Let me first warmly
congratulate His Excellency Mr. Sam Kutesa on his
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-ninth session. My commendations go to His
Excellency Mr. John Ashe for his remarkable leadership
of the sixty-eighth session of the General Assembly.

Over the past few months, we have been reminded
of the challenges that we collectively face in the Middle
East, with the brutality of a terrorist organization that
has forced entire populations to flee and sent shock
waves around the globe, in Africa, with the spread
of the Ebola virus disease, and, in Europe, with the
continued aggression by the Russian Federation against
Ukraine. It was in order to deal with challenges such as
those that the United Nations was created. It is because
challenges such as those continue to exist that we need
strong international cooperation with a strong United
Nations at its core.

We welcome the fact that the international
community has come together to deal with the
challenge posed by the terrorist group that calls itself
the Islamic State and to take joint action to address the
threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters. Sweden is
part of that common effort. When the Iraqi Government
requested assistance in halting that terrorist group and
in providing relief for its victims, Sweden was one of
the countries that responded by offering additional
humanitarian support.

At the same time, we must remember that neither
here nor elsewhere in the region can crises be resolved
by humanitarian or military means alone. Political
engagement is, and will remain, indispensable.

We must support the new Iraqi Government, just
as we must pursue a political solution to the conflict in
Syria. We must do our utmost, on both sides, to reach an
agreement with Iran on its nuclear dossier. Furthermore,
we must seek a lifting of the closure regime on Gaza,
as well as a restart of negotiations between Israelis and
Palestinians, with the aim of ending the occupation
and, at last, achieving a viable two-State solution.

We welcome the readiness displayed this week here
at the United Nations to take strong collective action
in support of the countries affected by the devastating
Ebola outbreak in West Africa. Sweden, together
with others, has provided substantial support. We are
currently considering further steps to help those who
are affected.

For decades, Sweden has been a close partner to
Africa and will continue working with the growing,
democratic and economically successful Africa that
we see emerging, as well as with the parts of that
continent that are still struggling with poverty, conflict
and disease. True to that ambition, in the conviction
that security and development belong together, our
engagement in peacebuilding and our contribution to
the implementation of the New Deal for Engagement in
Fragile States with regard to Somalia and Liberia will
continue.

Russian acts of aggression and the illegal
annexation of Ukrainian territory constitute serious
breaches of international law and have created a
security crisis in Europe, entailing significant risks
to global stability. When a permanent member of the
Security Council, the body entrusted with the primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security, attacks a sovereign country without
any justification whatsoever, the world must react
resolutely. If aggression is tolerated, there is no telling
who the next victim will be. If we accept the changing
of borders by force, we also accept reopening the most
painful chapters of our history.

Defending the principles of international law,
including the inviolability of borders, must be a
responsibility and an interest of all States. The Security
Council should have formed the first line of defence
for those principles. Too many Governments around the
world have stayed silent when they should have spoken.

While a great deal has been accomplished since
the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), we cannot accept the fact that hundreds of
millions of people are still lagging behind — many
of them in conflict-affected and fragile States. It is
therefore important to accelerate efforts to address the
unfinished business of the MDGs.

The United Nations has successfully presided over
a post-2015 consultation process with a near-global
reach. All actors involved should be commended
for that. Sweden will now actively contribute to the
intergovernmental deliberations in 2015 on the new
universal development framework. With that in mind,
we look forward to the Secretary-General’s synthesis
report as a further guide for our work.

The world needs a transformative and universal
new framework for sustainable development. The
new goals will need to be accompanied by a strong
monitoring and accountability framework, allowing
us to measure progress and ensure accountability at
all levels, thereby ensuring that the global goals are
translated into actions that makes a real difference for
real people. To achieve the new goals, the agenda must
be accompanied by a broad international consensus on
financing for development and effective partnerships
for sustainable development. The United Nations, for
its part, must be fit for that purpose so as to take on the
post-2015 development challenges in an effective way.

The time leading up to the adoption of the post-2015
development agenda will be filled with challenging
negotiations. However, Sweden is confident that, one
year from now, we can arrive at a package that provides
a solid basis for a future that is more prosperous, more
gender-equal, more peaceful, more democratic, more
respectful of human rights and more sustainable for us
and our children.

Neither development nor peace is possible without
a strong focus on the role of women. By empowering
women, we simultaneously promote both peace and
development. Gender equality is not only just economics
but also smart economics. A fundamental step towards
gender equality is to ensure for women their sexual and
reproductive health and rights, including freedom from
violence. We have the normative frameworks in place,
including Security Council resolution 1325 (2000)
on women, peace and security. The time has come to
translate those norms into action.

One of the most serious global challenges is that
of climate change. The impact is hardest on the world’s
poorest and most vulnerable populations. Even if we
manage to limit the increase in temperature, the world
will experience significant adverse effects, especially
in low-lying vulnerable island States. Sweden has
successfully demonstrated that it is possible to separate
greenhouse gas emissions and economic growth. Since
1990, we have reduced our emissions by more than
20 per cent while experiencing economic growth of
60 per cent. For several years, Sweden has been a top
contributor to climate financing, not least through our
development cooperation, with a focus on adaptation in
the least developed and most vulnerable countries.

Together with Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, the
Republic of Korea, Norway and the United Kingdom,
Sweden initiated the Global Commission on the
Economy and Climate. The Commission’s recent report
brings good news. Its recommendations will bring net
economic benefits to countries at all income levels,
including new jobs, cleaner air, better health, lower
poverty and more energy security. The report, “Better
Growth, Better Climate”, points to a new and better
direction for our future.

In Paris in 2015, we will have a common
responsibility to reach a global and legally binding
agreement that keeps us below the 2°C target. We must
redouble our efforts to ensure that the Paris summit is
a success.

Throughout history, people have moved between
countries, regions and continents in pursuit of a better
life. Today, numerous crises and conflicts have forced
more people from their homes worldwide than at any
time since the Second World War. The responsibility
for giving shelter and protection is most often borne by
neighbouring countries. The international community
is called upon to increase its solidarity and to strengthen
international protection for those who need it. Sweden
is heeding that call through its refugee policy and its
tradition of being a place of refuge for people fleeing
persecution and oppression. Last year, Sweden was the
fifth largest donor to the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees. In recent years,

Sweden has been one of the top resettlement countries
in the world.

The debate on migration often revolves around
problems and challenges. The fact is that migration
offers huge opportunities and is a powerful enabler of
development. Migration contributes to development and
reduces poverty for migrant households. It also helps to
fill needs in the labour market and to encourage trade
and investment. Coordinated action and strong global
cooperation are needed to maximize the positive effects
of migration. Sweden is actively engaged in such global
efforts, including, recently, through our chairmanship
of the Global Forum on Migration and Development.

Sweden is currently the second largest recipient of
asylum-seekers in the European Union and by far the
largest on a per capita basis. The makeup of migration
flows to our country has varied over time, but those
who have come to our country have in common that
they have all enriched our society. They have further
opened our eyes to other peoples’ suffering and created
closeness to the outside world.

Sweden’s commitment to disbursing 1 per cent of
its gross national income in development assistance,
including our substantial contributions to the different
parts of the United Nations system, enjoys strong
popular support. The same goes for the public backing
of our participation in United Nations peacekeeping.
Some 80,000 Swedes have served in United Nations
peacekeeping missions over the years, with our
latest deployment being our contribution of forces
to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated
Stabilization Mission in Mali, which is currently under
way.

Sweden is a candidate for a seat on the Security
Council in 2017-2018, with the support of the Nordic
countries. We strongly believe that global challenges
require multilateral governance structures that are
effective and legitimate. A strong and well-functioning
United Nations is at the heart of that system. Continued
United Nations reform aimed at improving our ability to
promote peace and security, reduce poverty, contribute
to sustainable development, alleviate suffering and
increase respect for human rights is a work in progress,
to which we all must contribute. Sweden is prepared to
do its part.

