Allow me to congratulate
the President on his election to preside over the
General Assembly at its sixtieth session. I wish to
assure him and his colleagues in the Bureau of my
delegation’s support as he guides our deliberations.
Allow me also to thank his predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping
of Gabon, for his effective leadership at the fifty-ninth
session of the Assembly.
In addition, let me take this opportunity to extend
my country’s deep sympathy and condolences to all
Governments and peoples that have suffered tragic
losses of life and destruction of property as a result of
acts of terrorism and natural and man-made disasters.
At this general debate, I wish to address the
Assembly on a matter of grave and immediate
importance to my country that has serious
consequences for the supremacy of international law
and the maintenance of regional peace and security.
Almost four years after the decision of the
Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, the dark
clouds of war once again hang over my country. The
legal provisions of the Algiers Agreement, the legal
underpinnings of the independent arbitration process
and the manner in which that process was established,
and the unequivocal decision of the Boundary
Commission are all too well known to be repeated
here. But allow me to cite the cardinal elements of the
Algiers Agreement to refresh members’ memories.
Article 4.15 of the Algiers Agreement explicitly
states,
“The parties agree that the delimitation and
demarcation determinations of the Commission
shall be final and binding. Each party shall
respect the border so determined, as well as the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of the other
party.”
I must stress here that violation of the Agreement
represents nothing less than blatant disrespect for the
territorial integrity and sovereignty of a United Nations
Member State.
In the sixteenth report on the work of the
Boundary Commission of February 2005, when the
Commission was forced to close down its field offices
in Eritrea and Ethiopia, it warned that,
“... the line of the boundary was legally and
finally determined by its Delimitation Decision of
13 April 2002. Though undemarcated, this line is
binding upon both Parties, subject to the minor
qualifications expressed in the Delimitation
23

Decision, unless they agree otherwise. Conduct
inconsistent with this boundary is unlawful.”
(S/2005/142, Annex I, para. 33)
The Boundary Commission’s decision should not
be tampered with. In that regard, article 4.2 of the
Algiers Agreement unambiguously stipulates that,
“The parties agree that a neutral Boundary
Commission composed of five members shall be
established with a mandate to delimit and
demarcate the colonial treaty border based on the
pertinent colonial treaties (1900, 1902 and 1908)
and applicable international law. The
Commission shall not have the power to make
decisions ex aequo et bono.”
The situation with which we are now confronted
is therefore not an intractable border dispute requiring
the flexibility of the parties. It is squarely a grave
matter of an illegal and forcible occupation of the
sovereign territory of Eritrea, a United Nations
Member State, in clear violation of Article 2.4 of the
United Nations Charter.
Ethiopia is not only occupying the village of
Badme and other sovereign Eritrean territory; it also
continues to build illegal settlements in those areas
with a view to, in the words of Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, creating facts on the ground.
Ethiopia’s unrestrained assault on the rule of law
and the sanctity of treaty agreements will have severe
consequences not only for the people of the two
neighbouring countries and the Horn of Africa but,
through the bad precedent it sets, also for other
countries and regions, as well as for the credibility and
the legitimacy of the United Nations. Yet Ethiopia’s
acts of occupation continue to be tolerated by the
United Nations and the other guarantors of the Algiers
Agreement.
Paragraph 14 of the Agreement on Cessation of
Hostilities (S/2000/601, annex), which is an integral
component of the Algiers Agreement, specifies that
“OAU and the United Nations commit themselves
to guarantee the respect for this commitment of
the two Parties until the determination of the
common border ... This guarantee shall be
comprised of:
“(a) Measures to be taken by the
international community should one or both
of the Parties violate this commitment,
including appropriate measures to be taken
under Chapter VII of the United Nations
Charter by the United Nations Security
Council;”.
The United Nations and the African Union, as
guarantors, are parties to the treaty. They have
obligations to ensure implementation of the Algiers
Agreement without preconditions. In the event that
either Eritrea or Ethiopia fails to implement the
Agreement, the United Nations is empowered by the
Agreement to invoke Chapter VII of the Charter with
respect to the reneging party.
The treaty agreement must be enforced and the
numerous international instruments must be applied in
order to end occupation and restore legality. The
Security Council is mandated to maintain peace and
security, inter alia, by eliminating all forms of
occupation. Unfortunately, the United Nations and
some members of the international community have so
far been advancing arguments that are irrelevant to the
issue and are in contravention of international law in
order to decline from taking the appropriate action.
Existing and aspirant members of the Security
Council — both permanent and non-permanent — must
fully appreciate the fact that the cardinal principle of
the Charter is that membership of the Security Council
must be considered as service to humanity and the
cause of peace and not as a means to promote and
protect their own interests or the interests of their
allies. They must uphold the sacred trust to protect the
credibility and viability of the United Nations.
Respect for international agreements has been,
and must continue to be, the foundation of the principle
of peaceful coexistence among nations. Any
compromise on that principle will result in the erosion
of trust in the international system and will severely
damage the functioning of the United Nations.
Eritrea and Ethiopia may soon be dragged once
again into a new phase of armed conflict. Yet, there is
still an opportunity for a peaceful resolution if the
United Nations honours its treaty obligations and
addresses the one core issue, Ethiopia’s illegal
occupation of sovereign Eritrean territory. If the United
Nations fails to reverse the occupation, it will be as
responsible as Ethiopia for any renewed armed conflict
and its consequences.
24

At this juncture, I wish to remind the Assembly
that the United Nations has betrayed the Eritrean
people twice during the past 60 years. This would be
the third betrayal if it does not respect its treaty and
Charter obligations by settling this occupation through
peaceful means.
In conclusion, I wish to inform the Assembly
categorically that Eritrea is determined, and has the
right, to defend and preserve its territorial integrity by
any means possible.


It is my unique pleasure to
praise His Excellency Ambassador Dan Gillerman, my
emissary to the United Nations, who is in the Chair at
present, upon his election to the post of Vice-President
at this session of the General Assembly, and to wish
him much success.
These are optimistic times in the Middle East.
The iron wall that has defined Israel's relations with
most of the Arab and Muslim world for generations, is
coming down. Israel's contacts with Arab and Muslim
States are growing at a rate never seen before.
Countries like Pakistan and others that in the past
refused to acknowledge our shared humanity, today
extend their hands in friendship and recognition.
Relations with key Muslim States, such as Turkey, are
flourishing, while our peaceful ties with both Egypt
and Jordan are constantly improving.
Here in New York this week, I have had the
honour of meeting with more than 10 of my colleagues
from the Arab and Muslim world - a number
unthinkable just two years ago. Those meetings have
been friendly, as is only fitting for countries that are
not in conflict - either territorially, or economically.
Israel welcomes this new readiness for contact, and we
encourage our neighbours to build on the foundations
that we are now laying. Contacts between Israel and its
Arab and Muslim neighbours are good for the region,
and good for peace.
We all share a common interest in building a
region of tolerance and cooperation - a region where
the moderates have the initiative, not the extremists,
whose violence has set the agenda for so long. Indeed,
those who genuinely wish to help the Palestinians and
to bring them the benefits of peace and prosperity must
realize that building contacts and cooperation with
Israel is a crucial element in that process.
Possibilities for cooperation abound. In fields as
diverse as agriculture, health, the environment,
transportation and electricity, the potential benefits of
Middle East regional cooperation are immense. Such
cooperation can bring tangible and immediate
economic benefits, as Israel's improving relations with
Jordan and Egypt have shown.
Unfortunately, many of our ties with the Arab and
Muslim world are still deep in the shadows, hidden
from the public eye. Today, I call on my Arab and
Muslim colleagues to bring our contacts out into the
light of day, so that our peoples may understand our
8

