Allow me to extend to you,
Sir, our sincere congratulations on your assumption of
the presidency of the sixtieth session of the General
Assembly and to express our confidence in your ability

05-51226 5

to guide our work throughout the session. In the same
breath, let me also express our appreciation to your
predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for managing successfully
the very difficult business of the fifty-ninth session.
 Although we began our last session with a
weighty agenda, we were able to reach general
agreement on a number of important issues in the area
of development. We are yet to agree on other pressing
issues, such as the reform of the Security Council and
the composition of a new Human Rights Council.
 For many years we have spoken in favour of an
approach to international peace and security that is
firmly rooted in the principle of multilateralism and the
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. We
maintain that any diversion from this approach is
unacceptable, undesirable and devoid of legal
justification. We are pleased to note that the majority
of views expressed during the last session reinforced
that principle.
 Our expectation is that the Security Council in its
current form, or in whatever character and composition
it will eventually take, will, like all other bodies of the
United Nations, limit itself to what is contained in its
mandate. We do not subscribe to the suggestion that all
problems — social, cultural, economic and health,
among others — are necessarily threats to international
peace and security and should therefore be referred to
the Security Council.
 Recently we witnessed the United Kingdom
abusing its privilege and acting dishonestly as a
member of the Council by seeking to score cheap
political points in its bilateral dispute with us. We were
dragged on to the Council’s agenda over an issue that
has no relevance to the maintenance of international
peace and security. Let me pay tribute to those
members of the Security Council who saw through this
cheap politicking and manipulation of procedures —
which the same country, by the way, has vowed to
resume as soon as the Council is appropriately chaired.
It is my hope that other Member countries will join us
in rejecting this neocolonialist attempt and blatant
interference in the internal affairs of Zimbabwe. But
then, is it not obvious, that Britain under the regime of
Tony Blair has ceased to respect the Charter of the
United Nations? Witness its being a principal member
of the illegal anti-Iraq coalition that went on a
devastating campaign in that country in complete
defiance of the United Nations Charter. Any State or
group of States that commits such an act of aggression
on another, justifying it on blatant falsehoods, surely
becomes guilty of State terrorism.
 Zimbabwe is a country at peace with itself and
with its neighbours and offers absolutely no threat to
international peace and security. Is it not therefore
surprising that Britain and its Anglo-Saxon allies have
embarked on a vicious campaign of first peddling
blatant lies intended to tarnish it and then appealing to
Europe and America for sanctions against it?
 Those imperialist countries have unashamedly
abused the power of the media by hypocritically
portraying themselves as philanthropists and
international saviours of victims of various calamities.
Yet they have remained silent about the shocking
circumstances of obvious State neglect surrounding the
tragic Gulf coast disaster, where a whole community of
mainly non-whites was deliberately abandoned to the
ravages of Hurricane Katrina as sacrificial lambs, and
sacrificed to which god one cannot tell. Most of the
victims were blacks. And we are bound to ask what
transgressions we, the blacks of this world, have
committed? Was it not enough punishment and
suffering in history that we were uprooted and made
helpless slaves, not only in new colonial outposts but
also domestically at home, through a vicious system of
colonialism that made us landless, propertyless and
mere slaves and serfs in our own lands?
 Must we again in this day of humanitarian ethics,
this day of the sacred principles of the equality of
mankind and the rights of men and women, this day
that has seen us assemble here to save, enhance and
prolong life, become victims of callous racial neglect?
We of Africa protest that in this day and age we should
continue to be treated as lesser human beings than
other races.
 We reiterate our deep sympathies and
condolences over the massive loss of life that occurred
in the Hurricane Katrina disaster. If, as we are told,
many who survived the wrath of Hurricane Katrina are
still dispersed, the question we ask ourselves is where
they are and for how long will they remain where they
are. We ask further whether they will ever get back,
truly rehabilitated, to their original homes — properly
rehabilitated also, homes which at present are mere
wreckages. Where, I ask, are the Zimbabwe-famous
United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-
HABITAT) and the Commission on Human Rights?

6 05-51226

Why should they maintain an ominous silence? For
here is real homeless work for HABITAT and the
Commission on Human Rights. This indeed is where
they rightly belong and not anywhere in Zimbabwe. We
do not need them there.
 With reference to the vexatious issue of the
reform of the Security Council, we have made our
views known through the African Union. We seek fair
and equal treatment as partners in this community of
nations and pledge our commitment to work with
others in pursuit of that objective.
 The promotion of human rights is one of the
major aims of the United Nations as enshrined in its
Charter. As such, the subject rightly occupies space on
the agenda of each session of the General Assembly,
including this one. We believe that the United Nations
should make every effort to promote and protect the
full enjoyment of human rights, including the right to
development. Regrettably, we have seen over the years
a deliberate tendency to create a distorted hierarchy of
rights, with the sole mischievous purpose of
overplaying civil and political rights while
downplaying economic, social and cultural rights. That
explains why the whole human rights agenda, instead
of being a cooperative exercise, has degenerated into a
Western-managed kangaroo court, always looking out
for “criminals”, as they call them, among developing
countries. Hence, we continue to argue that the human
rights discourse needs to be rid of selectivity and
double standards and to be approached without hidden
political agendas.
 The African Union has indicated its support for
the establishment of a Human Rights Council that will
be subordinated to the General Assembly. Zimbabwe
subscribes fully to that position. We believe, however,
that a correctly sized and properly structured Council,
with equitable geographical representation, will be a
major step in addressing the deficiencies of the current
Commission on Human Rights.
 At the beginning of the last session (see
A/59/PV.5) I informed the Assembly that despite the
recurrent droughts that we had experienced, Zimbabwe
had the capacity to cope with its situation of hunger
and was thus not appealing for humanitarian
intervention. In spite of that message, our detractors
and ill-wishers have been projecting a false picture of
mass starvation. There has been none of that. Recently,
particularly in the aftermath of our urban clean-up
operation, popularly known at home as Operation
Murambatsvina, or Operation Restore Order, the
familiar noises re-echoed from the same malicious
prophets of doom claiming that there was a
humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe. Those unfounded
alarms are aimed at deliberately tarnishing the image
of Zimbabwe and projecting it as a failed State. We
find it strange and obviously anomalous that the
Government of Zimbabwe should be maligned and
condemned for restoring order and the rule of law in its
municipal areas. Our detractors fail to acknowledge
that Operation Restore Order soon gave way to a well-
planned, vast reconstruction programme through which
properly planned accommodation, factory shells and
vending stalls are being constructed in many areas of
the country for our people. We have rejected the
scandalous demand, as expressed in Special Envoy
Anna Tibaijuka’s report, that we lower our urban
housing standards to allow for mud huts, bush latrines
and pit toilets as suitable for our urban people and for
Africans generally. Nothing can be more insulting and
degrading of a people than that. Surely we do not need
development in reverse.
 Let me conclude by making my message to our
detractors very simple and clear. The people of
Zimbabwe came through a protracted guerrilla struggle
to establish themselves as a free — I emphasize
“free” — and sovereign nation. We indeed went
through long and bitter times to get our freedom and
independence, and to be where we are today. We
cherish that hard-won freedom and independence, and
no amount of coercion, political, economic or
otherwise, will make us a colony again. But we also
cherish peace and development and good regional and
international relations. Together with all other nations
of good will, we will continue to work tirelessly for a
just, peaceful and prosperous world.