I will make one final point. It is now 53 years
since Dag Hammarskjöld lost his life while on
mission in Africa. Sweden welcomes the report of the
Hammarskjöld Commission on the death of Secretary-
General Dag Hammarskjöld (A/68/800, annex) and
the request by the Secretary-General to the General
Assembly to consider it. We join the Secretary-General
in encouraging Member States to declassify any relevant
records that may bring new evidence with regard to the
crash of his plane. We welcome all that can be done to
achieve further clarification of that matter. Such actions
should be carried out with due regard for the integrity
of Dag Hammarskjöld and the other individuals who
were killed, their families and their memory.


What and where
is global power? I say that global power is here in this
Hall, and it is ours if our countries work as one. That is
the great promise of the General Assembly. The times
demand that we exercise that power now and to the full.

In my region, the challenges have grown significantly
since I spoke here last year (see A/68/PV.5). Those
who say “This is not our business” are wrong. The
security of every nation will be shaped by the fate of
the Middle East. Together, we can and must undertake
urgent humanitarian and security measures, create
durable solutions for today’s crises and provide new
opportunities for dialogue, reconciliation, prosperity
and peace.

The terrorists and criminals targeting Syria, Iraq
and other countries today are extreme reflections of
a global threat. Our international community needs a
collective strategy to contain and to defeat those groups.
My country is at the forefront of that effort. We are
leading a number of initiatives to counter extremism.
As the representative of the Asia-Pacific bloc on the
Security Council, we seek a strong outcome of the

Security Council summit on threats to international
peace and security caused by terrorist acts, to be
chaired by President Obama this afternoon.

Another critical global focus must be a decisive
affirmation of mutual respect within and among
religions and peoples. The teachings of true Islam
are clear: sectarian conflict and strife are utterly
condemned. Islam prohibits violence against Christians
and the other communities that make up each country.
Let me say once again that Arab Christians are an
integral part of my region’s past, present and future.
I call on Muslim and other leaders to work together
against falsehoods and divisive actions.

Jordan is honoured to have spearheaded global
interfaith and intrareligious initiatives. Building on
that, Jordan will introduce a draft resolution covering
the general proposal that a new international offence,
falling under the crimes of genocide and crimes against
humanity, be considered on the basis of the aberrant
new crimes against religious communities seen recently
in Syria and in Iraq.

Together, let us also address the conditions that
extremists exploit. Radicalization thrives on injustice,
insecurity and marginalization. The Assembly’s
transformative development agenda can give the
world’s people a better way forward through concrete
programmes and investments that will change lives.

We must also work actively for consensus-driven
political solutions to regional crises. The security
situation in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon must be addressed
comprehensively. Jordan supports a united and stable
Iraq with an inclusive national political process. In
Syria, there must be a political solution based on
reforms that give all communities a role in rebuilding
their country. International influence is vital to bring
the moderate opposition and the regime back to the
negotiating table immediately.

The heavy flow of Syrian refugees continues. My
country is sheltering nearly 1.4 million Syrians. We
are now host to the world’s third-largest number of
refugees, and that is placing an overwhelming burden
on Jordan’s people, infrastructure and already limited
resources. The refugee crisis is a recognized global
responsibility and demands a global solution. To date,
the response has not kept pace with the real needs.
There must be a concerted effort to get humanitarian
assistance flowing inside Syria and to support host
countries and communities, including Jordan.

We cannot address the future of my region without
addressing its central conflict: the denial of Palestinian
rights and statehood. This year, yet again, we have
seen a dangerous halt in the progress towards peace
and a Palestinian State. Instead, in Gaza, we have seen
another violent detour into conflict. How shall we heal
the families who have lost so much? How shall we offer
hope to young people whose futures are at risk? A first
imperative step is to mobilize international efforts to
rebuild Gaza. As we do so, we must also marshal the
united global response needed to achieve a once-and-
for-all lasting settlement. Such action can create the
environment necessary to relaunch the final status
negotiations on the basis of the Arab Peace Initiative.

That approach offers a clear path — the only
path — to a comprehensive settlement based on the
two-State solution, international legitimacy and the
terms of reference. For Israel, it offers security and
normal diplomatic and economic relations with Arab
and Muslim States and, for Palestinians, a viable and
independent sovereign State, within the 1967 lines,
with East Jerusalem as its capital. Unilateral actions
that seek to pre-empt negotiations must end. Jordan
strongly opposes threats to the Arab, Muslim and
Christian identity of Jerusalem. As the Hashemite
custodian of Jerusalem’s Muslim and Christian Holy
Sites, I will continue to oppose any violation of the
sanctity of the Al-Aqsa mosque.

The people of Palestine seek what all humans
seek. It is the common cause of the General Assembly:
justice, dignity, opportunity and hope. That is our
global responsibility. It is in our global power, and we
must make it our global reality. Jordan stands ready to
do its part.


I address
the General Assembly at a very special moment, not
only for the world but also for my country. I would
like to begin by reflecting on the words with which
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened this sixty-
ninth session of the General Assembly. He went over
many of the problems, tragedies and calamities that are
unsettling the world today, and I think, if I remember
correctly, that he literally confirmed that the turmoil,
as he defined it, that is upsetting the world today is
endangering multilateralism.

I sincerely believe that most of the problems that
the planet has today economically and financially, with
respect to terrorism and security, in terms of force and
territorial integrity, of war and peace, are the result
of the exact opposite: the absence of an effective,
practical and democratic multilateralism. That is why,
I would like to begin today in particular by thanking
and congratulating the General Assembly for adopting

resolution 68/304, on 9 September, by which it finally
decided by a wide majority of 124 votes to dedicate
itself to drafting a multilateral convention which will
be a regulatory legal framework for restructuring the
sovereign debts of all countries, a task that we needed
to take on.

I have been coming to the General Assembly since
2003, first as a Senator, and then, starting in 2007, as
President. We always came calling for reform of the
Security Council and of the International Monetary
Fund. Our point of departure was the experience we had
in my country, the Argentine Republic. Today, I would
go so far as to say in this international context that my
country, the Argentine Republic, is a triple leading
case in terms of economics and finance, terrorism and
security, and force and territorial integrity.

The first area is the economic and financial crisis
that spread throughout the world starting in 2008,
which persists to this day and which is beginning to
threaten emerging economies whose greater economic
growth we have supported over the past decade. The
2008 crisis was experienced by my country in 2001,
when the largest default on sovereign debt in living
memory occurred. At the time, the Argentine Republic
had accrued debt representing 160 per cent of the gross
domestic product, with the consent of multilateral
organizations, because when one is speaking about that
level of debt, the problem is not just that of the debtor,
but also of the creditors.

Starting with the dictatorship on 24 March 1976,
and through the neoliberal period, Argentina was a
favourite of the International Monetary Fund. In the
end, Argentina accumulated an unprecedented debt
that caused the country to implode, not just in economic
terms but also in political terms. We had five presidents
in a single week. At that point, nobody claimed
responsibility for what had taken place in Argentina.
Argentina had to resolve its problems as best it could,
and in 2003, a few months after taking office, a President
who had come to head the Government with only 22 per
cent of the vote came to speak at the General Assembly
(see A/58/PV.11) and maintained that it was necessary
to generate a model of development and growth for the
country so that the country could shoulder its debt.
He maintained, in a rather interesting metaphor, that
dead people do not pay their debts and that countries
have to live, develop and grow in order to meet their
obligations.

But he also said that the level of debt — 160 per cent
of the gross domestic product — was not our country’s
responsibility alone; that we as a country were accepting
responsibility for having adopted policies that had
been forced upon us; that while we were shouldering
our responsibility, we were also requesting and calling
for the multilateral organizations like the International
Monetary Fund and the creditors themselves, which
had lent money at usurious rates — at that time as high
as 14 per cent in United States dollars — which were
receiving payments in the Argentine Republic, to also
assume part of the responsibility for that indebtedness.

And with that man — who took over with 22 per
cent of the vote, with 25 per cent unemployment, a
54 per cent poverty rate and 27 per cent of extreme
poverty, without education, without health, without
social security, over time, with a model of development
and growth — we were able not only to create millions
of jobs, millions of people becoming integrated in
the social security system, including retirees and
pensioners, but also to invest 6 per cent of the gross
domestic product in education, and set aside enormous
amounts of money for the country’s infrastructure,
building roads, schools, nuclear plants, hydroelectric
plants, water, gas and electricity plants that now cover
the entire country, in an unprecedented programme of
social inclusion that has allowed to reduce poverty and
extreme poverty to single digits.