shared desire to work with each other to bring peace
and prosperity to our region. I call on the leaders of the
Arab and Muslim world, to join us in speaking to our
populations of peace rather than conflict, of reasons to
cooperate, rather than reasons to boycott.
In November of this year, I will sit alongside my
Arab and Muslim colleagues at two international
gatherings: the World Summit on the Information
Society, in Tunisia; and the summit of the Euro-
Mediterranean Partnership, in Barcelona. I call upon
the international community and my Arab and Muslim
counterparts to work together with us to ensure that
those meetings result in concrete projects that will help
reinforce our peace efforts on the ground.
This is also the time for the international
community to renew its investment in the future of the
Middle East by reviving the multilateral track of the
Middle East peace talks.
Just one week ago, Israel completed the
evacuation of all Israeli communities in the Gaza Strip.
Entire families - many of whom had lived and tilled
those lands for three generations - were called upon
by their Government to leave and to begin their lives
anew. Today, there are no more Israelis in Gaza. Israeli
military rule is now over. Responsibility for the affairs
of Gaza and its residents is now in Palestinian hands.
Israel's actions have opened the door to a new future,
and we invite our neighbours to walk with us together
through that door.
We are committed to the road map, and we wish
to get back to its full implementation. To do that, we
need a partner. A partner who is committed, as we are,
to the peaceful resolution of our differences, and to the
democratic and universal principles on which peace is
founded.
Israel attaches great importance to the Palestinian
assumption of responsibility. In it lies the key to
progress towards peace. The transfer of responsibility
for Gaza provides the Palestinian side with the chance
to take their fate into their own hands; an opportunity
not just to say that they want to govern, but to show
that they are ready and able to do so. Gaza, we hope, will
serve as a model for how the Palestinian Authority can
build a functioning, democratic and peaceful society.
Recognizing the significance of this moment,
Israel is taking great pains to ensure that Palestinian
leader Mahmoud Abbas is given every opportunity to
establish his authority. We want to promote conditions
that will benefit ordinary Palestinians, without posing a
security threat to Israel.
Israel has expressed its strong support for
international aid and assistance for the social and
economic development of Gaza, and we are committed
to facilitating those efforts. Constructive international
engagement is crucial to the Palestinian Authority's
success. The international community's priority now
must be ensuring that the Palestinian Authority and its
institutions can deliver the services and outcomes their
people and ours expect and deserve.
Economic reconstruction, of course, is not
enough. The Palestinian Authority must also deliver on
its commitment to end the campaign of terror against
Israel. For Israel, security is an issue on which we will
never compromise. We insist on the end of terror and
the dismantlement of its infrastructure, for the safety of
our citizens, and so that our peace efforts can succeed.
Turning Gaza into a model of success requires
that the Palestinian Authority act to promote and
protect democracy from its enemies. Here, as with
security, there is no room for discounts. Simply
holding elections is no guarantee of moderation and
responsible government.
Two days ago in Gaza, the terrorist organization
Hamas held a rally of 10,000 armed men dedicated to a
holy war against Israel. Like Al-Qaida and the other
organizations in the global network of terror, Hamas
seeks to destroy everything that the international
community and the moderates in our region seek to
build: tolerance, democracy and peace. Hamas is
responsible for the deliberate murder of hundreds of
Israeli civilians, amongst them scores of women and
children. Israel cannot and will not grant legitimacy to
such an organization. We will not cooperate with its
desire to participate in the forthcoming Palestinian
elections. And we call on the international community
to make clear its own opposition to the inclusion of
such terrorists in the democratic process. If Gaza is
indeed to be the positive model we all wish to see, then
it is those who promote dialogue, not violence, who
must be empowered.
The central threat to global security and to
renewed momentum towards dialogue and peace in the
Middle East today is Iran and its nuclear ambitions. As
the speech before this Assembly by the newly elected
president of Iran so clearly demonstrated, Iran's fanatic
regime remains determined to proceed with its nuclear
weapons programme. Israel welcomes the efforts of the
international community - in particular France, Britain
and Germany, backed by the United States - to deny Iran
the ability to terrorize the world with nuclear weapons.
The Board of Governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency is meeting at this very moment
in Vienna to discuss this urgent matter. I call on them
to stop this evil regime from acquiring nuclear
weapons. The security and stability of the entire globe
is at stake. This is why it is essential and urgent that
the Security Council take action. The international
community must rally as one and use all the means at
its disposal to stop Iran before it goes nuclear. We must
not allow the fate of mankind to rest in the hands of the
tyrants of Tehran.
In January of this year, this Assembly convened
in special session to commemorate the Holocaust and
pay tribute to the brave soldiers and nations who freed
European Jewry and the world from the calamity of
that darkest nightmare. Israel commends the
community of nations for standing up in unison on this
anniversary in commitment to the cry "never again".
We commend the Secretary-General's and this
Assembly's recognition that Holocaust remembrance
must be a universal commitment. Ultimately, it is only
the determined defence of the universal values of
tolerance and the sanctity of each human life that will
protect us from tyranny and extremism.
In this spirit, Israel calls on the General
Assembly to adopt a resolution initiated by Israel and
other like-minded countries commemorating the
Holocaust and calling for global educational efforts to
ensure that its lessons are learnt. Especially today, the
day the world's greatest Nazi-hunter, Simon
Wiesenthal, has passed away, we are reminded that the
Holocaust is passing from human memory to history.
As the generation of survivors leaves us, who will tell
their story, if not us?
The special session to commemorate the
Holocaust is only one example, of the welcome shift in
the attitude of this institution towards Israel. Our recent
election as Vice-President of this Assembly is another.
I wish to commend the Secretary-General for his
unique contribution to this positive trend. Israel's
relations with the United Nations are better today than
they have ever been. Nevertheless, they are still far
from what they should be.
I call on all the States gathered here to examine
how they too can contribute to promoting a more
balanced and constructive United Nations approach to
Israel. The United Nations cannot be true to its own
lofty and universal principles, if it continues to waste
scarce resources and serve as a forum of hostility and
prejudice against one of its own.
The United Nations was born of the noble vision
to bring the ideals of peace, security and human rights
to all peoples. Sadly, reality of the United Nations
remains far removed from the United Nations ideal.
Major reform is urgent and crucial. Israel joins our
fellow Member States and their peoples in the desire to
see the United Nations fulfil the vision of its founders;
to see the United Nations serving as a force for good in
meeting the many challenges of our age.
Israel seeks to take its rightful place as a country
with full and equal rights in this institution. We seek to
realize our full potential to contribute to the global
agenda. This is why I have decided to present for the
first time Israel's candidacy for membership on the
Security Council.
It was the wisest leader of ancient Israel, King
Solomon, who wrote, in the book of Ecclesiastes, "For
everything there is a season: a time to weep and a time
to laugh; ... a time to love and a time to hate; a time
for war and a time for peace." This is a time for peace.
A time for the leaders of the world to work together to
bring the blessings of opportunity, peace and prosperity
to all humanity.
As the Jewish New Year dawns upon us, I extend
on behalf of the Jewish people greetings of peace and
brotherhood to our Muslim and Arab neighbours and to
all nations.


My
Government supports the report of the Secretary-
General, which reaffirms development, peace, security
and human rights as fundamental to the well-being of
any modern State. The Government of Saint Kitts and
Nevis steadfastly contends that there is an inherent link
between poverty reduction, the promotion of human
rights, economic development, security and good
governance.
Regrettably, the tendency has been to separate
them, in favour of what some call political imperatives.
I daresay policies do not and cannot exist in a vacuum.
Politics is about people, and therefore national,
regional or even international organizational policies
must be about people. There is stark evidence of this.
The political landscape reveals clear indications
of the interconnectedness of the phenomena of poverty
eradication, security, economic development and
governance. The task of governance is becoming
increasingly difficult in the face of growing
unemployment, deepening poverty, escalating energy
prices and a mounting cost of living. As a
consequence, we have witnessed social dislocations
and civil disquiet. The fruits of globalization still do
not grow among the worldís poorest, who have become
further marginalized and blame their Governments,
which, despite their best efforts, are often relegated to
the margins of political discourse and economic
activities.
Some citizens have become more vocal and more
open in their distrust of Government policies that fail
to deliver the promises of democracy and
globalization, fail to reduce poverty and unemployment
and fail to improve their standard of living. The
economic and political rift between rich and poor
nations is steadily becoming a deeper divide as
mistrust continues to characterize relations between the
developed and the developing countries.
Understandably, small countries ó despite
limited and diminishing resources ó are expected to
participate equally in the fight against the social
scourges that confront us. But that dramatically
reduces our ability to make new and necessary
investments in socio-economic development. It is
within that context that we urge Member nations to
substantively support the Millennium Development
Goals. We also urge them to partner with us,
recognizing our vulnerabilities to natural disasters and
other external economic factors, and recognizing the
need for preferred and differential treatment in trade
and access to markets in developed countries. We urge
developed countries to implement policies that do not
2