The sixtieth anniversary of the United
Nations coincides with the commemoration of my
country’s twenty-fifth year of independence. The
preamble to the Constitution of Saint Vincent and the
Grenadines reaffirms that our nation is founded on the
belief in the supremacy of God and the freedom and
dignity of man. Our national motto, Pax et justitia —
Peace and justice — symbolizes both our reality and
our dream. The universal ideals which inspired the
founding fathers of the United Nations are those which
prompted the lofty proclamations in my nation’s
Constitution. The United Nations Charter taught us a
truth, as though engraved on a tablet of stone, that
while some sleep to dream, we must dream to change
the world for the better.
We in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines accept
unequivocally the fulcrum around which the outcome
document of the High-level Plenary Meeting revolves,
namely, to create a more peaceful, prosperous and
democratic world, and to undertake concrete measures
to continue finding ways to implement the conclusions
of the Millennium Summit and other major United
Nations gatherings so as to provide multilateral
solutions to the problems which touch and concern
development, peace and collective security, human
rights and the rule of law, and the strengthening of the
United Nations.
Yet the outcome document, though certainly a
codified and presumably consensual package, falls
short of what is truly demanded by these extraordinary,
challenging times in the first decade of the twenty-first
century. The larger and more powerful nations are
gripped by an unreasonable fear which, in the process,
constrains them from being reasonably fair. Less
powerful nation-States and those which are small and
weak internationally often beat their collective chests
with an unbecoming self-righteous purity that restrains
them from knowing or understanding what impurity is,
even within themselves.
So, an unwholesome stand-off results.
Meanwhile, around us all, there is a carnival of misery,
a festival of guns. A Caribbean poet laureate tells us
that the faces of men and women are strained and
anxious. Many, if not most persons, become
sceptical — nay, cynical — of the grand efforts of the
world’s leaders. They search instead for an amazing
grace which makes the blind to see and the wretched to
be saved. Along the way, the majesty of faith becomes
metamorphosed, in too many of the world’s
inhabitants, into a believer’s extremism. Man’s reason
cannot quite fathom, this side of eternity, the evil
which extremism breeds. That is an enduring
conundrum of our times which, in this earthly city, we,
amidst all our limitations and weaknesses, must seek to
address appropriately with all our possibilities and
strengths, but without the baggage of economic,
military or cultural imperialism.
Economic imperialism muzzles the mouth with
the food that it eats to live and thus builds resentment
in that very mouth that eats, and even more so among
those who receive no food to eat. Military imperialism
13

begets armed resistance in which a triumph is but a
pause in its impermanence. Cultural imperialism
distorts the mind, but in that very distortion the seed of
its rejection germinates, blossoms and bears a bitter
and even chauvinistic fruit. The presumed solutions of
the powerful have been shown, historically, to be
mirages. Surely, there must be a better way. Nelson
Mandela has taught us that. Together, we are the world;
we are the future. But of all time, only the future is
ours to desecrate; the present is the past, and the past is
our fathers’ mischiefs.
Underlying all of this is a seemingly intractable
socio-economic product of modern globalization — the
contradiction between, on the one hand, a growing
inequality in income distribution globally and, on the
other, the increasing commonality of consumption
patterns. Modern communications, including the
revolution in information technology, have connected
the world as never before. Yet, that very enhanced
connection breeds, justifiably, a great impatience
among those who are most disadvantaged. Economic
adjustment has to be made more swiftly. Time is of the
essence, but that very swiftness engenders socio-
economic dislocation, which poses immense
difficulties for political management.
Those profound challenges require a series of
measures, including more official development
assistance more speedily disbursed, a fair system of
international trade, international peace based on tried
and tested principles of international law, appropriate
reformation of the United Nations and its associate
institutions, and a more tolerant and educated
population worldwide. But we must set about doing so
immediately with conviction, resolution, solidarity and
dignity. The alternative is apocalypse now.
No difficulties, no hardships, no crises, can
justify terrorism. Terrorism wounds the poor and
disadvantaged ever so much. Its barbarism must
continue to be resisted by civilized peoples and nations
internationally. No space must be given to terrorism.
A small multi-island nation like Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines has a bundle of special needs. We are,
therefore, encouraged by the collective recognition by
all the Member States of the United Nations that
special needs and vulnerabilities attend small island
developing States. We are heartened, too, by the
reaffirmation of the Member States’ commitment to
address these special needs and vulnerabilities. There
are reams of paper commitments in the Mauritius
Strategy adopted by the International Meeting to
Review the Implementation of the Programme of
Action for the Sustainable Development of Small
Island Developing States, in the Barbados Programme
of Action and in the outcome document of the twenty-
second special session of the General Assembly.
We realize that the just-concluded United Nations
High-level Plenary Meeting has undertaken to promote
greater international cooperation and partnership for
the implementation of the solemn commitments
through, among other things, the mobilization of
domestic and international resources, the promotion of
international trade as an engine for development and
increased international financial and technical
cooperation.
These splendid commitments and undertakings,
like all words, must be made flesh if they are to signify
anything. To be sure, heard melodies are sweet, but
those unheard will be sweeter in uplifting action. In
this regard, I reaffirm, without here repeating, all that I
stated in my speech to this body last Friday,
16 September, on the development agenda focused on
the Millennium Development Goals and a sustainable
condition beyond them for countries like my own.
Certainly, a fair resolution to the banana trade impasse
in Europe must be fashioned without condemning our
poor banana farmers and workers to further penury and
misery.
The recent occurrences in Asia, the Caribbean
and the southern United States of devastating storms
and hurricanes, and in Africa, of terrible droughts,
demand a more coordinated and rational approach
internationally to issues of climate change, disaster
preparedness, and post-disaster rehabilitation. By and
large, there have been ad hoc national, as distinct from
international, approaches. To the extent that
international mechanisms exist for prompt and
appropriate relief work, they are clearly inadequate for
the tasks at hand.
This is undoubtedly an area in which the United
Nations and one or more of its agencies or associate
institutions ought to be able to make a significant
difference to the well being of real flesh-and-blood
people. After all, natural disasters respect no territorial
boundaries or power blocs; calamities from nature have
a studied ideological neutrality. They are the same sad
songs heard from ancient times by emperor, vassals
14

and clown; and in modern times, increasingly by the
rich and the poor. But they afflict the poor more
disastrously than any other group. This matter demands
urgent international attention. The pain and anguish
evoked by President George Bush in his most recent
speech on the Katrina disaster must surely move to
concerted international action even those who stand
amid the alien corn.
A sustained, coordinated response is needed if we
are to avoid an ignoble “disaster fatigue” that treats a
natural disaster in one country as a momentary
distraction from normalcy, as television images
determine, until the next one arrives. Grenada is a case
in point. It was laid waste in September 2004 by
Hurricane Ivan, but its recovery effort has been slowed
by the focus on the more recent catastrophes from
nature in South Asia, Niger and the southern United
States. Grenada still cries out for massive international
assistance. We must help. There is still an enduring
need, even after the television cameras have gone
elsewhere. This applies, too, in relation to man-made
disasters, such as in Darfur.
The ever-deteriorating state of affairs in our
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) neighbour Haiti
demonstrates vividly the inherent dangers of meddling
with the democratic process. Since I spoke on the
issue, more in sadness than in anger, one year ago, the
situation has disintegrated. The so-called Government,
implanted without any mandate from the people, has
neither the political will nor the popular support to
undertake the measures necessary to return that poor,
traumatized country to some semblance of normalcy.
There has been no serious effort at disarming the gangs
that roam the towns and countryside and practice mob
justice. Political victimization continues apace with the
cruel detention and violation of the human rights of
former Prime Minister Yvon Neptune, the most glaring
example; while, on the other side of the coin, the
decision of the Supreme Court to quash the sentences
of 15 thugs from the Front for Advancement and
Progress in Haiti (FRAPH), convicted of involvement
in the 1994 Raboteau massacre, has all the elements of
political motivation.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, with its
CARICOM partners, is anxious to welcome Haiti back
into the organs of our regional body. But it would be a
betrayal of all that we hold dear to ignore the
interruption of democracy, the abuses of human rights
and the breakdown of law and order merely to appease
perfidious power. We support the work of the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH),
while believing that the United Nations forces have
neither the manpower nor the resources required to
perform the miracle that they have been entrusted to
conjure.
From time to time, one or more of our traditional
friends and allies have shown displeasure at one or
more of our decisions in the field of international
relations. Some appear not to appreciate the necessity
and desirability of small States, such as Saint Vincent
and the Grenadines, seeking, and oft-times finding,
more economic and political space to enhance their
capacity to address more efficaciously the harsh winds
from the external political economy and to do so in the
interest of our people’s humanization. No one has
anything to fear from us. None of our friends can
reasonably ask us to adopt their enemies as our own. It
is part of our quest to get adversaries to speak sensibly
to one another and resolve their differences,
particularly if they are our neighbours. We pick fights
with no one; and we do not pick other people’s fights.
One of the best and most loyal friends over our
country’s 25 years of independence has been the
Republic of China on Taiwan. Our relationship has
been exemplary and is characterized by mutual respect,
solidarity and a desire for international peace, in
accordance with the principles enshrined in the Charter
of the United Nations. Taiwan, a magnificent political
expression of the Chinese civilization, has partnered
beautifully with Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a
component of our Caribbean civilization. We
unequivocally support the quest of Taiwan to be
represented at the United Nations and other
international bodies. It is unfair, unreasonable and
irrational to exclude a country of 23 million persons,
with a thriving economy and a nobility of purpose,
from the United Nations. Further, we urge the United
Nations to take the lead in promoting constructive
dialogue and friendly engagement between the
People’s Republic of China and the Republic of China
on Taiwan. Bellicose conduct across the Taiwan Strait
cannot be condoned in a world striving for enhanced
peace and collective security.
Let me end by expressing the hope that the
United Nations may achieve, in the next 60 years,
greater and greater success in its goals of bringing
hope to the hopeless, providing food for the hungry
15

and spreading peace, stability and sustainability for
now and forever. Let this not be the road less travelled.