Today, the International Monetary Fund itself
recognizes that Argentina’s economic growth between
2004 and 2011 is the third-largest globally in terms of
quality of growth. Only Bulgaria and China are ahead
of us. In Latin America, we have the greatest quality of
growth and the best purchasing power for our workers
and salaried employees and the highest social security
deposits.

We have been able to achieve all of that while
also dealing with debt that others had generated. It is
worth repeating that our Governments were not the
ones that declared a default, nor were they the ones
that had assumed the debt; we were simply the ones
who shouldered the debt, as appropriate, and paid, from
2003 to today, more than $190 billion — I repeat, more
than $190 billion — by restructuring the defaulted debt
with 92.4 per cent of creditors through two debt swaps,
one carried out by President Kirchner in 2005 and the
other carried out by me in 2010.

What is certain is that we were successful. We
succeeded because 92.4 per cent of Argentina’s

creditors regularized their situation. We began to
make regular payments, and not only to them. We
also fully paid our debt to the International Monetary
Fund through so-called stand-by arrangements. We
were able to completely cancel our debt with the
International Monetary Fund. A few months ago, we
also concluded negotiations with the Paris Club on
a debt dating back to 1956. It was so long ago that I
was three years old when that debt was created and the
Minister of the Economy of my country, who discussed
the restructuring and renegotiation of the debt with
the Paris Club, was not even born. Yet we reached an
agreement with 19 European Union finance ministers
to finally restructure the debt. We are now paying the
first phase of $642 million.

This does not end there. We also regularized the
situation with the rulings of the International Centre
for Settlement of Investment Disputes at the World
Bank, which has begun hearings not for acts or actions
committed by our Government, but for the actions
of previous Governments that ended up in the World
Bank tribunal. We have also resolved that issue, just
as we arrived at an arrangement with Repsol when we
decided to regain control of our energy resources and
expropriated 51 per cent of the oil company’s shares. We
also restructured that debt and reached an agreement.

We have done all this with our own resources,
without access to capital markets because Argentina,
due to the default of 2001, was denied access to capital
markets. This represents a process of unprecedented
social inclusion. Why do I say “unprecedented”?
During the 1950s there were similar inclusion
processes in my country, but the difference is that we
initiated this process of inclusion after complete and
utter bankruptcy. At the peak of default, we were able
to overcome default, to include the people of Argentina
and to enjoy social growth with inclusion. And today
Argentina is extricating itself, and in addition we have
one of the lowest debt ratios in the world.

The other leading case to which I referred and now
wish to discuss is the emergence of the so-called vulture
funds. That is not a term used by any popular South
American leader or by any African ruler, although
African countries have also been major victims of
these vulture funds. One of the first global leaders to
mention them was the former English Prime Minister
Gordon Brown at the General Assembly in 2002. This
expression became the copyrighted shorthand for
something unworthy and immoral that kept countries
from addressing the genuine problems of education,
health and poverty. Today, with the support of the
judicial system of this country, Argentina is now being
assaulted by these vulture funds.

What are these vulture funds? They represent the
1 per cent of debt-holders that did not take part in the
2005 restructuring. They could not participate because
they had purchased bonds in 2008. As everyone knows,
these are specialized funds, as indicated by their
names, that purchased funds or shares of countries
that had defaulted on their debt or were about to do
so. Subsequently, they did not revert to the country in
question for the payment of that debt, but brought suits
in various jurisdictions in order to make exorbitant
profits. “Profits” is hardly the right word, because what
has been recognized in a judgment passed down here
in the jurisdiction of New York is that this 1 per cent
grew at a rate of 1,608 per cent in a five-year period.
Is there any business, undertaking or investor earning
1,600 per cent in just five years? That is why they are
called vulture funds. Today, they are obstructing the
recovery of that 92.4 per cent who trusted in Argentina.

I am therefore pleased that the Assembly has taken
the bull by the horns, and I hope that between this year
and next — before the General Assembly holds its new
session in 2015 — we will have arrived at a regulatory
framework to restructure sovereign debts. The point
is to engage in an exercise in active and constructive
multilateralism so that no other country will have to
experience what Argentina — a country that has the
ability and willingness to pay its debts despite the
harassment of these vulture funds — has been through.

These vulture funds also threaten and hold the
economy of our country hostage by provoking rumours,
slander and libel from the personal to the economic and
financial, so that they sometimes act as a destabilizing
factor in the economy. Those who set bombs are not the
only terrorists; those who destabilize the economy of a
country and create poverty, misery and hunger through
the sin of speculation are economic terrorists. That is
what we want to spell out. That is why we strongly
advocate the establishment of a multilateral convention
soon and expeditiously, not just for Argentina, but
for the rest of the world. We believe that a financial
and economic balance that addresses the social and
economic disparities among countries and within
societies will also be a great antidote to those who
recruit young people who have no hope in the future
and enrol them in crazy crusades. We must all lament

that. We can see only the surface of the phenomenon; we
also have to delve deeply into the causes that mobilize
people.

We also talked about my country as a triple leading
case on terrorism and security. My country is the only
country of the Americas other than the United States of
America that was the target of terrorist attacks: one in
1992 when the embassy of Israel was blown up, and the
second in 1994 when the headquarters of the Asociación
Mutual Israelita Argentina (AMIA) was bombed. This
year marks the twentieth anniversary of the bombing
of AMIA. I dare say before this Assembly — in the
presence of some of the family members of the victims
who have always been with us — that the Government
headed by President Kirchner did the utmost and went
the greatest lengths to uncover the real culprits, not
only because it opened all my country’s intelligence
files and created a special prosecutor investigation unit,
but also because, when in 2006 the justice system of
my country accused Iranian citizens of involvement in
the bombing of AMIA, I myself was the only President
who dared to propose asking the Islamic Republic of
Iran to cooperate with and assist in the investigation.
That request was made intermittently from 2007 to
2011, until the Islamic Republic of Iran finally agreed
to a bilateral meeting, allowing it to be included in
the agenda. That meeting led to the signing by both
countries of a memorandum of understanding on
legal cooperation that allowed for the Iranian citizens
who had been accused, and who live in Tehran, to be
deposed before the judge.

But what happened when we signed that
memorandum? It seemed as if all hell had broken
out, both nationally and internationally. The Jewish
associations that had sought our support for so many
years and that had come here with us to ask for help
turned against us, and when an agreement was finally
reached on legal cooperation they accused us of
complicity with the State of Iran.

The same thing happened here in the United States.
When the vulture funds lobbied before the United
States Congress, they accused us of collaborating
with the Islamic Republic of Iran, which at the time
was known as the Terrorist State of Iran. They even
lobbied on their websites, posting pictures of me on the
Internet with former President Ahmadinejad as if we
were business partners. Just this week, we learned that
the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel, in this city, was the
setting for a meeting between the Secretary of State of
this country and his Iranian counterpart.

We are not criticizing them. Quite the contrary,
anything that represents dialogue and understanding
seems very good to us. But we wish to ask those who
have been accusing Iran of being a terrorist State — and
I am not speaking here of the last century, but of last
year — what they would say today about the members
of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS),
many of whom not so long ago were called freedom
fighters when they were fighting in Syria against the
Government of Bashar Al-Assad. And this is where
I believe we have another problem with respect to
security and terrorism. The major Powers too often and
too easily seesaw from the concept of friend to enemy,
and terrorist to non-terrorist. We need to agree once and
for all not to use international politics or geopolitical
positions to determine positions of power. I say that as
a militant opponent of international terrorism.

By the way, just to add a touch of color, ISIS has
apparently issued a threat against me that is under legal
investigation in my country. The threat apparently has
two justifications: first, because of my close relationship
with His Holiness Pope Francis, and secondly, because
I recognize the need for two States, Israel and Palestine.
While I am at it, let me reiterate my call on the Assembly
to recognize Palestine once and for all as a State with
full membership in this body. We have to begin to undo
some of the Gordian knots — because there is not just
one Gordian knot but several — regarding the situation
in the Middle East, which involves recognizing the
State of Palestine, Israel’s right to live securely within
its borders, and Palestine’s right not to be subjected to
the kind of disproportionate use of force that led to the
deaths of hundreds of women and children, which we
condemn just as we also condemn those who attack
Israel with missiles.