undermine our efforts or reverse the gains that we in
small developing countries have made. We call for
equity and for a willingness to live and let live.
Despite overwhelming odds, however, the
Government of Saint Kitts and Nevis stands ready to
do its share. At the base of our efforts and policies is
the fundamental importance of strengthening the rights
of the child. We believe that promoting the rights of the
child goes to the heart of full and effective protection
of human rights. We also firmly believe that by making
sure every child in Saint Kitts and Nevis has access to
primary and secondary education, to potable water and
to health care, we are creating healthier, better adjusted
and productive adults whose rights will have been
nourished and enshrined in the policy orientation and
development agenda of our proud country.
It is generally accepted that the right to
development is also a fundamental right that national
Governments have a primary responsibility to ensure.
Long before the Millennium Development Goals were
formally elaborated and adopted by the community of
nations, that fundamental right was emphatically
understood by the Government and the people of Saint
Kitts and Nevis. As a point of reference, in this year's
Human Development Report issued by the United
Nations Development Programme, Saint Kitts and
Nevis was ranked 49 out of 177 countries on the
Human Development Index ó the second-highest
ranking in the Caribbean region and, indeed, among the
highest in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
The report reflects the reality in Saint Kitts and Nevis,
where there is an adult literacy rate of 97.8 per cent, a
life expectancy rate of 70 years - which needs upward
revision - and a combined primary, secondary and
tertiary school enrolment ratio of 89 per cent. The
report underscores our commitment to gender equality,
starting with current parity in enrolment levels among
girls and boys in school at both the primary and the
secondary levels. The report also confirms 98 per cent
access to safe water and sanitation. In the field of
health, it notes a 99 per cent rate of immunization of
infants against tuberculosis and measles in Saint Kitts
and Nevis.
The Pan-Caribbean Partnership to combat
HIV/AIDS (PANCAP), established by the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), has proved to be a useful
and pragmatic vehicle for collective action and results.
In Saint Kitts and Nevis, our own fight against
HIV/AIDS uses that particular model. PANCAP has
distinguished itself and has been identified as a best-
practice model. We are therefore now pursuing policies
aimed at universal access to treatment and care and at
ending discrimination and the stigmatization of those
persons affected by HIV/AIDS, while at the same time
continuing our public education initiatives on
preventing the spread of the virus.
A per capita income of more than $7,000 places
us squarely among upper-middle-income countries. We
thank the United Nations for recognizing our efforts,
which are the result of policies engineered to ensure
the development of the individual despite the obstacles
that we face as a small economy. They also reflect the
commitment of my Government to ensuring the
protection of the rights of our children and their role in
our countryís future.
That, however, is only one side of the coin. The
achievements to which I referred come at an enormous
cost - a cost that represents an enormous burden - to
our people. The past decade has been particularly
difficult for Saint Kitts and Nevis. Our small island
State continues to be especially vulnerable to natural
disasters, external economic fluctuations and policies
biased against small economies such as ours. My
country has experienced back-to-back hurricanes,
landslides and floods, at a cost of more than half a
billion dollars. We have been forced to direct more and
more of our scarce resources towards recovery and
away from development.
The experience throughout the Caribbean region
is very similar. It was just in July this year that our
sister CARICOM nation of Grenada again suffered
serious devastation, caused by Hurricane Emily, on the
back of last year's devastation brought by Hurricane
Ivan. The Maldives, another small island sister nation,
has made pleas for a delay in the process set in motion
for its graduation from the list of least developed
countries, owing to the tsunami. We specifically
support the Maldives' request.
In addition to the cost of recovery, escalating
high prices and the cost of food imports, Saint Kitts
and Nevis, as an emerging tourist destination, has
faced the prohibitively high cost of implementing
supplementary security measures since 11 September
2001. To further compound that grave situation, the
recent rulings of the World Trade Organization relative
to trade preferences have dealt a most significant blow
3

to small economies in the Caribbean and therefore
threaten to unravel their economic base.
In the case of my country, after centuries of sugar
production and sales to the European market - which
have been a cornerstone of our economic support and
our social stability - we have been forced to close that
industry, which finally succumbed to continuous losses
and escalating debts. Saint Kitts and Nevis can no
longer compete profitably in a world market that is
characterized by engineered low prices for sugar and
by the unfair trading practices of some countries. That
has severe implications in terms of unemployment,
social dislocation, psychological distress and the
dramatic loss of urgently needed foreign-exchange
earnings.
We have tried to prepare for such an eventuality
through a process of economic diversification, but
support from the international community has not been
forthcoming. The cost of borrowing, the removal of
grant financing from the menus of international
financial institutions and the annual recovery costs
from catastrophic hurricanes have become more and
more onerous. Creative legal policy initiatives,
especially in the international financial services sector,
have been challenged and undermined by some
developed countries.
In an attempt to fulfil the Millennium
Development Goals by 2015, my Government has also
pursued policies to stimulate and facilitate private-
sector-led growth by investing in physical
infrastructure and human resource development. But
we need international political and economic support.
The Secretary-General underscored that threats to
peace and security represent different things to
different countries. If we intend to promote collective
security, there must be an appreciation of and
sensitivity to this diversity among countries. In the
same way, we are called upon to aid in the fight against
terrorism, drug trafficking, transnational organized
crime and other scourges that threaten international
peace and security in the more advanced countries. It is
not unreasonable, therefore, to expect reciprocity of
support in fighting the almost intractable problems that
confront small States. To address these urgent
challenges, we call on the international community to
support and contribute to the full, timely and effective
implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for further
implementation of the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, which we consider a very important mechanism
for achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
My Government was heartened by the Secretary-
General's proposal for the establishment of a Human
Rights Council. We also support effective change in the
United Nations, which also means that the Security
Council must evolve to reflect current world realities.
The United Nations must also play a more enhanced
role in development, and the concerns of small island
developing States must be given greater attention
within this Organization. Small States can offer best-
practice models and creative ideas from which the
international debate on development, peace, security
and human rights could benefit.
We encourage greater transparency in the
deliberations of critical organs of the Organization and
greater opportunities for small States to be represented
in the decision-making processes of these organs.
The people of Taiwan continue to be excluded
from the brotherhood of nations, which was created to
represent the hopes and aspirations of all peoples. My
Government reiterates its call for the people of the
Republic of China, Taiwan, to be consulted, effectively
represented and invited to participate in the critical
debates on world peace, human security, development
and human rights. I believe that we would have failed
to promote human rights effectively if, through
political exclusion, generations of people are relegated
to the margins of such important issues and the forums
that facilitate their discussion.
I remain cautiously optimistic about the future.
On the one hand, Governments have rededicated
themselves to the struggle to build a world free from
want and fear and with the freedom to live with
dignity. In addition, we are poised to reform the United
Nations in the hope that it can play a more effective
role in this ever-changing world.
However, the tenor of last week's summit
suggests a strong possibility that some developed
countries may yet renege on those commitments, which
could further erode developing countries' efforts to
eradicate extreme poverty, generate employment,
promote human security and narrow the development
gap between richer and poorer countries.
We still have an opportunity for an enhanced
global partnership to turn commitments into action and
4

secure a future for our children, a future that is free
from want of the basic necessities, free from fear of
violence with guarantees of protection of the right to
live in dignity. Only then will we build and reinforce
the foundation of democracy, enhance collective
security and jumpstart a process where globalization
becomes a vehicle for change among all of the world's
peoples.


Let me begin, Sir,
by extending my sincere congratulations to you on
assuming the presidency of the General Assembly at its
sixtieth session. Well aware of your experience and
diplomatic skills, I have every confidence that under
your able leadership, we will achieve great results
during this important session, which marks the sixtieth
anniversary of the United Nations. I would also like to
take this opportunity to pay tribute to your predecessor,
His Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, whose tireless work
enabled the membership to successfully prepare for the
High-level Plenary Meeting held last week. My highest
tribute also goes to the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for his unqualified
dedication to our world body.
The leaders of the world gathered here last week
in the largest summit meeting of States in history and
demonstrated their collective political will to overcome
the challenges of the present and to build a future of
peace and prosperity for all humankind. They
reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals. They also
underscored the vital role of the United Nations for our
time and gave guidance on steps to reform the
Organization. The outcome document (resolution
60/1), adopted in the greatest spirit of cooperation and
compromise, may not be everything to everyone, but it
is the guideline for action that our leaders have given
us. The task now is to implement it.
The work will require determined action by all.
Success will be ensured only when each and every one
of us strives to look beyond the immediate horizon. We
must commit ourselves anew to realizing the ideal that
inspired the founders of the Organization 60 years ago,
that of building a peaceful and prosperous world in
13