At
the outset, allow me to express my great pleasure in
attending this sixtieth session of the General Assembly
and in addressing you on behalf of the Council of
Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina. I should also
like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your
election and at the same time to express my sincere
appreciation to Mr. Jean Ping for his successful
presiding over the fifty-ninth session of the General
Assembly.
Let me start by making reference to the historic
summit that took place last week. In its sixtieth year of
striving for global peace, the United Nations has
reached maturity. Our planet is not what it was 60
years ago, and we will leave it to historians to say
whether our generation is better than earlier
generations.
We need to be able to face the challenges of
globalization in the twenty-first century armed with
capacity and competence. We need to show
multilateralism and cooperation, relying on the basic
values outlined in the Charter. Above all, we need to
identify explicit obligations and ensure that they are
fulfilled. The United Nations, unique and uncontested
when it comes to global credibility and capacity,
should not be content to be simply what it used to be.
This Organization needs to be reformed, not only to
quiet the criticism but also more importantly to earn
unequivocal respect.
The strength and efficiency of the United
Nations, like in any other organization, depend on the
collective strength of its Members. Its strength stems
from the unity of the Member States. Our
Organization, as imperfect as it is, reflects today's
world, the international community and our entire
generation. The High-level Plenary Meeting's outcome
document is encouraging because it summarizes the
issues on which we reached consensus, but it has fallen
short of providing the timeframe and methods for
achieving important goals.
2

It is a pity that reform of the Security Council has
lost momentum and has been postponed to the future.
Our enthusiasm in supporting the establishment of the
Human Rights Council was overshadowed by the fact
that the final document has not defined the modalities
for realizing this idea in a precise timeframe. We
strongly urge the appointment of a facilitator who will
streamline the General Assembly's efforts to see this
newborn get on its feet.
As for the responsibility to protect, which found
its rightful place in the outcome document, we would
like to point out the paramount role of preventive
diplomacy. From our painful experience we have come
to realize the importance of fact-finding missions and
early warning systems for potential or imminent
conflicts.
In order to have efficient early warning, we need
to strengthen the Secretariat's Department of Political
Affairs. Staff from countries emerging from conflict or
from post-conflict societies, staff with first-hand
experience could be an asset to that Department. That
would allow us to restore the credibility of the United
Nations, which was in great part overshadowed by non-
government organizations such as the International
Crisis Group.
Having travelled the path from being the subject
of Security Council emergency meetings to being a
potential candidate for a non-permanent seat on the
Security Council in 2010-2011, Bosnia and
Herzegovina strongly supports the outcome document's
conclusion that the Council should stay committed to
its primary responsibility under the Charter and
maintain international peace and security, rather than
expand its agenda at the expense of the General
Assembly.
Another of today's serious challenges, one that
Bosnia and Herzegovina is dealing with quite
successfully, is the war on terrorism. It is certain that a
global threat requires a global response, and that is
possible only through the United Nations. The
definition of terrorist acts, the unequivocal
condemnation of such acts by the international
community, the identification of means of international
cooperation in the fight against terrorism and the
unhindered functioning of international justice can be
achieved only through the United Nations. A special
Ministry for Security has been established in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, aimed not only at improving
domestic security but also at contributing more
effectively to the global fight against terrorism. The
anti-terrorist team that operates under this Ministry has
already blocked the bank accounts of suspect
individuals and organizations and has brought a
number of charges. We have signed all the international
conventions against terrorism, and we stand ready to
make a constructive contribution to the drafting the
United Nations Comprehensive Convention on
Terrorism, as agreed in the outcome document.
The summit's accomplishments are quite
encouraging, demonstrating the power of universalism
and multilateralism and their superiority over
unilateralism. We made this Assembly an arena of
agreement, instead of an arena of conflict. The lesson
learned in Bosnia and Herzegovina has taught us that if
we find enough strength and courage in ourselves to
prove our commitment to these principles in practice,
the course of history can be changed towards peace,
stability and prosperity for all.
With no intention to go too far into the past or
interpret facts that already belong to the archives, I
must remind you that we are marking two anniversaries
this year: Srebrenica and Dayton. The close to 8,000
names of Bosniacs on the list in the Srebrenica report
confirm the terrible truth about the genocide that took
place in that city. That crime was committed 50 years
after the liberation of Auschwitz, when it was vowed
that that would never again happen. Yet it happened
again: not once but twice. We now have the power and
instruments to prevent anything similar from ever
happening again.
The Dayton Agreement, the peace agreement that
was reached in Dayton and signed in Paris and often
criticized for its complicated and unfeasible provisions,
did stop the war and enabled freedom of movement. It
meant a new beginning for Bosnia and Herzegovina.
However imperfect, it provided the framework that
enabled us, 10 years down the line, to turn the situation
around and complete fundamental reforms that have
become part of our everyday life, namely, the creation
of a single defence system with a Ministry of Defence,
the unification of two economic spaces, the merger of
two intelligence services, a single Customs service and
revenue system, standardization, to mention but a few.
Obvious limitations imposed by the Dayton
framework, for example the problems faced in police
reform, will be dealt with in accordance with
3

international standards, just as we did with defence
reform. International standards and good democratic
practices will take us to the future, free of fear and
tension. We believe that the road that Bosnia and
Herzegovina is resolutely following provides an
important international experience. Peace is now firm
and the State reintegrated, as the situation in Bosnia
and Herzegovina clearly shows.
We have done more in terms of integration and
nation building over the past three years than in the
previous seven. I would like to bring to your attention
the important fact that the international affirmation of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and fulfilment of our
obligations are interconnected. There is a correlation
between encouragement and obligations on the one
side and multiple reforms on the other.
A key feature of all reforms to date is the fact that
they have all been implemented through political
agreement. They were not a result of international
pressure and they were not imposed by the current
High Representative. Entities have agreed to transfer
their jurisdictions to the State. Establishing and
running the State-level Ministry of Defence was a
crucial step forward in terms of NATO's Partnership
for Peace programme. Numerous institutions and
agencies in the field of public health now operate with
State-level mandates as well. We are in the final phases
of introducing a single-rate value-added tax in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, which will strengthen and
accommodate the business environment for foreign
investment. We have recorded continued growth in
foreign direct investment over the past two years,
whereas growth in the gross domestic product for 2004
was almost 6 per cent ó a record for our region.
Of course, one of our most important
international obligations is cooperation with the
International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia (ICTY), and we pay a great deal of
attention to it. Despite the fact that the Republika
Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina has also made
substantial progress in this area this year, we are
discouraged by the fact that the two most wanted war
criminals have not yet been brought to justice. Obvious
improvement in cooperation with The Hague, sudden
voluntary surrenders to the Tribunal after years of
hiding and the locations from which runaway criminals
are being extradited clearly point to the level of
responsibility of Serbia and Montenegro with regard to
this entire matter, especially as compared to the
responsibility of Bosnia and Herzegovina. We are
extremely concerned by the fact that many criminals
still at large have obviously used Belgrade as an escape
route and to secure hideouts outside the region.
The reform of the justice system has resulted in
the establishment of the institutions of State
Prosecutor, the National Court and the High Judicial
and Prosecutorial Council of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
We are the first country in the region to meet the
international standards required for the processing of
war crimes cases. The State-level Council will operate
under optimal technical conditions and in accordance
with the best European practices.
The process of organizing trials in the countries
where crimes have been committed is somewhat
hindered by the dual citizenship issue. However, we
hope to have that matter resolved shortly, with the
assistance of the relevant international institutions.
Acting in accordance with its international
obligations, Bosnia and Herzegovina supports all
activities and peace initiatives aimed at conflict
prevention, peacebuilding and safety in post-conflict
zones. Despite our limited capacities, Bosnia and
Herzegovina participates in international peacekeeping
operations. We have military observers in Congo,
Cyprus, Ethiopia and Eritrea, as well as civilian police
officers in Liberia and Haiti as part of United Nations
operations there. We also sent a mine-clearance team to
Iraq as a sign of our support for Iraqis in the process of
establishing a democratic State.
With regard to the situation in Iraq, we are
pleased to see consensus among members of the
Security Council in connection with the transfer of
authority from the occupation forces to the legitimately
elected judicial and executive authorities, as that will
led to establishing Iraq as a sovereign and democratic
country. That is a necessary precondition for the
beginning of comprehensive reforms of the Iraqi State
and society.
Reconstruction will still remain the key issue for
Iraq's citizens. The United Nations should play a more
important role in that connection. The Organization
provides humanitarian aid to Iraq and is helping to
rebuild its infrastructure and Government institutions.
The firm determination of the Members of the United
Nations to assist in establishing stability and security
by participating in reconstruction and providing
4