In a time of economic vultures and hawks of war,
we need more doves of peace to build a safer world. We
need more respect for international law and more equal
treatment of those seated in this Hall. Just this morning,
I overheard one leader refer to the use of force to attack
the territorial integrity of a country.

Here too, the Republic of Argentina is a leading
case. For more than 100 years, we have had a claim
against the United Kingdom on a matter of sovereignty.
We once again ask the Assembly to call on the United
Kingdom to sit down with Argentina to discuss the

matter of the sovereignty of the Malvinas. No one
cares and there is not a single veto from the Security
Council, because Argentina is not a member of the
Security Council and is not even among the countries
that decide what happens in the world. So long as
that continues, and so long as the votes of the five
permanent members of the Security Council are worth
more than the votes of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya,
Egypt, Uganda, Argentina, Bahrain or the United Arab
Emirates, nothing will be resolved. We will just have
the same speeches we hear every year without arriving
at a resolution.

The Assembly must fight to take back the
powers it delegated to the Council, since —almost
paradoxically — the Assembly has to ask the Council
for permission on its decisions or on whether to admit
a member. We need to reassert that the Assembly is a
sovereign body of the United Nations, and that each of
us is worth one vote in a true global democracy. Not
everything will be resolved when that global democracy
is respected to the letter, but I do believe it will mark
the beginning of a solution. I am neither a pessimist
nor an optimist; I consider myself to be a realist. In any
event, the child of pessimism and optimism is always
optimism, but with realism. Optimism without realism
is either ingenuity or cynicism. I do not wish to appear
ingenuous or cynical before this audience.

I want to convey what we really think in my country.
We have long demanded reform of the Security Council
and of the International Monetary Fund. In 2003,
reform the International Monetary Fund seemed almost
inevitable; today, hardly anyone remembers the idea of
reforming the International Monetary Fund, because
it no longer plays a central role in decisions. Even the
International Monetary Fund itself and both its current
head and former leaders, including Anne Krueger, are
also calling for reforms with respect to the restructuring
of sovereign debts. So long as there is no international
treaty approved by this Assembly, no matter how many
clauses are imposed by the restructuring, there will
always be a Judge Griesa somewhere in the world who
says that they are meaningless, and who will end up
applying usurious taxes to bleed some poor country to
death. That is what is happening, because it seems to
me that they are trying to overturn the restructuring of
sovereign debt for which the Argentine people worked
so hard.

Before coming here I was in Rome, meeting with
a fellow countryman who today occupies a strong,
exemplary religious and moral leadership. I would like
to offer a message of peace and of peacebuilding. If
we truly wish to fight terrorism, then let us work for
peace. We cannot fight the terrorists by beating the
drums of war. Quite the contrary, that is exactly what
they want — a symmetrical reaction so that the wheel
again begins to turn and a price is paid in blood.

That is why I think it is important for us to think
deeply about those issues. Above all, I want to bring
to the table the certainty that if the United Nations
recovers its leadership, if the Assembly resumes its
mandate, when too many countries fail to comply with
international law, even though they require others to do
so, then I am certain that we will have made a major
contribution to peacebuilding and the fight against
terrorism from which no one would have been left out.
But we have to leave to our children a much better
world than the one we have today.

Finally, I wish to recall that a year ago the problems
were different. A year ago, we were discussing other
problems, other threats to security. Times have
changed. The wrongdoers of yesterday do not seem so
bad today. Those who should have been invaded and
crushed a year ago, today seem to be cooperating to
fight the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS).
First, it was Al-Qaida, and, I wonder, where did
Al-Qaida and the Taliban spring from? Where do they
get their weapons and resources? My country does not
produce weapons. Who sells arms to those groups?
Then there was the Arab Spring, which ended up by
being not so much a spring as a fall and even a winter.
Those involved went from being freedom-fighters to
being persecuted or imprisoned. Now there is ISIS, a
new terrorist organization that carries out beheadings
on television on a carefully set stage. What is causing
all this, I wonder? Where is this coming from? I have
become really distrustful of everything after seeing
what is happening in the world today — real-life scenes
that make fictional series look trivial.

It is therefore worth asking ourselves why it is that
we are facing ever-greater problems — problems that
caused the Pope to comment that there is practically a
third world war. That is true. It is a world war but not
along the lines of the more conventional wars of the
twentieth century. There are hotspots where the only
victims are civilian populations. That is why, a few
minutes from now in the Security Council, of which
Argentina is a non-permanent member, we wish to raise
some of those issues. We have no certainties, no absolute

truths, but we have many questions. We want to put
them to those who possess a lot more information than
we do, far more data and far more extensive networks of
information than my country has. Heaven forbid that,
with all those data, they have a wealth of information
but can understand little of what is happening. For they
have to be able to comprehend what is happening if they
are to come up with a definitive solution.

I deeply appreciate once again the political will of
the 124 countries that supported resolution 68/304. As
everyone knows, there was pressure to keep us from
getting that number of supporters or having a vote,
but I think that the exercise of practical, effective and
democratic multilateralism that the adoption of the
resolution represents demonstrates that all is not lost.
On the contrary, it is in the hands of each and every one
of us, each of our countries, to find real and effective
solutions to the problems the world has today.


It is a great pleasure for me to
address the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.
First, allow me to congratulate the President of the
Assembly on his election to that post and to assure him
of the full support of my country during this session.
I believe that, under his leadership and given his prior
experience, he will further advance the achievements of
his predecessor, who worked with dedication to achieve
concrete results.

In addition, I would like to take this opportunity to
express our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General
for his vision and leadership at the helm of the United
Nations and his continuing efforts to revitalize and
reform the Organization.

Albania is committed to an efficient and
coherent United Nations, fit for its purpose as a
multidimensional system. We support its strengthened
role and contribution to efforts to preserve peace and
security, eradicate poverty, inequality and disparity,
achieve sustainable human and economic development,
and promote respect for and protect human rights as a
universal value of humankind. A more fitting United
Nations, with the ability to swiftly respond to man-
made or natural crises and effectively use available
human and financial resources, is key to achieving
those objectives in view of an increasingly chaotic and
hungry world.

Maintaining, restoring and strengthening peace
and security constitute one of the three pillars of the
work of the United Nations. With so many resources
and so much knowledge and manpower invested in
dealing with the various and complex crises around the
globe, it is simply impossible to ignore the contribution
the Organization has made to the world, year upon
year, decade upon decade. Yet in 2014 the challenges
to peace, security and human values have continued,
necessitating more responsive, coordinated and swift
reactions on the part of the United Nations.

We deplore the events in South Sudan, where
tragedies have been played out and continue to shake
human consciences. Fighting along ethnic lines
has brought far too much suffering to the innocent
population. Only a negotiated political solution that
considers, protects and respects the rights of all the
communities concerned can help rebuild trust and
understanding, turning the page on a better future for
the youngest country in the world.

It is hard to find the words to describe the situation
in Syria. After more than three years of deadly fighting,
the country is barely liveable. Every kind of horrible
act has happened there. More than 170,000 people
have died, millions are refugees, and large parts of the
country are in ruins. With fighting and mass atrocities
being committed every day, any hope of ending the war
is a remote dream for those still trapped there. Albania
joined the initiative taken by some 60 States Members
of the United Nations to refer the situation in Syria to
the International Criminal Court. Unfortunately, like
many other initiatives on Syria, the effort was vetoed
in the Security Council. We reiterate and reaffirm that
the perpetrators of atrocities in Syria must be held
accountable and that the people of Syria deserve relief
and justice.

The events this year in Ukraine have been deeply
worrying. What we thought was behind us once and
for all, what we believed belonged to the history books
and would serve as a lesson for today’s generation and
those of the future — acts violating the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of another country, blatantly
infringing and undermining the Charter of the United
Nations — was unfortunately exhumed by a Member
of the United Nations, a permanent member of the
Security Council, the Russian Federation.