which all peoples live together in harmony, free from
want and fear.
Certainly, with 30,000 children dying of hunger
or preventable diseases every day, the world lies far
from that ideal today. Everyone agrees that we have the
means to lift the whole world out of poverty and
underdevelopment. We just need to effectively put
those means to good use. Thus, the concrete, action-
oriented recommendations adopted by our leaders on
partnership, financing, trade, debt relief and other
aspects of development are greatly welcome. We must
fully and speedily implement them so that, by the year
2015, most of the world’s impoverished are freed from
hunger and poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS is halted,
primary education is made universal for all children,
gender equality takes firm root in all societies and the
global partnership to achieve those and other
development goals is in full operation.
In particular, we welcome the timetables many
developed countries have presented for reaching the
target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for
official development assistance (ODA) by 2015. The
Republic of Korea is committed to doing its share.
Despite the internal and external economic challenges
that my country has faced since the financial crisis of
1997, we have continued to increase development
assistance year after year, doubling our ODA between
2000 and 2004. We now plan to double it again by
2009.
My Government is also seeking other ways to
build partnerships with developing countries. Utilizing
our resources and expertise in information and
communication technology, we are working with the
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the
Pacific to build and host an Asia-Pacific training centre
for information and communication technology, with
an initial outlay of $10 million. The centre will
contribute to reducing the digital divide and enabling
developing countries to make the most of information
and communication technologies for development.
Korea is also dedicated to good governance,
which is an essential ingredient of development. Thus,
we are working with the Secretariat to establish a
United Nations governance centre in Seoul, as a
follow-up to the Sixth Global Forum on Reinventing
Government, which my Government hosted earlier this
year.
Health is another area that requires our collective
action. In our globalized, connected world, infectious
diseases can spread with terrifying speed, with no
regard for borders. They can become pandemics that
threaten the development and the security of affected
countries and regions. Here, too, the world must act
together. For its part, my Government is contributing to
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria.
We are also vigorously supporting the activities
of the International Vaccine Institute in Seoul, which
strives to develop and disseminate vaccines most
needed in the world’s poorest regions. And we have
taken part in the launching of the International
Partnership on Avian and Pandemic Influenza,
announced by President Bush of the United States in
his speech here last week (see A/60/PV.2).
As world leaders noted, the threats to peace and
security around the world today are increasing,
interconnected and global in scale. They require of us
an urgent, collective and more determined response.
Terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction (WMDs) and transnational crime are grave
threats that can be most effectively addressed when
countries act in concert under the United Nations
banner.
Cruel and inhuman acts of terrorism targeting
innocent lives, as witnessed in Iraq, the United
Kingdom and elsewhere, are heinous crimes for which
there can be no justification. The Republic of Korea is
already a party to all 12 international anti-terrorism
conventions in force. Last week, I signed for my
Government the International Convention for the
Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism as soon as it
was opened for signature. We are strongly committed
to preventing and eradicating international terrorism in
all its forms. We will continue to actively participate in
the efforts to conclude a comprehensive convention on
international terrorism as soon as possible.
The proliferation of WMDs is another pressing
security concern. The prospect of WMDs falling into
the hands of terrorists is more alarming and real than
ever before. The Republic of Korea is fully committed
to the non-proliferation of WMDs. Thus, we are
dismayed that the outcome document of the High-level
Plenary Meeting is silent on this vital issue. We very
much hope for an early opportunity to redress this
omission. In the meantime, my Government will
14

continue to press for the strengthening of the nuclear
compliance and verification system. We call for the
universal adoption of International Atomic Energy
Association (IAEA) additional protocols, the
disarmament and non-proliferation of biological and
chemical weapons and the full implementation of
Security Council resolution 1540 (2004).
In facing the threats of terrorism or WMDs, or
any traditional threats, the Security Council must be
made to act more quickly and efficiently to situations
that arise when the elements of a threat become reality.
At the same time, the Security Council must exercise
with only the utmost prudence its prerogative to
sanction the use of force. In that regard, we should
build upon the agreement reflected in the outcome
document on the establishment of principles for the use
of force. That would lead to the strengthened relevance
and efficiency of the Security Council and of the
collective security system embodied in the United
Nations as a whole.
Peacekeeping has been an important part of this
system. Indeed, the success of the peacekeeping
missions in such places as Timor-Leste has been one of
the proudest achievements of the Organization in
recent years. However, there have been failures, as
well as cases of fragile peace being overtaken by the
resumption of conflict. Shameful misconduct by some
peacekeeping operation personnel in certain missions
has added to the sense of disappointment. Obviously,
what is needed is a more structured and extensive
mechanism to make the peace more durable and
consolidate the grounds for post-conflict
reconstruction. In this regard, my Government
welcomes the decision taken at the High-level Plenary
Meeting to establish a Peacebuilding Commission.
We hope to play our part, so that effective
peacebuilding can become an important part of the role
of the United Nations to ensure peace and security
around the world. This is very much in line with our
past and current participation in efforts to restore peace
in many challenged areas of the world, including in
Iraq, where we are helping the Iraqi people to build a
democratic and prosperous country.
I would like to take this opportunity to address
the current situation regarding the North Korean
nuclear issue. After a 13-month hiatus, the fourth
round of the six-party talks commenced on 26 July,
broke off for a recess and resumed last week. During
the talks, all participants agreed on the goal and
principles of the denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula. They conducted serious, in-depth
consultations to make substantive progress towards
realizing that objective. For our part, the Republic of
Korea has made an earnest effort to expedite the talks
and move them towards a resolution, including through
the offer to supply 2 million kilowatts of electric power
to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea directly,
addressing one of the most pressing problems it faces.
As we are gathered here, the resumed fourth
round is under way to adopt an agreement on the
principles for the resolution of the North Korean
nuclear issue. Once adopted, the agreement will be a
crucial step towards the denuclearization of the Korean
peninsula and will launch discussions on an action plan
towards a peaceful resolution of the North Korean
nuclear issue.
A strategic decision by the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea to dismantle all nuclear weapons
and nuclear programmes would be met with economic
and energy assistance and security assurances. North
Korea must return to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and comply
with the full scope of IAEA safeguards so as to restore
the trust of the international community. The doors
would then open to its right to peaceful use of nuclear
energy. We urge North Korea to take this road.
The Republic of Korea is committed to promoting
human rights as universal values that should be
guaranteed to all. Based on our own experience of the
past decades, we know that development and security
are on shaky ground without full respect for the human
rights of all. We thus welcome the reform initiatives to
strengthen the United Nations human rights system and
wholly support the creation of a Human Rights
Council. We would have preferred to see stronger
language and greater detail about the composition,
mandate and functions of the Council spelled out in the
summit outcome document. Working closely with other
delegations, we hope to promptly engage in active
consultations so that the Council can be established
and can start functioning as soon as possible.
The Republic of Korea is also committed to
democracy at home and abroad. We are an active
participant in the Community of Democracies and have
supported the International Conference of New and
Restored Democracies. We have pledged to contribute
15

to the United Nations Democracy Fund, and we will
remain a strong supporter of the continuing mission of
the United Nations to nurture and strengthen
democracy and human rights around the world.
Respect for human rights and the rule of law are
indispensable for the preservation of peace and
cooperation among nations. Mass killings, genocide
and other grave infringements of human rights are
threats to peace and stability and must not be let pass
with impunity. The principle of the “responsibility to
protect”, as discussed during the High-level Plenary
Meeting, underscores the responsibility of the
international community to lend assistance to States in
upholding their solemn obligation to protect their
citizens. We support the continued deliberations by
Member States to reach agreement on the responsibility
to protect. This would certainly form the backbone of a
preventive mechanism against gross violations of
human rights.
Earlier this month, Hurricane Katrina devastated
New Orleans and the surrounding areas in the United
States, causing massive casualties and tremendous pain
and suffering for the victims and their families. On
behalf of the Government and people of the Republic
of Korea, I would like to extend our deepest
sympathies and condolences to those affected.
Coming less than a year after the massive tsunami
that struck many countries of South-East Asia, Katrina
once again mobilized the international community in
bringing emergency relief to the victims. It also
underscored the urgency of establishing effective
mechanisms to cope with natural disasters around the
world, including the importance of early warning
systems. With those lessons in mind, natural disasters
will be a primary issue for debate at the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation summit meeting, which my
country is hosting in Busan in November. Meanwhile,
we reaffirm our support for the reform of United
Nations humanitarian aid agencies to enhance their
efficiency and effectiveness in helping countries to
recover from disaster and rebuild their capacities for
sustainable development.
We mark the sixtieth anniversary of the United
Nations with mixed feelings. On the one hand, there is
much hope. It is the hope of the entire international
community for the United Nations to prevail over the
new challenges of the twenty-first century and to
assume a more central role in strengthening peace and
security, promoting prosperity and spreading
democracy and human rights around the world. On the
other hand, there is widespread disappointment. It has
become painfully clear that the United Nations as it
stands today is unfit to carry out the demands of these
complex times. Between the hope and the
disappointment, there is much uncertainty. But of one
thing I am certain: all of us gathered here are united in
the conviction that the hope must triumph over the
disappointment; that we must rise to the occasion and
make the United Nations fit for the twenty-first
century.
Indeed, our global body must be strengthened
with far-reaching reforms that are in step with the
dynamic challenges of a borderless and fluid world.
Those reforms should be comprehensive —
encompassing all the elements of the system — and
realized in such a way as to give all Members, large
and small, a sense of ownership in the process and the
outcome. Faithful to the guidance provided in the
outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting,
and in synergistic cooperation with one another, all
stakeholders — Member States, the Secretariat, the
funds and programmes, specialized agencies and other
constituents of the United Nations system — must
seize this opportunity for renewal and revitalization.
Indeed, we must engage in a genuine exercise in
multilateralism to strengthen our global body.
Reform of the Security Council must be pursued
to enhance its accountability, transparency and
efficiency. My delegation believes that increasing the
number of non-permanent seats on the Council, with no
addition of permanent seats, is the best way to foster
broad-based consensus on this vital issue.
The Secretariat has long served the collective will
and interests of the Member States of the United
Nations. The contributions of those who have served in
the United Nations system with dedication and
professionalism should be highly praised. However, the
credibility and integrity of the system have been
damaged by recent revelations of mismanagement and
corruption. The maladministration of the oil-for-food
programme, as Mr. Volcker stated in delivering his
fourth report to the Security Council, should not be
seen as a lone case but as symptomatic of deep-seated
systemic issues of an Organization designed for
simpler times. Reform, as he further stated, is urgent.
Without bold reforms to restore the trust and support of
the global community, enhance efficacy and improve
16

the morale of staff, the system will not be able to live
up to the growing expectations of the twenty-first
century.
Underscoring the vital importance of this issue,
the High-level Plenary Meeting has fully endorsed the
management reform initiatives taken by the Secretary-
General. With the active support and encouragement of
Member States, those initiatives should quickly bear
fruit, providing strengthened accountability and
oversight, higher performance and ethical standards for
staff, and greater authority and responsibility for the
Secretary-General as the chief administrative officer of
the Organization.
The challenges facing the United Nations today
are daunting. Some may find them insurmountable. But
we are a country that was born and developed
alongside the United Nations over the past 60 years,
receiving particularly active assistance from it in
earlier decades. We have full confidence in the future
of the Organization. Now a maturing democracy that
upholds human rights, an emerging donor that seeks to
do its share in helping others, and a staunch advocate
of peace and effective multilateralism, the Republic of
Korea is fully committed to bringing greater vitality
and reliability to the United Nations.
At the High-level Plenary the leaders of the world
gave us guiding words for making the United Nations a
more effective and relevant instrument for realizing the
aspirations of the global community in the twenty-first
century. We must not let those words remain just
words. Let us proceed with vigour and dedication to
put them into action.