assistance in the form of human resources or technical
support is vital.
Bosnia and Herzegovina supports the
comprehensive implementation of the Programme of
Action adopted at the United Nations Conference on
the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in
All Its Aspects.
We have also supported the outcome of the
special session of the General Assembly devoted to
AIDS by creating a special national council for the
prevention of AIDS. The council will meet all required
international obligations in that area by the end of this
year.
With regard to the financing of international
peacekeeping operations, we are quite aware that that
issue is key to accomplishing the goals of the United
Nations. We also recognize that a shortfall in funds can
indeed hinder the protection of human lives. We call
for a more balanced and fair basis for contributions.
We also call upon developed countries to set a good
example for other countries as they need to
demonstrate clearly that we all share this obligation.
Being an underrepresented country at United
Nations Headquarters, and in the United Nations
system overall, we would like to see more balanced
representation. Bosnia and Herzegovina is keen to see
its nationals being selected for high-ranking positions
in the Organization, as we in fact have high-quality
personnel to offer.
On behalf of the citizens of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, allow me to take this opportunity to once
again express the gratitude that we feel for the
assistance that the international community has
provided us during times of hardship.
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina will
take immediate steps to prepare, by the end of next
year, a national strategy to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. That strategy will include special
emphasis on transparency, good governance, better
employment and better use of domestic resources.
Lastly, allow me to share a final thought. We
believe that helping underdeveloped countries and
post-conflict societies is not charity, but rather an
investment in the future of the entire world.


I wish to congratulate you
most warmly, Mr. President, on your unanimous
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at
its sixtieth session and to assure you of my delegationís
full support. May I also express our profound
appreciation to your distinguished predecessor,
Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon, for the effective leadership he
provided during the fifty-ninth session.
I am most delighted and indeed honoured to
address this Assembly for the first time as President of
the Republic of Namibia. I stand before you with the
democratic mandate given to me by the people of
Namibia during our presidential elections in November
2004 and following my inauguration on 21 March
2005.
At the same occasion, we celebrated 15 years of
our national independence, which, as the Assembly
will recall, was brought about by a long and bitter
struggle waged by the people of Namibia under the
leadership of the national liberation movement,
SWAPO, with wide international support, and thus
culminating in the implementation of Security Council
resolution 435 (1978).
I recall these important events in our history to
underline the fact that Namibiaís nationhood is directly
linked to the United Nations. In this regard, allow me,
therefore, on behalf of the Government and people of
Namibia and indeed on my own behalf to express our
sincere appreciation and gratitude to the men and
women of the United Nations family, who stood side
by side with us until final victory was achieved.
As we mark the sixtieth anniversary of the United
Nations, it is indeed proper and fitting to reflect on the
achievements and setbacks of our Organization since
its inception. In this exercise, we must be guided by an
honest and objective analysis of events along the path
we have travelled so far.
In this connection, I would like to take this
opportunity to commend our Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, most sincerely for his tireless efforts
to  strengthen the United Nations system through the
proposed reforms. Indeed, the challenges we face today
require renewed commitment and visionary leadership
to ensure efficient and effective service delivery to all
humanity.
When we address the crucial issue of the reform
of the United Nations system, we must be guided by
the principles of democracy, equity, justice and fairness
for all. At the centre of this overdue exercise must be
the compelling need to serve all our people better,
regardless of their race, religion or status of
development.
With specific reference to the Security Council,
genuine democratization and reform can take place
only when all its members are accorded the same
privileges - including the veto power, which is
currently enjoyed only by a few member States, who
use it for national self-interest. That creates resentment
and mistrust from those who are negatively affected by
the abuse of veto power.
It is against this background that African States
adopted the Harare Declaration in 1997, in which they
20

demanded that the veto power be abolished. However,
if the veto power is maintained, it is only logical that
new permanent member States who join the expanded
Security Council must of necessity be accorded the
same rights and privileges. Otherwise, such reform will
be cosmetic at best, and meaningless at worst.
On this very crucial matter, Namibia fully stands
by the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration,
as reaffirmed by the Fourth Extraordinary Summit of
the African Union, held in Addis Ababa on 4 August
2005. We collectively maintain that the African
continent, which has been underrepresented for so
long, deserves two permanent seats with veto power
and five non-permanent seats on the Council. This
demand is logical, reasonable and justifiable. We
therefore call on all regions to support Africaís
position. It is indeed only when we stand together on
firm principle that we can effect real and meaningful
change in our only truly international Organization, the
United Nations.
Concerning the General Assembly, Namibia holds
the strong view that that organ, which provides a
genuinely democratic and representative platform for
all Member States to be heard, should play a critical
role in the entire reform process of our international
Organization. We are equally of the strong conviction
that the authority of the General Assembly should be
reasserted, to ensure that its resolutions and decisions
are binding and enforceable.
In this crucial process, our highest priority should
be our collective commitment to ensure sustainable
social and economic development on a global scale. In
order to achieve that goal, we must be guided by a
strong spirit of human solidarity and a shared sense of
justice and fairness for all.
For many developing countries, implementation
of the Millennium Development Goals is severely
hampered by the lack of adequate resources,
compounded by other challenges, including the
HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria and tuberculosis, as well
as other socio-economic difficulties. Against that
background, the Economic and Social Council must be
strengthened and given sufficient resources, together
with the United Nations agencies, in order to take the
lead in implementing effective human-centred country
programmes.
We accept the fact that Governments in
developing countries have a responsibility to work
together and to encourage the active participation of
the private sector, civil society and other stakeholders
in bringing about sustainable social and economic
development for all segments of our society.
It is equally important that Governments and
institutions in the economically advanced countries
offer genuine partnership by providing new and
additional resources, commensurate with their
commitments in line with the Millennium Development
Goals. To that end, if the countries regarded as low-
middle-income countries are to meet the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015, they will require
increased support from the international community,
including market access as well as access to financial
sources such as the International Development
Association and official development assistance.
Our ability to effectively eliminate threats to
international peace and security will depend on the
manner in which we address the social and economic
challenges facing our peoples at the global level.
In our review, during the 2005 summit, of the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals
and of other decisions taken by major international
conferences, it became clear that we still have a long
way to go to honour our commitments. It is therefore
important that we narrow our differences and form a
common front with a common objective to better serve
humanity. We should therefore make collective and
effective use of existing multilateral mechanisms,
especially the United Nations, in order to succeed in
eliminating current and future threats.
The process of decolonization has not yet been
completed. The peoples of Palestine and of the Western
Sahara continue to suffer under foreign occupation and
are denied the exercise of their inalienable rights to
self-determination and national independence. It is our
collective responsibility to rectify that historical
injustice. In that regard, we call for the immediate and
unconditional establishment of an independent State of
Palestine and the full implementation of the United
Nations settlement plan for Western Sahara.
I am equally concerned at the fact that the people
of Cuba continue to suffer from the effects of the
unilateral embargo imposed on them by the United
States of America. We call on the international
community to demand the unconditional lifting of that
embargo.
21

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate my
Governmentís hope that, when we accept our collective
responsibility, the United Nations can and will succeed
in preserving international peace and security and
therefore guarantee equality and justice for all
humanity. We, the peoples of the United Nations, must
do what is required to bequeath to the next generations
a better future. To that end, the Government and the
people of Namibia pledge our total commitment.