Despite all the propaganda that Russia spewed
forth, the Ukrainian crisis had nothing to do with
protecting the rights of ethnic Russians. It was much
simpler — from the first, it was about the ambition of a
more powerful country to redraw another’s borders in
order to satisfy its appetite for its neighbour’s territory.
Although the Security Council has been unable to act on
this issue, the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly
not to accept Russia’s illegal annexation of Crimea.
The States Members of the United Nations, including
Albania, made clear their support for the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine and their full
respect for the norms and principles of international
law, and we reiterate that international relations must be
governed by full respect for the principles and norms of
international law and the Charter. The case of Ukraine
is no exception.

With these crises and disasters erupting in a
frightening pattern and the world spiraling into
insecurity, development has also been under stress.
The United Nations has contributed to raising global
awareness of the challenges facing development and the
sustainable solutions that can bring economic growth,
social inclusion and environmental protection and put
our planet on a sustainable path.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
created one of the most successful global anti-poverty
drives in history. Covering poverty, hunger, maternal
and child health, gender equality, education and the
environment, the MDGs have seen important progress
at the national, regional and global levels and have
improved the lives of millions. The number of people
living in extreme poverty has been halved since 2005,

but with the deadline just months away, a lot remains
to be done.

But another ambitious long-term sustainability
agenda, designed to succeed the MDGs, is in the
making. Albania has been an active participant in
the global consultations focused on making the
people’s voices part of the formulation of the post-
2015 development agenda. Albania has agreed to test a
proposed development goal on governance and the rule
of law designed to help countries achieve sustainable
development. We hope our experience in monitoring
governance, the rule of law and effective, capable
institutions will help to inform the upcoming post-2015
agenda of the United Nations.

Terrorism remains a major threat to international
peace and security, and the fight against terrorism is
a priority that requires a greater commitment. We are
aware that this global threat can be countered only with
collective action and a powerful response. Albania
condemns in the strongest terms all terrorist attacks
by terrorist groups and organizations in Iraq and Syria,
including and especially by the Islamic State in Iraq and
the Levant (ISIL). Conscious that terrorism is a threat
without borders, a threat to human values and principles
as well as to individual countries and regions, Albania
has joined the recently created international coalition
aimed at deterring and eventually defeating ISIL.

European integration and cooperation in our
region, and the geopolitical and security situation in
Europe, have changed significantly in recent months.
The Western Balkans, of which my country is part, is
an important geo-strategic European region and one
that recently committed fully to a path of increased
political stability, economic progress and sustainable
development, with strengthened cooperation, security
characterized by good relations with its neighbours,
and peace consolidation. The European route is the best
guarantee for achieving these objectives in our region.

We are committed to resolving various bilateral
issues as soon as possible, in the interests of our people
and our neighbourly relations. We are fully aware
that we must enact a number of measures to eradicate
corruption and organized crime. Like every country
in the region, we have expressed our willingness
to conduct joint reforms that will bring increased
economic stability and prosperity for our citizens and
that will open markets and attract foreign investment.

The Republic of Kosovo is one of the members of
our Western Balkan community, the youngest State
in the region. In less than six years as an independent
State, Kosovo has managed, through a transformative
development agenda, to enjoy wide, uninterrupted
international recognition and to successfully integrate
into international, regional and global organizations,
such as the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development, the European Bank for Development,
the Venice Commission, the South-East European
Cooperation Process and others. Kosovo has become an
important factor for peace and stability in the region,
and Albania fully supports its overall development, as
well as its stability and territorial integrity within its
current borders.

Kosovo’s progress, the new atmosphere in the
region, and the need for the region as a whole to move
towards more cooperation and prosperity have led
down the path to successful European Union-sponsored
talks between Kosovo and Serbia as two equal partners
in seeking concrete solutions to technical issues of
importance to their citizens. Time has shown that
engaging in dialogue was a wise decision. Dialogue has
produced concrete results, brought the two countries
closer to each other, and facilitated and sped up the
European Union integration path for both States.
Albania fully supports the process of dialogue and calls
for the full implementation of the agreements reached.

To date, Kosovo has been recognized by 108 States
Members of the United Nations, representing more than
half of the United Nations membership. Recognition
has without doubt been an important factor in Kosovo’s
progress. That is why, as before, we call on the countries
that have not yet recognized Kosovo to do so, since in
so doing they would not only help the people of Kosovo
advance towards their future but also contribute to
peace and stability in the region.

We remain convinced that the quick and full
implementation of the Ohrid Framework Agreement
represents a condition indispensable to the sustainable
stability of Macedonia, to the consolidation of
democracy and the rule of law, and to fulfilling and
realizing the rights of Albanians. Albania encourages
the continuation of dialogue between the Belgrade
authorities and the Albanians of the Presheva valley to

promote their rights in accordance with international
standards, focusing especially on solving economic,
social, educational and cultural problems.

During the past two decades, Albania has been
transformed from a totalitarian State into a functioning
democracy. Progress is evident, above all, in the field
of human rights. The protection and promotion of
human rights are one of the national priorities and
part of Albania’s foreign policy. Albania offers a
valuable model of respect for diversity, tolerance and
coexistence for the Balkan region and beyond. For the
Albanian people, tolerance and hospitality are inherent
values derived from our national tradition.

The presentation of Albania’s candidacy for
membership on the Human Rights Council for the
2015-2017 term is only a logical consequence of
our road towards building a society based on human
rights. We are confident that Albania has accumulated
valuable experience in democracy over the years that
it can share with other member countries of the United
Nations. Moreover, by reaffirming the universality,
indivisibility and interdependence of human rights,
Albania is committed to bringing a national and
regional perspective into the Council’s deliberations
and advocacy of human rights worldwide.

We are aware that our membership in the Council
for the 2015-2017 term is a challenge bearing great
responsibility to justify the confidence of Member
States. On the other hand, Human Rights Council
membership would serve as an impetus for my country
to further democratization and to raise human rights
standards. Therefore, Albania, after obtaining the
endorsement of the group of Eastern European States,
would welcome and appreciate the support of all other
Member States for its candidacy to the Council.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate Albania’s
determination to continue its support of the United
Nations agenda and strengthening the role of the United
Nations globally.


It is a great honour for
me to address the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session on behalf of His Majesty King Mswati III,
Head of State of the Kingdom of eSwatini. I convey
the congratulations and best wishes of His Majesty the
King and the people of the Kingdom of eSwatini to the
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session, a son of Africa. We commend the Secretary-
General and his staff for the good work they are doing
in creating an enabling environment for all humankind
to live in peace despite the multiple challenges facing
the world.

As we gather here, we are very mindful of the
new challenge that confronts the global community
following the outbreak of Ebola in some parts of the
African continent. That disease is claiming hundreds of
lives and diverting focus and resources from essential
development initiatives. It is also a serious drawback
to the attainment of the Millennium Development
Goals and is a threat to humankind. We urge the United
Nations and its Members to spare no effort in providing
all the necessary assistance at its disposal to curb the
disease and prevent any further loss of life.

My delegation takes this opportunity to thank the
General Assembly for convening the high-level plenary
meeting known as the World Conference on Indigenous
Peoples. It was particularly opportune, as indigenous
knowledge and practices substantially contribute to the
sustainable development agenda.

Last week the General Assembly held its twenty-
ninth special session, on follow-up to the Programme
of Action of the International Conference on Population
and Development beyond 2014. My delegation was
pleased to participate in that event. We reaffirm the
Kingdom’s commitment to the Programme of Action,
which is as relevant today as it was twenty years ago.

This year the regular session of the General
Assembly was preceded by the Climate Summit, at
which Heads of State and Government deliberated on
issues of environmental protection. Those issues are
critical to the achievement of sustainable development,
particularly for the developing countries. We are
pleased that the Summit was able to mobilize sufficient
political support for guiding the Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, to be held in Lima in December.
The issue of climate change is crucial for many of our
developing economies, especially on the continent of
Africa. It has a direct effect on our national objective to
produce enough food for ourselves. The unpredictable
weather conditions continue to be of great concern to
our farmers. We shall continue to call upon the United
Nations to expedite the issue to prevent further adverse
effects on our lives.