A few weeks ago, a young
Muslim lawyer in Singapore told me about a recent
experience he had had in an East Asian airport. Unlike
others holding Singaporean passports who were
clearing immigration, he was told to stand aside. When
he asked the reason, the immigration officer muttered
that there were "too many Mohamads" that day.
Smiling to himself, the Singaporean waited patiently
and peered around, wondering how long he had to wait.
The officer then warned him to stand still. He suddenly
felt a chill along his spine.
Muslims all over the world are being profiled by
security agencies. Since 11 September 2001, Muslims
travelling to Western countries have been subject to all
manner of interrogations and searches. Although the
profiling is now done more subtly now, it continues.
And in East Asia, profiling is increasing.
When sudden threats appear, perhaps it is natural
to expect a certain overreaction from the affected
communities. After Pearl Harbour, all Japanese people
living in America became suspect, including those born
there. Many were interned. By today's standards, that
was an affront. But at that time, it was widely felt to be
a necessary precaution. Shocked by that reaction,
Japanese-American leaders set out to prove their
Americanness, for example by forming the Japanese-
American 100th Infantry Battalion, which fought
heroically in the European theatre.
The travails of the Japanese-Americans were not
unique. Tribalism is a basic human instinct. We may
proclaim that all men are brothers, but we reflexively
distinguish degrees of closeness. Divisions of race,
language, culture and religion run deep in human
society and emerge under stress. The ascendancy of the
West in the past few centuries created tremendous
stress in non-Western communities, upsetting all
relationships and giving rise to a variety of responses,
all of which sought to reconcile each communityís
sense of self with the needs of a Western-defined
modernity. In Asia, for example, the re-emergence of
China and India on the global stage has been a
prolonged struggle of reconciling transformation with
tradition.
That is the broader historical context against
which the relationship between Muslims and non-
Muslims in the world must be viewed today. It is a
subject that concerns us all deeply in the United
Nations.
There are two evolving developments which feed
on each other. The first is change within Islam itself;
the other is the relationship between Muslims and non-
Muslims in different parts of the world. Both require
our close attention.
The response of the Islamic world to the
challenge of modernization will affect the development
of the entire world in this century. In some ways, it is
comparable to that of the Chinese response to
modernization, and it will probably take much longer.
The decline of the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth
century took place at about the same time as the
decline of the Qing Dynasty in China. Both collapsed
at the beginning of the twentieth century. After many
8

twists and turns, China has finally re-emerged onto the
global stage with a bright future ahead of it.
There are about as many Muslims in the world as
there are Chinese. In contrast to China, however, the
Islamic world is unlikely to re-coalesce in the
foreseeable future. Once Ataturk refused the caliphate
and with iron determination started reforming Turkish
institutions on the Western model, the Islamic world
lost its centre. From then on, different Islamic societies
experimented with different approaches and moved in
different directions. It has been a mixed story.
The different responses of Muslim societies to the
challenge of modernization are accompanied by a great
ideological debate among political and religious
leaders. Good governance has become a major issue,
with calls for greater transparency and more
democracy. In this debate, it is natural that some
groups should look back to a romanticized period when
the Islamic world was united and pristine and seek its
re-establishment in the twenty-first century. Such were
the ideas of the Muslim Brotherhood, which emanated
from Egypt at the beginning of the twentieth century.
The ideology of that movement continues to inspire
Islamic groups in various parts of the world today. If
only Muslims were to abide strictly by the teachings of
Islam, there would be no corruption, Governments
would be just and effective and Islamic societies would
become strong again.
In many Islamic countries at various times, these
groups have been suppressed for being subversive, and
those who funded them were thought to have ulterior
motives. This struggle for the soul of Islam is an
ongoing process. However, it is not a struggle unique
to Islam. For more than 200 years, Europe was
bloodied by religious wars, which ended only with the
Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, which created the system
of modern European States. But even then, there was
still religious persecution, which led many Europeans
to flee to the New World. In the twentieth century, the
soul of Europe was torn by communism, fascism and
anti-Semitism. It was precisely to overcome those
divisions that the European Union was established by
stages, creating the longest period of peace on that
continent.
How Islamic society evolves in the coming
decades is mainly for Muslims to decide. Generally
speaking, non-Muslims would have no standing to
participate in this debate but for two factors which
have become critical and which have strategic
importance for us all.
The first factor is the emergence of the ideology
of Al-Qaida and its sister organizations, such as Al-
Jamaía al-Islamiyah. This ideology is a malignant
mutation of the ideas associated with the Muslim
Brotherhood and other groups that argued for a return
of Islamic society to an idealized past. It takes those
ideas to an extreme and preaches hatred against non-
Muslims worldwide, justifying violence against
innocent bystanders even if they are Muslim. The
suicide bomber has become a potent weapon in its
armoury. The followers of this ideology will not
hesitate to use weapons of mass destruction if they can
get their hands on them. We have a duty in the United
Nations to join in the global war against them.
The second factor necessitating the involvement
of non-Muslims in the Islamic debate is the growing
Muslim diaspora in many non-Islamic countries. As
minority communities, Muslims living in countries like
France and Germany, for example, have to accept
certain limitations in the practice of their religion. With
growing religiosity in recent years, issues like the
wearing of the headscarf have surfaced. What
constitutes a reasonable compromise varies from
country to country. For example, Singapore allows
aspects of sharia law to apply to Muslims, including
Muslim men being allowed four wives, although only
under stringent conditions. It would be hard for non-
Muslims to accept this in Europe.
The fact is that while some human values are
universal - and we should find more of them - many
are not. We have to accept this diversity in the world.
A greater tolerance of diversity in the world would
create better conditions for peaceful cooperation
between Muslims and non-Muslims and would
influence the debate within Islam itself.
If non-Muslims tar all Muslims with the brush of
terrorism and non-Muslim majority communities treat
minority Muslim communities as problem
communities, the future will be troubled for all of us.
In such a climate, Muslim extremists will gain
ascendancy, and the terrorists will find fertile ground
for recruitment everywhere.
It is ridiculous to argue that terrorism is inherent
in Islam. To do so is to play into the hands of the
terrorists. That such views are increasingly being
expressed in reputable journals and newspapers is
9