It is a
pleasure for me to express on behalf of my delegation
warm congratulations on the outstanding election, of
the President to lead the sixtieth regular session of the
General Assembly of the United Nations. I see the
selection as a tribute to his excellent qualities as a
diplomat without equal and recognition of the tireless
commitment of Sweden to the noble causes of our
Organization. He may be sure that in the discharge of
his lofty mission, Senegal’s support is completely
understood.
Allow me to take this opportunity to say how
much we have appreciated the commitment and the
flair that his predecessor, my friend and brother, His
Excellency the Minister of State Jean Ping, discharged
his mandate at a decisive point in the existence of the
United Nations. Whatever the results of the
negotiations under way for a just and in-depth reform
of our Organization, our brother Jean Ping will have
given the most of himself, and we all owe him
gratitude and respect.
I should also like here to pay tribute to the
unfailing dedication to the causes of our Organization
displayed by His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, a dedication
that was recently reflected in his excellent and timely
initiative to submit to Member States a substantial
number of proposals aimed at ensuring the rebirth of
the United Nations and making it possible to envisage
a new dawn for multilateralism.
This year’s general debate has been symbolic and
strategic in nature in that it is being held following the
High-level Plenary Meeting, which mobilized all of our
leaders and was an expression of the will of all of the
Member States to make the necessary adjustments for a
revitalization of the founding values of the United
Nations and for a better consideration of the aspiration
of all peoples.
This is a crucial meeting carrying as it does
within it the great hopes of the disadvantaged
populations of the world, victims of endemic
underdevelopment. The major results of this summit, in
my view, are an expression of the faith of the
international community in spirit and solidarity,
interdependence and international cooperation, the
raison d’être of the United Nations, at a time when our
societies are faced with an increasingly complex
international environment characterized by a
globalization that is still not being clearly defined.
Although there are signposts, the road before us
is still long, and so great is the lag behind of many
developing countries, particularly on the African
continent, in achieving the Millennium Development
13

Goals, that billions of men and women around the
world should be helped to free themselves from
difficulties and from exclusion and despair so they can
fully enjoy the dividends of peace and security.
This is why my delegation strongly hopes that
this act of faith will be translated into tangible actions
and into results that are palpable for all. This is
precisely what the Secretary-General invited us to
consider in highlighting in his report of last March the
indivisibility of the three pillars of development,
security and human rights.
Therefore, we must all act. For us, a developing
country, acting means implementing strategies that will
be beneficial for development, supported by clear-
sighted policies of good governance and the rule of law
including all sectors of society. And for the developed
countries this means scrupulously honouring the
commitments undertaken in terms of resolving the
question of debt, promoting a just and equitable trade
and improving the volume and quality of aid
mechanisms.
By the historic decisions that it is calling for, the
agenda established by the summit confirms eloquently
the firmness of the commitments of heads of State and
Government to focus on fighting for development,
whose ultimate goal is the harmonious integration of
developing countries in the globalization process.
However, the heavy interdependence of the world
economy and the demands for peace naturally call for a
real global partnership, which includes a sharing of
responsibilities and takes into account the specific
needs of developing countries.
Nevertheless, the desired increase in assistance to
developing countries is not a sufficient condition for
them to have lasting inclusion in the globalization
process. We also need to rationalize this assistance and
to improve the delivery mechanisms. Indeed, despite
the recent measures of debt cancellation for certain
African countries and the Heavily Indebted Poor
Countries Debt Initiative, the debt burden continues to
hamper any improvement in the economies of
developing countries, which now find themselves in
perpetual dependence on donors.
Clearly, Africa is falling further and further
behind the objectives of the Millennium Development
Goals and will continue to do so if its debt burden is
not drastically alleviated. Since the mechanisms
planned for bringing the continent out of debt have not
yet borne fruit, we should, apart from the partial
measures which we should welcome, envisage bolder
and more durable solutions.
Based on this concern, the African ministers of
finance met to discuss the strategy for debt reduction in
Africa in May of this year in Dakar, under the aegis of
the African Union. This was in preparation for a
conference during which the President of the Republic
of Senegal, His Excellency Abdoulaye Wade, proposed
to the African Union that it conduct an “x-ray” of
African debt.
The economic recovery of the developing
countries is all the more delayed in that they continue,
helplessly, to be buffeted by an unfair and unbalanced
world trade environment due to protectionist policies
and export subsidies which distort the whole idea of
competitiveness and divert trade from the objective of
development. This contributes to making producers in
the poor countries more vulnerable and explains the
high hopes that we place in the next World Trade
Organization Ministerial Conference in Hong Kong in
order to conclude the Doha cycle for development and
design a multilateral trade system that is non-
discriminatory and equitable for all. We welcome the
particular attention being given increasingly to dealing
with the specific needs of Africa in the international
development agenda.
Unfortunately, we cannot fail to deplore the fact
that, paradoxically, the New Partnership for Africa’s
Development (NEPAD), adopted by this Assembly,
continues to suffer from a deficit in implementation
due partly to internal inertia and to slow multilateral
support, particularly in terms of financial
disbursements.
I would like here once again to make a serious
appeal to States and to the agencies of the United
Nations system, including the Bretton Woods
institutions, to make concrete their commitments to
help Africa implement NEPAD — this ambitious
programme of development.
One of the priority sectors of this programme
remains that of information and communication
technology. In this respect I should like to welcome the
creation — following the first phase of the World
Summit on the Information Society — of a digital
solidarity fund. This Fund, a proposal of President
Wade, rapidly became an initiative of the African
Union and was adopted in March 2005 by the
14

international community in Geneva. It is aimed at
helping the countries of the South to bridge their
digital divide with the North and to promote
sustainable development. I should like here to repeat
Senegal’s invitation to States, local groups, heads of
companies and civil society to contribute in cash and in
kind to this fund.
The many initiatives to be taken in the next few
weeks and months should not let us lose sight of the
battle that we must wage at the worldwide, regional
and national levels to defeat pandemics of infectious
diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and
polio, which are decimating our populations. As
regards HIV/AIDS, the Government of Senegal, which
devotes more than one-tenth of its budget to health,
will continue through bold actions based on
information, education, awareness campaigns,
prevention and subsidies to fight pandemics tirelessly.
However, the encouraging results achieved by
several countries, including Senegal, which has
managed to keep the prevalence rate of HIV/AIDS at
one of the lowest levels in the continent, cannot be
consolidated without substantial and consistent support
from international partners. Allow me to remind the
General Assembly of the good news announced just a
few weeks ago of the prevalence rate in my country
falling from 1.7 per cent to 0.7 per cent.
I would also like to invite the international
community to support Africa in its fight against
drepanocytosis — otherwise known as sickle cell
anaemia — which has become a public health problem
in several countries. This disease, apart from the
suffering that it inflicts on the populations, is an
obstacle to development in that it makes sufferers
unable to work. For that reason the Summit of Heads
of State and Government of the African Union, held in
Sirte from 2 to 5 July, adopted a decision supporting
the inclusion of genetic drepanocytosis on the list of
priorities for public health. I would thus invite the
Assembly to join this battle against drepanocytosis.
Equally vital is the willingness of our external
partners to commit themselves with Africa to finding a
solution to the situation of its agriculture, which
continues to suffer from an environment that is
increasingly hostile to the flourishing of design
capacities and to transfers of technology central to
their development. This is the thrust of the initiative of
the Dakar Agricultural Forum, launched by President
Wade, the first meeting of which was held in February
2005 in Dakar on the topic “The world agricultural
divide: opening up prospects for agricultural areas in
development”.
This Forum was an opportunity for a productive
exchange of views and ideas among officials in the
sector, representatives of professional organizations,
non-governmental organizations, multinational
companies, scientists and academics from all
continents. The Forum considered the possibilities of
partnerships in order to reduce the agricultural divide
between North and South by using science and the
transfer of technology, and discussed successful
agricultural experiments submitted and presented at
Dakar by experts from several countries. By initiating
this project in Dakar, the Government of Senegal
sought to stimulate thought on an original concept of
development, taking into account the political,
technical and sociological constraints peculiar to the
countries of the South.
Another challenge that has a negative impact on
agriculture is desertification, which affects nearly one
third of the African continent. There was a meeting of
experts from more than 30 countries in Dakar from
26 to 29 July to discuss this problem. That meeting was
held on the initiative of President Wade, in accordance
with a mandate from his African peers, to consider
developing the Sahara and its boundaries in the Sahel.
As President Wade said, it is a question of “having a
good, hard look at the Sahara” and thinking about the
creation of a High Authority of the Sahara based on the
American model of the Tennessee Valley Authority,
which was a successful example of integrated
development.
We should like here to invite the international
community, which decided to proclaim 2006 as the
International Year of Deserts and Desertification, to
participate in this important work of constructing what
has been called by President Wade and his brother and
friend, President Olusegun Obasanjo, the “Great Green
Wall of Africa”, to slow the advance of the desert. As
President Wade has said, “Either the desert or the
human being — one will have to disappear.” We hope
that it will be the desert.
Certainly, the struggle to promote development
should go hand in hand with another fight, that for a
world where peace, security and the scrupulous respect
of human rights and individual freedoms reigns. This is
15