The theme of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session is “Delivering on and implementing
a transformative post-2015 development agenda”. It
resonates well with our call for a development agenda
that is inclusive. It is a clear indication that we are
transcending the era of the Millennium Development
Goals, entering a new chapter of the development
agenda. As we set the stage for the post-2015
development agenda, my delegation is heartened to see
that we have not forgotten our collective inability to
meet all the Millennium Development Goals.

I commend the co-Chairs of the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals for the
manner in which they ably guided the proceedings of
the Group. We welcome the outcome document of the
Open Working Group on Sustainable Development
Goals (A/68/970) and the goals and targets contained
therein. The Kingdom of eSwatini is pleased that the
framework for the post-2015 development agenda has
taken into account those Millennium Development
Goals that have not yet been met, especially the
eradication of poverty. As we begin a new era, let
us not forget our previous commitments, and let us
continue to emphasize the urgency for the developed
partners to honour their official development assistance
commitments.

Food security remains a critical challenge for the
African continent, and we wish to reiterate our call
for the provision of adequate financial resources, the
transfer of environmentally sound technologies and
technical assistance to developing countries if we are
to achieve our development goals. We have abundant
resources on the continent. However, there is a great
need for value addition to our products in order to
maximize our food-production initiatives.

The Kingdom of eSwatini continues to set aside
a sizeable budget for agriculture. Due to the negative
effects of climate change, we have a programme to
construct dams for irrigation throughout the Kingdom.
Assistance to subsistence farmers with farming inputs
has also been increased with the intention of increasing
their yields and thus increasing food production in the
Kingdom.

The Kingdom of eSwatini fully supports the
African Union’s road map for development, Agenda
2063, which is critical to attaining the Millennium
Development Goals. We are confident that, with United
Nations support, that approach will accelerate Africa’s
regional economic integration agenda and help realize
it, facilitate integration in the world economy and
ultimately improve the continent’s living standards.

Africa is home to the majority of the world’s fastest-
growing economies, and trade remains an integral
part of the development agenda. Focus is now on

sustaining that growth through boosting intra-African
trade and establishing the continental free trade area.
It is important, however, that access to the global
markets remain open to mutually beneficial conditions
that promote the United Nations ideals of increased
international cooperation and trade.

We are encouraged by the renewed commitment for
the economic development of the African continent as
resolved in different summits. The continent abounds
with investment opportunities in different sectors,
such as infrastructure, information, communication,
technology and energy, to name but a few. That will,
no doubt, have a huge impact on the sustainable
development programmes for the continent. It will also
contribute handsomely to job creation, particularly for
the youth.

We should ensure that the post-2015 agenda is
cognizant of the special development needs of developing
countries, particularly those in Africa. We also give
particular recognition to those developing countries
that have special challenges due to their geographical
position, such as small island developing States and
landlocked developing countries. My delegation hopes
that the agenda will also take into consideration the
special plight of middle-income countries, where the
majority of the world’s poor reside.

The Government of the Kingdom of eSwatini is
pleased to note that the Republic of China on Taiwan
continues to contribute to global issues, and the
positive developments taking place in that region are
encouraging. We encourage their full participation in
all United Nations structures.

As we meet here, in some parts of the world people
are living in fear as every day thousands of human
beings, especially vulnerable groups, are losing their
lives to terrorists. We encourage the United Nations to
take a leading role in promoting peace and coexistence
in the world. We call on all those who are fighting
to find a lasting, peaceful solution to their problems
through dialogue and not through the barrel of a gun.

In conclusion, the Kingdom of eSwatini would like
to commend the United Nations and related agencies
for being a key factor in helping to overcome the
many complex challenges facing the world today. We
reiterate our call for peaceful solutions and dialogue
in all conflict situations so that the United Nations
may achieve its noble objectives. We take pride in and
reaffirm our commitment to the principles and ideals
contained in the Charter of the United Nations. May the
Almighty God bless us all.


At the
outset, I would like to extend my warm congratulations
to Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, representative of the
friendly nation of Uganda, on his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. I would also like to express my thanks and
appreciation to Mr. John Ashe and his team, as well as
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

In this world, where a surfeit of bad news
overshadows the good work of creativity, reform
and recovery, we continue our peaceful transition to
democracy. We have managed to eliminate a dictatorial
regime at the least possible human cost. We have begun
a difficult transitional stage with a comprehensive
national dialogue, and we have written a consensual
constitution and built democratic State institutions.
We are now preparing for legislative and presidential
elections to be held before the end of the year in order
to transform Tunisia into a stable, democratic, forward-
looking State. Internal and external forces continue to
undermine our democratic, peaceful transition through
terrorist acts and political assassinations. However, our
people are resolved to pursue their efforts to achieve
success, despite the aggression of diabolical forces.

Tunisia today is a test for a peaceful democratic
transition in an Arab country that lived for too long under
despotism. We are attempting to reconcile democracy
and political Islam. We are pursuing an ongoing national
dialogue. We are distributing authority between secular
modernists and Islamists. We are using moderation to
grapple with the counter-revolution and to eliminate
the residues of despotism through a just transition. We
are also testing new socioeconomic approaches. We are
promoting comprehensive development initiatives that
will combat poverty and that will be in harmony with
the environment. We have a broader social vision in line
with the policies and vision of the United Nations with
regard to addressing global warming, climate change
and the post-2015 sustainable development agenda, as
well as the Secretary-General’s Global Education First
Initiative. We are also committed to our own policies
that aim to achieve world peace, especially within the
Arab world to which we belong, and on the African
continent, where we seek to definitively overcome the
past and look to the future.

Tunisia’s development process is unfolding in the
heart of a region that is currently witnessing political
upheavals that, in some cases, have had painful
consequences for us too. Transnational radical armed
groups have since the beginning of the revolution been
targeting us and have killed many of our soldiers and
security personnel, hindering our security apparatus
in an attempt to abort the drive for democracy and
to impose alternatives rejected by the majority of our
people.

The volatile situation in Libya is cause for concern
because the stability of that sister neighbouring
country affects our own stability. We hope that the
Libyans will, through national dialogue, achieve an
advanced, democratic stable State without outside
military intervention, which would only add insult
to injury. We encourage the wise men of Libya, both
within and outside that country, to preserve broad
national consensus and the security, unity, stability and
prosperity of their country through a peaceful, political
solution. We hope from the bottom of our hearts that
our brothers will manage to achieve that.

We are concerned by the spread of violence
on the eastern front of the Arab world, which has
reached unprecedented levels of brutality, including
decapitation, the chopping off of hands and the
execution of prisoners. We are appalled by such
violence and attacks on our Christian brothers and
other religious minorities, who form an integral part
of our Arab and Islamic heritage and culture. We are
ashamed of such practices in the name of our Allah,
who defines himself as the compassionate and the
merciful. According to the Koran, whoever kills an
innocent soul kills all humankind, and whoever gives a
new life to such a person saves all humankind. That has

happened all too frequently of late. Nothing can justify
the indiscriminate violence at such unprecedented and
horrific levels. We condemn the execution of prisoners,
be they Arab, Muslim, French, American or British. We
are all human beings and belong to one human family.
We seek to understand this phenomenon so as to be able
to address its root causes.

The violence and counter-violence we are
witnessing today are the cumulative result of five
decades of misguided policies of despotism that denied
people their rights and basic freedoms, distributed
wealth to some and consigned others to poverty. Such
policies, which have exploited religion in the service
of politics, are like magic that has now turned against
the magician. They run counter to Arab and Islamic
civilization. The problem cannot be solved by entrusting
it to the police and army. The situation demands bold
policies that take into account all those levels and that
establishes regimes that are in harmony with their
people. All political prisoners should be released and
there should be an ongoing national dialogue with the
participation of all moderate political sectors that are
committed to peace. The economy needs to serve the
interests of the majority, with an emphasis on advanced
education under the banner of freedom and respect for
the values of the Arab and Muslim countries. Only such
policies will lead to united, peace-abiding societies.
Our people yearn to improve their standard of living
and to broaden the vistas for future generations.