troubling. Of course one could find blood-curdling
passages in the Koran and the Hadith, but these
passages must be read in context. We find similar
passages too in the Old Testament. As we would not,
therefore, argue that terrorism is inherent in Judaism
and Christianity, so we should not make Islam the
problem. That would be a big mistake. There were
periods in history when Islamic society was
considerably more advanced than Western society.
Equally, it would be a big mistake for Muslim
leaders to allow Muslim extremists to make claims on
behalf of Muslims worldwide without contest. This
causes non-Muslims to suspect that Muslims are
generally in sympathy with them. To be sure, there are
genuine grievances that have to be addressed, like
Palestine, Chechnya and the future of Iraq, but these
are issues that are more political than religious. The
strategy of the extremists is to polarize Muslims and
non-Muslims worldwide, thereby widening their base
of support. Muslim leaders have to counter this
strategy. It is also essential for them to reach out to
non-Muslim audiences as well. The recent bombings in
London led to a strong anti-Muslim backlash at the
grass roots that threatened the fabric of British society.
This in turn put pressure on Muslim leaders in the
United Kingdom to condemn the terrorists in clear
terms.
In the end, the fight against the terrorists has to
be won within Muslim communities themselves. It is a
battle for hearts and minds that requires Muslims to
work together with non-Muslims against a common
enemy.
We have to make a concerted effort to understand
each other better. With globalization, all societies have
become multiracial and multireligious to a greater or
lesser extent. The pluralism we hold as an ideal in the
United Nations is not a choice; it is a vital necessity.
In 1998, at its fifty-third session, the General
Assembly declared in resolution 53/22 that 2001 would
be the United Nations Year of Dialogue among
Civilizations. In 2001, at the fifty-sixth session, the
General Assembly adopted the Global Agenda for
Dialogue among Civilizations (resolution 56/6). And
this year the United Nations sponsored numerous
meetings on interfaith dialogue. A few months ago, the
first Asia-Middle East Dialogue was held in Singapore
to promote greater understanding between two
important regions of the world.
We need to translate our declarations of principle
into everyday language and into practice. Are there
limits to what politicians can say to win votes? Should
religious leaders be allowed to preach hatred, even in
close confines? What do we teach our children in
school? What does all this mean to the immigration
officer at the airport who does not know that
Mohammed is the most common name in the world?
Singapore, a cosmopolitan city-State with a
multiracial and multireligious population, is
particularly vulnerable. We have experienced ugly
racial and religious riots before and have learned that
racial and religious harmony should never be taken for
granted. It has been necessary for the Government to
involve itself in many aspects of ordinary life,
including discouraging Christian missionaries from
targeting Muslims for conversion, stopping mosques
from sharply turning up the volume of their
loudspeakers when calling the faithful to prayer,
limiting the size of joss sticks which Buddhists and
Taoists burn for their rituals and arresting those who
incite racial and religious hatred. What may appear to
be a small thing to one community can be a serious
provocation to another.
This has become the world we live in. We cannot
ignore the diversity around us in our everyday life or
the tribalism which is in our nature. We will continue
to disagree on many things such as the nature of
democracy, gender relationships, the death penalty,
stem-cell research and what we can or cannot eat. The
moment we dismiss those differences as unimportant,
or lightly condemn those who disagree with us, the
trouble begins.
Therefore, as we strive to achieve the Millennium
Goals in the United Nations - and they are worthy
Goals - a key task for us is to accept, even celebrate,
the differences that divide us in our daily lives. To
paraphrase Pope John-Paul II, it is only because we are
many that we are one, and the United Nations
expresses that ideal.


It gives me great pleasure to address this
forum and to share with the General Assembly my
Government’s views on issues of the highest relevance
to our Organization. But first of all, let me express our
solidarity and heartfelt condolences in connection with
the loss of life and the damage caused by Hurricane
Katrina in our host country — the United States of
America.
I wish to congratulate Mr. Jan Eliasson of
Sweden on his election to the post of President of the
General Assembly at its sixtieth session. I am sure that
under his able guidance we will make substantial
progress in implementing the decisions adopted just a
few days ago by the heads of State. At the same time,
7

let me congratulate Mr. Jean Ping of Gabon, President
of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session, for a
job well done. I would like also to commend Secretary-
General Kofi Annan for his skilful leadership of the
Organization in what has turned out to be a very
difficult year.
The High-level Meeting and the outcome
document reaffirmed our commitment to the core
values and principles of the United Nations Charter
and to effective multilateralism, and it identified areas
for future action. The summit has also provided us with
a unique opportunity to explore new ways to adapt the
United Nations to new realities.
The Organization was created 60 years ago.
However, the vision of its founders — to bring about a
more secure, democratic and developed world — needs
to be pursued more vigorously today. As a wise man
once said, we should be both speakers of words and
doers of deeds. I am happy that we all agree that we
need a reformed, more effective and more credible
United Nations.
The high-level segment made a fair assessment of
the progress achieved in the implementation of the
Millennium Declaration and of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), as well as of the
outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and
summits.
The assessment by the world leaders was both
realistic and upbeat. They boldly assessed the status of
current and longstanding problems — extreme poverty,
hunger, disease, the HIV pandemic, child mortality,
environmental degradation, lack of good governance,
disregard for human rights and the rule of law — and
showed strength and resolve in defining steps and
actions to be taken or reinforced in order to meet our
targets, and they were cautiously optimistic about the
deadlines to be met.
Today we live in a world in which our peoples,
nations and Governments depend on each other. We
must recognize that in this interdependent and
globalized world, all threats are threats to us all. No
one is immune to them, nor does any single State have
a cure.
But how should we proceed? I believe that many
of us share the view that, in fact, we already have a
multiplicity of documents and agreed positions, as well
as many political commitments and adopted
declarations. Much has been achieved by the United
Nations, and we are proud of that. My own country has
also benefited from United Nations efforts — the
United Nations engagement in the first-ever preventive
deployment mission. That was a good example of the
effectiveness of joint efforts and cooperation.
However, turning to the main questions, we have
found that we are still lagging behind on some of the
issues to which have so strongly committed ourselves.
One of the avenues for moving forward involves
implementation and visibility. These are not new
words. Many promising United Nations ideas and
projects have been sidelined due to inappropriate
follow-up and inadequate implementation measures, or
simply due to insufficient support and funding by the
Member States. We should avoid such pitfalls.
The sooner the effects of the implementation of
our decisions become visible, the greater international
public support will be, and the greater the chances of
creating a better world for us and for generations to
come. But we should not shy away from sharing that
responsibility with all those who can assist us, with
those who have the capacity to help promote and
implement our goals. There are many positive
examples in recent memory, beginning with the greater
involvement of regional organizations, the civil sector,
non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and
so on. Let us make greater use of them. We can only
benefit.
On this occasion, I will not dwell in detail on the
processes of United Nations reform and the
strengthening of the Organization. President
Crvenkovski elaborated Macedonia’s position on those
issues here last week.
Macedonia also aligns itself with the European
Union statement. Nevertheless, allow me to say a few
words on some current United Nations reform issues of
particular interest to us. Macedonia supports the view
that human rights, the rule of law and democracy
should be given a prominent place in the United
Nations reform proposals. Freedom from fear could be
said to sum up the whole philosophy of human rights,
as former Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld put it.
It has long been a strong position of my country
that respect for those principles, coupled with
development, is the best conflict-prevention measure
and a vital precondition for peace and prosperity. For
that reason, we see great merit in establishing a
8

peacebuilding commission. I trust that a balanced
gender representation on the commission will only lead
to its better functioning and give added value to
peacebuilding. Furthermore, the establishment of the
human rights council must be seen as a powerful tool
to regain the values and principles originally envisaged
by the creation of the United Nations.
We are very satisfied that the concept of
“responsibility to protect” has found its well-deserved
place for the first time in a United Nations document
and welcome its endorsement.
The democracy fund is a noble idea which
deserves our full creative engagement.
Terrorism has turned into the plague of modern
times. Since the last session of the General Assembly,
many atrocious terrorist attacks have taken place
throughout the world. Our firm commitment to fighting
terrorism should engender more joint activities and
actions. Our struggle must be based on full respect for
human rights because it is human rights that terrorists
are afraid of and seek to undermine. We need further
consolidation of the global anti-terrorist coalition and
strengthened cooperation with regional organizations.
The United Nations is at the core of activities in
the area of counter-terrorism. The Republic of
Macedonia supports the elaboration of the United
Nations comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy, as
outlined by the Secretary-General in Madrid. I would
like to appeal to the Member States to agree on the
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
This year, we took a significant step by adopting the
International Convention for the Suppression of Acts
of Nuclear Terrorism, which we signed on 16
September. The victims of recent acts of terrorism
painfully remind us to move forward.
From the very beginning, the Republic of
Macedonia has been a part of the international anti-
terrorist coalitions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Peace and
democracy-building in those two countries remain among
the key challenges to the international community and to
the Iraqis and Afghans themselves. I would like once
again to reiterate our support for their efforts to rebuild
their countries and to create better lives for their people.
Today, my country, Macedonia, is a functional,
multi-ethnic democracy. Over the past three years, we
have launched and carried out a large number of reform
projects. Our hard work has brought us closer to the
Euro-Atlantic structures. We have developed genuine
partnerships with the Union and the alliance. We
expect the European Commission to give a positive
evaluation of our achievements and Macedonia to be
granted the status of candidate at the December 2005
summit. I firmly believe that the time has come for our
European perspective to turn into a European reality. As
for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, we expect the
invitation to join at the next enlargement summit.
The Government has recently announced its
economic programme, primarily aimed at increasing
economic growth and reducing unemployment. At the
same time, it has intensified the development of a
climate favourable to foreign investment and safe
business conduct. As a critical complement to
economic reforms, Macedonia is also focused on
reform of the judiciary and the fight against organized
crime and corruption. We have set a goal to do better.
The reforms are not easy, but we are firm in our
resolve to implement them.
Regional cooperation has become a major
characteristic of the foreign policies of all countries in
South-East Europe. We have been patiently building a
new spirit of cooperation, while at the same time
learning the true meaning of developing relations based
on mutual trust and solidarity. That includes our
bilateral relations, as well as a large number of regional
initiatives. Recognizing that reality and the need to
cooperate and to build good-neighbourly relations and
mutual confidence was not an easy undertaking, but it
is the only way ahead. We take pride in seeing the
region move forward. The Republic of Macedonia will
continue even more vigorously to pursue such policy.
There is no alternative to dialogue and all outstanding
regional issues should be resolved in that manner.
In closing, I am confident that our deliberations
will contribute to better and faster follow-up of the
commitments agreed at the High-level Plenary
Meeting. I believe that we can soon come up with
implementation mechanisms that will give life to what
was conceived by our leaders. There were many
debates, some of them very contradictory, showing
how different we are. But diversity should not prevent
us from having a common vision and goals for a better
future. That is why we are here at the United Nations.