why my country fully supports the important
conclusions of the outcome document of the High-level
Plenary Meeting, relating in particular to the
revitalization of the work of the General Assembly, the
restructuring of the Security Council, the creation of a
Peacebuilding Commission and of a Human Rights
Council, and also the adoption of the fundamental
principle of the responsibility to protect.
From this rostrum, the President of Senegal, on
the question of the expansion of the Security Council,
recently made a strong appeal that, first, the historic
injustice done to Africa — the only region of the world
missing from the group of permanent members of the
Security Council — be redressed. Certainly, our
continent would like at the end of the process to
receive two permanent seats in the Council, two thirds
of whose agenda, unfortunately, is devoted to Africa.
However, the proposal of Senegal — a country that
defends the spirit of compromise with other interest
groups — to put Africa at the beginning and at the end
of the expansion of the Security Council, deserves the
attention of the entire international community.
There is no doubt that the full implementation of
the conclusions of the High-level Plenary Meeting will
make it possible for our Organization to connect better
to the realities of this new century. However, the fine
prospects that have been opened up by the Meeting
should not make us forget the serious impact of the
painful situations to which our world has been a
helpless observer for many years. I would just mention
three such situations: the disturbing deadlock in
negotiations in the area of disarmament, in particular
nuclear disarmament; terrorism; and the bogging down
and lack of headway in the peace process in the Middle
East.
It is not yet too late for the “argument of
power” — and nuclear power, which I have just set out
here — to yield to the “power of argument” of shared
peace, so that weapons of mass destruction — nuclear,
chemical or biological — can be definitively banned.
As regards terrorism, the recent attacks on
London and on Sharm el-Sheikh are painful reminders
of the persistence of an evil that can only be eliminated
through determined and decisive mobilization by the
international community. This response is all the more
timely since the terrorist hydra attacks the sanctity of
life, defies all reason and undermines the foundations
of the rights and freedoms of the individual. It is the
view of Senegal that, quite frankly, there is no cause
sufficiently just or sufficiently good to justify the use
of terrorism and the massacre of women, children and
innocent civilians.
Last but not least, the Middle East continues to
send us daily images of a seemingly endless tragedy
for the Palestinian people. We note the reluctance of
the occupying Power, Israel, to respect the spirit and
the letter of the road map, which has been seen in the
recent settlements established in “Greater Jerusalem”,
accompanied by destruction of houses belonging to
Palestinians and the refusal to give them authorization
to reunite their families. And we see it once again in
the Israeli plan to link East Jerusalem with the
settlement of Ma’aleh Adumim in the West Bank.
The international community must redouble its
efforts and vigilance to put an end to the harsh actions
against the Palestinians including the construction of
the separation wall and the settlements, and take
measures to enable both parties to work to conclude
rapidly a mutually advantageous peace.
In advocating justice, it seems inconceivable that
the Republic of China on Taiwan, with its 23 million
inhabitants and its impressive economic dynamism,
should be kept out of the United Nations.
Thus, we express the hope that, finally, peace will
reign in all regions of the world, particularly in Africa.
This is why we welcome the fact that countries such as
Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, Liberia or Burundi,
despite conflict, are emerging from crisis and
embarking on the path to reconciliation and
reconstruction.
I would like to add just one last word on Guinea-
Bissau. For us, Guinea-Bissau has met its commitments
as regards the international community, proving its
maturity and its attachment and dedication to peace. It
is thus for the international community to accompany
this process now under way in Bissau. To that end, the
meeting of donors planned for November should be
held without conditions and should lead to substantial
material and financial support so as to help the people
of Guinea-Bissau continue to take charge of their
destiny.
I should like to conclude on this point and pay
warm tribute to Mr. Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, Secretary
General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference,
for his restructuring efforts to make the OIC a modern
16

and effective organization more capable of strengthening
cooperation within the Islamic Oumah and contributing
to the fight against underdevelopment.
In this noble fight, my country, Senegal, remains
more determined than ever to work with all of its
partners in order to bring about a fairer, more peaceful
and more prosperous world.


Mr. President, please
allow me, on behalf of the Government of the
Commonwealth of Dominica, to extend our
congratulations to you on your assumption of the
presidency at the sixtieth session of the General
Assembly. My delegation is confident that, with your
experience and diplomatic skills, you will preside over
the Assembly with the effectiveness and the dedication
required to take us through the agenda of the sixtieth
session. We extend to your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping
of Gabon, our sincere appreciation for his stewardship
of the fifty-ninth session and for his tireless efforts to
guide the preparation of the outcome document. Our
warm tribute is also due to the Secretary-General for
his unqualified dedication to this institution.
Allow me at the outset to convey our deepest
sympathies and condolences to the Government and the
people of the United States of America in the wake of
the deaths and widespread destruction caused by
Hurricane Katrina. We remain concerned about the
potential devastation that Hurricane Rita is likely to
unleash in coming days.
One week ago, world leaders gathered here at the
historic High-level Plenary Meeting and demonstrated
their collective political will to overcome the many
challenges facing the world. They charted a clear
direction for a future of peace and prosperity for all
humankind. They reaffirmed their commitment to
achieving the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), underscored the continuing relevance of the
United Nations and its indispensable role in the
collective management of the many problems faced by
the global community, and provided clear
recommendations for the reform of the Organization.
The outcome document, while falling short of our
expectations, presents a platform for multilateral
solutions to the broad range of global problems related
to development, peace and security, human rights, the
rule of law and the reinvigoration of the United
Nations. The Commonwealth of Dominica is
committed to the Millennium Development Goals and
embraces the renewed pledge to save humanity from
the scourge of war, disease, famine and poverty. We
will work with all Member States to ensure a future
based on hope and prosperity instead of one of despair
for the poor and the marginalized of this world. We
now have before us the monumental task of ensuring
implementation and tangible outcomes.
Fulfilling that task, which our esteemed leaders
have accorded to us, requires the determined will of all
Member States. It will also require a commitment to
the collective will and a retreat from preoccupation
with self-interest and narrow national agendas. If
nothing else, the sixtieth session should go down in
history as the session at which we, the Member States,
renewed our commitment to the ideal that inspired the
31

