rapidly growing population of Vanuatu places
increasing pressure on access to a finite amount of
farmland. This issue is likely to be compounded by
probable losses of arable land owing to the adverse
effects of climate change. Such possible losses raise
serious economic, political and security implications
for Vanuatu.
 Not only is Vanuatu among the least developed
countries, but it remains one of the most disaster-prone
nations among the small island States. It is highly
susceptible to cyclones, coastal erosion, river flooding,
earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis and volcanic
eruptions.
 Without doubt these are challenging times. We
followed with great interest the recent Conference on
the World Financial and Economic Crisis and Its
Impact on Development. Vanuatu is deeply concerned
that the world financial crisis, like climate change, is
caused by external forces beyond our control, and yet
its rippling effects are quickly reaching our nation’s
most vulnerable populations. Children, women, the
disabled and the working poor will be the hardest hit
and the least able to cope with dramatic changes.
 Vanuatu is indeed being hurt by a variety of
economic realities, such as decreasing trade, erratic
commodity prices, increased borrowing costs and
strains on official development assistance. One of the
reasons for this downturn is that we are quite
dependent on external financing, in the form of both
aid and trade. Furthermore our foreign-exchange
earnings and our Government revenue rely on a small
number of commodities. However, we are confident
that we will be able to counteract those weaknesses in
our economic situation by introducing progressive
microeconomic policy mechanisms, improving
Government structures and striving to maintain
political stability. This plan is in line with working to
implement the Millennium Development Goals and to
achieve country targets by the year 2015.
 Vanuatu emphatically concurs with the premise of
the upcoming Copenhagen conference that climate
change is one of the most fundamental challenges ever
to confront humanity. No issue is more fundamental to
long-term global prosperity, and no issue is more
essential to our survival as a species. I strongly feel
that a fair and comprehensive global deal in
Copenhagen will represent a step forward for all us, for
nations small or large, developing or developed.
Mutual cooperation, respect and trust will be the key
political driving forces for a successful deal in
Copenhagen.
 While we commend recent efforts to reform the
United Nations, Vanuatu shares the view of many other
countries that to ensure a stronger and more effective
Organization we need to reconsider the membership of
the Security Council sooner rather than later. If the
Council’s membership better reflected the world’s
geography and better represented currently
underrepresented groups, the United Nations would
build a stronger sense of common responsibility and
collective responsiveness. A more representative
Council would bring openness and transparency, create
confidence and ameliorate understanding and
cooperation.
 Still, any reform must be implemented in a way
that does not affect the authority of the Council. Of
course there are diverse vested interests among us. But
our common interests and the United Nations role in
furthering them must continue to hold a central place to
ensure the continuity of the international legal
framework. Negotiations must therefore be conducted
in an atmosphere of inclusion and through constructive
dialogue and positive engagement. Diatribes offer no
solutions. We must remain resolute in our defence of

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the United Nations; the necessity of this Organization
is continuously made clear by the horrors that the
scourges of armed conflict, disease and famine inflict
on people, especially women and children.
 On a more administrative level, the highly
bureaucratic procedures and accession mechanisms
established by the United Nations system for much
needed funds have placed unnecessary strain on local
capacities. As the burgeoning climate crisis looms on
the horizon we need to identify ways of simplifying
procedures, such as those for accessing climate change
mitigation funds, and to consider revising delivery
modalities, including exploring direct access
possibilities. The blueprint for international
cooperation may be in place but it must be followed up
by action.
 Finally, my delegation welcomes Security
Council resolution 1887 (2009) on non-proliferation of
nuclear weapons and disarmament. The presence of all
the leaders of the Permanent Five at the meeting (see
S/PV.6191) demonstrates a commitment to control the
spread of weapons of mass destruction. Maintaining
international peace and security will always remain
humanity’s greatest challenge, and there is hope.
 Despite all our differences and diversities, human
security for all is our main objective. We recognize the
efforts of the Secretary-General and commend the
manner in which he has pursued the mobilization of
political momentum for Copenhagen with the relevant
bodies of the United Nations. Saving the Earth and
humanity remains our ultimate goal.
 In conclusion, we go to Copenhagen with
optimism. The future is in our hands. Let us not
deprive future generations of their right to live in a
world of peace and stability.