I would like to express
congratulations and support to the President of the
General Assembly for having chosen as the theme of
our debate, “For a stronger and more effective United
Nations: follow-up to and implementation of decisions
made in the High-level Plenary Meeting of September
2005”.
Ten years before the target date, we are still faced
with doubts and questions about the actual
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), particularly in Africa. There are two
interconnected elements at the heart of this matter:
States’ development policies; and the effective
fulfilment of the commitments entered into by the
international community. I have no intention of
evaluating national policies, but it is clear that the
achievement of the MDGs will require far-reaching
adjustments in our national policies and increased
efforts to reorganize and manage our budgets.
Furthermore, the emergence of a new African
leadership, which is bringing us together again in our
commitment to promoting development, democracy,
peace and political stability, is an opportunity for the
international community to provide more consistent
support for the achievement of the Millennium
Development Goals.
Unfortunately, despite a great deal of discussion
about the MDGs, we are still falling short with regard
to the commitments undertaken, to the clear distress of
the populations afflicted by pandemics such as malaria,
tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, which is spreading at an
alarming rate.
As the head of State of Cape Verde said when
addressing the Assembly during the High-level Plenary
Meeting last week (see A/60/PV.5), achieving the
Millennium Goals and building a freer world based on
higher levels of well-being, tolerance, peace and
security are within reach for humankind.
In order to achieve our goal, we need political
will, not just statements about political will or pious
expressions of hope for development. It is the
responsibility of the General Assembly at this session
to ensure that the summit outcome (resolution 60/1) is
effectively implemented. However, there can be no
doubt that the implementation of the outcome will be a
test of the policies that have been set out, as well as of
the negotiating skills of Member States, as we strive to
achieve a better balance on international relations,
further the democratization of international governance
and strengthen peace and security at the regional and
national levels. We must redouble our efforts this year.
In the context of the reforms proposed by the
Secretary-General, Cape Verde has been chosen to host
the joint office initiative, with the participation of
United Nations programmes and agencies in the field.
May I once again reiterate my Government’s support
for this initiative, while at the same time emphasizing
the absolute need for there to be adequate preparation
for this experiment, as well as internal adjustments
consistent with the option of joint representation. We
are convinced that the joint office initiative will make
it possible to concentrate resources more effectively on
priority challenges and the substantive aspects of
development.
On 5 July 2005, the Republic of Cape Verde
celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its independence;
these 30 years have been marked by considerable
sacrifice and effort in a country without natural
resources. Throughout this period, fortunately, all the
27

development indicators have shown upward movement.
Under a resolution adopted by the General Assembly in
December 2004, Cape Verde has made sufficient
progress to be no longer included in the list of least
developed countries. This “graduation” is an explicit
recognition of the work done by the people of Cape
Verde; and, undoubtedly, it is also the result of the
international aid provided by various partners.
Therefore, I should like to take this opportunity to
express to all of Cape Verde’s development partners,
both present and absent in this Hall, our profound
gratitude for the solidarity thus extended to us.
At the risk of repeating myself, I should like to
recall the following points. The “graduation” of Cape
Verde is a result of the fact that the country satisfied
two of the three established criteria. I am referring to
the per capita income per inhabitant and the human
development index. The failure to identify the third
criterion, that of economic vulnerability, which is by
far the most important one, illustrates the kind of
fragile situations that can be experienced by a small
island country that is permanently afflicted by drought
and external shocks, of which the increase in oil prices
is a very illustrative example.
For success to be meaningful over the medium
and long term, “graduation” should be accompanied by
the appropriate measures needed to ensure continuity
of the development process. It is of fundamental
importance to define the goals, their duration and the
practical modalities for this transition, and it should be
done as quickly as possible. What has been achieved
by Cape Verde, thanks to the judicious management of
foreign aid, cannot obscure major structural
vulnerabilities. Parenthetically, I would like to reiterate
once again an appeal to the international community to
give particular attention to the specific problems of
development in small island States.
We are convinced that, when Cape Verde leaves
the group of least developed countries in January 2008,
we will have agreed upon a common frame of
reference, together with our development partners, one
that is based on General Assembly resolution 59/209
and is in step with the spirit of smooth transition,
where emphasis will be placed on questions of trade,
financing for development, including modalities and
more effective and innovative instruments that fit the
needs for accelerated economic growth of a
“graduated” but vulnerable country.
We continue to be convinced that the
development target we share with our partners must not
lead to our being penalized for good governance and a
positive development dynamic. For our part, we will
continue to rely on the solidarity of our partners,
including the United Nations.
Regarding financing for development and the
urgent need to adjust the practices and instruments of
aid to the requirements of achieving the MDGs, I
should like to comment on the decision taken by the
Group of 8 to eliminate external debt. The Government
of Cape Verde is delighted at the Gleneagles decision
to forgive the external debt of 18 countries, mostly
African ones. This is a shot of oxygen for the
development process of the recipient countries.
That having been said, however, the Government
of Cape Verde believes that we will need to analyse the
problem further in order to ensure that solutions are
integrated effectively into the international agenda. On
the one hand, the situation of poor countries, which are
deeply indebted, requires an increase in solidarity. On
the other hand, we also believe that some gesture
should be made towards the medium-income countries,
particularly those that are bereft of natural resources
and only slightly indebted and who, at the same time,
honour their debt servicing in a structural framework
that is marked by budgetary constraints. Otherwise, the
message underlying the decision to pardon the debt
will be extremely ambiguous and could lend itself to
various interpretations.
I would like to end with what one normally starts
with, and that is by congratulating the President on his
election to lead the sixtieth session of the General
Assembly. My congratulations are equally extended to
Sweden, his country, which has always given
invaluable assistance promoting the self-determination
of peoples, world peace and development. I would also
like to express my gratitude to his predecessor,
Minister of State Jean Ping, for the competent and wise
discharge of his functions during a period of intense
and difficult negotiations.
May I finally address our gratitude,
encouragement and confidence to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Kofi Annan. His vision of the future of
the world and of the United Nations deserves to be
supported by us all, so that our Organization, which
belongs to all of us, can respond to the growing and
complex challenges of the current world.


At
this session we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the
establishment of the United Nations. We also begin,
actively and seriously, our effort to revitalize this
strong Organization, which humankind decided to
establish after it experienced two devastating wars
during the first half of the twentieth century. There is
no doubt that this session has been convened at a time
when international relations are undergoing major
changes and when hope is being tempered by threats
7

and challenges to the stability of the international
community and the peace and security of all our
peoples.
Recent international developments have proved
the increasing need to strengthen the capabilities of the
multilateral framework in addressing problems facing
our nations and peoples and in achieving the required
balance on four issues that we consider to be at the
core of our contemporary interests: development,
international peace and security, human rights and the
institutional reform of the Organization.
Addressing the issue of development at the
international level requires strong political will to
implement the commitments we have undertaken,
which we reaffirmed together in the outcome document
of the High-level Plenary Meeting (resolution 60/1),
primarily the implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals adopted at the Millennium
Summit, the revitalization of the international
partnership for development and the mobilization of
the financial resources it requires, and the fulfilment of
the commitment made by many developed countries to
reach the target of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic
product (GDP) in official development assistance by
2015. I would like to take this opportunity to express
Egypt’s appreciation to the countries that have
reaffirmed their commitment to fulfil their obligations
in that regard.
In attaining our common goals, it is therefore
imperative to use the consensus we reached at the
High-level Plenary Meeting as a platform to build
greater consensus towards achieving the development
priorities of developing countries, especially during the
upcoming Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organization, to be held in Hong Kong, and at other
international forums dealing with issues of importance
to the developing world, especially those of trade, debt
relief, investment and industrial modernization, as well
as other issues that can bring about the justice and
openness required in our international trading system
and provide developing countries with the
opportunities they need to raise the living standards of
their peoples.
In fulfilling our long-standing commitments to
achieve sustained economic growth and sustainable
development in Africa, Egypt wishes to call upon our
partners in developed countries to play a leading role
in support of the implementation of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). That
African-owned initiative constitutes an ambitious
partnership for sustainable development that can
ensure Africa’s integration into the world economy,
lead to the achievement of good national and
international governance and promote the contribution
of civil society and the private sector in the
achievement of our development goals.
Along with achieving economic security for all, it
is essential that we strive to achieve international peace
and security by practically and realistically addressing
the challenges and threats facing the international
community. Since terrorism is the most dangerous
menace of our times, Egypt actively contributed to
reaching consensus on the Summit Outcome
document’s condemnation of terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations, as it constitutes one of the most
serious threats to international peace and security.
Contrary to what some might have imagined, the
recent terrorist attacks that have struck many
countries — including Egypt — have now made it
clear that terrorism is a danger that does not distinguish
among peoples, cultures or religions; rather it is a non-
discriminating threat to human civilization. Those
attacks have also reminded us that counter-terrorism
efforts should not be limited to enhancing measures to
combat terrorism or to finding ways to improve their
implementation. Rather, they should include effectively
addressing the underlying causes of the phenomenon.
Accordingly, Egypt has put forth an initiative to
convene a high-level meeting of the General Assembly
to draft and adopt a comprehensive plan of action that
includes the necessary legal and practical measures to
deal effectively with terrorism — without affecting the
ability of peoples under occupation to gain their
independence in accordance with established
international law and norms — until it is completely
eradicated.
In conformity with that position, Egypt pledges to
exert extensive efforts with a view to concluding a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
Such a convention, along with the 12 existing
international counter-terrorism conventions, to which
the International Convention for the Suppression of
Acts of Nuclear Terrorism was added this year, could
constitute the most comprehensive legal framework
possible to tackle this phenomenon.
8