visionary founders: building a peaceful and prosperous
world in which all peoples live together in harmony,
free from want and fear.
Dominica, a small island developing State,
welcomes the particular attention given in the outcome
document to the special needs and vulnerabilities of
small island developing States. It is a source of great
encouragement to us that the Member States of the
United Nations have demonstrated an appreciation of
the challenges that confront all small island developing
States.
The Mauritius Strategy for the Further
Implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action
is a realistic and attainable blueprint that underscores
the pivotal areas for interventions to build the capacity
of small island developing States to confront their
various sustainable development challenges. We
appreciate the support of our friends and development
partners and appeal for their continuing commitment to
the proper and effective implementation of the
Mauritius Strategy.
Progress in the development arena will require
strong political will for the implementation of the
commitments we have undertaken and which we
reaffirmed together in the outcome document of the
High-level Plenary Meeting. These concern primarily
the implementation of the Millennium Development
Goals and the revitalization of the international
partnership for development, with the attendant
mobilization of financial resources, as well as the
fulfilment of the commitment made by many
developed countries to reach the target of 0.7 per cent
of their gross national product for official development
assistance by 2015. Dominica takes this opportunity to
express its appreciation to those countries that affirmed
their intention to fulfil their obligations in that regard.
My delegation feels strongly that the consensus
we reached in the High-level Plenary Meeting
represents a good foundation for a greater consensus
towards achieving the development priorities of the
developing countries. The United Nations must play a
pivotal role in ensuring that the issues of trade, debt
relief, investment and industrial modernization receive
the highest priority if the global objective is to raise the
standard of living of the people of the developing
countries.
We congratulate the Group of Eight for the
commitment adopted at the Gleneagles Summit, giving
much-needed debt relief to 18 heavily indebted poor
countries. However, a similar initiative is now required
for small island developing States and middle income
developing countries that are being strangled by heavy
debt burdens and the simultaneous erosion of their
preferential trading arrangements.
South-South cooperation has been growing over
the last two decades, and through that mechanism
many avenues have opened for enhanced trade
relations and cooperation in the transfer of know-how
and technology. Dominica welcomes the establishment
of the South Fund for Development and Humanitarian
Assistance and the generous initial pledges of the
Governments of Qatar, India and China to this Fund.
Equally deserving of commendation is Venezuela’s
initiative in the Caribbean, called Petrocaribe, which
will help Caribbean countries to respond to the
challenges posed by the high price of oil.
Aid without trade cannot be a viable proposition
for small island States like Dominica. We are fully
cognizant that only trade can be the engine of growth
and development. Dominica and other banana-
producing States in the Caribbean have had difficulties
responding to the stance of multinational corporations
from the United States and allied Latin American
countries that have challenged the preferential access
for our bananas in the European Union. We hope that
reason will prevail, as we count on a fair resolution of
the present banana trade impasse in Europe. Only a
positive outcome will avert a future of persistent
poverty for banana farmers and workers in the
Caribbean.
Let me reiterate that small, vulnerable island
States like Dominica need time to adjust to the
transition to a fully liberalized global trading regime.
Dominica has made admirable progress towards
realization of the MDGs, but such gains could simply
vanish like a thief in the night if we lose the
preferential access to the European market for our
bananas in 2006. For this reason we appeal to the
international community to demonstrate the necessary
political will to ensure that the Doha Development
Round takes these concerns into account in the quest
for a fair and equitable trading system for the benefit
of all our people.
The frequency of devastating storms in Asia, the
Caribbean and the southern United States and long
periods of drought in Africa require a more coordinated
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and organized international response. The United
Nations needs to significantly enhance its capacity to
respond in a timely manner to disasters in the more
vulnerable developing countries. Last year many
Caribbean countries were battered by hurricanes, and
the Eastern Caribbean nation of Grenada was in the
unfortunate situation of facing the onslaught of two
major hurricanes in one calendar year. Grenada still
needs additional assistance from the international
community, and we appeal to all Member States to lend
such assistance.
Dominica has had its share of hurricane
devastation. Late last year we experienced devastation
from a series of earthquakes which inflicted significant
damage on our fragile infrastructure. We continue to be
vigilant and have put in place a national disaster
strategy to mitigate the adverse effects of such
disasters on our population. My delegation once again
reiterates the appeal made last year in this Hall by
Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit for the creation of a
global insurance fund to assist countries devastated by
natural disasters. We call on the international
community to fully implement the Hyogo Framework
for Action 2005-2015, adopted at this year’s World
Conference on Disaster Reduction.
Climate change is wreaking havoc on small
island developing States. It is time for all Member
States to accept that climate change and global
warming are real and that they are caused by human
activity. All Member States must implement the
provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.
My delegation is concerned about the continuing
instability in Haiti. We support the role of the United
Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, but we
appreciate that its limited size and resources are
inadequate to respond to the complicated political
situation in which Haiti finds itself. Caribbean
Community and Common Market (CARICOM) States
have already committed technical assistance for the
elections and are cognizant that elections alone will not
bring stability to Haiti. Stability will require the
accelerated disbursement of pledged financial
resources, more rapid implementation of social and
economic project activities, and peacebuilding
initiatives.
Terrorism remains a great threat to peace and
security at the national, regional and international
levels. Dominica condemns all acts, methods and
practices of terrorism. The recent attacks in London
and in Egypt underscore the danger of terrorism, which
transcends national boundaries and does not
distinguish between peoples, cultures or religions.
Dominica is making a great effort to comply with the
obligations of the various counter-terrorism
conventions and pledges its support for the conclusion
of the comprehensive convention on international
terrorism.
My delegation regrets the failure of the outcome
document to address non-proliferation and
disarmament in the area of weapons of mass
destruction. Relative stability in today’s world should
not make us complacent and lead us to compromise on
the need for total disarmament. Our continuing lack of
action on this issue has not served to enhance global
security with respect to the threat posed by these
weapons.
Small arms and light weapons pose a great
challenge to the maintenance of peace and security in
the Caribbean region. Narcotics trafficking has brought
with it increased circulation of small arms and light
weapons, which has led to a sharp increase in crime
and fatal injuries. Dominica therefore welcomes the
agreement on an international instrument that would
enable States to identify and trace illicit small arms and
light weapons in a timely and reliable manner. What is
still needed, however, is a legally binding international
instrument that will regulate, control and monitor the
illicit trade in small arms, including their transfer to
non-State actors.
Dominica is appreciative of the recognition
accorded to indigenous people in the outcome
document. As part of our commitment to the Second
International Decade of the World’s Indigenous People,
my delegation will work with other Member States
towards the submission to the General Assembly of a
draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples.
The future of the United Nations depends on full
implementation of an institutional reform agenda that
addresses revitalization of the General Assembly,
reform of the Security Council and improved
governance in the Secretariat. General Assembly
revitalization must result in the strengthening of the
Assembly’s vital role as the chief deliberative,
policymaking and implementation-monitoring body of
the United Nations. The Secretariat needs to urgently
address eroding public confidence through timely
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implementation of the proposals for improvement in its
management and oversight. Reform of the Security
Council must be pursued to enhance the Council’s
accountability, transparency and efficiency. Such
reform must, at a minimum, ensure that the Council’s
membership is more representative and remedy the
continuing imbalance in the representation of Africa in
the permanent membership.
We welcome the initiative to establish a
Democracy Fund. Consistent with our support for the
promotion of fundamental human freedoms and values,
we support the establishment of a Human Rights
Council. We also support the proposed Peacebuilding
Commission as an advisory body.
Let me conclude by saying that we have a loaded
agenda for the next decade, and that there are
numerous challenges ahead. We wish to emphasize that
that agenda can be realized only through multilateral
action. As we look ahead to 2015, we have the
honourable duty to make the United Nations truly serve
the people of this global village. We have the
obligation to ensure that we the peoples of the United
Nations can truly live our lives in larger freedom.