For many decades, some of the major Powers
supported despotic regimes in our country on the
pretext of maintaining stability. If the same problems
are not to be repeated, they must help to achieve internal
reconciliation. Resorting to military solutions may lead
to meaningless wars that could endanger the whole
world. We therefore strongly call for the blockade of
Gaza to be lifted in order to enable it to build a port and
airport, and not just to open the border crossings but also
to fulfil the political right of the Palestinian people to a
geographically contiguous, secure, independent State,
with East Jerusalem as its capital. The Gazans who are
living without shelter are pleading to our consciences
for the reconstruction of Gaza and return children to
their destroyed schools’ classrooms and playgrounds.
We pray to God to end the nightmare engulfing the
people of Syria through the banishment of its dictator
and the formation of a Government of national unity.

Tunisia, as a Member of the United Nations,
understands how important it is that the Organization
be capable of dealing with such huge global changes.
We support the granting of permanent membership in
the Security Council to Brazil, Germany, Japan and
India, to be followed by permanent-member status for
an African country, to enable it to deal with the world
of today, which is no longer that which existed at the
end of the Second World War. That war ended with
the defeat of fascism, dictatorship and Nazism and,
eventually, Communist totalitarianism. While so much
of today’s world has been democratizing so rapidly, it
is now threatened with climate, economic and political
problems. To deal with them, every country must
preserve its gains and create the machinery needed for
prevention, protection and commitment.

It is good that we have the International Criminal
Court (ICC) for punishing despots who abuse their
peoples’ rights; we should also have a tool that prevents
them from surviving and staying in power. Tunisia
has therefore proposed establishing an international
constitutional court that could advise all liberated
peoples and hand down decisions on illegitimate,
bogus elections that lead to Government by force,
which clearly runs contrary to international legitimacy
and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This
idea has been well received in academic circles and
international symposiums. We reiterate our call for
support for such democratic institutions so that this
proposal can be presented to the Legal Committee.

We hope that an international court such as this can
be realized and could enable us to deter despots, support
freedom and democracy and eradicate the sources
of violence and conflicts among peoples. I hope that
establishing such a court will not require the decades
that it took to bring about the birth of the ICC, and we
hope that Tunis, our capital, can have the honour of
hosting one of the United Nations institutions that have
so far been the preserve of the advanced countries of
the northern hemisphere. It is high time to give some
thought to allowing the liberated cities of the South to
host such institutions.


Allow me to congratulate
Mr. Sam Kutesa on his assumption of the presidency

of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.
Let me assure him of my delegation’s full support and
cooperation as he steers our work during this session. I
must also commend his predecessor, Ambassador John
Ashe, for showing such capable leadership during the
previous session. He led the small island developing
States (SIDS) through several important milestones
during his tenure, including the International Year
of Small Island Developing States and the recently
concluded International Conference on SIDS in Samoa.

It has been said that the stars are aligned with SIDS
this year. Ambassador Ashe has been our brightest
beacon, and I thank him very much for that. Let me
also thank another champion of the SIDS, Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon. Indeed, earlier this year, I
sat in the Trusteeship Council Chamber when the
Secretary-General helped us celebrate the launch of the
International Year of Small Island Developing States.
Showing a remarkable understanding of our unique
circumstances, he said:

“The International Year offers us the
opportunity to celebrate the rich cultural heritage
of the people of small island developing States and
to honour their many contributions to our world.
It is also an opportunity to highlight the various
needs and challenges of this diverse coalition.
Some small island developing States have enjoyed
long-lasting stability. Others are in transition. Some
are economically more fragile than others... Others
are extremely vulnerable to the immediate effects
of climate change. But all small island developing
States share a common understanding. We need to
set our world on a sustainable path.”
The challenges of SIDS are many. One need only
glance at the headlines to appreciate that they join a
long list of concerns that the international community
must confront today: naked brutality, pestilence,
poverty and the worsening impacts of climate change,
to name only a few. I understand the impulse for us to
put off hard decisions to another day, prioritize some
over others, or even bury our heads in the sand. But
the General Assembly is and remains the pre-eminent
forum for grappling with global crises, and the United
Nations is our best hope for solving them.

However, if we are to be successful, we must
acknowledge a reality that lies beneath so many of those
challenges, namely, that we live in an interconnected
world and that the actions of one country or region
impact the lives of people half a world away. Conflict,
poverty and disease can send refugees across borders
and oceans and sometimes all the way to our shores.
We can no longer escape each other. As the Secretary-
General also remarked, we all share the same island.

Also, we must consider my country’s connection
to the ocean. As for so many SIDS, the ocean is the
foundation of our culture and economy, and we depend
on its bounty for food and income. Yet the reckless
actions of other nations have severely undermined the
marine environment on which we so depend — from
excessive greenhouse gas emissions that warm the
planet and make the seas more and more acidic to
irresponsible overfishing, the outright stealing of fish
in our waters, and dangerous pollution, the effect of
which we have yet to fully comprehend.

All the while, some of those same countries
responsible for the damage are also charged with
assessing the well-being of the marine environment.
How can we be confident that our interests will be
protected in that effort? We, as a developing country,
are constantly facing demands for greater transparency
and accountability from the same actors that downplay,
and sometimes even cover up, their own transgressions.

Finding lasting solutions to problems such as
those will require more resources and a level of
cooperation that the international community has
so far not countenanced. It will also require us to
look at the failings in the global order that somehow
prevent countries such as mine from accessing the fair
economic benefits of our own resources. Nevertheless,
we cannot just stand by and do nothing. We cannot and
should not wait for others to decide what is best for us.
For that reason, the parties to the Nauru Agreement
are taking the lead in successfully managing their tuna
stocks through such measures as curbing illegal fishing
and sustainable harvesting.

The President has wisely chosen “Delivering on and
implementing a transformative post-2015 development
agenda” as the theme of the general debate of the
sixty-ninth session. It goes to the heart of the central
task before us — not only fulfilling the long-standing
promises with regard to sustainable development but
also engendering a paradigm shift in the way that we
achieve such development. The current piecemeal
approach, where a donor’s political interests determine
aid priorities, may treat symptoms for a time, but it fails
to address the underlying disease.

If we want our efforts to be successful over the
long term, we need to build a foundation that develops
global citizens and gives them the tools they need to
succeed in a global world. In other words, we must
move beyond capacity-building to institution-building.
What is needed is long-term in-country engagement,
backed by real resources, that produces durable
domestic institutions run by nationals. We cannot let
new and emerging issues distract or diminish work on
core priorities that remain inadequately addressed. We
may be experiencing our own fatigue when we again
raise the issues of overfishing, climate adaptation and
water treatment, but those are often the areas most in
need of attention.

I know that tackling all of those problems will be a
tall order and may seem quite daunting, I am absolutely
confident that this institution and its agencies are up
to the task. We have made some progress in reducing
hunger, poverty and disease. And just this week, the
world watched as leaders gathered at the Climate
Summit to announce the actions that their countries and
corporations are planning in order to lower greenhouse
gas emissions responsible for the climate crisis. The
Summit provided hope that, at least in some corners,
serious climate action is imminent. However, it was
hard to ignore the fact that most announcements were
about the greenhouse gas reductions that would occur
under some future Government a decade or more in the
future.

What is more, SIDS, which contribute only a
fraction of global emissions, have undertaken to build
sustainable economies while announcing some of the
most ambitious pledges to cut emissions. For example,
we are working closely with the International Renewable
Energy Agency, through their Lighthouses initiative,
to achieve our own goal of a 50 per cent reduction
in 2020. My own regional group, the Pacific SIDS,
led the General Assembly to formally recognize the
connection between climate change and international
peace and security in 2009 and helped convince the
Security Council to do the same in 2011.

But, while few countries doubt the correlation
between climate change and conflict today and despite
graphic examples of such in the past few years alone,
there is still disagreement as to the way forward.
Therefore, we are still of the opinion that the Secretary-
General should appoint a special representative on
climate and security to analyse the projected security
impacts of the crisis. In addition, the Secretary-General
should lead a joint task force of all relevant organs
and specialized agencies to assess the capacity of the
United Nations system to respond. That is the least we
can do as an international body to prepare for one of the
biggest challenges of our generation.