The issues of disarmament and the
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction relate
to another major threat requiring concerted
international action in the near future, specially as the
High-level Plenary Meeting could not reach agreement
on how to address those issues in a manner consistent
with their crucial importance and urgency to the safety
and security of the human race. Our common
endeavour should be based on restoring the balance
between nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and
the peaceful uses of nuclear energy: the three pillars of
progress in achieving our common objectives. The
point of departure for our undertaking can only be the
consensus reached at the 1995 Review Conference of
the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which constitutes an integral
part of the package that made possible the indefinite
extension of the NPT, along with the resolution on the
Middle East adopted at that Conference. Concerted
international efforts, in particular by nuclear-weapon
States, to achieve the universality of the NPT are
essential; otherwise, we risk having the Treaty lose its
credibility and relevance.
To that end, we require strong political will to
relaunch the United Nations disarmament machinery,
reinforce the mutual and balanced implementation of
commitments and obligations set forth in existing
treaties, achieve the universality of those treaties prior
to making any attempts to impose further obligations
on States parties and fully respect the commitments
entered into under those instruments. We also need
determination to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone
in the Middle East, in order to support efforts to reach
a just and comprehensive peace in the region.
The establishment of the Human Rights Council
must prove to be a landmark in the promotion of, and
respect for, principles and freedoms. Its mandate,
composition and methods of work must be formulated
in a democratic manner and be based on the principle
of equitable geographic distribution while also taking
into consideration each region’s specific cultural and
civilizational characteristics. The Human Rights
Council must also assist and encourage countries to
improve human rights and respect for the rule of law
on their territories. To that end, we must strengthen the
human rights machinery and the rule of law in a
manner that will enable us to redress existing
shortcomings — in particular, politicization, selectivity
and double standards — and as to promote coexistence
and dialogue among civilizations in contrast to the
division and differences that characterize our current
handling of these issues. In that connection, I agree
with the previous speaker, the Minister for Foreign
Affairs of Australia.
The Egyptian National Council on Human Rights
has been established in order to promote that effort. It
enjoys the institutional independence it needs to carry
out its tasks with due impartiality and objectivity. It
also has the capacity to promote respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to
participate in the formulation, prioritization and
implementation of national policies.
We must also launch a coordinated multilateral
effort to promote human rights and to address rights
violations by enhancing the capacity of States to
protect their populations against genocide, ethnic
cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Here, we must not capitalize on exceptional situations
as a pretext to interfere in the internal affairs of States.
In accordance with the Charter of the United Nations
and the relevant provisions of international law, we
must draw a line between the inability of a State to
protect its population against such crimes and its
unwillingness to do so.
Our common efforts to ensure larger freedom for
our peoples are closely linked to our resolve and ability
to settle current political issues, most notably in our
region, the Palestinian question. While we welcome the
Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip and a few
settlements in the northern part of the West Bank, we
also call upon the Israeli Government to continue
withdrawing its troops from all Palestinian territories
and to implement all of its commitments in that
respect, in accordance with the road map, which should
lead us to our common goal: the establishment of an
independent Palestinian State coexisting with Israel in
mutual peace and security. However, until we reach
that goal, Israel must cease settlement activities in the
West Bank, stop building its separation wall, improve
the humanitarian situation of the Palestinians in the
occupied territories and launch final-status negotiations
towards a comprehensive settlement. Israel must also
withdraw from the remaining Arab territories in Syria
and Lebanon occupied in 1967.
Furthermore, we cannot address respect for
human rights unless we address the human rights
situation in Iraq, particularly every Iraqi citizen’s right
9

to life. In that context, and despite the establishment of
the Interim Government and the drafting of a new
constitution, national reconciliation among the entire
brotherly Iraqi people is still needed. We urgently need
an increased understanding that violence and the
killing of innocent people will not lead to the desired
security and stability for Iraq.
Egypt will continue its support for the important
steps taken by the Sudan towards peace and stability, in
the context of maintaining that country’s sovereignty
and territorial integrity. Egypt will continue to support
the implementation of the Nairobi Comprehensive
Peace Agreement on southern Sudan and the Cairo
agreement complementing it. We will also participate
actively in peace negotiations on Darfur under the
auspices of the African Union and continue Egypt’s
support by contributing troops to the United Nations
Mission in the Sudan, as well as observers to the
African Union Mission in Darfur.
It is in that context that Egypt continues to place
the security and stability of Africa at the centre of its
regional and international policies. Egypt will therefore
continue to increase its efforts to resolve contemporary
African political problems. It has contributed, and will
continue to contribute, to all peacekeeping operations
in Africa, as well as to support all of Africa’s ongoing
efforts to implement an integrated approach to
development that covers all political, economic and
social dimensions. Egypt’s commitment to Africa is
based on an unwavering conviction of our common
destiny and on the need for continued cooperation.
Here, the African Union has a central role to play; it
must have the full support of the United Nations.
Because of the particular importance that Africa
attaches to the link between security and development
in addressing situations in countries emerging from
conflict, Egypt has supported the establishment of the
proposed Peacebuilding Commission. However, the
activities of the Commission must reflect a balance
among the various mandates of the principal organs of
the United Nations and the various steps taken in
tackling each issue. We also call for a leading in the
work of the Commission role for both the General
Assembly and the Economic and Social Council, along
with the Security Council. The Commission must
become neither a body to impose trusteeship on States
nor an instrument to bypass the will and the national
priorities of States. The Peacebuilding Commission
must always remain an effective advisory body
focusing on mobilizing assistance to post-conflict
countries on its agenda, in order to enable them to
attain their national aspirations to sustainable peace
and stability.
The United Nations will not be able to carry out
all those increasing and challenging tasks unless we
embark upon effective institutional reform that takes
into consideration the balance between the
Organization’s principal organs, that ensures the
implementation of the Organization’s tasks and that
enhances the credibility of the United Nations and
eliminates the causes of the criticism it has been
facing.
There is no doubt that among the most important
pillars of institutional reform is the revitalization of the
General Assembly and the strengthening of its role as
the chief deliberative, policymaking, implementing and
monitoring body of the United Nations. The Assembly
should cooperate with the Secretary-General within a
transparent framework and should provide him with the
authority he needs to carry out his tasks effectively
while ensuring that he remains committed to the tasks
mandated by the principal organs of the Organization.
We look forward to the proposals that the
Secretary-General is expected to present, including
those on improving auditing and oversight, which
should duly take into account the intergovernmental
nature of the existing budgetary and management
committees. We also look forward to undertaking,
through the General Assembly and other relevant
bodies, a one-time review of mandates older than five
years, while emphasizing the need to avoid a mere
regulatory approach to that issue and the imperative of
taking its political implications into consideration. We
must never neglect the international political balance,
or affect ongoing efforts to resolve contemporary
problems.
In that context, the reform and expansion of the
Security Council is becoming increasingly important,
particularly in the light of the Council’s role in the
maintenance of international peace and security. That
reform must ensure that the Security Council is more
representative of the general membership of the
Organization and more transparent in addressing the
issues on its agenda. In that regard, I wish to stress the
commitment of Egypt to the African Common Position
on this issue, as set out in the Ezulwini consensus and
the Sirte declaration, which aims at fulfilling the
10

legitimate aspirations of our continent for permanent
and balanced representation in an expanded Security
Council and at remedying the existing imbalance in the
representation of Africa in particular and of developing
countries in general.
The outcome document that we adopted at the
High-level Plenary Meeting marking the sixtieth
anniversary of the United Nations (resolution 60/1) is
solid proof of the vitality of the Organization and of a
genuine desire that its essential role continue. We look
forward to working together to move ahead and to
improve the capacity of the United Nations to fulfil our
common objectives on the basis of firm political will to
implement the commitments agreed upon in that
document. We must expand the agreement’s scope to
encompass all aspects of international action. That is
the only path available to us in order to attain our
peoples’ aspirations to peace, security and stability.