I wish
first of all to express my sincerest congratulations to
you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the
General Assembly. I wish you success in performing
this historic and humanitarian mission in the best
interests of humanity at large. I wish also to express
my appreciation to Mr. Jean Ping for his efforts in the
framework of that same mission and goals during the
previous session of the Assembly.
I come from Iraq, the cradle of civilization, a
meeting place for a variety of nationalities, religions,
creeds and political ideas. I come from a rich and
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fertile land which has throughout its honourable past
given the blood of its children, such as Al-Hussein and
subsequently Al-Sadr, to protect freedom and human
rights.
This is a unique opportunity for me to make
heard the strong voice of Iraq. The dictatorship that
ruled Iraq in the past tried to silence that voice by
sowing death and destruction. Mass graves testify to
that. Today it is the terrorists who are trying to silence
that voice. I have come here to deliver to the Assembly
a message from my nation, to convey the real picture
of the new Iraq that is emerging, the power of its
determination and its profound love and feelings
towards all other nations.
Iraq is now dealing with various new realities.
Today ó released from the restraints of a 35-year
dictatorship that imposed on Iraq one political,
security, media and economic option and engendered a
real Calvary of suffering for its people ó Iraq is
witnessing a different, multifaceted reality. Throughout
that period of great suffering and while the world stood
idly by, all kinds of crimes and suppression were
committed against Iraqis, Iraqi wealth and resources,
the environment, education, the justice system, culture
and civilization.
With the recent successful conclusion of our
political journey - in record time and in spite of all
the obstacles and challenges facing it - the Iraqi
people can justly be proud of their country and identity
today. Beginning with the elections on 30 January 2005
and the formation of the Government on 3 May, and
despite all the challenges faced over the past three
months, a draft constitution was written and will be
presented to the Iraqi people for a vote on 15 October.
That referendum will allow the Iraqi people to express
its will and allow it to constitutionally establish the
rule of law and to create a State in which there is
equality for all Iraqis.
The constitution will allow law and order, justice
and equality for all Iraqis. Iraqi women will be able to
participate actively in political life and will have their
rights restored, including the same right that men have
to pass on their nationality to their children. The
constitution grants religious freedom, freedom of
speech, and the right to federal and regional autonomy.
We are marching resolutely towards political
stability and economic prosperity and regaining
security and stability. While there were 61 terrorist car
bombings in July, that number dropped to nine in
August and September. Likewise, the number of
assassinations decreased from 225 to nine in the past
two months.
On 9 September the Iraqi military attacked
terrorist hubs in Talafar to restore security and stability
there. Our forces adhered to strict rules of conduct,
doing their best to protect innocent civilians in that
town. Feeling the force of that operation, the terrorists
fled to commit more crimes ó this time in the brave
and heroic city of Khadimiya, where over 160 civilians
were killed on 14 September.
The Iraqi forces continue to build, to train and to
be equipped so that they can take control of all internal
security matters and do not have to depend on the
multinational forces for their security. However, even
though some Iraqi cities are already prepared for it, the
time has not come for the Iraqi forces to be completely
independent. When we are ready and self-sufficient, we
will ask the multinational forces to leave our cities.
The new political life in Iraq is committed to
freedom of the press, freedom of expression, the
separation of the legislative, executive, and judiciary
powers and the reconstruction of Iraq, as well as to
realize the aspirations of the Iraqi people to
development and progress. Oil production and exports
have increased along with the number of employment
opportunities, income and trade exchange for Iraqis.
More is being accomplished in public services and in
health care and ambitious projects are under way to
reconstruct our infrastructure, especially in the areas of
home and road construction. Environmental bureaux
have now declared the Iraqi provinces to be free from
radioactivity.
I therefore seize this opportunity to urge creditor
nations to help us by cancelling Iraqi debt or loans.
That debt was accumulated under the corrupt policies
of the previous regime and the Iraqi people have had
no hand in it.
For Iraq to recover its role in the international
community and to participate effectively in defending
international peace and security and to combat the evil
scourge of terrorism, it must be allowed to rebuild and
to implement plans for the development, rehabilitation
and the rebuilding of its infrastructure. I call on the
donor countries to meet their commitments undertaken
at different international conferences, including in
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Madrid, Brussels and, most recently, Jordan, to provide
financial aid to Iraq.
Iraq would like to pay tribute to the constructive
role of the United Nations in its special efforts to help
the Iraqi people through the special envoy of the
Secretary-General and the technical election assistance
team. While we highly appreciate those efforts, we are
also looking forward to having the United Nations
return to Iraq and reopen its offices and agencies in
order to support the reconstruction and development
process.
We also call upon the international community to
evaluate the need to adopt an international programme
to protect and preserve the fine cultural and
archaeological heritage and shrines of Iraq, whose
cities are steeped in history, from Sumer and Babylon
to the present.
Today, Iraq is both a witness to and a victim of
the cruel, vicious and merciless attacks of international
terrorists, who began their global campaign on
11 September 2001. Alarm bells are ringing in different
capitals around the world ó in Spain, Britain, Turkey,
Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, and Saudi Arabia - as we
have all witnessed. Iraq was afflicted with that scourge
under Saddamís regime, whose policy was to rule or
destroy people and property with all types of lethal
weapons. Today the Iraqi people are paying the price of
countering terrorism, because it is their homes that are
on the frontlines of the battle. The world must support
Iraqis in fighting the war against terrorism and the
remnants of the Baath regime so that it can move
towards democracy.
In order to deal effectively and radically with
terrorism, we must agree on a definition of a number of
elements that are closely related to it, including suicide
and the culture of terrorism, the financing of terrorism,
advocacy and propaganda that attempt to legitimize
terrorism, perpetrators of terrorist acts and State
terrorism.
No country is free of terrorism today. Any
country can be a victim of terrorism at any time. We all
face this common threat. It brooks no boundaries; the
geography of terrorism envelopes all humanity. We
must therefore lend a hand to those who are paying the
price of terrorism and to its victims. Because of the
interdependence of nations, what happens in one
country cannot fail to have repercussions in others.
There is also a need to draw a distinction between
natural disasters and terrorist disasters caused by man.
The former are often uncontrollable. When they occur
the entire world mobilizes to provide assistance to the
affected countries, as we witnessed in the case of last
Decemberís Asian tsunami and the recent Hurricane
Katrina in Louisiana. But the calamities of terrorism, if
allowed, will be as devastating as natural disasters. We
need to raise awareness and work together to put an
end to terrorism and to alleviate its destructive impact.
In this regard, we want to express our warmest
thanks to the people of the United States and to all the
other peoples who have supported us. We must join
efforts to triumph over terrorism, because those who
win this victory will be able to help others as well. The
Iraqi people are in the forefront of the counter-
terrorism struggle. Why do those countries that send
suicide bombers not send their young people to do
humanitarian work to contribute to the reconstruction
of Iraq instead of sending them to kill children, to
destabilize Iraq and its security? Why do they not send
funds to invest in Iraq, so that the common interests of
our peoples and theirs may be achieved and so that the
stay of the multinational forces may be shortened?
Why do the news agencies in these countries not relay
the achievements of the new Iraq and convey the real
picture of the terrorist offensive, which targets popular
markets and civilian gatherings, instead of inciting
media reports that distort facts and falsify realities?
But prior to that, we call upon neighbouring countries
to stand by our people and prevent terrorists from
entering Iraq, and to commit themselves to protecting
our common borders for the safety and well-being of
our peoples. We seek to establish the best possible
relations with all countries, especially neighbouring
ones, in order to promote the best interests of all and to
safeguard national sovereignty and protect it from any
foreign interference.
I would like now to touch on the most important
political problems and the need for these problems to
be resolved peacefully in accordance with international
agreements and treaties. We call for a fair and just
solution to the political problems in the Middle East,
and in particular the Palestinian question, so that this
region and all regions of the world will be free from
weapons of mass destruction and nuclear weapons. We
also must affirm the legitimate right of the Palestinian
people to establish a sovereign State, ensuring them a
life of dignity lived in freedom in a climate of peace in
their own territory. We must all work to spread the
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culture of love, peace and coexistence instead of the
culture of hatred, war, vindictiveness and terrorism.
Iraq, whose children aspire to political,
economic, security and developmental reconstruction,
wants fully to assume its responsibility, both regional
and international, to safeguard peace and security
throughout the region and in the world. Iraq pays
tribute to the United Nations, which has provided the
world with a broad umbrella to prevent wars and
resolve conflicts. The world today is constantly
changing, and this requires dynamic changes in the
structure, decision-making and working methods of the
United Nations so it can cope with new world realities
and meet its obligations. Iraq is undergoing difficult
times, but its aspirations are just and we therefore hope
that you will give Iraq your support and that you will
display solidarity with Iraq, especially as we are on the
verge of adopting our permanent constitution, a
constitution that can ensure independence and a life of
democracy, coexistence, love and tolerance for all.