If the Security Council is to remain relevant, it
must be adaptive enough to meet the latest threats, and
climate change is a clear and present danger that we
ignore at our own peril. The Security Council must also
reflect new geopolitical realities by becoming more
representative and inclusive. It is for that reason that
Nauru supports the reform of the Security Council by
enlarging its permanent and non-permanent categories
and making its working methods more efficient. New
members should be more geographically diverse,
but they must also be willing to broaden their vision
beyond a narrow focus on domestic interests to include
a commitment to the common good of all Member
States.

Similarly, the United Nations should ensure that all
citizens of the world have the opportunity to participate
in its activities. It must work for the 10,000 people in
Nauru and other small countries, and it must not continue
to ignore the 24 million people in Taiwan, who time
and again have demonstrated a commitment to peace
and regional cooperation. Nauru is pleased to note that,
with solid international support and the cross-Strait
rapprochement, the Republic of China has increased its
meaningful participation in United Nations specialized
agencies and mechanisms. We continue to encourage
the positive interaction between the two sides of the
Taiwan Strait in the international arena. Furthermore,
I would like to recognize the contributions that Taiwan
has made to help my country make progress towards
its national sustainable development strategy. I take
the opportunity to also express my country’s deep
appreciation to our friends and partners who continue
to support our sustainable development priorities,
including Australia, Russia, New Zealand, the European
Union, Cuba, Israel and Turkey, to mention a few.

The world is rapidly changing, and the new realities
have strained the ability of the United Nations to
respond adequately. Long-term solutions will require
a new commitment to providing adequate means of
implementation. On climate change alone, we are far
from the goal of providing $100 billion a year by 2020
to help nations adapt to climate impacts that are now
unavoidable and to build sources of clean energy, to say

nothing of the 0.7 per cent gross domestic product goal
for development aid.

I know that we, as an international community, face
numerous crises on many fronts and that much is being
asked of us. But I strongly believe that it is in times
like these that solutions to even the most intractable
problems emerge from the human spirit. It is in times
like these that light emerges from darkness; hope from
despair.

The small island developing States have laid out a
vision to help us reach our full potential. I invite our
partners to invest in our peoples, and we will build
a better and more secure world. The United Nations
remains our best hope for people everywhere to live
in peace and prosperity. My faith in it has never been
stronger. God bless the Republic of Nauru and God
bless the United Nations.


The leaders who gathered
at the United Nations Climate Summit have taken
important steps to mobilize action and ambition on
climate change. Now we need to make sure that the
positive results are followed through and expanded as
we prepare for an agreement in Paris next year.

When we meet at the General Assembly next year,
we will adopt the new set of global goals for our common
future — the sustainable development goals (SDGs).
They must build on the success of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). They must be realistic
and ambitious. Like the MDGs, the SDGs should be
few in number, concrete and measurable. Meanwhile,
achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals will
create a solid foundation for sustainable development.
As co-chair of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s MDG
Advocacy Group, I will use every opportunity to help
build that foundation over the remaining 462 days until
the deadline.

We must accelerate our efforts, and to do so we
need to enter into broad partnerships that include the
private sector, civil society and Governments. We need
to make use of the best possible innovative solutions
and technologies. Governments and national political
leaders must take the lead and ensure local ownership.
At the same time, we must support the remarkable work
that many people are doing to implement the MDGs in
practice.

The frightening Ebola epidemic in West Africa
reminds us of the fragility of our progress and
development. We must build health-care systems that
can support courageous and determined individuals
like Josephine Finda Sellu. Ms. Sellu, the deputy nurse
matron at a Government hospital in Sierra Leone, lost
15 of her nurses to Ebola. Nevertheless, she never
stopped working in that death trap. She is a true fighter
for the MDGs.

Education, particularly for girls, is the superhighway
to ending poverty. Poverty, discrimination and the use
of force often prevent girls from getting the education
they are entitled to. Sexual violence, abductions and
deadly attacks are the most despicable ways in which
girls’ right to education is being violated. I condemn
the abductions of schoolgirls by Boko Haram in the
strongest possible terms. In the face of terrorists
threatening to deprive children of their right to
education, we should be inspired by Malala Yousafzai.
Malala brought to light the plight of the millions of
children around the world who are denied an education.
If one schoolgirl can take on the Taliban, then surely the
world community can defeat extremism and terrorism.

Terrorists and extremists are trying to stop us
from educating children. Peace is vital for achieving
universal primary education. The same can be said
for the other MDGs, not least the goal on reducing
poverty. That is why we must focus on conflict-affected
countries. A girl growing up in Syria today cannot look
forward to going to school, because there is no school
to go to. A pregnant teenage girl in South Sudan will
not get the maternal health services she needs because
it is too risky for health workers to travel. From the
Security Council Chamber to the modest homes in the
Swat Valley in Pakistan, we can all help to end poverty
by promoting peace, but all those different efforts at the
global, regional, national and local levels must work in
concert.

It has been 70 years since a group of leaders met
in Washington, D. C., to discuss the creation of the
United Nations. One of the most fundamental tenets
of the new world order created in 1945 was respect
for internationally recognized borders. Norway
condemns Russia’s violations of international law and
its continuing destabilization of eastern Ukraine. Any
settlement of the conflict must uphold international law
and respect the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The
ceasefire agreed on 5 September must be respected and
the provisions of the agreement implemented on the
ground. Russia bears a particular responsibility in that
regard.

The Security Council is mandated to maintain peace
and security, but has failed to address the situation in
Syria and Ukraine effectively. We know why. Some of
the big Powers still believe in outdated ideas of zero-
sum games and spheres of influence. We are hopeful
that the Council will continue to stand united against
the threat of the terrorist group known as the Islamic
State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). We support the
United States initiative and sponsored Security Council
resolution 2178 (2014) on foreign terrorist fighters. We
encourage the countries of the region to take a leading
role in fighting ISIL.

Armed conflict and civil war have created man-
made humanitarian disasters in Syria, Iraq, South
Sudan, the Central African Republic and Somalia.
Earlier this year, Norway hosted a humanitarian donor
conference for South Sudan, and we will shortly
co-host a donor conference to address the aftermath of
the conflict in Gaza. Donor conferences are important,
but we need to look beyond the emergencies. We need
to build on and improve the current system, when we
meet for the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016. We
must make sure that humanitarian aid supports not only
short-term recovery, but also long-term development.
Besides, long-term development cooperation should
help countries prevent, prepare for, withstand and
recover from humanitarian crises in the future.

International peace, national security, social
development and individual prosperity can best be
fostered under a system of good democratic governance
and human rights. Efforts to promote respect for
human rights can help prevent armed conflict and mass
atrocities. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi,
herself a leading human rights defender, stated in her
Nobel lecture that:

“[i]f the twenty-first century wishes to free itself
from the cycle of violence, acts of terror and war,
there is no other way except by understanding
and putting into practice every human right for
all mankind, irrespective of race, gender, faith,
nationality or social status.”
I agree with that.

Human rights is one of the three pillars of the
United Nations, based on the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, adopted by the Assembly on
10 December 1948. Norway endorses the Secretary-
General’s “Human Rights Up Front” initiative, which
places the protection of human rights at the heart of
United Nations strategies and operational activities.
The United Nations needs a strong and assertive human
rights pillar. Only if we fund the human rights pillar
properly can we achieve the results that we need and
want from our world Organization.

The promotion and protection of human rights is
first and foremost the responsibility of States. We are,
however, facing large implementation gaps. Attacks,
threats, intimidation and reprisals against human
rights defenders are increasingly being reported. New
laws restricting freedom of expression and the work
of civil society are being adopted. Discrimination
is widespread, particularly against minorities, such
as indigenous people and lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender persons.

The rule of law and civil liberties are also
fundamental to the development of the private sector
and attracting investment. Moreover, we know that
enabling women to fully enjoy their social and economic
rights unleashes tremendous economic growth.

We must stay focused on accelerating progress
towards the MDGs during the remaining 462 days. We
must let ourselves be inspired by those who serve at
the front line of those efforts, like Ms. Sellu and other
doctors and nurses who are risking their lives to treat
patients with Ebola.

As we set our future development agenda beyond
2015, we must also make some adjustments. Peace
and stability must be included. Climate issues must be
addressed. Good, democratic governance, with respect
for the rule of law and human rights, will be crucial for
achieving sustainable development for us all. And all
that means, quite simply, is to be doing the right things
right.